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Destroying_Strongholds
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Name: Jason
Gender: Male
Interests: My walk with Jesus Christ, Debate, Speech, Politics, Philosophy, Apologetics, Football, Writing, History, and Political Science.
Expertise: I'm working on becoming an expert in debate, speech, apologetics, political science, and philosophy. ;-) I am a semi-expert on MagLev 2000, but contact either Dr. James Powell or Dr. Gordon Danby if you want to get in touch with a real MagLev 2000 expert. :-)
Occupation: Student debater
Industry: Homeschool
Message: message me
Member Since:
8/22/2007
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| Hehe...let's see how this works. Rest assured, I'm not high or insane or anything, just was feeling a little weird tonight. This is the result. Ermm....
Anyway, this is also pretty crazy funny too: a mashup of audio from the Dark Knight trailer put to clips from both Toy Story movies. Pretty awesome stuff.
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| One of the jokes at Summit camp was that we wouldn't be able to just
watch a movie anymore after we heard their lectures on culture,
entertainment, and worldviews. You start identifying worldviews and
perspectives woven into the movie as well as analyzing logical
implications. Well, in fact, I've been doing this for a while, so when
I watched The Dark Knight yesterday, my neurons kicked into 5th gear
both during and after the movie.
After two days of judging and chilling at PHC debate camp with some
really cool R9 peoples, a group of us went to see The Dark Knight
including my mom, Mrs. Deibler, Katie, Kelly, Beka, Hannah, Josh,
Andrew, Dan, Tim, and I. Pretty cool group.
In regards to the movie itself, in some ways it far exceeded my
expectations and in others it fell well short. In the end, if I had to
describe it in three words, they'd probably be:
Brutal.
Intense.
Draining.
In other words, if you want to get away for a few hours and relax
during a movie, the last movie you should go see is The Dark Knight.
For 2.5 hours, its intensity will rivet you to the edge of your seat
(if you don't become overwhelmed and leave the theater). From the
beginning to the end, the movie feels like it is in constant climax and
has an ever-present grimness with very few light moments to ease the
tension.
This movie is for mature viewers who realize they're in for something
really serious and intense. They also have to be ready to think about
this movie and the messages it sends or they are going to miss it. If
you are impressionable and are scared easily, this is also not your
movie at all. Keep away from it like the plague.
SPOILER WARNINGS: The rest of this review is more designed for people
who have seen the movie. I couldn't really write a meaningful review
without specific references. If you don't want to read any spoilers
before you go, read the rest after you go.
In some ways, this movie exceeded my expectations and in others, it fell short. Some of the ways it impressed me were:
1. Acting. There were no weak links in this movie whatsoever. All of
the acting was top notch and completely believable. I really liked
Gordon's role (played by Oldman) and his increased significance in this
movie.
2. Complex, but well-told storyline with clear conflict. Nolan is a
genius in developing an interesting plot with great twists and then
putting it on screen. He's just a genius period.
As portrayed by Ledger, the Joker in this movie was probably the most
depraved and chilling portrayals of evil I have ever seen on screen
while Batman was probably the most responsible and sacrificial servants
of justice I have every seen on screen. The contrast between the two
characters could not have been more diametrically opposed.
During a conversation with Bruce about the Joker, Alfred told Bruce
that "Some men just want to watch the world burn." This definitively
described the essence of the Joker's character which is one of the
reasons I feel the evil he portrayed was so chilling. The Joker's sole
pleasure, his sole purpose for existence, was to destroy people in ways that brought out their hate and selfishness before
they died. At one point, the Joker says in his psychopathic freak
voice, "It's not about money. It's about sending a message." In another
scene, he further defines his demonic character when he says "I use a
knife because guns are too quick. Otherwise, you can't savor all the
emotions. You know who people are in their last moments." That was the
Joker: he not only committed heinous acts, but he did them to bring out
the very worst in people...for his own sadistic pleasure. That's the
kind of evil that Heath Ledger brought alive, at times to a very
uncomfortable level, in The Dark Knight.
One thing I liked about Batman Begins was that the story began with the
criminals firmly in control of Gotham. When Batman showed up in Gotham,
he used his skills, technology, mind, and freakish symbol to destroy
criminal strongholds and put the criminals on the run. From the very
beginning of The Dark Knight, the Joker is the new freak in Gotham who
has the edge on everyone at every turn. Though I did not appreciate the
constantly depressing feeling this gave the movie, I did recognize that
in our temporal state, there will be many times where those who stand
up for justice will be outgunned and outnumbered no matter what they
do. I did appreciate this aspect of the film in that it represented
reality.
But what I really liked was Gordon and Batman's commitment to fighting
for justice. No matter how grim things looked, they were not going to stop fighting
the Joker. Sure, Bruce wants to stop being Batman, but unlike the
self-serving whimsically immature Spider-man, he will not stop until he
can be sure that Gotham will be safe without Batman. He's a powerful,
but reluctant, hero who will gladly give up his power when the time is
right. Even though his crime fighting causes great losses to himself,
his friends, and his reputation, his sense of responsibility will not
let him stop. I find that admirable to the umpteenth power.
When pitted against each other, these two characters represent one of
the most significant cinematic clashes between righteousness and
wickedness I have ever seen.
3. The ending. When Batman told Gordon his plan to take responsibility
for the murders caused by Harvey Dent during his rampage as Two Face, I
was shocked. Really shocked. But the more I thought about it, the more
I realized how amazing of an ending it was.
As Batman was shown running off into the shadows and then speeding away
on his Batpod with the intense music playing in the background, the
speech that Gordon gave defined the essence of Batman. He said
(paraphrase) "He becomes what he needs to be in order to defend
Gotham...because he can handle it." After all the terrorism of the
Joker, Batman correctly realizes that the people of Gotham could not
handle their best and most well-recognized face of crime fighting
(Dent) descending to the same level of evil as the Joker. They are
still too much under the fear of the Joker and Gotham's recent history
of being ruled by crime lords.
But even though the people of Gotham could not have handled such a sour
twist to Dent's character after all of the terror of the Joker, Batman can handle that same sour twist on his own reputation.
He can take the heartache of becoming a fugitive from the law. He can
take the negative press coverage. He can go alone. He can sacrifice
himself and his reputation. He can do all this because he is committed
to an ideal which transcends himself and he knows what the real truth
is: he really did nothing wrong. In the end, he can look at himself in
the mirror and know that he is doing what's best for Gotham and its
people even though they themselves don't realize it.
Man, that's guts and sacrifice and the more I thought about it, the
more I loved it. All of that was captured in Oldman's speech and it
made for a shocking, but powerful ending.
4. Thought-provoking. As you can probably tell from the above comments,
this movie caused me to think a lot. I appreciate that in a film and I
was glad that Nolan caused this movie to pose a lot of very important
questions: How do we fight an evil that finds its sole cause for
existence and pleasure in destruction? What do we do when the chips are
down and there seemingly is no hope? Are people simply animals that
live by instinct and a desire for self-preservation? Or are they moral
beings? (The cruise ship scene was brilliantly amazing. When the
convict threw the detonator out of the window...wow.)
5. The abduction of the corrupt Chinese businessman and the semi-truck flip over. You cannot get cooler than that.
So in what ways did the movie fall short for me?
1. Violence. For a movie with absolutely no blood spilled in any of the
scenes, the violence was still extremely gruesome and realistic. In
Batman Begins, there was some martial arts violence and a few
explosions, but nothing at all gruesome. The Dark Knight was completely
different. Dent's half-burned face was utterly hideous. I could stomach
it, but they could have made it less grotesque and still made it
realistic and fearsome. The sick follow up to the Joker's line: "Let me
show you a little magic trick" was completely unnecessary. I've heard
that in many theaters, people actually laughed and applauded at this
scene and I say shame on them for such a positive response to pure wickedness. Thankfully, this was not the case at the theater where I saw the movie.
2. The constantly dark feel of the movie. I knew beforehand that the
Joker was going to be evil and I knew that Batman was in for a major
struggle, but I wasn't expecting complete domination by the Joker for
almost the whole movie. Almost nothing Batman or Gordon did (except for
flipping the semi...what a scene!) caught the Joker by surprise...he'd
even planned to be captured by the police and still work out his evil
while in captivity. When someone like him is in control for almost the
entire film, the movie can only have a depressing feeling.
Adding to this, many times, the Joker talked about and implied very
violent things, though they weren't displayed on camera. But the
combined creepiness of his descriptions with his implications made for
a few very disturbing scenes because it caused the viewer to imagine
what he was talking about. Whenever the Joker was on screen, it was
like watching pure evil come alive...and that became very discomforting
because it wasn't being defeated for more than 2 hours until the very
end with the cruise ship scene and Batman taking responsibility for
Dent's actions. Even then, the fight is still ongoing.
I prefer heavier movies, but even this was high up on the intensity
scale for me. A few more victories or at least a few more signs of
weakness by the Joker would have helped better to at least show that
there were chinks in his armor. The concept of "defeating the Joker"
didn't even become a possibility till the end.
3. The public's fascination with the Joker. This ties in with my
earlier point about violence. People actually laughed and applauded
when the Joker did his "disappearing pencil" trick. Why? They are
enamored with "Heath Ledger's amazing performance" and they forget what
he's performing even though it's right in front of their face on big
screen. I don't get how people are so stupid.
People are coming out of this movie saying that Heath Ledger laid down
a performance that goes down as one of the best in all time. In terms
of acting quality, that's true. To play a character like that so
convincingly took a lot of acting ability. While I recognize that, I do
not at all see why I should revel in the performance because we shouldn't separate quality from content.
I found myself hating the Joker from the beginning. I left the theater
disgusted at his role. And that's the feeling everyone should have
towards the Joker's character when they leave the movie. It shouldn't
be "That was Heath's best performance" but "Man, I really hate that
guy."
Yet the public is practically going nuts over the Joker. You'd think he
was the hero of the movie. People applaud his wickedness, they laugh at
his violence, and they love his malevolence. What's wrong? The Joker is
not meant to be admired in the slightest and people who come out of the
theater with any sort of admiration for his performance have some
serious rethinking to do.
Though Heath's talent might deserve (and get) a posthumous Oscar, I
hope it doesn't for the reasons laid out above. People are confusing
Ledger's acting skills with the admirability of the character he
portrays. I can't say enough how dangerous that is.
This last point is not really a fault point of the movie itself, but
the lack of discernment in movie goers. I believe the Joker's portrayal
of evil was too uncomfortable at times...and that is the movie's fault.
But it's always the viewers fault when they choose to admire evil
that's depicted on screen. If the evil is even more grotesque and
unadmirable, more shame is accrued by those viewers who admire its
portrayal.
So what did I think overall?
I liked it, but in a different way that I've liked any other movie and
definitely in a different way from Batman Begins. There are some
powerful themes in the movie, including how Batman always takes the
toughest hits and always emerges as the most resilient of Gotham's
crime fighters. Responsibility, sacrifice, never-say-die, and the idea
that humans are moral creatures (not animals living by instinct) are
major themes clearly present in the movie. Batman's role only receives
praise from me.
But the overarching feel of the movie were the three words I started
this review with: brutal, intense, and draining. I've probably watched
Batman Begins like 40 times (no kidding)...it is a great movie. Even
though I believe the Dark Knight is also a great movie in a different
way, it''s a movie that can only be seen from time to time because it
is so intense. Therefore, you have to actually be ready for it...if you
just want to be entertained, stay away from it. For some people, they
might have the exact same lists of positives and negatives that I have,
but the negatives sway them to not like the movie and I completely
respect that decision. If you've thought about it and you don't like
this movie, I don't blame you at all.
In summary, if you watch The Dark Knight, be ready to think, but most
importantly, be ready to use that thinking for discernment. This is a
movie for mature viewers who can differentiate between good acting and
a demonic portrayal of evil, for viewers who can recognize the truthful
themes of the film without getting swallowed up by the evil and grim
feel of the movie. It is a masterpiece of movie making quality, acting,
and philosophical conflict, but it's not one to be taken lightly...at
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That's a xanga update two days in a row!!!
I'm on a roll that will end tomorrow. 
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| It's been awhile since I've seen a new movie and just LOVED it. Or should I say, it's just that those types of movies are few and far between for me. Don't get me wrong, I've seen plenty of enjoyable movies that don't really have anything inherently bad about them (Ratatouille, Greatest Game Ever Played, Glory Road, the new Narnia movie), they just weren't AMAZING, in my opinion. Flyboys is pretty cool...probably a notch above some of those other movies. Of course, I've also seen all the junk like Spiderman 2, Spiderman 3, POTC 2, and POTC 3. (Forgive me if you like those movies...I don't.) 
A few movies, like Amazing Grace, World Trade Center, Luther, and Batman Begins are up there in the AMAZING category.
I think I will add I Am Legend to that category. I finally saw it yesterday and seriously, I was floored. Wish I'd seen it sooner. This is a very well made movie. I can understand why some people might think it's slow and they might not the non-linear story telling, but those are about the only possibly negatives. Oh, I guess some people might think it's scary too. If you don't like zombies or are freaked out by really fast and freaky images, you might have a little trouble with this one. I personally thought that the violence and startling scenes were well placed and enhanced the story. But the acting is great (Will Smith does a fantastic job) and there's a clear conclusion with a theme of hopefulness that sometimes is missing in modern sci fi movies.
But yeah, this movie definitely goes under the AMAZING category for me.
Hopefully The Dark Knight will join it in July. 
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| Wow, I haven't posted on xanga in a long time. It therefore follows that I haven't posted a tournament recap in a while. I guess I'll go ahead and break the mold.
On a general observation, my last season in NCFCA is moving too quickly. Liberty marked my last practice tournament in NCFCA. Regent marked my last national open in NCFCA. Now I'm quickly nearing the end of my career in regional tournaments as we have completed FASD and Vector in the last several weeks. Impact, NVCC, and Regionals will be my last three tournaments within this amazing region and I'm going to take in every minute of them.
Anyways, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the Vector tournament last weekend. Big congrats to Morgan for ending my 20 round win streak in round 5. I actually haven't done any preparation since Regent apart from blocking a grand total of three evidence cards, so it was coming sooner or later, especially with Morgan in hot pursuit. I plan to be more ready for Impact though (trying to defend my title there from last year ). I'll take NVCC off for LD and focus on speech which will include apologetics and...a surprise. I plan to be back in LD shape for regionals and then the plan is to prep like crazy for nationals with the other R9ers who qualify. I would like to get a day where we could possibly meet with Travis (Luke too, if he's available) before nats. But seriously, I will probably be locked in my room for a week before we leave for nationals, preparing for LD.
My main goal for Vector was to do well in apologetics. It's been a goal of mine ever since regionals last year when I broke to semi-finals. I did quite poorly in that round, stumbling over my words and I didn't feel very clear. After the tournament, I felt badly about failing to do my best in apologetics, so I've committed much more time this year to preparing cards and studying the topics, not to win, but to do my best. I almost broke at Regent, but I bombed my third round, dropping from 7th seed to 20-something (according to my dad who was in tab). So I was really motivated to finally get it right at Vector. I'm thankful that God gave me topics that I could handle and fairly smooth speaking and clear thinking. It felt good to break to finals again and it was amazing standing up there with Dan as they ran down the finalists and he and I were the last two there. First place wasn't what I was expecting, but I'm thankful that God granted me that as well. Congratulations to everyone who broke in apologetics. I think we'll be seeing Cara, Peter, and Lydia with us in finals again pretty soon so I'm not necessarily planning on winning again at Impact, NVCC, or regionals.
Back in LD, I was glad to watch Letitia finally "get it." I have to admit that it did feel weird sitting with Morgan watching the final round of LD (I was expecting at least one of us to be debating ), but nevertheless, I'm glad Matt and Letitia got some time in the spotlight for once. I know for a fact though that Morgan will be priming her weapons for Impact, and though my big prep sessions will be before regionals and nationals, I do plan on being more prepared for Impact.
For pete's sake though...if Morgan and I don't get in the opposite brackets and debate each other in a final round this year, that would be really disappointing. If it doesn't happen at Impact, Regionals will be our last chance since I'm not doing LD at NVCC. I'll probably be coaching my policy debaters and I'll try to get in on a round or two of LD prelims.
The highlight of the tournament (outside of the others mentioned) came on Friday night...and it was all about a different tournament: the Houston Open. A few of us dudes (Peter, AndrewO, AndrewH, Dan, and some others) were waiting to get info on breaks to double octafinals in Houston and most importantly find out if Gregory and McNair broke. So I called the cell # McNair had given me and Mrs. Nichols picked up. We talked for about a minute or two and then she said that they were just about to announce breaks and that McNair would get back to me. So we hang up and I put the phone on the table and we said a short prayer for Gregory and McNair. After that, we all sat around staring at the phone, just waiting for it to ring and talking about how we hoped Escobar/Nichols made it. After about 15 minutes, the phone rang and we all hushed as I reached forward and picked up the phone. The conversation went like this:
Me: "Hey McNair." (With a sense of eager anticipation)
McNair: "Hey Jason." (It sounded like he was smiling)
Me: "What's up?" (Same anticipation)
McNair: "We broke."
Me: "Yes!" (Pumped fists too)
At this, the other guys all broke out cheering really loud. I said, "Hold on McNair!" and put the phone on speaker. Dan and I did the famous "1-2-3" count and we gave McNair a big "HUZZAH!!!!!" over the phone. Up till now, the rest of the people in the gym looked at us like: "What's going on?" Peter announced, "Gregory and McNair broke at the Houston Open!" Everyone realized what we were going nuts about and cheered with us.
No rules against huzzahing over the phone.
Oh man, I'm going to miss all this when it's over. Thankfully, I still have three more regional tournaments and one more national tournament before I "hang up my cleats." I'm going to try to make the most of what I can out of those last tournaments.
Btw, I was looking through my hard drive the other day, and I found the old Annandale video by Patrick McKay. I watched it again and it brought so many good memories back. There's a lot of great people on there that I miss and it's awesome seeing some of our now amazing competitors back in their younger days. It takes a little while to buffer if you click the link, but I think it's worth it. There's also a lower rez one on windows media player (same sound quality) and there's a lower sound quality version that he's uploaded on youtube.
Looking forward to Impact.
God Bless.
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