Culturebox: Tron: Legacy

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movies Tron: Legacy I would rather be bombarded with neon Frisbees than watch this movie again. By Dana Stevens Posted Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010, at 7:21 PM ET The idea to make a sequel to the 1982 movie Tron--which was a hit neither with most critics nor with the public and which has amassed, at best, a campy cult following among a niche of gamers and sci-fi fans--is an arrogant overestimation of the original's value. The grandiose hype for Tron: Legacy (Disney Pictures) reminds me of those Manhattan "vintage" stores that try to trick you into paying $120 for a stained raincoat because, hey, it's old! Well, no, I don't want an expensive old raincoat that was unremarkable the first time around, nor do I want an expensive ($170 million) remodel of a 28-year-old matinee flick that was forgotten for a reason. Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund) is the now-grown son of computer visionary Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), who disappeared years before in the midst of working on a mysterious breakthrough in digital technology. While poking around his father's abandoned video-game arcade--a fun set that should have been put to more extensive use--Sam finds himself transported through some kind of cosmic wormhole into an all-digital alternate universe where, it turns out, Kevin Flynn has been trapped all these years. This universe is a dark, featureless place peopled by artificially-created beings in black suits with neon piping, who spend their days watching gladiatorial motorcycle fights and deadly games of Glo-Frisbee. Their dictatorial ruler, Clu, is played by some amalgam of present-day Jeff Bridges and his CGI-youthened face and body. Unlike many critics who found this technology visually creepy, I was actually pretty impressed by the film's ability to conjure a young Jeff Bridges--even when Clu was interacting with flesh-and-blood characters, his face looked surprisingly realistic and expressive. I just wish he had something notable to express. To continue reading, click here. Dana Stevens is Slate's movie critic. E-mail her at slatemovies@gmail.com. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Weigel: How the GOP Learned To Hate Earmarks All Over Again Can America Beat China in the Race To Dominate Solar Power? Whoever Decided To Remake Tron Deeply Overestimated the Original's Value	Advertisement
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Irritable Men, Frustrated Women -- December 17, 2010

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Marriage Irritable Men, Frustrated Women Dr. David Hawkins "I'm not angry," Jed said emphatically to his wife, Jill as we all sat in my office, They had flown across the country a few days earlier to work with me on their marriage. Read the full article here Commentary God Bless Us Every One: Economic Lessons from A Christmas Carol John Mark Reynolds When the government forces Scrooge to do what it thinks proper, it removes the ability of Scrooge to freely repent and do what is good himself. Read the full article here Spiritual Life The "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town" Theology David Burchett Isn't that too often how we view God? God knows if you've been bad or good so if you want to be healed or happy or prosperous you had better be good for goodness sake. Read the full article here The Single Life: Avoiding a Bah, Humbug Christmas Susan Ellingburg I share my story of Christmas spent alone as a cautionary tale: Christmas can be, as the song says, "the most wonderful time of the year" or it can be the saddest season of all. Fortunately, as I've learned since that long-ago Yuletide, the choice is up to us. Read the full article here Entertainment The Fighter Doesn't Quite Deliver a Knockout Punch Christa Banister The Fighter's cobbled-together story is weighed down by far too much family drama and not enough of the protagonist's journey against the ropes. It doesn't quite deliver a knockout punch either. In short, The Fighter is good, but it's not great. Read the full article here TRON: Legacy Takes Itself Too Seriously Christian Hamaker TRON: Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 cult classic TRON, brings back Jeff Bridges in his role as Kevin Flynn. However, the new film is dreary enough to make one wonder why so much effort was put into revisiting this virtual world in the first place. Read the full article here Introducing the City Harmonic a Welcome, Noteworthy Debut Amy Hauck Though pensive at times, this expressive mix has a collective worshipful attitude with a healthy dose of humility. Overall, The City Harmonic's six-song introduction proves a noteworthy project and may leave listeners with the hope of more to come. Read the full article here   FEATURED VIDEOS Free Chapel Morning Star Baptist Church Ankerberg Show Lifestyle Magazine Hillsong TV Watch more Christian Video Sermons & Messages from Ministries on LightSource.com   •  Amazing Deals on Bibles •  Affordable online degrees •  Christian Private Health Care •  Write a Note to an Orphan •  Free Publishing Guide Crosswalk.com is a member of the Salem Web Network of sites including: • OnePlace.com • LightSource.com • ChristianJobs.com • CrossCards.com • SermonSearch.com • Christianity.com

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Please help a severely wounded serviceman feed his family this Christmas

Please donate now Dear Patriotic American, Please don't miss this LAST CHANCE to show your support for our troops wounded in battle by making a tax-deductible Christmas donation to the Merry Christmas Meals Project, sponsored by the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes. Many of our troops who have been severely wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq have empty refrigerators. And their children have empty stomachs. Your gift can help provide these financially strapped military families with $60 to buy groceries over the Christmas holidays, or even go out to a restaurant for dinner. I'm Major General John K. Singlaub, U.S. Army (Ret.). I've commanded our brave soldiers in three wars, and today I'm proud to be working with the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes, which provides emergency financial aid to our troops who have been severely wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq. So far the Coalition's patriotic donors have responded with emergency financial aid to 18,548 requests from our severely wounded troops and their families. In the process we have provided our disabled heroes with more than $22 million to avoid utility cutoffs, evictions, home foreclosures and other financial crises, as well as to provide them with food, clothes and other support services. You may be unaware of how hard the ongoing recession has hit our wounded troops. Even before the recession, many of the spouses of our wounded troops had quit their jobs to take care of them. But now, with the unemployment rate around 10 percent, many spouses who were able to work have lost their jobs as well. No wonder these military families are having trouble putting food on the table! A gift of $60 can help provide Christmas dinner with all the trimmings for one severely wounded serviceman or woman and his or her family, $120 can help feed two families, $180 can help provide dinner for three families, and so on. And a gift of $15, $25 or $35 can be combined with other donations to feed a family in need. Your gift to the Coalition's Merry Christmas Meals Project could help a serviceman who lost almost all his hearing as a result of an injury suffered while serving in Iraq. Despite not having enough money to buy groceries for his wife and daughters, Joshua W. was too proud to ask for help from anyone. Desperately, his wife called the Coalition hoping for a miracle that would keep their daughters from going hungry. As Joshua told us later: "When my wife told me she had contacted the Coalition I was almost ashamed, but the Coalition was so helpful and understanding that it made it easy." The Coalition rushed emergency aid to Joshua so he could feed his family. "I thank God for each and every one of you," he said. But there are thousands more families like Joshua's who may spend this holiday season praying for a miracle of their own. Someone like DaMon Clemons who contacted the Coalition and said: "My wife just had two surgeries within two months so she is unable to work; we are now behind in rent and utilities and barely have food to eat." That's just not right, and I'm sure you agree. The good news is it's not too late to let a wounded hero like Joshua or DaMon know you respect and honor the painful sacrifice they've made by helping to provide their family with meals during the Christmas Season. Let's face it: Our paralyzed, blinded or brain-damaged servicemen and women won't have the same kind of Christmas you and I will, no matter what. But your continued kindness can help make their Christmas the best it can be, given the circumstances. Please don't miss this LAST CHANCE to send a generous gift to help put food on the table this Christmas Season for those who have made a painful, lifelong sacrifice while protecting your family's freedom. Thanks for your continued support, Major General John K. Singlaub U.S. Army (Ret.) P.S. Thousands of servicemen and women who have been severely wounded in Afghanistan or Iraq may have trouble putting food on the table over the Christmas holidays, and they desperately need your help. Your tax-deductible donation to the Coalition's Merry Christmas Meals Project will be greatly appreciated by a disabled serviceman or woman who used to be able to feed their family, but can't anymore. P.P.S. Here's an easy way to double the power of your gift: After making your donation to help provide Christmas meals for our disabled troops and their families, please forward this email to your friends who also may want to help.

TH Daily - December 17 - Michelle Malkin, Brent Bozell, Jonah Goldberg, David Limbaugh, Hugh Hewitt and More

Upcoming Gov't "Private Wealth Releases" with Potential to Turn Your $500 into $69,445 Federal program poised to transfer billions of dollars to a few upstart businesses starting December 20. Early investors in these tiny companies could be looking at fast gains of a mind-boggling 13,780%. Our just-released report here has the breaking news.
America, the Crab Bucket Michelle Malkin: No matter how soothing the White House overtures to business leaders sounded this week, an inconvenient fact remains: Washington is gripped by crab-in-the-bucket syndrome. ... more Exploiting the Teen Temptress Brent Bozell: You may have never heard of the 17-year-old actress Taylor Momsen, but she represents everything that's wrong with pop culture today. ... more Thrown Under the OmniBus Jonah Goldberg: Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is getting some long delayed senatorial payback. ... more GOP Should Slam on the Brakes David Limbaugh: Conservatism and responsible government won a resounding victory in November's elections, and yet just a month later, we're witnessing legislative arrogance on a scale you wouldn't expect if voters had ratified the ruling class' sprint toward national bankruptcy. ... more The Divided GOP Hugh Hewitt: On Thursday's program I interviewed a man I greatly admire but with whom I have a significant disagreement about the tax deal making its way through the Congress: Senator Orrin Hatch. ... more In Denial Oliver North: There's a lot of phony hype about how tough things have gotten for the Obama administration. ... more Is This Our America Anymore? Pat Buchanan: Buried in the Oct. 30 Washington Post was a bland headline: "Report Points to Faster Recovery in Jobs for Immigrants." ... more Upcoming Gov't "Private Wealth Releases" with Potential to Turn Your $500 into $69,445 Federal program poised to transfer billions of dollars to a few upstart businesses starting December 20. Early investors in these tiny companies could be looking at fast gains of a mind-boggling 13,780%. Our just-released report here has the breaking news. Tis the Season To Spoil Our Children? Mona Charen: The advice columns are beginning to reflect the season. A dismayed mother wrote to the Washington Post, "I love the holidays, but they bring out the greed in my children..." ... more Don't Play Politics on Afghanistan Linda Chavez: There are few areas in which I believe President Obama has earned high marks, but his decision to send more troops to Afghanistan last year is one I supported. ... more A Democratic Congress That Even Obama Can't Trust Matt Towery: Make no mistake. President Obama's support for an extension of the Bush tax cuts is born out of the reality that his re-election is now less than two years away, and by the minute he is losing those independent voters who voted for him in 2008. ... more A Night With the Animals Suzanne Fields: The Germans grumble over the loans to Greece and Ireland as the cost of borrowing has risen for German consumers, along with the healthy economies in the European Union. ... more Don't Start on START Until Next Year Ken Blackwell: Americans can tell when we are being lied to. We're being lied to when Harry Reid tells us that the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia is a bit of unfinished business that the Senate must ratify because it's "urgent." ... more Obama Couldn't Survive Being Berlusconi Rachel Marsden: If President Obama thinks he has it tough, he should try being Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for a week. ... more Congress Jams Pork Down Voters' Throats Donald Lambro: We will know soon enough whether the GOP delivers on its solemn campaign promise to the American people, who are fed up and want spending brought under control now. ... more Vanity Fair Game Cliff May: Filmmakers get to take dramatic license. Reporters really shouldn't. ... more		Labor leaders come to the White House Lawmakers stretching out Russia nuke pact debate Officials: CIA gave waterboarders $5M legal shield Founder of Filipino terrorist group faces prison House Roll Call: Bill to extend tax cuts BALLGAME: House Passes GOP / White House Tax Deal Guy Benson A Victory, But Only the Beginning Carol Platt Liebau BREAKING: Reid Abandons Massive Omnibus Spending Bill Guy Benson White House Confrontation Krauthammer's 2012 Presidential Predictions Rep. Pence Defends His Expected No Vote on Tax Deal Real Housewife, Small Business Owner Amazon.com: God in America: Movies & TV Hoosier hopefuls How Lame VIDEO: Senator Kerry to Incoming Senators: "You don't count." Bill preventing big tax hikes heads to Obama APNews Calif. regulators OK major greenhouse gas rules APNews Accountants on edge waiting for tax-cut changes APNews Wikileaks: US fears bioweapons from India labs APNews 'Ratlines' threaten White House Afghan war plans APNews EU to change treaty for new euro rescue plan APNews Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill APNews Drug used in Okla. execution could gain wider use APNews Pakistan, China celebrate 'all-weather' friendship APNews Farms find holiday sales important revenue source APNews Coulter: Like a Condom, the First Amendment Can't Protect You Elder: Bush Tax Cuts Hanson: In Defense of the Liberal Arts Gingrich Cushman: Obama Finds Out Governing Is Hard Chapman: An Unhealthy Mandate Williams: Changing America Dane: A How To Guide for Becoming a DREAM Act Beneficiary Barone: Holbrooke Thought Highly of Himself, for Good Reason Saunders: Larding the Path to Economic Recovery Mackenzie: Quotables on WikiLeaks, Leadership, Iran, National Responsibility, Etc.
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