More Than One Lesson

Meghan Witzke is a graphic designer who grew up in North Carolina and graduated from NC State University in May 2010 with degrees in Graphic Design and English: Language, Writing and Rhetoric. She became a Christian her sophomore year of college in 2005. Meghan was first introduced to the movie industry after working as a designer at an entertainment marketing firm during the summer of 2008. Since then she’s worked as a freelance concepter, coming up with ideas for movie ad campaigns. She finally moved to Los Angeles in June and is currently working as a freelance graphic designer, writer, and concepter.

Meghan’s website:
www.meghanwitzke.com

In this episode, Tyler discusses what we can learn from Lee Unkrich’s Toy Story 3.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN
00:00:44- Intro
00:02:55- Toy Story 3
00:46:40- Falling Down
01:08:43- Episode wrap-up

*correction: Tyler incorrectly attributes the quote “Where’s your Messiah now?” to the film The Bible, when it is in fact from The Ten Commandments. We regret this error.

TITANIC (1997)
Written and directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Gloria Stuart

James Cameron’s Titanic is a film almost as storied as the ill-fated ocean liner itself. It tied the record for most Academy Awards 1, it launched the careers of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and until Avatar, it was the highest-grossing movie of all time 2. In my own personal studies of film, I made it a point to see every film to win Best Picture, and by 2005 I had – every one but Titanic. Even into my twenties I was still holding the grudge of a fifteen-year old, furious that any movie would have the audacity to beat Star Wars at the box office. Recently, I finally caved so that I could bring my clearly invaluable opinions to you, the reader. So these are my thoughts on Titanic after seeing it for the first time, thirteen years after its theatrical release.

[…]

June 25, 2005, I got married to Jennifer Erin Alders. It is one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.

In the five years that have followed, Jen and I have had many ups and downs. We’ve faced all kinds of hardships; financial, professional, emotional, you name it. I wish I could say that we always managed to get through those times by gazing into each other’s eyes and lovingly assuring ourselves that everything was going to be okay. Certainly, sometimes we were able to do that. Other times, however, we would blame each other, as if to say, “This would all be going fine if it weren’t for you.”

[…]

In this episode, Tyler is joined by actor Robert “Bobo” Chang to discuss what we can learn from Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN
00:00:45- Intro
00:01:21- Bobo
00:31:34- Happy-Go-Lucky
01:10:00- Harvey
01:25:43- Episode wrap-up

ROBERT “BOBO” CHANG is an actor born in Portland. He graduated with a Bachelor’s in Cinema and Media Arts from Biola University in 2008 and now resides in LA, working as much as possible as an up-and-coming actor. Bobo was more or less raised in a Christian home, but it wasn’t until high school that he truly gave his life to Christ and he hasn’t been the same since. Recently, God has blessed him with success in his career as he can be seen in commercials or with small roles on TV. As a filmmaker, you can see some of his work on www.youtube.com/bobofilmmaker, as well as his “acclaimed” short, “Teen Raptor” at www.youtube.com/teenraptor. Become a fan of his page on facebook (“Bobo”) and follow him on twitter (@robertbobochang)!

The show was recently reviewed on Edgy Podcast Reviews. The basic summary (including the good and bad) is below, but feel free to listen to the more in-depth review on their podcast.

Host Tyler Smith uses movie reviews and themes to present a Christian lesson. Most movies he discusses are not Christian films and are generally mainstream, such as The Hurt Locker, Hellboy, and Iron Man. Tyler has a degree in Film/Video and was a Film Production intern so he certainly knows his stuff. In addition to discussing plot summary, actors, and writers, he also relates the main movie to another film that is somehow similar or has a related lesson to be learned. Tyler does not pretend to have religion figured out and is pretty relatable. While at times he takes the role of “teacher” with listeners being students, his conversational tone is easy to listen to. Organization could help Tyler make a better show. It would keep him from over-explaining himself and being repetitive. It might also reduce his use of “ums” and “you knows.”

Daniel: ***1/2 out of *****
Jana: *** out of *****

Thanks to Daniel and Jana for their kind words.