Christmas week is usually the biggest for movie releases. Studios try to put out their best work and compete hard with each other for the movie-goer’s cash.

Last week’s entrants Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked took the top 2 spots, but were not nearly as successful as their predecessors.

The number 3 spot went to Mission Impossible 4, but it was arguably the most successful. It raked in a solid average of $30,083 per theater  (it was only playing in 425 locations).

This will be the movie to watch as it expands to a wider national release today.

Two more movies are entering the game today. One will start playing Friday, and another two will open Christmas day. With 8 movies opening in time for the holiday rush, it will be interesting to see who will be the ultimate winner.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

This is possibly the most anticipated, talked about film of the holiday season. Some are insanely excited ( like we are), and some are just annoyed that Hollywood felt the need to remake a perfectly great foreign film for the sake of no subtitles.

David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club) seems like the perfect director to present this story though and he claims that it is not so much a remake as a separate adaptation of the novel.

We’ve heard it might even be closer to the source material than the Swedish film.

Rooney Mara seems to fully commit to her role, and Daniel Craig is always pretty great. We’re excited for another Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross collaborated score (the two won an Oscar for The Social Network last year). And, come on–”the feel bad movie of Christmas” is possibly the coolest tagline ever.

The Adventures of Tintin

This Steven Spielberg-directed, Peter Jackson-produced  power house of a film is already an insane hit in the UK, and seems likely to be one of the top animated movies this year.

The writing staff is quite impressive with the amazing Edgar Wright (Shaun of The Dead, etc), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block), and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) teaming up on the script based on the popular European comic books.

It has already has a $200 million cushion from the foreign box office. We just hope that it is able to surpass the new Alvin & the Chipmunks movie in the US.

What do you plan to see now that final exams are about done and winter break is about started? Let us know what you thought about any films you’ve been watching lately!

James 5:13-16 NIV

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Reflection:

When most people talk about prayer, it is usually with the thought of a person sitting by themselves, in a quiet room. Yet, the picture that James paints for us in this passage is quite different. Basically, he is giving open invitation to those who are sick and hurting to seek out their fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord, so that they together may pray and see God’s powerful work done. Yes, we are to pray on our own, and bring the deep things of our heart to the Lord. However, God did not want us to carry the burden all by ourselves. That is why He gave us the church. Together we can experience victory, healing, restoration and forgiveness. What a wonderful gift it is to be a part of His loving community together.

Response:

Let’s spend some time praying for the church as a whole. Let’s ask that we would continue to experience together God’s power and love demonstrated in even more awe inspiring ways, so that those around us may see, and want to be a part of what He is doing among us.

Image from Talking Points Memo

The state of Wisconsin has been political mud-wrestling match in recent months.

You might recall earlier this year, the Republican Governor Scott Walker was propelled into the national limelight when he spearheaded legislation to limit union rights in his state.

There naturally has been bitter opposition to the law by union supporters. There also was a fair amount of support for the governor’s proposal in this deeply divided battleground state.

Now the Walker’s foes are nearing what they hope will be the final battle with the Governor.

They are mounting a formidable recall effort against the Wisconsin leader.

Last week, the groups claimed to have 507,533 of the needed 540,208 signatures.

But now legal obstacles for Democrats and unions supporting the movement have started to trickle in.

Walker himself is leading a challenge to the authenticity of the signers.

If people want to sign it — and they have every right to in this state — it should be enforced that they can sign it once and they actually have to sign it with a real name related to a real voting location in this state.”

The governor is also supporting a law that would require his opposition to pay to protest.

As judges and lawyers get involved, the process will likely get messier… like the giant political mud-wrestling match Wisconsin is…