Movies Under the Stars

Amy and I are back from our week long cruise to Mexico on the 952 foot long, 195 foot high, 113,000 ton, 3,080 passenger Crown Princess. Sure, we saw a couple of their big production shows, a very good jazz group and even got a tour of one of the ship's galleys (at least Amy did).  But one of our favorite events, one that we didn't know Princess offered, was their "Movie Under the Stars" program. Every night at 7:00pm and 10:00pm, a recent movie is shown on their humongous 300 square foot movie screen high atop one of their pools.  Lounge chairs are strategically set up in three levels for easy and comfortable viewing. Blankets and popcorn are handed out just prior to the start of the movie. And yes, the moon and stars shone brightly above us.

On this trip, we were kind of lucky that Princess played four movies that we had wanted to see but never got around to when they were in the theaters:  Bridge of Spies, The Intern, Spectre, Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, and Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.  We were able to work in four of them (ran out of time on Hunger Games).  Thought I'd write a little something on three of them:

Bridge of Spies

Excellent movie. Definitely one of the best I saw in 2015. "Bridge of Spies" is based on the true story of someone who could be one of America's most unsung heroes:  attorney James Donovan.  Donovan risked life and limb by going to a volatile East Germany in 1960 to negotiate the release of American pilot Gary Powers, who was shot down over Soviet territory during a surveillance mission that year. Not only did Donovan succeed, but he was able to get another imprisoned American in East Germany released as well. Two years later, he was recruited by President Kennedy and sent to Cuba to negotiate the release of 1,113 prisoners after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba. When all was said and done, Donovan secured the release of 9,703 men, women and children from detention.

"Bridge of Spies" focuses on the Gary Powers event, and is well told by director Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who is terrific as Donovan, Prior to the downing of Powers, Donovan was "elected" to represent Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in his treason trial in New York. Once Powers is captured, Donovan negotiates the swapping of the two. After arriving in East Germany, Donovan discovers another American begin held and cleverly gets him thrown into the deal. How he does it is very interesting.

"Bridge of Spies" just recently became available on Red Box. It's been nominated for multiple Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor (Mark Rylance as Abel). Definitely rent it if you haven't seen it yet! It's worth the buck-and-a-half!

Spectre

"Spectre" is the latest James Bond thriller that was out in the theaters last November. Thought it was OK. Nothing great.  I like Daniel Craig, but have an issue with his portrayal of 007, particularly in this rendition. Bond is no longer fun!  That was one of the attributes that made the James Bond character different from other spy flicks.  The Sean Connery, Roger Moore Bonds have their serious side, but the tongue in cheek humor that would pop up throughout their films made Bond fun! But the Craig Bonds are dark and serious. Totally different, and in my opinion, not as entertaining.

In "Spectre", James Bond is kicked out of the British MI6 program for going rogue one too many times, the latest involving an Italian hit man in Mexico, who ends up being a member of an evil world-wide organization called "Spectre", led by Franz Oberhauser, who Bond happens to have a history with. At the same time, MI6 itself is crumbling because of a new high tech organization threatening to replace it.

All of this makes for a sometimes interesting, frequently confusing story. Confusing because story lines would pop up out of no where, only to be explained later in the movie. In between you're left scratching your head. It's alright to do this, but if not done right, it's very frustrating to watch. And that's how I felt.  I will have to say that the Bond trademark 10 minute opening sequence was as good as any James Bond opening ever filmed. Unfortunately, it went downhill from there. Ralph Fiennes and Christoph Walz as Oberhauser were particularly good though.

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Tom Cruise is back for his fifth installment as Ethan Hunt of the IMF, America's other secret service. Inspired by the 1960's TV show "Mission Impossible", which I loved. Unfortunately I can't say the same about the movie versions. When it was revealed that Jim Phelps, the leader and good guy in the original TV series was the bad guy in the first Mission Impossible movie back in 1996, I nearly fell out of my seat. That disgusted me so much that I had no interest in the 2000 sequel. I still haven't seen it to this day. I did rent the third and fourth installments, and didn't like them a whole lot better. Too far out there. Plus it seemed like Cruise was using these movies as vehicles to make him look good, as Hunt can do no wrong and frequently does the impossible. The escapes and stunts performed by Hunt were way more elaborate than what was actually required. Or needed.

That said, I actually kind of liked "Rogue Nation".

Not sure where the "rogue nation" title came from, but the story line held my interest through out the movie. In this rendition, the CIA, led by chief Alec Baldwin, is seeking to end the "reckless" IMF, while AWOL Ethan Hunt continues with his business of bringing down the leader of the mysterious "Syndicate", Solomon Lane, whom he also has a past with.

Wait a minute.....doesn't that sound awfully similar to the storyline of "Spectre"?

Actually, there are some definite similarities, but I enjoyed "Rogue Nation" much more.  Sure Cruise still performs some head shaking, unbelievable stunts, but for the first time, he's not perfect. Plus the teamwork between Hunt and William Brandt (Jeremy Renner), Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and newcomer IIsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) was entertaining to watch. Pegg and Ferguson in particular were very good.  Someone who wasn't, however, at least in my opinion, was Sean Harris as Solomon Lane. Unlike Walz in "Spectre", Harris' Lane character was a bore whose grumbled, scratchy, winy, mumbling voice was almost impossible to understand half the time. Plus he had the personality of a piece of cardboard. Very disappointing villain.

That aside, I still found the movie enjoyable. Still hard to believe it's been 20 years since my horrible experience with Mission Impossible 1!  Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation is available from Red Box.

XMAS Tidbit #3: Why December 25?

First off, the actual birth date of Jesus is not known. No date is given in the Bible, birth certificates didn't exist back in the first century, and no one wrote down the date! Some think based on Biblical clues that it may have been in the fall sometime, but no one knows for sure. So why is it celebrated on December 25? I wasn't 100% sure myself, to be honest, so I did some research. What I discovered was that there was one popular theory and other less supported ones.

As mentioned in my last “tidbit”, the first recorded date of the birth of Jesus being celebrated, aka Christmas, on December 25th was in 336 AD, during the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine (he was the first Christian Roman Emperor). A few years later, Pope Julius I officially declared that the birth of Jesus would be celebrated on the December 25th. This decision subsequently spread throughout Europe and eventually North America.

The most popular theory for selecting December 25 seems to be the following: During the first two centuries (prior to “Christmas”), the early church celebrated the Epiphany (the revelation that Jesus was God's son) and the Baptism of Jesus on January 6. Jesus's Baptism was originally seen as more important than his birth at that point in time, as this was when he started his ministry. When the idea to celebrate his birth was proposed, possibly as early as 273 AD, people wanted a separate day to celebrate it.

December 25 already hosted two other related festivals: natalis solis invicti (the Roman "birth of the unconquered sun"), and the birthday of Mithras, the Iranian "Sun of Righteousness" whose worship was popular with Roman soldiers. The winter solstice, another celebration of the sun, fell just a few days earlier. Seeing that the Roman pagans were already exalting deities with some parallels to the true deity, church leaders evidently decided to adopt the date and introduce a new festival to celebrate “the son” rather than “the sun”. Thus December 25th was chosen to celebrate the birth of “the son”.

Other less supported theories include an early Christian tradition that Mary was informed by the angel Gabriel about Jesus (called the Annunciation) on March 25th. Thus nine months later would be December 25. March 25th was also the day some early Christians thought the world had been made, and also the day that Jesus died on the cross.

Another theory is that the Jewish festival of Lights, Hanukkah, starts on the 25th of Kislev (the month in the Jewish calendar that occurs at about the same time as December). Hanukkah celebrates when the Jewish people were able to re-dedicate and worship in their Temple, in Jerusalem, following years of not being allowed to practice their religion. Since Jesus was a Jew, some think this could be another reason that helped the early Church choose December 25.

So there you have it. I’ll admit that I was not aware of much of this, so I hope you’ll find it interesting as well!

XMAS Tidbit #2: The chicken or the egg?

Curious about the history of Christmas, particularly in the United States? Me too. When did we first celebrate the holiday, and when did Santa enter the picture? Did we celebrate the birth of Jesus before or after the arrival of Santa? This is what I found out:

An illuminated manuscript called the “Chronography of 354”, which was produced for a wealthy Roman Christian named Valentinus in 354 AD, stated the following for the year 336 AD: “25 Dec.: natus Christus in Betleem Judeae.” (December 25th, Christ born in Bethlehem, Judea.). So it is widely believed that December 25, 336, was the first recorded celebration of the birth of Jesus, or Christmas. I found it interesting to note that this manuscript was created a mere 300 years after Jesus died, and around the same time the first Bibles were being organized. Why December 25? That’s the topic in XMAS Tidbit #3! 

Christmas commemorating Jesus' birth was officially recognized in England in 816 AD, while the first Christmas in America occurred in 1492 AD.

The modern figure of Santa Clause is widely believed to have originated from Saint Nicholas of Myra, a 4th-century Greek Christian bishop of Myra in Lycia, a province which is now in Turkey. Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. Saint Nicholas became known as Sinterklaas in Amsterdam around the same time. In 841 AD, the first story about Saint Nicholas appeared, and his legend began to grow throughout Europe. In 16th century England, a character named “Father Christmas” evolved from the direct influence of Saint Nicholas/Sinterklaas. In the 18th century, Sinterklaas and Father Christmas were Americanized into “Santa Claus”, a name first used in the American press in 1773 (New York Gazette).

The current depiction of Santa Claus was thought to have been based on images drawn by cartoonist Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly beginning in 1863, which he based on Clement Clarke Moore’s 1822 poem “A Visit from Saint Nicholas.” The first decorated Christmas tree was believed to have appeared in 1510 at Riga in Latvia. The idea of gift-giving was originally meant to remind people of the magi's offerings to Jesus and of God's gift of Christ to humankind. Modern gift-giving (specifically to children) did not become the central Christmas tradition it is today until the late 18th century.

It wasn't until the 20th Century that pop culture began to commercialize Christmas when Christmas trees, Santa Claus, snowmen, holly, mistletoe and eggnog began appearing in movies, plays and songs worldwide. Not surprising, the original focus on Jesus' birth began to diminish some once this started to happen.

So there you have it! December 25 originally began as a celebration of Jesus’ birth, and evolved throughout time to include the Christmas elements we know today. One thing I discovered when writing this is that there is anything but a shortage of resources online that discuss these subjects, that's for sure!