.
.
with comments by David Bruce

Could you please advise as to how I can contact Ben Mortley who starred in Lantana. Could you possibly provide me with an email address?

Faryaal

Response: I have no such information. -David

 i was obviously distraught when i found the show had been cancelled and while i haven't reached the end of the series yet i am pretty sure that it wasn't properly concluded as the makers were hoping for a second season. It would be nice if there was one or two episodes made after Zeke has sent all 113 back two hell and what happens to him. Like does the devil try to renegade his promise but god steps in. Or does Stone go to heaven or does he reunite with his wife after 15/6 years or maybe god sends him back to before he killed the rapist with Stone remembering everything and since he knows when he was killed he can not go to wherever it was that he died and he doesn't kill the rapist only sends him to jail . I know that likely hood of the show coming back are a million to one but still it would be nice if 2 (or an extra long one) was made so all us fans could have a conclusion. If 2 episodes are two expensive to make then it would be nice if a book was written in the same style as the Buffy, Angel and Charmed books are.
diana (A big fan)

THE ORALCE
Subject: Matrix
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 2002
From: christian traag

greetings,

just curious your take on the scene in the matrix where the oragle give neo the cookies.

the significance or the meaning?

thank you.

christian traag

Response: Good question. I'll have to view the film again. -David

 First of all, let's get down to basic facts about Bruce Lee and the martial arts.

 1-Bruce Lee, much later in life admitted that he was a "punk" and if he had continued on that path, he would have ended up dead or in jail. This is why his family sent him to the U.S. (to give him opportunities to be a better person than the one he seemed to be becoming).

Now tell me. How many of you come to big realizations like this which
begin to dramatically change your life For The Better?

 2-the martial arts is absolutely Not about violence! If that is what is thought about it, then it has been totally misperceived by the observer due to lack of coherent information and understanding of the matter. Martial Arts was "invented" so to speak by an Indian named Bodhidharma who was a Buddhist monk. He came up with the various foundation of disciplines to help people (monks really at first) keep their physical bodies up to par with their rigid spiritual disciplines. Isn't the body "the temple" ? Well, this was not only a way to honour your body/temple/vessel but a way to honour and nurture the evolving soul that it housed. (people today do the same things with their material possessions such as the interiors and exteriors of their cars,their houses, their guitars, their shoes....). Martial Arts utilizes external principles for obvious reasons but those reasons become Enlightening only because one realizes the truth of its nature; that you are reaching far within (isn't the kingdom within?) , uncovering, and learning about your Truest Self. You also begin realize what no book, kata, person, nor guru, nor sifu can make you realize; something easily stated but rarely truly tapped with sincerity; that You can change Yourself for the better, thus help change the world around you as well (every little thing matters and you pay heed to it for fuller understanding;nothing is trivial). Every relationship becomes so focused and important that the True martial artists rarely if ever raise a finger to harm another sentient being. Evidence such as a heightened amount of hours spent early every morning in complete meditation and reduction of physical method (but of course not Intensity) in Bruce Lee's regimen also backs this up. A punk only stays in it for the physical to gratify solely his growing and insatiable Ego. A sincere human being realizes this, chooses to overcome it or not, and if he does, Transcends. We change from Within.

 In short, maybe boxing is all about biting off the opponents' ears, because that's what Mike Tyson does. Yea, maybe martial arts is violence worship, because that's what Hollywood mesmerizes us with and it's so easy to not be a seeker of human Truth (or cop out and be a punk) and an admitter of one's own failings and a darer of exploring new grounds of the soul. Maybe baseball is all about taking drugs and beating wives, because a lot of players end up in the news for those reasons. If I knew nothing about the sport than I could surely think I know what it's about and who it attracts. Do you catch my drift?

 I'll just keep this brief for now (although I'd love to elaborate). Who here has Not wanted to improve their lot in life in some personal way? Who here has not wanted a chance or more deep within beyond the ego's prideful boasts and underpinnings? Who here can admit the obvious to himself and try to dare himself to improve starting from within? Who here can then maintain that and dare to evolve ever more?

Bruce Lee was a human being first. He was a Truthseeker at heart; a
philosopher. He went to school in Seattle for it , talked about it, wrote
about it, translated Oriental versions of it as well as poems for our Western
minds to grasp, incorporated it into his life, lived it (daring to leave
space for its growth if experiences taught him something new), and sought to
Unify not separate all humans with it. Like any other man, okay, he had some
faults (the love of the spotlight which could easily get him in trouble with
jealous and envious peers and a boastful attitude to name a few (but even
these were toning down towards the end of his life)), but unlike Many men,
alive and well today, he Dared to consistently work on moderating and
overcoming them by recognizing and acknowledging them.

 I can really go on, but I dare any of you to try reading one good biography on Bruce Lee called; "Bruce Lee; Spiritual Warrior" ( you may learn what you never would have expected to learn about yourself as well as him).
Mac .
My email is ; phoenixdreamus@yahoo.com

Hello,
I used to be a native New Yorker, but I got up and am now an Angeleno.
I had been in NY for the holidays for the opening of Vanilla Sky which I had
been anticipating for several months now, so I couldn't wait to see it. Of
course, I was not disappointed (and I have gone back to see it several more
times indeed). Now, it's too bad that about one thing from my experiences
which are that as an original New Yorker myself I was wondering what the
audience around me would make of it. Up until this experience I always said
to my L.A. friends (who have yet to visit the big apple) how wonderfully
mind-orientated my fellow nykers were and how, like me, they liked to be
challenged and driven into unconscious depths of films and that was a great
part I missed about seeing films in a NY theatre. But it didn't happen that
way at all. People at various parts of the film were leaving as if snakes
were entering the building. This happened Every time that I saw the movie in
this city. I heard hisses and lewd comments as the movie played.... Come on
people, don't you like to exercise your minds a little? Do you like being
told like a baby what is happening and what will happen next in this bedtime
tale and la lee lah lee laaa? Every time the theatres emptied out and the
ones that "stuck it out" were demanding refunds and all kind of absurdities.
Heck, I am so Happy, I mean more than Happy that I moved to L.A. and reside
there now! At least they can appreciate a good movie and its themes, dare to
unlimit their imaginations, and go home still wondering every possible angle
that it couldhave meant and then some. Einstein said that if you value
nothing else, if you wish to be armed with nothing else, then have
"Imagination" . This is what motivates the human soul; not "smarts", not
"cleverness"- IMAGINATION.

 So go back to that car you now drive that was someone's Image in ing and that house or apartment that was once a figment of someone's Imagination and that pillow that was Imagined long before any of us ever dreamt of it and dare to give yourself another try with Vanilla Sky. A chinese philosopher once wondered if he was a butterfly dreaming he was human (thus making this current "reality" questionable) or "really" a human dreaming he was a butterfly (yet that dream had felt so vividly Real while he slept). Has anyone here Not had a similar experience? If so, then who has dared to question it, because when none of us do, no progress can be assured, and we are all automatons without awareness of the beautiful souls we house. What is the movie Existenz, Dark City, The Wizard of Oz, and so many others challenging us to dare to question about ourselves? All good art challenges us to
OOOOPPPPEEENNN OOOUUURRRR EEEYYYYEEESSSSS!!!
signed Mac .
My email is phoenixdreamus@yahoo.com

BIGGEST IMPACT
Subject: Biggest_impact_films
Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002
From: Gary S

 The two films that I can remember that had an inpact on me were The lord of the Rings and The Count of Monte Cristo. The Lord of the Rings was just an all out awesome movie, but The Count of Monte Cristo was so powerful with the message of God will give me justice. I got more out of that film them many Sundays of sermons.
Gary S

BEST MOVIE OF THE DECADE
Subject: We_Were_Soldiers
Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002
From:Bryan Walker

 We Were Soldiers is the best movie of the last ten years and the most important movie for America in the last twenty years. This movie is technically accurate, following the book in most details, and communicates with power, passion and empathy. By far this movie is the best of the Viet-Nam war movies because it simply tells the story of the American fighting man, the wives and kids who were left behind and it humanizes the enemy.

 It is a movie that is appropriate for the times in that it is patriotic without resorting to "chest thumping" jingoism. Like Blackhawk Down and Saving Private Ryan this movie focuses on the courage, brotherhood and compassion of soldiers in the heat of mortal combat, yet the inclusion of the wives' story throughout the movie also shows the courage of the women who support their men.

 My only complaint about the movie is that it should have somehow included General Moore's conclusion about the importance of the battle for changing American policies, which he concludes led to the loss of the war. This was alluded to a couple of times in the movie but needed spelling out at the end. The inclusion of the French tragedy at the beginning did ground the events historically which was excellent.

Every American ought to see this movie!

Bryan Walker

WHERE CAN I GET SOME?
Subject: JacobsLadder
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2002
From: lemmy

 All you people who post messages on this site are interested in interpretating what the film is all about.You all rave on about philosophy,literature,psychology.This is ridiculous.Who cares if Jacob was dreaming,brainwashed,on LSD,reincarnated,abducted by aliens and forced to become a spy in the matrix who got lost at a Black Sabbath concert.All of interest to me in the movie was the drug the military tested on american soldiers.Is there any truth to this drug,did it really exist.If this drug is real then i want some.During the second world war the Nazis gave their soldiers drugs like amphetamines and steroids to make them more aggresive in battle;No,the nazis didn't give the soldiers drugs as part of a pagan ritual to expand their conciousness and lead to a road of self discovery.Sorry to disappoint you people.Another film like Jacob's Ladder was Shock Waves.Shock Waves was a science fiction horror film about a bunch of posthumous nazi soliers that stalked a small island.In the film some young tourists turn up to the island in a boat and they end up fighting for their lives as these dead nazis chased them all over the island.The film was made pretty cheaply,all you saw was guys in makeup slowly walking on land,occasionaly underwater.There was a very interesting message at the start of the film.The last time i saw the film was in 1985.From what i remember,the message at the start of the film mentioned something about The nazis carrying out strange experiments on people to create a superman.This message was'nt a fictional part of the film,it was a real account of something that nazi scientists were trying to do back in the forties.If your lucky you might find this movie at your video store.At the moment though,i don't want nazi scientists to turn me into a zombie.What i'm after is the drug used in the film "Jacob's Ladder".If anyone has some can they contact me.I'm sick of pussies who take amphetamines and steroids and drive sports cars to the gym.I want to show them who's the boss.I'm sure if i was on that drug used by soldiers in Jacob's Ladder that i could bench press 800 pounds for reps.Who want's to be exited and paranoid on speed when you can go beyond insane and have the strength of a big baboon on the ladder drug.Steroids is expensive too.This ladder drug might be cheap if it's made by the goverment and what's more,you may only need to take it once,unlike steroids that you constantly need to take in cycles.But if this drug makes you imagine your a postman, who lurks around subways and talk to imaginary sanctimonious chiropractors,like Jacob in the film,then forget selling me some.Even without drugs i can become a taxi driver,go to the circus and talk to a homeless bum who asks me if he can find rats to eat in a garbage can.Didn't the director of this film ever explain what it was about;Why all the interpretation.It was'nt an X-Files movie.Why can't you people just let a person be an end in themselves.Why speculate beyond phenomenom when you can't trust your physical faculties.You people are a Kantian nightmare.If you looked deeply enough into a Muppets film you could come up with all sorts of metaphysical analogies eg:Abonded,scorned and full of confident trust,Kermit the frog,Fuzzy bear and Scooter set off on a journey to make a movie in the promised land.On the way the happy trio rejoiced in their abject poverty and embraced buddhism as they sang "moving right along".It would be interesting to hear a marxist interpretation of the Jacob Ladders film.A marxist could say that Jacobs role as a postman was a bourgeois attempt to control proletarians by making them imagine they are leading a surreal life.When Jacob was hanging around the subway and hallicinating,he could have been coming to terms with the grief of being proletarian.That would explain why he saw deformed human figures on a train.They were proletarians using public transport.The drug he was exposed to could have been an anology for christianity;The opiate of the masses.That would explain why he died in the end like christ.Imagining he was a disorientated poor postman could have been an ascetic act to renounce his fascist bellicose way of life as a super soldier;Like a roman soldier who converts to christianity.You can pretty much read anything you want into the film.I just want the drug for bodybuilding;A real drug that gives you superhuman strength,not some flimsy bouyant metaphysical ananolgy of a drug.I want the real thing.Don't worry about getting caught with it,it's not illegal.Don't talk about it though,you might get commited.Just drop me a line if you have some or know someone who has.I'll pay top cash or exchange the drug for some of my home made alcoholic Ginger Beer.Top quality Ginger Beer;My mates like it.Drop me a line

Response: Life is not in the drugs we take. Temporary thrills at best. It gets old. Sorry I do not post email addies for drug exchanges. My heart goes out to you, somehow. I have not the words. -David

BR DOES NOT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE CHRISTIAN BASED
Subject: BladeRunner
Date: Fri, 15 Mar 2002
From: MAC

  Hello. I have not yet found the idea (not meaning to disrespect believers or non-believers alike but only to suggest...) that Bladerunner may or may not be seen in symbolic Christian texts only but something moreso archaic since, after all; Christianity was not the beginning of Time as we recall it but only another precursor to a still ongoing chapter in the evolution of our species on this planet thus far. What I mean to point out is that many mythologies and cosmologies which still permeate our Collective Consciousness' (admit it or not) have the ideas of humans as "pawns", as manipulations which end up beginning to just realize potentials for better as well as worse as living conscientious beings. One can look to ancient religions which have now become myths about our being created by one Or various, in fact multitudinous, Makers again and again for labour, companionship, spite, and the whole gamut of what we now take for granted to be "human" reasons for creating a being.

 If you are familiar with the written works of Erich Von Danikken or Zecharia Sitchin and William Bramley to name a few, whose sincere researches into the origins of humannature and beginnings on this planet evolved there is arguable enough evidence found in our environments and museums to suggest time and again in-depth beliefs of we, as so-called humans, being made for not always so benevolent reasons.

 Nietszche says something to the effect that it takes a foundation of aeons of so called men to create a superman. Let us speculate that this superman was the kind of man fully aware and conscious now of his divinity in existenc, in just being here. He would have not time to be a racist, sexist, egoist, or otherwise. He would marvel at this grand opportunity and its infinite manifestations in everything he perceives and experiences around him. He would adore life in all its complexities and instantly obey the obvious laws of existence which would declare emphatically to his newfound woul that; All life is precious (no different than Batty perhaps?). Wise heroes and kings and men the ages over "ahead of their times" have been persecuted and slain in every thought of way if not deemed mad or insane, but much later more would perceive the spark much missed and realize or try to appreciate what these men had fathomed and even "how". In almost all cases it was by "accident" or a constant series of them.

 I hope that I've given a bit of a different angle to you all on the scope of my personal wonderings of Bladerunner and the limitless ways you can run with it. I mean, after all; everything you write or say or feel about this movie is a reflection of your inner soul and has a right to be stated (there really are no "right" or "wrongs" here) , because, in a nutshell, these are the infinite beauties fo existences' manifestations.

Thank you for hearing me and I would like to write back again or
elaborate on anything that may have confused you. Keep the angles coming, and
may all be blessed.

signed, Mac

 Hi there. I heard from some people that the Lord of the Rings movie was scary. It's not so. Even if Mike Schulkowsky says that he screamed like a girl and closed his eyes and said it's scary it's not. If you read the books and understand what it's all about it's not scary. You can predict what's going to be happening and when. They did a very good job of making this movie.
JDM.

STRUCK A CHORD
Subject: Change_Is_Good_for_Churches-News31
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002
From: Elaine Green

Mr. Bruce,
To begin with, thank you for all the thought-provoking issues and entertainment commentary you bring to the world. Your website is unique and marvelous, and I'm grateful for the work you do in the Lord's name.

 The third section of Newsletter #31 struck a very deep cord in me. I grew up in a small, rural southern church, mostly friendly and enthusiastic yet worrisome at times. The pastor once expressed his disdain with teenagers wearing ripped jeans and a few adult members made their approval known. They also blasted the music we liked. (Just because a type of entertainment is secular doesn't mean it's BAD.) Since we, the young people there, wore and listened to what all the other teenagers did, remarks like that rubbed us the wrong way. None of us were bad kids, we just looked sloppy at times! We weren't comfortable with some of the adults because of their attitudes.

 I have a problem with such comments being laid down as the law in places of worship, because not only is it discouraging and maybe offensive to the people to whom the lecture is directed, but young people, constantly in need of guidance and support, are going to shy away from the adults who could act as much needed mentors to the kids. I'm only 22, not yet an old-timer but past that tender age where approval is needed from grown-ups even though that need isn't always voiced. I had some great adults, including my parents, who helped me with the rough patches. The church can provide this positive influence, but we have to stop being prejudiced against the little things that don't matter. I wonder how many would-be preachers, missionaries and other servants of Christ have dropped out of God's plans for them because of disapproval from adults.

 What made me so excited about your website the first time I visited it was the way you present secular films as valuable lessons to be learned. What a concept! My sincere prayer is that EVERYONE who finds your site can learn from it, and learn to look a little deeper. What's that old saying about judging a book by the cover?

God bless you,
Elaine Green

Response: Thanks Elaine, I appreciate your words. -David

 Hi, I stumbled across your webpage in an attempt to find any information connecting the Mithras Cult and the Templars just on a hunch really. What would those Mithraic Legioneers have done with themselves after the fall of Pagan Rome? Seemed a likely prospect.. Any ideas? Anyways.. As for the cross, the symbolism is that of sexual reproduction and begins as far back as 6000BC in the Mid East in the form of the swastika where in Sumerian mythology it is associated with a class of godesses known as NIN.TU (ladies of birth). The idea when crucifying was to expunge not only the body but the animus. Victims of crucifixion die by suffocation so it steals your breath (your animus). Oh yeah.. The really interesting deal with Paul is his ministry seems geared towards unifying human conciousness, the goal of eastern mystics as well. This is facilitated through agape (communal love). A really interesting book written as a philosophic argument on Zen Buddhism called An Inquiry into the Good by Kitaro Nishida asserts the same claim and argues the philosophy brilliantly. So its worth checking out.
Take care.. Dave

 I enjoyed this movie. I found the connection of Judas and Dracula interesting. It was a new twist to the usually overdone vampire stories. THis movie is one of the better vampire movies made recently. I found this movie quite entertaining. These movies are made by the world for the world. I don't go to movies to get religious teachings.
CK

 All of you are missing the point to American Beauty. Two words sum up the entire film, and it's even posted on the video cover: "look closer." The movie is about false fronts that we tend to erect to hide who we really are. There is more than what is on the surface; things are richer and deeper than they appear. Ricky knows this, and Lester finally realizes it. But he's just too late. But, we can tell, at his death, he was the happiest he had ever been in his whole life. Not all of us will be that fortunate. So, as tragic as his death was, it was truly beautiful.
Donovan

I HAVE TO LAUGH
Subject: I_agree_and_do_not_throw_rocks-NL_32
Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002
From: Joy

 Hi David,
I have to laugh at some of the flames you posted in your newsletter. It's funny how the people who think they are so right, always sound so simple when they express themselves. I love the fact that you continue on with your writing when so many people criticise you from every side, I think that's a sign of a good heart.

 I used to think like a lot of the people who've been writing in to you. I had all the answers and they were all from the mouth of God. The number of times I went off on people trying to share the 'truth' with them makes me shudder. We're lucky that we have a god who is so understanding of our pride and let's our ingnorance fly so many times.

 Anyways, I just wanted to say there remain many people out there who love your website, think you're comments are a breathe of fresh air, and will continue to love your reviews for their wisdom and heart.
Cheers,
Joy

Hi, I'm from Germany and I search for so long the Song of the theatrical Trailer from "In God's hands"!
It is a very great Rock-Instrumental!
Who is the band and what's the name of this song?

Thanks, Gerhard

 I am not surprised by the rock throwing via e-mail. It is called SIN. I believe this is what happens when people confine God to their very small boxes. David, your sight is a refreshing addition to the Christian dialogue that currently exists. The fact is that God uses many means to speak to all His creation, yes, even Hollywood movies, if only we would listen and not throw stones. God Bless.

In His Love,
Rev. Dr. Jeffery S. Gallen

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