Marvel and Ant-Man 3

I saw AntMan on Thursday and it was... fine -as so many things have been from Marvel of late.  I enjoyed the flick, had a few laughs, munched my popcorn.  I was entertained for those 2 hours.

But nothing in that movie made me want to go out and grab another ticket.

I have watched the scene below a dozen times.  It is an intense scene.  Dialogue and story are at the forefront and the actors are bringing it.

There are lots of comic movies now that demonstrate such scenes.  Batman and the Joker talking in the jail during Dark Knight.  Civil War.  Winter Soldier.  Logan.  X-Men.  Superman: The Movie.

Scenes where characters are talking about things that matter.

That is what gets me right back to the turnstile line after exiting the ride.

I was rewatching Robocop again today... cheesy... but so many great lines.

There was nothing like that in Ant-Man... no scenes I want to head back to the theater for.  No lines to ruminate over again and again.

Almost every scene of dialogue was just segueing us to the next CGI MacGuffin chase.

There was a lot to like about the latest Antman.  I would give it a B... but that seems to be the best Marvel is doing lately.

Potato Math

I usually don't buy kitchen items that do only one thing.  

We have a small kitchen... so, space is a premium.  Utensils have to earn their keep.

Generally speaking, I wouldn't buy an item like this... but they had it on such a good sale, I would not feel guilty if I used it once and threw it away.

However, combined with my air fryer, I use this thing all the time.

It makes perfect fries.

But this is dangerous.

Here is what I have discovered.

I would never, typically, down 4 or five potatoes.

However, press them through the fry-maker.  Add a dash of oil and spice.  Give them 16 minutes in the air fryer.  Add some fry sauce.

All of a sudden, I can put down 4-5 potatoes in a flash.

I thought the air fryer... and the fry cutter... were a step toward health.

I am now questioning these decisions.

Me, Me, Me

Scrolling my newsfeed on Sunday morning often brings up a live church service in progress or a link to one.  Today I listened for a moment.  The same stuff I used to hear... but a critical ear changes so many things.

For example, this morning, the pastor quoted Oswald Chambers, who said that believers are often so devoted to their ideas about Jesus that they miss devotion to Jesus himself.

But all we have are ideas.  Believers can read the same text but walk away with very different ideas.  There are literally tens of thousands of Christian denominations.

So what does a statement, by a Pastor, encouraging a believer to doubt their ideas about Jesus accomplish?  Only the most open denominations would actually guide a congregant to deconstruct their beliefs... and this congregation was clearly Evangelical.

So what then?

It tills the ground for the Pastor's ideas about Jesus to be planted.  Whether explicitly or implicitly, the goal is to get the congregation on his page.  Like Smith in the 2nd Matrix movie, church leadership (with few exceptions) wants to replace your code with theirs.  Your ideas about God with their ideas.

And for many congregants, they understand that is the price of membership.  But just be clear that your ideas about God are being replaced with their ideas... but they are just ideas... and theirs carry no more inherent weight than yours.