They shall not grow old

Today at the gym I heard about "They shall not grow old" a film about WWI using British footage, and by the magic of technology, massaged to make a wonderful retrospective. As far as I can tell it is/was available only Dec. 17 and Dec. 27, which means we have another chance. In Columbus it's at Cinemark on Bethel Rd., 1 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-they-shall-not-grow-old-review-20181215-story.html

2018 is the 100th anniversary of the end of that terrible war that wiped out a generation of European men. Americans entered it late, but the Ohio History Center has a fabulous exhibit.

“After receiving hundreds of hours of footage from the museum, whose archive is among the world’s largest, the first order of business for Park Road Post was cleaning the film up, removing dust, scratches, tears and other flaws.

Then there was the tricky question of timing, of getting footage that was hand cranked at a variety of speeds to all sync up to today’s 24-frames-per-second standard without looking speeded up or slowed down.

Next came colorization, a process that went to extraordinary lengths to achieve accuracy, including trips to actual footage locations to take thousands of reference photos. No detail, not even the color of a button, was too small to get right.

The same kind of meticulousness went into the soundtrack, where sounds like horses hooves and footsteps in the mud were layered in.”

Signed Sealed Delivered—a terrific series on Hallmark

Last night I watched "Signed sealed delivered" on Hallmark Movie Channel and loved it. Great story, terrific ensemble cast, quirky humor, just enough suspense to qualify as a mystery, strong values. The breaking of a secret code included Bible verses, childhood memories, and a line from the national anthem. And all of the characters are conversant in the Bible! How cool is that? I'm definitely a fan. The producer and writer is a Christian (Touched by an Angel) and without being pushy or obvious, includes many statements of faith and complex relationships. One main character grew up in foster care, one in a dysfunctional family abandoned by his mother. The issue of bullying is also a sub-theme.  I assume there will be more back stories on the four characters who are postal detectives as I watch more (I think there have been 10 so far, and I watched 3 last night). The actors all seem to be Canadian. And very talented.

I thought the main male lead looked familiar but couldn’t place him.  He used to be on Ugly Betty.

I read that it was originally a weekly series on regular Hallmark, then became movie length and moved to the movie channel. Expanding to a movie length leaves a lot of long looks and pauses to fill the time, imo, plus room for hundreds of commercials, but still good stories.

Martha Williamson, producer and writer: “I was interviewed on "60 Minutes" once and the interviewer asked, "Are you trying to use the show to evangelize?" And I said that they didn't hire me to write a Christian TV show and I'm not a Christian writer, I'm a television writer and a producer who is a Christian. As a result, I cannot compromise what my faith is and my belief. I can't do that. I will say that if a believer's faith is strengthened or if an unbeliever finds their way to the thrown of God, that is one heck of a dividend. For me, that is such a wonderful confirmation that I'm doing what I have been called to do.”
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/next-step-of-faith-for-touched-by-an-angel-producer-hallmark-movie-signed-sealed-delivered-for-christmas-interview-130080/#T0Z2BrY9XpbD8Gk4.99

Capra’s America

Frank Capra was an immigrant--he rejected the theories of progressivism, communism and socialism popular in Europe. ". . . he did not understand America, as many Americans do today, in terms of personal categories of identity such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality. He understood America in terms of its political principles—the moral principles of America that can be shared by all who understand them and are willing to live up to them. . .

In his last and most personal tribute to his adopted country, Capra recalled his family’s arrival at Union Station in Los Angeles after their long journey across America in 1903. When they got off the train, his mother and father got on their knees and kissed the ground. Capra’s last words to his assembled audience were these: “For America, for just allowing me to live here, I kiss the ground.” Capra did not believe that he had a right to be a citizen of America. Rather he was grateful for the privilege of living in America."

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/frank-capras-america-and-ours/

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/03/books/it-wasn-t-such-a-wonderful-life.html

http://rougholboy.com/capra/

Hollywood hypocrisy

Ohio State University and the Annenberg Public Policy Center surveyed gun violence in top-grossing movies, finding that the frequency of gun violence had more than tripled in PG-13 films since 1985. The PG-13 rating was introduced in 1984.

Gun violence in PG-13 movies has rivaled the frequency of gun violence in R-rated movies since 2009, and actually surpassed it in 2012, according to the study. (CS Monitor, Nov. 12).

Not only does this mean the rating system is meaningless, but that Hollywood celebrities and entertainment investors are total hypocrites about gun control and the 2nd amendment because they are trafficking in guns and directing it to children and teaching them how to use guns and resolve conflicts. http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/moviegunviolence.htm

Will Obama now give back PAC money from donor who insulted Islam in a film?

Bill Maher made a film that mocked Christianity and Islam. Bill Maher also contributed $1 million to a pro-Obama super PAC. Will Obama now give it back since the administration is blaming a youtube video that's been out for months for violence on 9/11?

Maher's film "Religulous" grossed over $13 million after having a production budget of $2.5 million. As of 2012, it's 15th among the highest grossing documentaries in the US and was the highest grossing documentary of 2008. [Wikipedia] "He takes shots at the three major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Religulous also mocks the more bizarre elements of Scientology and Mormonism. Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism get a free pass." [Purple state of mind]

A Jew ridiculing Islam? That would have provoked a riot, if that's what this mess in the Middle East  is about.  But there’s always free speech for the Democrat. Just not for others.

The buried history of the slave trade

The slave trade never ended, of course. There's more slavery going on today than in the 18th century, particularly among women and children. And especially for sex. More Africans have died from environmentalists allowing malaria to resurge than ever died in the Atlantic slave trade. Still, this piece by Black Informant is interesting commentary on the way the Africans and Europeans worked together to establish the 17th and 18th century slave trade. Our schooling in the 50s was less brainwashing and not as full of PC as today, so I knew some of this, but not Nigeria's role or what that nation teaches today.