BethR

Roy Dotrice (Hallyne the Pyromancer) has died. He also narrated the ASoIaF audiobooks. Really, given his career on stage (emphasized in the linked obituary), screen, and TV, I could have posted this anywhere. The role I first remember him in, though, is not mentioned here: "Father" in George R.R.Martin's 1980s fantasy series Beauty and the Beast. The series had a significant fandom (Henry Jenkins used it for a case study in his study of fan culture, Textual Poachers), and now seems quite weird, but it was a hit at the time. Here's a clip:

Saw it with my dad a couple weeks ago. It's not GREAT FILM-MAKING, but a serviceable movie about decent people doing the right thing(s) in obedience to the Great Commandments. There's not a lot of gospel drum-beating. Perhaps because it is based on reality, the characters are confronted with some serious questions about theodicy...and the answers are not miraculous. Also, surprisingly, Episcopalians FTW Joel Mayward, can we find your discussion guide online? I think since the movie has been released in theaters, reviews or thoughts are acceptable.

Since apparently no one watched this but me, because you're all only watching via antennae and various streaming options or something--I salute your stewardship--you can now watch season 1 on Netflix. Since each ep is only 20+ minutes, it will be a snap to binge and you will appreciate some comedy just now. I promise.

After reading this commentary on 13 Reasons Why, I thought it would be interesting to compare 13 Reasons with the recent TV movie version of Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl, in which the protagonist struggles with many of the same issues, but with different results.

As John Drew explained. You can also see, from the photo on her website, that she's Barbara Bain's daughter as well.

Yes, in the future, should I have occasion to post one of those "tell me something that reveals your age without stating it," I'm going to say, "To me, Martin Landau will always be Rollin Hand of Mission Impossible. Although, TBH, I don't think I ever knew his character's name at the time. And of course, he's Juliet Landau's father.

Trailer:

That's probably it. Yeah.

Wow, some distortion of the source material. The Wicket Gate is just the beginning (conversion) of Christian's journey. Huh.

Shouldn't someone change the name of this thread to Valerian?

No further comments on this thread, so I can't tell whether anyone else has seen this 2014 French version, but it's now available on Netflix streaming. I liked it much better than the Disney live version. I would say that Attica correctly predicted that it manages to be child-friendly and to capture a fairy-tale atmosphere, while also going to some gritty, complex, and dark places. The international trailer on IMDB is dubbed with terrible sound quality. This US trailer is better. https://youtu.be/X-rJ-3WRu4M

Thanks for these comments, Rob Z. Especially on Joe Versus the Volcano, which doesn't get enough appreciation. It was nominated for the "Comedies" list a couple years ago and didn't make it, but I agree it is very much a film about spiritual awakening and to a larger vision of the meaning of life.

Is voting underway or about to happen?

Not specifically about children's experiences of being raised in Buddhism, but about a major figure in spreading Buddhism in India: the Bollywood movie Asoka (or Ashoka the Great) is a fictionalized biography of Emperor Asoka who converted to Buddhism after a life of war and conquest. It's also a cracking adventure with a romance, and there's singing and dancing! Suitable for all ages.

Second Tender Mercies