Band of Brothers

I treasure my remark to my grandson who asked, "Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?" Grandpa said, "No... but I served in a company of heroes. "
-Mike Ranney, Veteran Paratrooper

Jobina and I have been watching the HBO series "Band of Brothers" this past week on DVD. The series follows the story of Easy Company, paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division. It chronicles them as they begin training, engage the enemy in Europe, and eventually see the end of WWII. It is gritty, intense, violent, graphic, and coarse - yet I found it reflective and inspiring. What makes it special is that before each of the 10 episodes (the series took three years and over 110 million dollars to film) you get small snippets of interviews with some of the very veterans who are portrayed in the film. At the last episode you get to finally find out which veterans are who as they are finally named. The fact that the people portrayed were real people and that you get to see who they are adds a realism seldom seen in such movies. Very compelling.

Today as I was dropping Riker off at the bus stop before school, I was standing with a grandpa who was doing the same thing I was doing. He reminded me of these older veterans and for perhaps the first time ever I thought of myself as an old man and liked the image. At the end of Band of Brothers there are extended interviews and documentaries with the veterans and you can see the comradery and brotherhood that they still share - decades later. They were bonded for life, the kind of bond that is forged in combat and the shared experience of something both traumatic and heroic - and I was jealous of them. I too want that. I too want to be part of a band of brothers. Watching and reflecting on the stories cemented and explained a heart's desire that I always knew I had within me. I've always been excited about the idea of "team" but now I can finally articulate it.

And it doesn't have to be band of literal warriors. In Bill Hybels' book, Courageous Leadership, he talks about how Billy Graham's team went all over the world for many years on their mission to share the good news about Christ. These men were so bonded together from their ministry adventures that they too became like brothers. When it came time for them to retire they loved each other so much that they all built houses in the same rural area so that even in retirement they would be close to each other.

What makes that powerful bonding so enduring? I believe two thing: the shared experiences must be intense and they must have a noble purpose or mission. I've talked to many men who after watching Lord of The Rings desire to be part of a fellowship on a great mission - a mission that is crucial and at great personal risk. They too want to be part of a band of brothers. I found myself praying last night that God would bless me with the opportunity to create or be part of such a group. Although the veterans from Easy Company were severely traumatized by their war experiences they also were given a great gift - the gift of true brotherhood. And that is no small blessing.

Old Movie Review: Air Force One (1997)

I’ve toyed with the idea of doing movie "reviews" - for older movies instead of newly released ones, so here goes!

After last night's group meeting Jobina went down to our old movie vault and came back with Air Force One (Harrison Ford, Glenn Close). “I just didn’t feel like a romantic movie tonight,” she explained. I silently gave thanks.

Honestly the premise of Air Force One doesn’t seem like it should (on paper) keep my attention. After all it’s simply that the president of the USA is hijacked on his own big plane. Somehow though with a mix of action, patriotism, bravery, and the excellent acting of Harrison Ford, the movie actually ends up being quite good. I had planned to go to bed early but couldn’t bring myself to leave the living room. I rate it 4.4 ninja stars out of 5.

The movie is about a principled, strong president who in the words of his daughter is “a great man.” As I watched I thought about this idea; the ideal of an incorruptible, inspiring leader. Do we have any such great men today? Honestly, I don’t think so. We have (pardon the pun) a few good men in leadership, but that is it. So what makes a great man? I think he is one who (like Ford’s character) is a man of the correct ideals who sticks to them, never wavering. Unfortunately us regular, real people all waver. As I put myself into the position of a man who could save thousands of lives or save his families I found myself wavering. But the best men, the great men, do not waver and that is why they are so rare. In the Bible there were a few; Daniel comes to mind. David was good, but David compromised. Daniel didn’t. Daniel was truly what I would consider a great man.

People will follow a man of passion and ideals and in this we must be careful. The movie reminded me that following a great man unquestioningly is tantamount to idolatry. We put our trust in the leader instead of God. We long to find The Great Commander in Chief to put our faith in. For Christ followers, there can be only one - Christ himself. I am glad for the good men and the ultra rare great man and I want to be inspired and challenged to be like them. But only in Christ will I find The Great Commander who is worthy of my full loyalty, submission, and honor. Anyway, these are just some of my random thoughts after watching this great older flick!

Update: Harrison Ford chosen in poll as best movie President!

Kung Fu Trinity

"The Sword of Heroes! Said to be so sharp you can get cut just by looking at - Ow!"
-Po, Kung Fu Panda

Today our family went to see a movie together: Kung Fu Panda. I wasn't expecting anything really impressive (as Rotten Tomatoes had rated it as mediocre) but I was pleasantly surprised. It was fantastic! If you like Asian movie fare, martial arts, and physical comedy (people in pain makes you snicker), you are almost guaranteed to like this movie. I rate it 4.4 ninja starts out of 5. Seriously, it made me smile, and it had some good psychological/inspirational stuff to make me think (although not too deeply). Here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet:



On the way home we were discussing the movie. We asked Trinity what she thought.

Trinity: Mommy, you know what? I know I'm good at kung fu!
Jobina: Really, how?
Trinity: When I hit myself it really, really hurts!

Another proud Westman moment. My favorite quote from the movie was near the beginning. Po the Panda (Jack Black) has a dream that he is a martial arts master who rescues a town from some bad guys. After beating them up, some of the locals remark in awe that he is so awesome (and so attractive). They ask how they can repay him:

Po: "There is no charge for awesomeness... or attractiveness."

Movie Review: Be Kind, Rewind

Jobina and I forgot to book a babysitter so I went out and picked up some fast food from nearby Dairy Delight and we watched "Be Kind, Rewind" with Jack Black. I had seen the trailer for this quirky looking film and always wanted to see it. The premise of the movie is simple; in order to save a VHS rental store where all the tapes have been magnetically erased, the two desperate employees tape their own versions of the film over the originals - and people love them! Some of the remakes are extremely funny (ie/ Robocop and Ghostbusters) and you follow that unlikely transformation of the video store into a new video watching phenomenon. Do they save the store? I won't ruin it for you (if you haven't seen it) but Jobina and I liked the ending quite a bit.

The movie starts slow and you wonder if it will ever get going. The humor is . . . different but a refreshingly understated Jack Black working with a great cast of characters with a gritty and poor backdrop is magical. Not everyone will like this movie (especially if you have no "deeper" tastes in movies) but if you open your mind up to it there's lots to appreciate. As a former drama director and occasional amateur movie guy, I really wanted to believe that what they were doing was possible. And maybe it is. And even if not, it was touching and entertaining all at the same time. I rate it 4.1 ninja stars out of 5.