Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

I love Dustin Hoffman. To be honest, I'm not sure how many movies I've seen him in. The most memorable part for the man has been that of Captain Hook in the movie Hook. (I guess he's the title role then.) I'm sure there's a lot of makeup on the guy but it's difficult to tell who the actor is. That - to me - is a high mark of a good actor or actress. Look to some of his smaller roles. You watch a movie starring Dustin Hoffman and you know it's him. But your brain quickly passes that fact and accepts that his character is real and alive and seperate from the actor.

Well, he did it again with Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. A delightful movie that gives nearly every plot point away in the trailer. But I didn't go to see the story as much as I went to see the characters: Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman, and the always dry Jason Bateman. (He was on "Little House on the Prarie," did you know?)

I was surprised. Actually, I was caught off gaurd. There were some very deep concepts about life and death running through the story that made me think, "This is rated 'G'?" I've always assumed a "G" rating allowed you to throw your kid in front of a TV for a half hour and then let them run in the yard. You start throwing "PG" on a movie when the kid starts asking, "Daddy, what's 'dying' mean?"

"Well, Evie. That's what you do to cloth to make it different colors. Or your aunt Camille does to hair."

Truly it was a great movie. All in all, worth the matinee or renting. The sound design was good (as any larger-budget movie should be) but not to the point that you need the high-def speakers and theater surround-sound. The drama was fantastic. The comedy was clean and funny. The story kept moving. The journey was about life in both the real and fantastic worlds. The themes of faith and belief rang true.

So there you go. I hope to throw more of these up as time goes on. I've yet to really see or do things that send me to the computer to write about. But movies...

I am a critic. What can I say. I like to see and I like to respond.

300

300. I have now seen the movie twice. The second time was better for me. The first time I watched it was with Julie. The second time was with other men. (Can I get a little grunt from the back?) Perhaps the viewing audience I shared the experience with swayed my view.

Doubt it.

I would have liked or disliked the movie as much as I did the first time regardless. I pressed play expecting 300 to have a story -- a plot -- a building anticipation for the battle. Instead I saw mostly-naked men jump out of the woodwork and start banging on things with shields and swords.

My artistic side kicked in. "What is your motivation?"

The second viewing was much more balanced. I began to see the symbolism and the tale of virtue. Here is a small army that has trained for nothing but battle. Why should there be a build up to fighting? It's what they do before they learn to walk.

What inspired me most was not the willingness or ability to fight for their freedom but the willingness and ability to die for their freedom.

Living largely in a Christian surrounding and being a Christ-follower myself, I find it rare to meet someone who is willing to fight or even die for their faith ... for their freedom. Why is that? What is the motivation for not fighting or dying? Or is there a lack of motivation to fight?

Jesus calls us to lay down our lives for him. Granted, as Paul says in Romans 12 we are to "offer [ourselves] as living sacrifices" -- that is a living dead thing. Not a zombie, but a living being - I mean really living.

I find myself inspired by a movie I at first disliked in comparison with a section of scripture I have often misinterpreted. I suppose real living comes from a continual awareness and readiness to die.