If I look back the past few years, I’d be hard-pressed to name an action actress more badass than Kate Beckinsale. Yes, the lead of romance movies like Serendepity and Pearl Harbor. Now, after a short absence, she’s back in the franchise that launched her action career. She reprises her role as Selene, a vampire “death dealer” (that means exactly what it says). The story is frankly ho-hum: The humans found out about vampires and lycans and, with the help of UV flashlights and silver bullets, set out exterminating them. Fast-forward 12 years later and Selene awakens from cryo-stasis, freed by a mysterious benefactor and soon after escapes from captivity. She later finds her liberator, not her mate as she expected, but her progeny. She also finds a world where humans are still vigorously hunting the remnants of the vampires but strangely less so the lycans. Digging through the mystery, she finds a powerful pack of lycans planning on harvesting her daughter as a source for biological fixer-uppers. That’s a big no-no and she proceeded to shoot and slice through the lycans in the coolest, most impossible, matter-of-fact way possible. Did I say Kate Beckinsale is badass? Hell, yeah!
It was uncanny, the similarity to my situation. You could change the names and certain details and it would be like it is about Michelle and me. There are many things to learn from the movie. But the top three for me are:
- Change begins with us. If we must wait for others to change before we do, then we can’t answer the question: When will they change? And maybe we never will. But if we take it upon ourselves to change, we can, we can do so now.
- Love is unconditional. We should not look for reciprocation. We should not stop loving because of rejection, or perceived rejection. The love of Jesus is for everyone, he gave his life for everyone, for those who accepts Him and those who rejects Him. So must we. I love Jeanne unconditionally but I was blind to the fact that I should love Michelle the same way.
- Marriage is a covenant. During the wedding, I vowed to be true to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. To love her and honor her all the days of my life. It is how God intended it to be. And by making my vow, I made a commitment to her and to God. As soon as I saw this, I put back my wedding ring on and I resolved that though I have stumbled, I will pick myself up and I will strive towards how He intends it to be.
Fireproof is highly-recommended watch for everyone. Through it, God provided me guidance. I’m sure it will do the same for others, too.
Hanna is a spy thriller and growing-of-age drama. Sort of like Leon but different, quite different. Erik (Eric Bana) is a widowed ex-CIA officer living in remote isolation with his daughter Hanna. He is raising Hanna to prepare her for going out into the world. And that world just happens to be a worst case scenario. Toss in shades of the Grimms’ fairy tales (e.g. Cate Blanchett is “The Witch”) and the almost surreal (watch it) and you have a quite an interesting movie. The action choreography needs a bit of work but is quite passable.