The Founder | ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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Caught this interesting movie about McDonald's mega-franchiser Ray Kroc, wonderfully played by Michael Keaton, on Netflix a few days ago. I was fascinated by the quazi-historical perspective offered in the narrative. A few thoughts about it:

• The story is about the breakdown of relationships in business and in marriage.
• Ray's journey took a turn when he felt rejected and unappreciated.
• The McDonald brothers revolutionized the restaurant business.
• Ray took franchising to a level never seen before. Other chains followed his lead.
• Fast food franchising is all about real estate. Not sure that I ever understood that.
• Great leaders know how to treat their employees. Others rely on contracts.

I really liked the movie and, on a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★★☆☆.

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Dick Gregory, 1932-2017

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Dick Gregory was an American civil rights activist, social critic, writer, entrepreneur, comedian, and actor. I remember watching him on TV. He passed away yesterday. Here are a few things that he said.

Love is man's natural endowment, but he doesn't know how to use it. He refuses to recognize the power of love because of his love of power

I'm not a comic. I'm a humorist.

It's cool to be healthy.

I never learned hate at home, or shame. I had to go to school for that.

Hell hath no fury like a liberal scorned.

Fear and God do not occupy the same space.

Riches do not delight us so much with their possession, as torment us with their loss.

The most difficult thing to get people to do is to accept the obvious.

Once I realized the value of making people laugh, I got very good at it. Fast.

To me, seeing a really great comedian is a bit like watching a musician or a poet.

Poor is a state of mind you never grow out of, but being broke is just a temporary condition.

When you have a good mother and no father, God kind of sits in. It's not enough, but it helps.

Please join me in asking God to comfort Mt Gregory's family and friends.

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Collateral Beauty | ★★★★★★★★☆☆

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I found this movie to be a thoughtful examination of the grieving process and how people mourn in different ways.  Howard, played by Will Smith, is a successful partner in an ad agency. His world is turned upside down and inside out when his young daughter dies.  The movie is about how Howard processes his pain.

I loved how real and raw his reactions are. How he processes his pain by writing letters to death, time and love. And how these three visit Howard and dialog with him about what is going on in his life. Here is his beautiful discussion with love:

Howard: "I saw you every day in her eyes, and I heard you in her voice when she laughed, and I felt you inside of me when she called me "Daddy." And you betrayed me! You broke my heart."

Love: "No. I'm in all of it. I'm the darkness and the light, I'm the sunshine and the storm. Yes, you're right, I was there in her laugh, but I'm also here now in your pain. I'm the reason for everything. I am the only "why." Don't try and live without me, Howard. Please don't."

There are several twists and turns in the movie which really made it interesting.
I genuinely liked this inspiring movie and, on a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★★☆☆.

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Blogging Revelation

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Yesterday I finished my 97 day devotional series on the Book of Hebrews at my faith blog. I found it to be a great learning experience as the book has never been an easy read for me.

Today I stepped a bit deeper into uncomfortable waters by starting a series on the Book of Revelation. I am looking forward to this as I have not studied it much since bible college.

I invite you to join me (when you can) at withdevotion.kcbob.com as I daily share my thoughts about this last biblical book.

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Blogroll Update

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I plan to update my blogroll this week.

You can see the list by scrolling down on the left sidebar.

Let me know if you would like to stay on or be added to it.

Just leave your blog's title and URL in the comments section.

All I ask is that you are a regular reader and I am on your blogroll.

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The Shack | ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

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The book version of this movie was all the rage a few years ago. I was never interested in reading it. Yet I did enjoy watching the movie version with our small group from church. Here are a few themes from it with my comments.

• God is good: I loved the look on Papa's face when asked about wrath. The message came through clearly that God is good when things are bad.
• God loves us: The message was clear that in great tragedy God is walking with us in it and not causing bad things to happen to us.
• Universalism: I felt that there was an 'all dogs go to heaven' theme in the movie. Even so, I liked the subtle message that hurt people hurt people.

I thought that the story was a bit contrived and told mainly to communicate a message. The acting was okay but not great. Ending was a bit simplistic.

Overall, I liked the movie and, on a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★☆☆☆.

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Manchester by the Sea | ★★★★★★★★★★

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Heard this was a sad movie. I really did not want to watch it. So glad I did. It was not sad. It was a beautiful reflection of life after great loss. It showed a beautiful reality of family life in the aftermath of crisis. And how it takes so long to come to grips with tragedy.

Casey Affleck won a Golden Globe Award for his role. He deserved it. He carried the movie playing an uncle who becomes the sole guardian of his nephew after his brother's death. The tension between what he wanted to do and what he knew he should do was beautifully written and acted. Lucas Hedges and Michelle Williams were great in supporting roles.

I loved Manchester by the Sea and, on a scale of ten, give it ★★★★★★★★★★

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