Les Miserables (2012)

“Les Miserables,” released Christmas Day 2012

For several weeks we were planning to see “Les Miserables” on Christmas Day 2012 and we were able to keep this commitment.  We were not disappointed.  What a great adaptation of Victor Hugo’s classic book.

I first read “Les Miserables” when I was in high school.  It seemed to take forever to wade through this 1400+ page book.  I read it again about a dozen years ago but this time it was an abridged version.  I read another abridgement about a year ago.  The abridged versions and the movie cannot begin to cover all of the plots and subplots of the original.  That’s OK because we might have to sit in the theater for about a week if there were a page by page adaptation of this wonderful book.  I always think that a TV series of this classic would have enough material for ten years but it will never happen.

Hugo’s book and the movie center around the theme of grace…God’s grace…and how this overcomes legalism.  We are puzzled how someone like Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) can spend nearly 20 years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family.  Puzzled indeed!  And we are puzzled that a man like Javert (Russell Crowe) can so doggedly pursue him when Jean Valjean violates his parole.

It’s not really surprising that Jean Valjean is changed by his encounter with God and the kindly bishop (Colm Wilkinson) who doesn’t press charges for Jean Valjean’s theft.  In fact, he gives him more—the candlesticks which are seen again and again throughout the movie.  In this touching scene I found how the original book can tirelessly spend dozens of pages considering this act of mercy.  Even the bishop’s housekeepers (seen without dialogue in the movie) spend page after page in the unabridged book, warning the bishop that he is too trusting. 

The scenes of Fantine (Anne Hathaway) and Cosette (Isabelle Allen and Amanda Seyfried) are also so wonderful in Hugo’s book.  The movie does them justice but the person unfamiliar with the general facts of the story may be puzzled about the depth of Fantine’s dilemma and the loving care of Jean Valjean for both Fantine and Cosette.

Jean Valjean’s care for others is also expressed in his rescue of a man pinned by a cart (and thus revealing himself to Javert) and in his rescue of fellow criminal who is mistakenly charged with being Jean Valjean and destined to go to prison.  In today’s world there are some who might reason that Jean Valjean should have just thanked his lucky stars that a rather inconsequential person would go to prison instead of Jean Valjean.  After all, he was a mayor, a good businessman, a loving rescuer of Fantine and Cosette.  Wouldn’t God forgive his “mistakes”?  Instead, Jean Valjean has an incredible sense of Christian care, concern and duty.

The Thenardiers (Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) provide some comic relief.  Even in the book they are somewhat humorous characters but you realize that you can’t trust them for a second.  I love how Mr. Thenardier cannot remember Cosette’s name as he pretends that he is grieving the fact that she will no longer be under his care.

The book and movie could have ended here and been OK but there are many plots and subplots to come.  Again and again, the mercy of Jean Valjean emerges as he even rescues Javert as well as his future son-in-law.  I’ve always been disappointed with Javert.  He is so much like Judas Iscariot that his eventual suicide is almost not surprising.  If this were an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical you could almost wish that Javert would sing, “Could We Start Again, Please?”

I’ve never been familiar with the music in this screen adaptation of the musical and I confess that most of the music is still a little foreign to me.  I liked the movie and like the music and even purchased the soundtrack CD but so far nothing has jumped out as a classic.

Lots of reviews have questioned the “live music” approach of the producer instead of studio music being lip synched in the movie.  I think that was a good choice.  I also liked the close up shots while the songs were being sung.  I suspect, however, that the “on stage” presentation of this musical would be even better.  There’s something about seeing a drama/musical such as this “live.”

On the negative, I think that Jean Valjean should have aged just a bit, especially at the end of the movie.  Perhaps all of his years as a prisoner gave him permanent dark hair pigment.  Who’s to say?  Also, a break half way through the movie would have been good.  In today’s world we’re just not used to sitting through a movie quite this long.  Hey, these are pretty minor concerns.  See the movie/musical.  It was great!

"Prayers That Rout Demons and Break Curses" by John Eckhardt

This is really two books in one with the first book on prayers that rout demons.  The first book consists of many very short prayers based on familiar Scriptures.  The second book includes more explanation and then suggests longer prayers which are, once again, based on Scripture.

In confess that I am unfamiliar with John Eckhardt though I note from his web site that he has written more than 35 books and regularly does preaching and teaching tours and deals particularly with spiritual warfare and deliverance from demons.  One of the notes refers to him as an apostle.

I used Eckhardt's book for my personal devotions the last couple of months and I found his writings (especially in the second book) to  be very helpful.  The prayers aren't particularly unique but are simply a careful application of Scripture.  He addresses so many issues that are troubling our world and God's people.  What could be better than a book of Scriptural prayers?

I recommend this book (these books) as a fitting way to grow in your prayer life.

Movie Review of "The Odd Life of Timothy Green"

Movie Review of "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," a Disney movie.

This was a very moving and emotional movie, for sure.  The young couple (the Greens) are unable to have a baby and try everything and are very sad.  They accept their fate and go home for one last time and decide to brainstorm what kind of child their child would have been.  They write it on little pieces of paper and bury the papers in a wooden box in the garden.  During a special rain storm which only blankets their area (the rest of the area is caught in a drought) a boy appears and they name him Timothy Green.

They try to be good parents and love the boy but make some common mistakes.  He reaches out to others with a love and kindness and friendship that is so pure that it is somehow refreshing.  He has leaves on his legs and these leaves figure into the whole point of his life.  A slightly older girl befriends him and together they develop a special leaf garden.  The leaves also suggest a special invention that could save the town which is doomed to lose its pencil factory where his parents and most of the town work.

The movie is not meant to be sad or maudlin but it does suggest that even when parents are doing the best they can, their expectations for their children may not always be realistic or be the best.  The parents learn.  The grandparents learn.  The cousins learn.  The whole town learns.  The people at the adoption agency learn.  We learn if we listen and learn to care.

This is a great movie.  The ending is predictable, but oh, so sweet.  We loved it and it reminded us of our oldest son and the heady days when he joined our family by adoption.  You will not be disappointed.

Book Review of Classics Illustrated A Cultural History (Second Edition)

Book Review of "Classics Illustrated--A Cultural History" (Second Edition) by William B. Jones, Jr.

This is a fine book and it brings back lots of memories about my Classics Illustrated Collection.  I started buying Classics Illustrated comics about 1955 or so and ended up collecting about 85% of the 170 or so that were printed.  I really didn't collect them as items to be saved because "we" (my brothers and sisters...especially my brothers) read them over and over again.  For example, hen my brother, Bud, was in the hospital for many weeks after a major injury he enjoyed reading my Classics Illustrated Collection.  I even put them in binders that I created out of large old books.  I cut the covers off these books and put the Classic comics in them.

This book spends a great deal of time on the history of Gilberton publishing and its rise and fall.  It is the story story of the Kanter family's series of comics-style adaptations of literary masterpieces from 1941 into the 21st century.  It is a 70 year history.  Several times the series would end, only to be revived in a somewhat different format.

The book also features information on the careers and contributions of such artists as Alex A. Blum, Lou Cameron, George Evans, Henry C. Kiefer, Gray Morrow, Rudolph Palais, Norman Nodel and Louis Zansky.

There are large appendixes that help collectors to realize the extent of these publications around the world.

The book contains more than 300 illustrations.  I loved the book and it's one of those books that I can't give up. 

Book Review of "Dimiter" by William Peter Blatty

Book Review on “Dimiter” by William Peter Blatty.

I was a little surprised to purchase this book “Dimiter” by William Peter Blatty (Forge Book, copyright 2010) at the Dollar Store but even more surprised that it was far from a horror or demonic book.  Blatty is famous for authoring “The Exorcist” and the movie screenplay of the same book but he is also known for his humorous “John Goldfarb, Please Come Home” and his co-authoring of the Inspector Clouseau movie screenplay, “A Shot In the Dark.” 

This book, surprisingly, is a religious book about an assassin who takes the role of a priest and then finds that the priestly role begins to take over his life.  The narrative begins in Albania with the “hero” (Dimiter) being tortured to tell the truth.  When he, surprisingly, escapes his captors the book turns to Jerusalem and a series of circumstances which bring Dimiter and several other characters together—detective and otherwise.

I found the narrative very engaging and Blatty’s writing style varies from chapter to chapter.  I was especially intrigued by his interview dialogue in several chapters.  I would be interested in trying this style for our annual drama of the Last Supper.

The book grinds to a slow halt and, sadly, leaves the reader wanting more information and a more neat and clean ending.  The assassin turned priest truly has a religious experience but the ending might strain the market credulity of Hollywood film makers.

“Forget About Today” by Jon Friedman

 “Forget About Today” by Jon Friedman (A Perigee Book published by the Penguin Group, New York, August 2012, $15.00).  A self-help book about the music and genius of Bob Dylan.  Who would have thought that this would be the basis for a book by a business author who writes and blogs for a variety of business related publications?

I received the book in the mail from Amazon.com on Monday, August 27 and finished it Wednesday evening, August 29.  It helped that I had time because of a cross country trip by bus and plane but the book is that good.  It is worth reading.

Its subtitle is, “Bob Dylan’s genius For (Re)Invention, Shunning the Naysayers, and Crating a Personal Revolution.”  What more can I say.  That really describes the book.  In chapter after worshipful chapter Friedman praises Dylan’s ability to keep working, to rise against boredom, to ignore advice when his instincts say otherwise, to collaborate, to not look back, and to live beyond the expectations of others.

Friedman keeps going back to several Dylan decisions—to walk off the Ed Sullivan Show when asked not to do a certain song, to go electric when he saw the leveling off of folk music, to refuse to become a dissident leader, to continue the “Never Ending Tour” in venues which are much smaller than what most Rock stars desire, and to refuse dozens and dozens of interviews.  In fact, Dylan even refused to talk to Friedman as Friedman prepared this book.  However, Friedman quotes extensively from Dylan’s books, music, friends and co-workers.

I loved the book except for one chapter in which Friedman bows to our world’s insistence on throwing in some four letter words.  The quotes in that unfortunate chapter, even if they are true and accurate, would be better left unreported. They detract from the author’s point.

I suspect that famous self-help gurus will recommend this book or recommend that people spend time emulating Bob Dylan.  It couldn’t hurt!

Book Review on "Germania" by Brendan McNally

I bought this book at a dollar at Dollar Greentree.  I know.  I know.  I hardly need to buy anymore books.  This book intrigued me a bit because of its premise of a brief German "Reich" for a few weeks which follows the fall of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler.  Admiral Karl Donitz was the successor of Hitler and the "Fuhrer" for about 3 weeks.  He ended up serving 10 years in prison for his war crimes.  This part of the book is true and many of the characters in the book are real characters woven in with a historical novel on the four Flying Magical Loerber Brothers who are far from real.  Actually, I found the Loerber brothers very distracting as I read this book.  Albert Speer and his attempts to thwart Hitler's final orders to annihilate German culture and history are an interesting read and (as far as I understand) are the true part of story.  Speer ended up being tried as a war criminal and served his time of 20 years despite the protests of many that Speer should be regarded as a tragic hero for preserving many things in Germany in the final days of World War II.

Getting back to the Jewish Loerber brothers, I found that their "antics" were puzzling and would be puzzling to many Jewish people.  The main brother, Ziggy, strangely enough, is a Jewish Nazi sympathizer if such a thing is possible. The other brothers, Manni (an assassin, Franzi (a triple agent) and Sebastian (who works for the Blood of Israel) have powers that are a bit unbelievable.

Many other true historical characters grace the pages and the history buff will be pleased with many of the references.  At the end the author spends several pages telling the "rest of the story" on the real characters in the book.

However, was it a good book?  Well, I think it was worth the read...but as I said above, I would have been OK if the Loerber Brothers would have had less dialogue and narrative.  If you like World War II books you will probably enjoy it.  I did.