Category: Blog

Your good old-fashioned blog, It’s where I reflect on (but not exactly “review”) a variety of movies and where I post my thoughts on different issues as it seems necessary.

Episode VI: Evangelization of the Jedi

Posted on by Father Albert
I can sense his presence... Episode VII is near and I must go to face him! But first, I must complete my training with the first six episodes. Last time, we left off at Luke's poor decision and failure to actually help anyone. Return of the Jedi fast forwards a bit and lets the viewer assume that Luke returned Dagobah to complete his training with Yoda. The first scene involves the whole crew working to save Han Solo. In "A New Hope," we saw that Han Solo had some development a something of a conversion. Here we see the completion of that conversion...Read More

Episode V: The Impulse Strikes Back

Posted on by Father Albert
{Spoilers (as always)} Welcome back to my journey through Star Wars. Last time I took a look at the hope we had for Han Solo and Darth Vader. Now I'm taking a look at Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back. Just two things come to mind in this movie before we move on to the next: First, Lando betrayed his friend because he was afraid of Darth Vader and wanted to keep his business running. His first impulse was to protect what he had, but in the end, he very nearly loses something much more valuable. From a worldly point of view, its...Read More

Episode IV: A New Hope, but for Whom?

Posted on by Father Albert
A long time ago  On a Blog not that far away The Ephesian began his journey through Star Wars His path has taken him through temptation and the value of confession. Today we join him on that journey where he meets Luke Skywalker and discovers that it really is possible for people to change, that there is hope after all. {Spoiler Alert for IV, V, & VI} A New Hope! Who exactly is finding new hope? The movie suggests that it is the rebels who find a new hope, but I want to suggest a slightly different take: Han Solo and Darth...Read More

Mockingjay Part 2 – Hope for What?

Posted on by Father Albert
{Spoiler Alert} At Last! Here we are at the end of this series on the Hunger Games. I followed the movies, so this is the second part of Mockingjay. Recall that throughout the series I've been following two threads of influence: Love/resistance vs. hatred/violence. When I got to part 1, however, these two shifted focus a little into the difference between hatred/cruelty vs. "just war." Indeed, those two trains of thought emerge almost explicitly right at the beginning of this movie, which takes us quickly to the battle in District 2 against "The Nut," an important military compound. They can't get in...Read More

Mockingjay Part 1 – O Cruel Fate

Posted on by Father Albert
Welcome to the third installment of my series on the Hunger Games. Anyone who read my last post on Catching Fire and then watched this movie just might get the idea that I somehow support the Capitol. This is because they spend a great deal of time and energy trying to convince the districts to lay down weapons and resume peace. I too advocated for peace as a hypothetical alternative to the way the story actually turns out. Yet, there are two key differences: context, and hypocrisy. First of all, my idea was a hypothetical that only would have worked if taken up...Read More

Catching Fire – Flames of Love, Flames of Hatred

Posted on by Father Albert
aaaaaand we're back! This is the second post in the series on Hunger Games. Last time I tried to look a little at what it means to pursue freedom under oppression. Recall that I tried to emphasize two related but different streams of influence in the overall plot of revolution: violence and resistance - it'll come up again. This time I'd like to consider another question: what is love? It's becomes clear very early on that Katniss' "love" for Peeta was primarily an act in order to save their lives, but Peeta is no doubt in love with Katniss. Right away,...Read More

Hunger Games – The Desire for Freedom?

Posted on by Father Albert
May the odds be ever in your favor. What about the evens? I mean, evens are sooo much better. They let you divide by 2, and two is always better than 1! The odds have to pick one, but the evens let another win too! Amiright? Righto, so... I guess I've been doing a lot of watching and thinking lately. You may have noticed my plan to build up for Star Wars episode VII. Well, that got me thinking and I realized that the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy (quadrilogy?) comes out this weekend! Suddenly I remembered that it was the Hunger Games that first got...Read More

Episode III: Forgive me Father, for I have Sithed

Posted on by Father Albert
Greetings! Today I continue my journey through Star Wars. Last week I began with Episode II  and Anakin's failure to keep to his integrity. This week, I've taken a look at Episode III: Revenge of the Sith and guess what I've found? A Catholic Sacrament! Well, sort of. There's actually a ton of material here for reflection (how the devil lies, pro-life, how evil can look good, the dangers of relativism, etc.), but today I'll just focus on Jedis going to confession, and the sad reality that we can't all just get along after all... Bam! Fshwoon! VVMMMMM! KSCHHH! "Good... Kill...Read More

Episdoe II: Attack of the Clones? or the Hormones?

Posted on by Father Albert
Baah, BAAAH, bu-bu-bu-Baah-baah... A short while ago, on a planet not far away, a digital citizen began an adventure. The Ephesian, excited by the hype of the upcoming Force Awakens, set out to re-watch and review all the prior episodes. After surviving the pod race and witnessing the death of Qui-Gon Jinn, we join him as he muses his way through the emotional Episode II, Attack of the Clones. Greetings digital visitors! While people on the internet are sensationalizing the new theory that Jar Jar Binks is a Sith Lord, I'd like to explore a different concern: how Star Wars displays...Read More

Worth More than the Stars: Some thoughts on “The Martian”

Posted on by Father Albert
Heyo! It's the Ephesian again. I'm back from a little trip through cyberspace and decided to drop in and share some thoughts about outer space. I went to see "The Martian" and a few things stood out that I'd like to write about if anyone is willing to read it, or even if no one reads it. I guess it's kind of like Mark's video logs - no one is watching them, but they just might someday ;-). Anywho, much of the movie is about dealing with the technical problems regarding staying alive on Mars. As for the scientific accuracy...Read More