As an indicator of how this summer has been apocalyptically wet, especially in the last few weeks, this story says it all. A colleague of mine was asked by his daughter, in that serious way five year olds ask questions:
“Is God trying to flood the world again?”
What can you say to that, given that all the evidence seems to point to it? I’m not sure that blaming the nonstop rain on climate change, or just the vagaries of nature, is any reassurance at all. I’m tempted to start building an ark in our back yard, just in case.
I was expecting the weather to break at the end of last week and us to be enjoying gorgeous sunshine by now. After all, the kids did go back to school at the end of last week. I thought that was how it worked - the kids go back into school and the rain stops, so they have to sit through their boring lessons wistfully gazing out of the window at the nice sunny weather. Or maybe that only ever happened when I was at school?
But the return of school hasn’t worked its magic, and we seem to be stuck in an unending grey rainscape, which may last all winter too. As this is going to be my first winter in three years au naturelle, with no drugs to lighten my mood, I’m going to investigate ways of staving off SAD. Maybe a therapeutic trip to sunnier climes is called for. I wonder if you can get one on the NHS?
Showing posts with label Noah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Noah. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Evan Almighty
I’d heard mixed reviews on this, although everyone said it wasn’t as good as Bruce Almighty. It isn’t, but don’t let that deter you from watching it. There are some clever moments – the number of times Gen 6:14 crops up to convince Evan that he is being called as a new Noah shows some imagination went into the script. The Go-4-Wood/Gopherwood delivery firm also stands out. But there’s nothing as funny as Bruce Almighty’s ‘Yahweh prayer-mail’, which is probably the best filmic joke for theologians ever.
As the leading man, Steve Carrell is passable. As an actor he can produce the goods when required, but his cause is hampered by the scripts over-reliance on slapstick and pratfalls. It’s not that Carrell can’t do slapstick, it’s just over-used in this film and gets tiresome. He’s ably supported by Lauren Graham, playing his long-suffering wife, Joan (Joan of Ark – geddit?).
The story itself is fairly predictable, which kind of sums up the problem with the film – it’s clearly aimed at kids and the blue-screened in animals lack reality. But there are enough moments to make you stop and go ‘hmmmm’. These vary in their heavy-handedness – one or two are real clunkers, but generally the saccharine is kept at bay and it’s nice to have something to think about later.
Jongudmund’s rating: If you go and see it with low expectations, you’ll probably get a lot out of it. 6.5/10
As the leading man, Steve Carrell is passable. As an actor he can produce the goods when required, but his cause is hampered by the scripts over-reliance on slapstick and pratfalls. It’s not that Carrell can’t do slapstick, it’s just over-used in this film and gets tiresome. He’s ably supported by Lauren Graham, playing his long-suffering wife, Joan (Joan of Ark – geddit?).
The story itself is fairly predictable, which kind of sums up the problem with the film – it’s clearly aimed at kids and the blue-screened in animals lack reality. But there are enough moments to make you stop and go ‘hmmmm’. These vary in their heavy-handedness – one or two are real clunkers, but generally the saccharine is kept at bay and it’s nice to have something to think about later.
Jongudmund’s rating: If you go and see it with low expectations, you’ll probably get a lot out of it. 6.5/10
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