May 2005
Support for Andrew & Leila Wells
05/29/2005 16:08 Filed in: Miscellaneous
I first met Andrew and Leila Wells after a Springdale Church service in 1996. They were both students at the time at the University of Louisville. Kathy and I got to know them better over the years, and we now consider them lifelong friends. In the summer of 2004, Andrew and Leila moved to Columbia, South Carolina so that Leila could pursue a doctorate from the University of South Carolina. Their son, Mason, was born shortly before they left Louisville; he is now 11 months old. They settled into Lexington/Columbia area where Leila started her studies and Andrew found a job. Mason was happy and growing and they were looking for a church in the area.
Then, on March 8, 2005, Andrew was diagnosed with Acute Myelocytic Leukemia, a form of cancer that produces dangerously high white blood cell counts. When diagnosed, Andrew's count was over 200,000--twenty times that of a normal person. He was immediately placed in the hospital where he went through six weeks of induction chemotherapy to achieve a temporary remission, and has had another round since being released from the hospital. Currently he is waiting to have a bone marrow transplant which he hopes to receive sometime this summer at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Andrew's physical health is the primary concern, and he needs our prayer as his doctors work to make him well. However, a second concern right now is the financial stability of the Wells family. Upon learning the further treatment Andrew would undergo, the company he was working for placed him on medical discharge in hopes that he would be eligible for state benefits. Unfortunately, he cannot apply for the particular benefits specified because at the moment there is no way he can actively hold down even part-time employment which would be required. He will not be released by his doctor to return to work until at least October.
Further, because his immune system is weakened from the chemotherapy, the Wells cannot keep Mason in daycare on the chance that he would bring home an illness. Therefore, Leila has had to postpone classes as well as work at the university. Although they have some support from family, they find themselves in grave financial jeopardy as they are not receiving enough income to meet their basic needs, let alone the mounting medical bills. Although they were in the process of looking for a church home, they had not yet found one when Andrew was diagnosed with the cancer.
Throughout the last few weeks, I have talked with Andrew a number of times, and I have often found him to be surprisingly upbeat. He recently wrote me saying, "God has been very good to us throughout this trial. He knew us as we were being formed in our mothers' wombs, and he knows us today--all our needs, hopes and desires. We are trusting Him on a completely new level these days. Now we see more clearly what it means for us to look only to the Lord for our needs. When the systems and strategies of men have been exhausted, God is just beginning to show us his provision and plan for our path to come. As we walk through this trial, we ask that you would pray for us, that God would show His favor."
On Sunday, June 5, Springdale Community Church in Louisville, Kentucky will take up an offering for Andrew. Let me encourage you to be a part of that offering. Please consider sending any amount that you can manage to
Springdale Church
4601 Springdale Road
Louisville, KY 40241
Designate on your check that it's to go to the offering for Andrew Wells. If you can't send a check right now, send it when you can and it will be forwarded to the Wells. If you would like to send something directly to them--financial help, Wal-Mart gift cards, or just a word of encouragement--you can contact them at the address below:
Andrew, Leila, and Mason Wells
226 Corley Woods Drive
Lexington, SC 29072
You can email Andrew at arwell012002@yahoo.com and Leila at leilawells@yahoo.com . As far as I know, little Mason doesn't have an email account yet!
Please be praying for the Wells family. And if you can offer any assistance now or in the days to come, please do so.
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Quote for the Day
05/28/2005 11:50 Filed in: Miscellaneous
Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
05/24/2005 14:52 Filed in: Movies and Television
The ultimate question: how could one individual with so much promise...be such a lousy actor?
Wow. I feel like a kid again. Why? Well for three reasons: there's a new Star Wars movie out, it actually doesn't stink, and I've already seen it twice in less than a week's time.
I was one of the millions who saw the first showing at midnight of opening day. There were lots of folks there in full costume of their favorite Star Wars characters. I've never seen so many nerds in one place in my life. Rob, Matt and I were the only cool people there. However, it's fun seeing a movie at a showing like that. These are the true fans. They applaud at all the appropriate times. No one talks during the movie (except me when I was making comments to Matt and Rob). Then, Kathy and I went to see Revenge of the Sith on Friday night. We had to endure crying babies, but the sound system was better at the theater we attended.
The good news is that Lucas finally got it right with the last of the prequels. If you remember, The Phantom Menace was on one hand annoyingly childish and on the other hand overly complicated (find me one person who can explain the political subplot of the first and second movies after only one viewing). Attack of the Clones was not only complicated, but just plain long and boring.
Over the last couple of weeks before Revenge of the Sith (from here on, simply ROTS) was released, Kathy and I re-watched the first two prequels since I had not seen either since their theater showings, and she had never seen the second one at all. I will say this... they "stunk less" than what I remembered, especially Phantom Menace. I think that's because back in 1999, I was looking SO forward to the movie that I was incredibly disappointed. And now, watching it six years later, perhaps because my expectations were so low, I suppose it wasn't quite as bad as what I remembered. Maybe it just ages well. Hmmmm....no, it doesn't age well. I was right the first time--my expectations were just lower.
Anyway, ROTS is indisputably the best of the prequels. If you loved the original movies but felt burned by the prequels, go see ROTS. This is the first of the new movies to bring back the original drama and spirit of the originals. There's even the trademark Star Wars brand of humor (you either understand that, or you don't). The characters, with the exception of Anakin and Padmé, seemed to have a little bit more depth. In fact, Ewan McGregor (Obi-Wan Kenobe), Ian McDiarmid (Chancelor Palpatine/Darth Sidious), and--dare I say it--R2D2 carry the movie.
McGregor has made it no secret that he studied Sir Alec Guinness' work from the original Star Wars flims, and also Guinness' other films to prepare for the role of Obi-Wan. He wanted to capture Guiness' unique inflection and dramatic timing. He did a fairly decent job with this in the earlier prequels, but in ROTS, he has it down pat. His first lines sound exactly like a young Alec Guiness. For the first time, the younger Obi-Wan becomes a likable character that you can relate to.
And if McGregor carries the movie for the good guys, it is definitely McDiarmid who moves things along for the dark side. McDiarmid was fun to watch because you knew he was pulling the shots behind the scenes and manipulating young Anakin. However, at times, I felt like McDiarmid looked a little bit too much like Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons.
Palpatine & Burns: separated at birth?
Another standout--but overlooked--character was R2D2. Finally, we have the R2D2 of the original movies: free-spirited, independent, and exhibiting a great sense of humor. I give credit to Lucas for taking this garbage can-looking robot and giving "him" a distinct personality. However, R2D2 has now developed abilities not seen in the other movies, such as flying. He never flew in the original movies...
Of course, the heart of the movie is the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into the villainous Darth Vader. What can I say about Hayden Christiansen? Well, I can't say that he's an accomplished actor. I've been told he's very good in Shattered Glass. I don't know because I haven't seen it, but I know he's pretty flat in the second and third prequels. Kathy pointed out that there's a huge distinction in the opening scene between Hayden's and McGregor's reactions. Maybe this has to do with an actor's maturity because in reality, they are acting in front of a blue screen and they can't see the images around them that we see. But when you watch the film, McGregor seems to really be interacting with his surroundings. Christiansen is not very believable.
Natalie Portman returns as Skywalker's love interest, Padmé, but this is the weakest of her three prequel performances. There's really not much for her to do here other than worry about Anakin, give birth to Luke and Leia, and die (oh stop it--I have NOT given away any plot points you didn't know about). Lucas proves again that he cannot write romantic dialogue. The love talk between Padmé and Anakin makes you want to hurl into your Junior Mints.
As I said, this is the best of the prequels, and I genuinely liked this movie. But it's not without its faults, including the dialogue referenced above. It's also the most violent and the only chapter of the six to receive a PG-13 rating. Get ready for lots of dismemberment and beheadings, and even a disturbing final solution for the Jedi younglings.
Further, Anakin is too easily manipulated by Palpatine. I mean, how naive can a person be? And I was disappointed with the reasons behind Padmé's death. It just seemed a bit too simple and convenient. They have so much technology in the Star Wars galaxy. However, not only can they not perform a simple ultrasound so that the Skywalkers know they're expecting twins, but they can't (and don't) do anything to try to save Padmé. Put her on life-support or something. Sheesh.
Fortunately, this movie doesn't need life-support. It's doing quite well and deservedly so. If you're a Star Wars purist and have either avoided the prequels or were disappointed like I was, ROTS will probably please you. Too bad all three of the prequels couldn't be like this.
Narnia Is Coming
05/13/2005 23:44 Filed in: Movies and Television
USA Today ran an article today (I can't think of any other way to phrase that) about the upcoming big screen adaptation of C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
The first trailer will air this Saturday night (May 7) during ABC's showing of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I suppose that's a fitting time to show it because in terms of literary ancestry, we probably wouldn't have Harry Potter if we had not had The Chronicles of Narnia first. As soon as the trailer is available online, I will update this blog entry to provide a link.
Update: the trailer is now available: http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/thechroniclesofnarnia/
- The movie is co-produced by Disney and Walden Media (the creators of family entertainment such as Holes and Because of Winn-Dixie).
- Plans are currently to produce all seven books into movies (just like the plans for the Harry Potter series).
- The director is Andrew Adamson who also directed Shrek and Shrek 2.
- Tilda Swinton (who I thought was wonderful as Gabriel in Constantine) plays the witch. Very good casting in my opinion.
- Douglas Gresham, head of Lewis' estate, is co-producer of the film (which means it has family support).
The movie itself won't be out until December. But that's okay. We need something to pick up the slack since the Lord of the Rings trilogy ended as the end-of-the-year-big-movie-tradition. Until then, I suppose you can read the story again to yourself or read it to your children. And be sure and explain to them exactly what a wardrobe is. I doubt it's in their vocabulary.