I'm back from the obscure land of "Christmas Break"

Several people, including my beloved little sister, have been on my case to resume blogging. I'm sorry I haven't felt like saying very much recently. I've had a few thoughts, but just haven't had the motivation to get them onto the screen.

It's been quite the journey the past several weeks. First of all, Florida is beautiful and I highly recommend it during the holiday season. Especially if you have wonderful relatives who open their home to you and provide an awesome Christmas! David, Katie, and Bill - you blessed me beyond the telling of it. :-) This has also been a very introspective Christmas for me. Lots of time alone and lots of journaling. There have been a few very difficult watershed moments for me. It's hard to make a tough decision and then torture yourself wondering if you made the right one. I realize that was as clear as mud -- but that's all you get. :-)

As a result of the introspection, I haven't consumed much media over the break. I did see three movies. I just realized that I forgot to talk about Narnia. Crazy girl, what were you thinking?? How could I have forgotten to talk about this movie? I think that I was anticipating this film even more than The Lord of the Rings. The Chronicles of Narnia was the series that I read over and over as a child. There's a line in You've Got Mail where Meg Ryan's character says that what you read when you are child becomes part of you in a way that no other books do. I think this is true. Narnia was a place that I visited a lot (and I continue to go there every few years.) As a result -- this movie needed to get it right. For the most part, it did. I have a few criticisms, but they are not huge. The biggest disappointment was that my favorite conversation was eliminated from the script. When the children are at the Beaver's house they talk about Aslan and how he is not a tame lion. He is good, but not safe. That is probably my favorite page of the whole series. God is good, but not safe. He's not a tame lion. The script tries to pull this in with a quick mention by Mr. Tumnus at the end, but it doesn't really say the same thing. Also - a friend pointed out that Aslan should be much more frightening. I agree. The books often mention that he is terrifying, especially at first glance. Although he is kind, he is definitely fierce. I loved how the Beavers were portrayed. That was the part of the story that I was most worried about. I just couldn't imagine it working. However, they might have been my favorite part. One last quibble - I wish there had been blood on the stone table when Aslan is killed. That's sort of the whole point of the metaphor... but, it's a children's movie and I understand why the director made that choice. I can't wait for Prince Caspian! (Christmas 2007)

I also saw The Family Stone and Rumor Has It. Rumor has It was sort of "meh." It was okay, but I certainly wasn't blown away. The Family Stone, on the other hand, was much better than I was expecting. It was deeper than your average rom-com and had some wonderfully quirky characters and some actual character development. Nice choice for Sarah Jessica Parker's first movie after Sex and the City.