Top Ten Films of 2007

Just in time for Oscar weekend, I've put together my Top Ten Best Movies of 2007. I've yet to see 3 of the 5 contenders this year for best picture (Michael Clayton, There Will be Blood, Atonement). Quite frankly, I can't see how any of those other films can top No Country for Old Men - one of the best movies I've seen in years.

I tried to stay away from the big blockbuster films last year. Mainly because they always make me feel like I threw money down the toilet - I somewhat had that same feeling after watching Transformers. It was a great action film but the plot and the characters were so darn ridiculous - especially after watching it for the second time on DVD. With the high theater ticket prices nowadays, I have to even be more selective with my choice of movies. 5 of the 10 movies on my top ten list were rentals. DVD's are definitely the way to go.

Anyway, enough blabber - here's my top ten and some notable mentions for 2007:

Notable Mentions:
Biggest Surprise: Spiderman 3
Biggest Disappointment: Beowulf
Most Disturbing: Bug, No Country for Old Men
Best Action Film(s): Bourne Ultimatum, Transformers
Best Action Sequence: Viggo Mortensen's sauna fight scene in Eastern Promises
Funniest Film: Blades of Glory
Best Romantic Comedy: Music & Lyrics
Best Animated Film: Ratatouille
Worst Film: Perfect Stranger

Top Ten Films of 2007:
10) Knocked Up
9) Black Snake Moan
8) Sunshine
7) Hairspray
6) Ocean's Thirteen
5) Dan in Real Life
4) Zodiac
3) Juno
2) 300
1) No Country for Old Men

Video of the Month

"A-Punk" by Vampire Weekend

Winter Camp 2008

One of the things I'm really excited about this new year is the "412" Youth Ministry at church. I met with our youth pastor back in December and I expressed my interest and passion in joining this important church group. So far, it's been great! I've enjoyed going to our Tuesday night meetings and I've welcomed the idea of taking on more responsibilities. This last weekend, I volunteered to go to the Middle School Winter Camp in Truckee. It was quite an experience being a youth leader again. It's been a while since I spent a weekend with pre-teens in a camp-type environment. Also, it's been a while since I was away from Dee and the kids. I got homesick the first night.

Yikes!

This weekend, although fun at times, was absolutely hard. We barely had any sleep. We were cold & wet for most of the time. We were bombarded with kids and their smelly feet. Our patience were tested during clean-up time ... and so on, and so on ...

I forgot how hard it was being a youth leader. It made me realize how old I am. I asked myself, "am I really cut out for this at my age?" Despite the hardship, God got me through the weekend. I achieved what I set out to do - build relationships with our junior-high kids. So, there it is - there's the reward. If God wants to use me to lead young people, then so be it. I'll endure pain, agony, and exhaustion. With the encouragement of the other youth leaders, I was able to survive this year's Winter Camp. I'm glad we only do this once a year.

Photos:

• 412 High School Winter Camp


• 412 Middle School Winter Camp