by Randall Allen Dunn

Honor.

It’s a word that is not used much in modern society. The concept itself has been somewhat forgotten, in the wake of self-indulgent leaders, corrupt politicians and superficial celebrities. The concept of honor – admiring someone for how well they adhere to a set of moral principles – is hard to grasp. Because it is often hard to find examples of it. Our society shines a spotlight on the rich and powerful, and we view them and long to attain the material wealth and influence they have obtained.

But we don’t necessarily want to become like them. That is, to think and act the way they do.

By focusing on what they have, rather than their inner character, we become jealous and greedy for things that don’t really last over time, the way a good reputation will.

In the 1998 film, “The Man in the Iron Mask”, honor is displayed through the legendary musketeers, remembered for their bravery and self-sacrifice in protecting their king and country. But these heroes have long since retired, all except for D’Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne), now captain of the king’s musketeers. He insists on maintaining his duty to protect the new king, Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio), in spite of the fact that Louis is a cruel, self-serving dictator who is forcing the country into poverty while he himself lives in luxury and beds a long procession of women. D’Artagnan hopes Louis will mature and learn to govern his people wisely, instead of continuing to act like a selfish child.

When Louis privately orders another former musketeer, Aramis (Jeremy Irons), to kill the general of the Jesuits threatening to overthrow him, Aramis agrees to do so. However, he cannot, since he himself is the Jesuit general. Instead, he arranges a secret meeting with the other musketeers, Porthos (Gérard Depardieu), Athos (John Malkovich), and D’Artagnan. Aramis suggests they join together to overthrow their corrupt king, to free France of his tyranny. D’Artagnan refuses to partner with them in their plot, yet leaves the meeting before hearing any more. It would be right for him to expose their plot to Louis and have them all arrested. But he has no more desire to arrest his friends than to betray his king. He cannot fault them for wanting to protect the country, but he urges them to be patient and give the king more opportunity to change his ways.

After D’Artagnan leaves, Aramis reveals that Louis has a twin brother, Philippe, who was kept hidden in order to prevent a war over the kingdom. Louis learned of his twin years ago and ordered Aramis himself to arrest Philippe and lock him in an iron mask to hide his identity before taking him to the Bastille prison. To this day, Aramis remains ashamed of agreeing to let an innocent young man suffer. But since Philippe is also of royal blood, Aramis has determined the only way to set things right is to replace Louis with Philippe.

After some debate over the strength of Aramis’ plan, Athos and Porthos agree they have no better option. Athos wants revenge on the king for forcing his son, Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard), to be killed in battle by ordering him back into battle after his term of service ended and moving him to the front lines of battle without cause. The real reason was that Louis had taken an interest in Christine (Judith Godréche), Raoul’s fiancée. After having Raoul killed, Louis seduced Christine and made her his mistress.

After the musketeers free Philippe from prison and his mask, they explain to him who he is. Having been raised in a common house and then being sentenced to the dungeon for years, Philippe finds it hard to grasp that he is the king’s twin. He also wonders whether he can sacrifice a simple common life, with all its ordinary pleasures, to live in a palace and be responsible for the entire country. He understands why the musketeers want him to do it, but he’s not sure it’s what he wants to do with his own life.

When he tells Athos, who has agreed to mentor him in his portrayal of the king, that he knows Athos wants to pursue the plan in order to avenge his son, Athos tells him that’s not the true reason. “Once, I – once, all of us – believed in serving something greater than ourselves,” Athos tells him. “Aramis had his faith, Porthos his lust for life, D’Artagnan his devotion. And I had Raoul. But we all had a common dream. That one day we would finally be able to serve a king who was worthy of the throne. It is what we dreamt, what we bled for, and what we have waited a lifetime to see. I taught Raoul to believe in that dream, and now my son is dead. And now I want to know if my son’s life was in vain. And the only person who can answer that is you.”

Philippe considers this, and ultimately decides to proceed with their plan. Athos teaches him how to conduct himself as royalty, to show no concern for other people and to stop using polite manners, since everyone else is expected to defer to him instead. He continues to remind Philippe that, especially in the case of King Louis, he must think only of himself.

The musketeers steal into the palace during a royal ball and kidnap the king, sending Philippe in his place. Philippe accidentally gives himself away when one lady stumbles to the palace floor. Philippe hurries down from his throne to help her up, an act which shocks and confuses everyone at the party. Then Christine storms into the court and presents evidence that Louis had her fiancé, Raoul, murdered, and Philippe – acting as the king – promises to make amends to her, rather than having her executed, as Louis would have done. D’Artagnan senses something is wrong and urges “the king” to accompany him outside. He and his guards discover the musketeers escaping with King Louis. D’Artagnan recovers him, and the guards capture Philippe while the musketeers escape, forced to leave Philippe behind.

D’Artagnan then learns the truth that Philippe is Louis’ own brother, as Louis orders him to be returned to prison and to the iron mask. D’Artagnan then joins the musketeers in an effort to free Philippe from prison.

Louis and his guards corner D’Artagnan and the others at the Bastille prison, giving them no escape. Philippe offers to surrender himself so the musketeers can be spared, but D’Artagnan refuses. He confesses to a secret affair with Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud), explaining that he is the father of both Louis and Philippe, and he can’t bear to let either of them die. He had served Louis all these years as a father, not merely as a soldier. Philippe recognizes that all this time, D’Artagnan himself was the one forced to wear a mask.

They all agree to face the kings’ guards together, and charge straight into the volley of gunfire. The guards are awestruck by the musketeers’ charge, and Lieutenant Andre (Edward Atterton) mutters, “Magnificent valor.” King Louis orders his men to fire. The guards are reluctant to shoot the legendary musketeers that they have always admired, and close their eyes as they pull their triggers. When the smoke clears, they discover that nearly every shot missed, and the musketeers and Philippe are still alive, walking toward them. The guards refuse to shoot at their heroes again.

After the guards learn that Philippe is the king’s brother, Louis tries to stab Philippe. D’Artagnan steps in front of him, so that Louis kills him instead. At this, Lieutenant Andre arrests the king, saying, “All I ever wanted to be … was him.”

Lieutenant Andre helps the musketeers to place Louis in the iron mask and replace him with Philippe. Being an honorable man, Philippe later grants a royal pardon to Louis and allows him to live out his days in a country house, away from the palace, while Philippe – posing as the king – restores order and peace to the country, thereafter remembered asFrance’s greatest ruler.

Honor is sometimes difficult to pinpoint. One man’s honorable actions – such as protecting a corrupt king – might seem dishonorable to someone else – like the musketeers who sought to overthrow him. Yet each person must determine to follow a set of guiding principles that benefit others, often at their own expense. Defending your honor might mean losing your reputation, your friends, your possessions, or even your life.

But if it serves others, rather than your own personal ambitions or desires, it’s worth defending.

Those people who act with honor are the ones who inspire us. Their example of self-sacrifice, courage and dedication lead us to become more like them: to become people of honor ourselves.

But honor is a compliment, after others recognize the way we have lived our lives.

The actions must always come first.

Find more reviews of “The Man in the Iron Mask” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Closed off from love, I didn’t need the pain

Once or twice was enough and it was all in vain

Time starts to pass, before you know it you’re frozen

When we try to show someone kindness and they respond by rejecting us or betraying our trust, we’re very cautious about showing the same kindness again. Once bitten, twice shy. Not only do we hesitate to offer the same open and honest love to that person, we also shrink away from showing that love to anyone else.

Some people live out their entire lives following a policy of self-preservation, keeping others at a safe distance. They want to protect their heart from being broken again, so they keep their emotional guard up at all times. They have decided the best way to live life is to live it in self-defense.

Trying hard not to hear, but they talk so loud

Their piercing sounds fill my ears, try to fill me with doubt

Yet I know that their goal is to keep me from falling

The problem is that such a life can’t be called living. It can be called self-preservation, self-defense and self-serving. But to actually live life, we need to go beyond ourselves and connect with other people. If we focus only on ourselves – even protecting ourselves from emotional harm – we never learn how to love. Love is an action, not merely an emotion, and it requires reaching out to someone else. So in order to love – and to truly live – we have to risk being burned again.

But nothing’s greater than the risk that comes with your embrace

And in this world of loneliness, I see your face

Yet everyone around me thinks that I’m going crazy

Maybe, maybe

Several years ago, a friend of mine, Janice Ceszyk, shared some wisdom about this issue. She had reached out to certain people to try to help them, trusting them to hold up their end of the bargain. Instead, she found that some people responded with bitterness, deception and rejection. She wondered why she should keep sacrificing her time and effort to help others or why she should show anyone any kindness at all, rather than just withdraw from everyone and mind her own business. After all, who wants to keep being made a fool of, for loving people who only respond by mistreating you?

But I don’t care what they say, I’m in love with you

They try to pull me away, but they don’t know the truth

My heart’s crippled by the vein that I keep on closing

You cut me open and I

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love

Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love

You cut me open

But she realized something: if she reaches out to someone in love, or puts her trust and faith in someone to change their ways, only to be disappointed by them later, that does not make her foolish. It simply makes her a loving person who is willing to trust others.

By contrast, some people allow themselves to be beaten down by the harsh treatment they receive from those they try to love. So they build up calluses on their once-soft hearts, which make it harder for them to love anyone else. They grow so accustomed to protecting themselves from emotional harm that they lose their ability to take emotional risks. They’re focused on maintaining personal safety and control. Things they can’t always have if they reach out in love.

And it’s draining all of me

Though they find it hard to believe

I’ll be wearing these scars for everyone to see

Don’t be afraid of the pain you may suffer for loving, trusting and believing in people. Some of them will surely let you down. But the heartache they give you is nothing compared to the stone cold heart you could develop if you refuse to show love. Don’t let your heart grow hard and defensive, no matter how many times other people wound you. Keep your heart tender.

The fact that your heart can be hurt is evidence that it’s still beating.

Find more reviews of “Spirit” at amazon.com!

 by Randall Allen Dunn

Having grown up with both comic books and movies, I never expected to see anyone make a movie about an entire team of superheroes. I was a kid when moviemakers went to great lengths and plenty of screen time to make moviegoers believe a man could fly in “Superman: the Movie”. It was hard enough to convince audiences that one person could develop incredible superpowers and fight crime. To convince people that several such individuals could exist, it seemed they would have to introduce each of the heroes individually first, one movie at a time.

And they did. In a long-term endeavor, the Avengers were introduced through separate films, with each one hinting in post-credit scenes that the future Avengers team would be formed. The result was an impressive and entertaining team of characters with very distinct personalities and powers, creating a “star-studded” superhero movie.

Of course, for it to work, these intriguing and powerful individuals had to learn how to function as a team. Which meant letting go of their individual agendas.

When an interstellar demi-God named Loki (Tom Hiddleston) attackes the secret government agency, S.H.I.E.L.D. and brainwashes one of their agents, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) – also known as Hawkeye – Col. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) decides to draw together these superheroes for help. Loki intends to take over the earth with an onslaught of alien monsters, once he establishes a portal that allows them direct entry into the human world.

Fury sends another S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) – known as the Black Widow – to recruit one of the most dangerous and reclusive would-be members, Dr. Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), whose anger triggers a transformation that transforms him into the raging monster known as the Hulk. Banner makes it clear that he doesn’t trust S.H.I.E.L.D. or the United States government, whose military have often hunted him down to try to use his monstrous persona as a weapon. But he agrees to come along when he learns that Romanoff wants to recruit him for his scientific expertise rather than his power as the Hulk, so that he can help analyze the tesseract that threatens to open up a portal to Loki’s world.

The government also recruits the self-obsessed, irreverent billionaire Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.), whose high-tech flying armor earned him the name ofIronMan.When he sees the potential danger of the threat, Stark also agrees to tag along.

Fury himself approaches Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), who made a heroic name for himself as Captain America during World War II. Having just been revived from suspended animation,Rogersis now trapped in a world where all of his old friends and comrades are dead. All he knows now is his commitment to serve his country in whatever way he can, even if he no longer fits in with modern society.

When Iron Man and Captain America confront Loki, they encounter Loki’s powerful half-brother, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), who insists on dealing with Loki himself. He assures the others that this matter is beyond their ability to handle. But the three of them make a temporary truce and agree to take the captured Loki to S.H.I.E.L.D.

The team’s various personalities and personal goals soon come into sharp conflict. Particularly between the all-business, all-dutiful Captain America and the clownish egocentrism of Iron Man, who finds Captain America’s concepts of self-sacrifice for a greater cause to be old-fashioned and unrealistic.

Even harder to bring together are the Hulk and Thor, neither of whom whish to spend any more time with the group than they have to. Thor has little faith in the team’s abilities, and the Hulk doesn’t trust their intentions or their concern for his own welfare.

Ultimately, they learn that each member of the team has something unique and vital to offer. Banner and Iron Man challenge CaptainAmerica’s blind allegiance to S.H.I.E.L.D., when the evidence shows they are hiding something. This leads Captain America to do some private investigation of S.H.I.E.L.D. and learn that they themselves plan to use the tesseract as a weapon, which the other team members consider too dangerous to be left in any government’s hands.

When the Avengers finally mount a united attack against the invading alien forces, Captain America assumes leadership, using his military strategy to direct each member in using their individual skills to the best effect. Trusting his direction, the other members follow his instructions and repel the invaders.

Even Iron Man, after ridiculing Captain America’s ideas of self-sacrifice, realizes the value of such ideals when he is forced to sacrifice himself. Using his suit’s power, he seals the portal and stops the invasion, but in the process cuts himself off from his own world as he pushes through it to the alien world. Captain America’s noble example led him to understand what it means to make such a hard choice. To be a genuine hero.

Fortunately, Thor uses the power of his mystical hammer to pull Iron Man back from the portal, and the team is briefly re-united before calling it a day, to part as friends and comrades. Despite their differences and individual agendas, they now know they can all work together again if the need arises,

Having great skills and abilities make us each a valued member of a team. But if we can’t also choose to contribute our gifts for the good of our teammates, instead of holding back to benefit ourselves alone, we will never truly be part of that team.

Which means we will never be as strong as we could have been.

Find more reviews of “The Avengers” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

No one likes being rejected. We all work hard to persuade others to like us, either for who we are or for who we think they want us to be. We’re often so hungry for acceptance that we’re willing to change our public appearance and persona in order to fit in.

So when rejection comes, it’s hard to handle. Especially if we’re depending on the acceptance of others for our own self-worth.

The television series, “Victorious”, features Tory Vega (Victoria Justice), a teenage girl who has transferred to a high school forHollywoodhopefuls. In one episode, her former boyfriend from the last school, Danny (Matt Angel), surprises her by appearing there. When she asks Danny what he’s doing atHollywoodArtsHigh School, he explains he’s visiting his new girlfriend – who happens to be Tory’s best friend, Cat (Ariana Grande).

After a very awkward moment, Tory and Danny encourage everyone to relax, since Tory ended her relationship with Danny a long time ago. Still, Tory’s rival, Jade (Elizabeth Gillies), encourages any tension she can play up to make Tory squirm.

Which works well for her when Cat makes brownies for Danny and Tory insists that Danny won’t eat brownies. When Cat makes Danny try one, he finds they’re delicious. Tory can’t understand why he likes them when she had made him brownies twice and he claimed he didn’t like brownies. When Tory tries one of the brownies herself, she discovers that Cat bakes much better than she does.

Later at a party, Tory finds Danny and Cat in a passionate kiss. She suddenly snaps and turns up the pressure of a cheese fondue fountain nearby them, spraying them both with melted cheese. Danny and Cat are stunned. So are all the other kids who witness the attack.

So is Tory. She can’t explain why she did it, since she’s not sure herself. She runs off, ashamed and humiliated.

Later, she tries to apologize to Cat, but instead runs into Danny instead, who tells her that Cat is still busy trying to get cheese out of her hair. Tory apologizes to Danny and assures him she wants the two of them to be happy together. Danny asks Tory she’s acting this way when she’s the one that dumped him. He asks if she’s still harboring feeling for him, and she insists that she’s not.

The next moment, they’re kissing one another.

Just as Cat emerges from the bathroom to see them. Devastated, she runs off before Tory can catch her.

Cat refuses to take Tory’s calls and avoids her at school. Until Tory finally corners her and drags her into a broom closet so they can talk. She tells Cat how sorry she is for acting so strange.

“You sprayed cheese on me and then kissed my boyfriend. Why would you be mean to me?” Cat asks.

“I don’t know,” Tory says, wishing she knew why she acted in such a cruel and inconsiderate manner. “Maybe I did still have a few tiny little feelings left for Danny. And maybe that’s why I went a little crazy, seeing you two be all mushy together.”

“You could’ve just talked to me about it,” Cat says.

“I know. What I did was terrible and awful and immature and you have every right to be furious with me. I swear, Cat, if I were you, I’d just punch me right in the face.”

Cat, being naïve, complies, and socks Tory’s nose. Tory explains through her pain that her statement was just something that people say. Thankfully, all is forgiven as Cat takes Tory to the emergency room.

Tory got caught in a trap of emotions that ran so deep she couldn’t even see them. She already knew that Danny wasn’t the right guy for her, which was why she broke it off. But when she saw him giving such lavish attention and affection to someone else – even when that someone was her best friend – she only saw her own hurt. Her own loss of the boyfriend she could have had. Even if it wasn’t the right boyfriend for her.

When someone else is chosen over us – for a job, a position on a team, or even a relationship – we wonder what’s wrong with us. We rarely consider the qualities or strengths of the other person that made people choose them. We’re too focused on ourselves and our imagined shortcomings.

But each person is unique. In truth, you and I are not the right people to pick for every opportunity or project, let alone for every person to date. We all have flaws as well as strengths. And even if our personal attributes make us seem like the perfect candidate for some opportunity or special relationship, we can’t force other people to recognize it and choose us. The choice is theirs. But our choice to appreciate ourselves and the qualities of others is a choice we can make. Once we do, knowing we won’t always be chosen, we can be free to be happy for the person who received something wonderful.

Especially when it’s someone we consider a friend.

Find more reviews of “Victorious Season 1, Volume 2” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Divorce is easy. Marriage is hard.

We’ve probably heard something like that before, but we don’t always follow through to apply it. Of course, no one enjoys divorce, and I realize there are some extreme situations in which divorce becomes necessary, when there is physical danger to a spouse or children.

Most divorces don’t fall into that category.

More often, what makes a divorce are little things that start out as small slights and offenses. Over time, they become a pile, then a mountain, and then ultimately, a divorce. Most irreconcilable differences were very reconcilable at one point, but one or both spouses let those problems spiral out of control until they no longer knew how to address them.

If, that is – they ever knew how to address them in the first place. If those problems had been dealt with when they surfaced, that couple’s marriage might have easily weathered the storm and stayed afloat instead of sinking.

In the 2005 remake of the film, “Yours, Mine & Ours”, naval officer Frank Beardsley (Dennis Quaid), a widowed father of eight, runs into his high school sweetheart, Helen North (Rene Russo), a widowed mother of ten. After catching up again and falling in love all over again, they throw caution to the wind and get married aboard a cruise ship.

Their kids are a little surprised. Let’s be honest: they didn’t plan this very well, for themselves or their family.

But Frank and Helen are determined to make it work, despite his regimented approach to running a house and her free-spirited approach. They believe their loving commitment can overcome whatever obstacles life – and their kids – throw at them.

They’re wrong. The kids soon realize that the only way to get rid of their new annoying siblings is to get their parents to split up. So they secretly band together to set their parents against each other.

It’s amazing how easy it is. All they needed to do was re-organize Helen’s messy design studio, the week she was commissioned to do a lot of work for a major fashion client. When Frank sees the room, he thinks it looks great – “shipshape”. He doesn’t notice how upset Helen is that she can’t find any of her materials to work.

To set Frank off, they just needed to ask Helen for permission to have some friends over, allowing an all-out destructive party at their beautiful new home. When Frank clears out the horde of guests by threatening to draft them into the Navy, the kids explain that Helen said it would be okay.

Frank and Helen soon become far less enamored with one another. She’s tired of his heavy-handedness and he’s tired of her refusal to live by any standards. They’re ready to call it quits, realizing they rushed into their marriage blindly.

And, of course, they did. It seems that a lot of people fail to plan ahead when they choose who to marry, to help ensure their marriage survives.

And, no, it’s not to make promises to always love one another, no matter what.

It’s discussing more practical, less romantic things, like how many children to have, and how to raise and discipline them. Or what career goals each person has, and how they like to spend their spare time. Or how to work together on a project, like doing the daily boring chores of cleaning and maintaining a house, paying the bills, and making friends with new neighbors. Of course, those plans can, and will, change, especially after you get married. But if you want a houseful of kids and your lovely partner wants none, you’ll be in for a big shock when you have that conversation after you’re already married. If you want to move to whatever city offers the best job promotion while your spouse wants to settle in one town, you might start to feel resentment over your sacrifices if you didn’t expect to make it.

In short, they should have communicated. Before and during their marriage, not after. When they become annoyed with each other’s habits, or concerned about their plans for the future. They needed to recognize that to preserve their marriage, they had to join forces. To not view themselves as separate people, calling things “my money” or “my career” or “my kids”, but sharing all of it and calling it “ours”.

Once a couple recognizes that they’re in it together, they realize they can’t just let problems fester. They have to work together to resolve them, before they grow too huge to handle. If Frank and Helen had talked about their concerns openly and honestly when they first arose, the kids’ shortsighted plans to break up their marriage would never have gained any ground.

In the end, the kids realize how happy Frank and Helen were together, and confess their scheme. Frank and Helen then realize they do still love one another and can work things out, if they’re willing to work through it. Together.

People usually divorce over bitter feelings and arguments that turn into spiteful comments and humiliations, when spouses treat one another with contempt instead of honoring one another. It starts the same way that every other broken friendship starts: one person says or does something that hurts the other person’s feelings, and they never address it. Because they never learned how to talk to one another. To get past the gooey emotions and get down to the practical working out of their love.

If you love someone, you’ll learn how to express your personal needs, despite how uncomfortable it makes you. You’ll learn how to give up some activities that otherwise seemed all-important. You’ll learn how to do whatever it takes to keep that person standing beside you.

But if it’s not that important to stay together, then divorce is always an easy option. It’s always easy to stay offended, to treat minor slights as major insults, to disregard someone else’s needs because they disregarded yours. It’s always easy to say you’ll change if they do, or to promise you’ll tell them you love them if they tell you first. When you put your spouse first and yourself second, you’ll be taking the first step toward putting your marriage back together. Until you do that, you’re still heading toward divorce. But if you can get past the small things by letting go of the disappointments, inconveniences and discomfort, you’ll be able to save something far more valuable: your marriage.

Find more reviews of “Yours, Mine & Ours” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Mr. Thom Popper (Jim Carrey) has a particular problem: a package of penguins has been deposited on his doorstep. Perplexed, he ultimately perceives that this is the prize his estranged father promised to send him. Popper’s perambulatory pop traveled the world, leaving his son in the lurch as he neglected to return home, or return calls on their ham radio.

As an adult, Mr. Popper purchases properties, but fails to perceive how his habits of perpetual neglect have prevented him from connecting with his own estranged wife, Amanda (Carla Gugino), and his two children, Janie (Madeline Carroll) and Billy (Maxwell Perry Cotton). While Popper peruses recipes for parboiling the six pesky penguins, his ex-wife and kids pop in to party for Billy’s birthday, and Popper pretends that the penguins are Billy’s perfect surprise present.

Meanwhile, Popper plans to become partner of his real estate firm by promising to prevail upon Mrs. Van Gundy (Angela Lansbury) to finally permit him to purchase Tavern on the Green, a posh restaurant that Popper used to visit with his dad while Popper was still just a peanut. Despite its sentimental appeal for him personally, Popper agrees to provide the place to his firm so they can plant their own properties on it.

But the penguins have preoccupied all of Popper’s time, rendering his purchasing plans powerless, even with the aid of his perfect personal assistant, Pippi (Ophelia Lovibond), who likes to pronounce words with lots of ‘P’s.

As Popper’s children warm up to him once more, actually preferring to spend the night at his apartment, Popper becomes profoundly passionate toward the six penguins – and toward his ex-wife, Amanda, all over again. He produces a new floorplan for his apartment, providing snow and ice for the penguin pack, and becomes even more preoccupied with them upon learning that a few of them are pregnant.

His employers pop in, prepared to stop the proceedings at Popper’s apartment. Upon seeing how possessive and obsessive Popper has become with his penguins, they pluck him from his position. But Popper purports that all of their efforts at the office are pointless if they ignore the most precious things in life. “Some things are just too important to miss,” he pronounces, as he waits patiently for the last egg to hatch.

When it doesn’t, Popper is perplexed and deeply disappointed. He provides the local zoo with his personal pets, hoping they will prove to be better parents to the pack.

But Popper’s children are puzzled by the penguins’ disappearance, especially when Popper poo-poo’s their complaints and proclaims a return to reality, preparing to pursue his purchase of properties once more. He purposes to never again pin his hopes on eggs that refuse to hatch and only prove disappointing.

Plucking a letter from the place it had fallen off of the package crate, Popper peruses it to find a penned apology from his papa, with the hopes that this present of lovable pet penguins can make up for all the lost years. Popper pre-empts his plans, making the rescue of his penguins top priority. Transporting his family to the zoo, Popper learns the pack is being prepared for shipment to various locations, parceled out in exchange for premium tropical animals to populate the zoo in the penguins’ place. Popper springs the purloined penguins from their prison and peels away in his limousine. He interrupts Mrs. Van Gundy’s press conference with a plea for her to keep possession of her restaurant. But spotting how Popper has put his family back together and protected the penguins, Van Gundy sells the restaurant to Popper instead, recognizing him as the young boy who often appeared at the restaurant, and now perceives that he still holds to the principles he prized as a child. Surprising his real estate partners, Popper proclaims that they can’t purchase the property, as he purposes to renovate the restaurant and re-open it.

He then reports to his former family that he plans to depart for a long, long trip … and promptly insists they accompany him. Arriving in Antarctica, they point the penguins in the path of their penguin families, planning to return for visits, having put their own family back together.

Papas aren’t perfect. When they prove themselves incompetent in prioritizing their families, then their families lose their faith and stability in life. After all, if their pop couldn’t put his pathetic life together, why should anyone else purpose to do it?

But some papas, after slipping and plopping in a pile of mud, prove they can stand upright and make another attempt. They prompt themselves to remember the point of being a father, to protect and provide for their children the way a penguin gives top priority to a hatching egg. To push away the things that distract and prevent them from fulfilling their purposes, to do all they can to lead their offspring safely into the primitive-minded planet, as productive members of society.

Being a papa – or a parent – is no picnic, and plenty of parents will disappoint their impressionable offspring. But papas must push their own pride and pursuit of pleasure aside and purpose to press on. It’s a parenting skill that all fathers must develop, if they ever hope to teach their children to spread their wings and fly.

Happy Father’s Day!

Find more reviews of “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

The other night at dinner, Nicki wondered if I’m spending more time on writing than I need to, because I’m not spending much time with her and the kids.

Abby immediately piped in. “You’re always working, and you never have time to play with me,” she said. She put up a hand, trying to look understanding, though it felt more like she was patting me on the head. “Now I knooow that you have to do lots of work, and I knooow writing is veeery important … To you.”

It was funny and sad at the same time. Sad because I know it’s true. Over the last two months, Abby has asked me to play with her several times, and I usually tell her I have work to do.

Which is also true. With creating lessons for teaching 6 writing classes a month, my life is busier than it’s ever been. Once I complete all of my reading and researching, I still need to learn how to format e-books for publishing, update the Character Entertainment website, and finally get back to writing new stories again.

But I don’t want to lose the short time I have with my kids. I don’t want to discover one day that twenty years of their lives have flown by, and the only thing I built during my time with them was my own career.

In the film, “Mary Poppins”, Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson) seeks a nanny to look after his children, whose antics have chased away every previous nanny his wife hired. Taking matters into his own hands, he determines to find a nanny that can keep Jane (Karen Dotrice) and Michael (Matthew Garber) in line. The children apologize for their misbehavior, and offer their own suggestions for an advertisement. They want a nanny who is kind and pretty, and ready to sing songs and play games with them. In other words, someone happy and fun!

But the last thing Mr. Banks wants is a “fun” nanny. He tears up their ludicrous “advertisement” and tosses it in his fireplace. But after he turns away, the torn pieces float up the chimney.

A nanny soon shows up on his doorstep, descending gracefully from the clouds as she holds onto an umbrella. A strong wind has just blown away every other applicant, leaving the umbrella-wielding Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews) as the only possible choice. She presents Mr. Banks with the children’s ad, its pieces now fully restored, and reads from it to provide her qualifications. She takes the job and entertains the children with songs, games and outings to the park, including a magical trip into a chalkboard drawing to visit a beautiful countryside populated with animated carousel horses and dinner-serving penguins. The children have more fun with Mary Poppins and her friend, Bert (Dick Van Dyke), than they’ve ever had with anyone!

But they still miss their father.

When Mr. Banks tries to teach the children responsibility by urging Michael to deposit his money into a savings account, the father’s greedy boss (also Dick Van Dyke) frightens the children so much that they run off. Their antics create a panic at the bank that leads to the shaming and firing of Mr. Banks.

At which point, he realizes that his career wasn’t all that important after all. What good was it to chase after his career and to maintain a proper image if it cost him his own children?

For the first time since his childhood, Mr. Banks learns to laugh and play again, and takes his children out to fly kites together. And as Mrs. Banks (Glynis Johns) decides to limit her time spent on political activities, they all decide that they don’t really need a nanny anymore.

Because they have each other.

When our lives get busy, it’s easy to let our busy-ness crowd out time with our kids. A mountain of tasks piles on top of another mountain, until it’s all we can see.

But if I focus only on the mountain, I’ll miss the times I have with my kids for the few short years they’re living at home – times I can never get back once they’re gone.

When I called Nicki from work yesterday, I asked to talk to Abby, who was playing a computer game. On the phone, she gave short answers to all my questions about her day. She finally explained, “I’m having trouble because I’m talking on the phone and I’m playing a game. It’s kind of hard.”

I understood, and we cut our call short. I was disappointed, having really wanted to just talk for a couple of minutes.

And I realized she was doing the same thing I had been doing. As that endless “Cat’s in the Cradle” song started droning in my mind, I considered what a small thing this was. I didn’t expect her to stop her game so we could talk. But as she grows older, video games will be replaced with sports and parties and other activities, and she won’t have any time to spend with me, the same way I didn’t have time to spend with her. Not because she didn’t want to talk to me.

She would simply be busy.

This morning, I hugged Abby and we laughed and played together. Then I tried to apologize for not spending more time with her lately, to tell her it was wrong and I was sorry. But she was too busy goofing around, hanging sideways from my arms and making silly faces. She didn’t need any apology or explanation. She just needed me to be there.

And I’ve decided I will be.

Find more reviews of “Mary Poppins” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Have you ever considered that the prettiest girl on the block might not be the most beautiful? We all know that “beauty is only skin deep”, but in our image-obsessed society, very few people actually live by that knowledge. Most people never allow themselves to see beneath the surface.

In the film, “Get Smart”, CIA Analyst Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) dreams of becoming an Agent. When a CIA crisis provides him the opportunity for promotion, he is overjoyed … and embarrasses himself by accidentally squealing for joy in front of his co-workers.

Unfortunately, his new partner, Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway), is not thrilled about being saddled with a novice agent. And Max’s ongoing blunders make her trust him less and less. However, Max proves himself to her over time, demonstrating skills of negotiation and insight that she never dreamed an agent could possess.

One of his impressive stunts always reminds me of an experience I had myself. At a party, Max draws everyone’s attention by asking a woman to dance. The gorgeous woman standing closest to him responds with a snooty air, “I don’t think so.”

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Max says, looking instead at a very heavyset woman sitting on a bench behind her. She is shocked that Max has picked her over the other three hotties, and accepts his invitation. They take the floor, out-dancing the party’s host as he dances with Agent 99.

I expect Max knew that this woman might be someone who was often overlooked by our image-obsessed culture. Where others only looked at the surface and found the overweight woman unattractive, Max saw a human being, who might be fun to dance with. And he was right.

He also knew what it felt like to be passed over, having been very overweight himself for many years. Not to mention being passed over for promotion, and looked down on for his inexperience as an agent.

I spent a lot of my school years as a nerd, who was dismissed by most of my peers. I wasn’t athletic, good-looking, charming, or fashionable. The friends I made were typically drawn to the person inside – someone who was caring, loyal and accepting of others.

After I graduated high school, I was at a party where I asked out an attractive girl if she wanted to dance. She declined, and I moved on. I asked out another stranger, who was less attractive on the surface. She accepted, and we had a great time together.

Years later, a wise man at my church advised me to start dating more, because it was a great way to get to know people and see whether a relationship might develop. I decided to ask out women who were less than my ideal, physically, because I knew that physical attraction grows when you are attracted to a person’s inner self. It seemed silly to limit myself to only dating the most beautiful women I could find, when I was searching for someone who was beautiful on the inside.

When we look beneath the surface, we find something much deeper and more rewarding than a beautiful exterior. Don’t overlook the beauty waiting to be discovered within someone.

Find more reviews of “Get Smart” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

Nicki and I just started watching the remastered editions of the original “Star Trek” series. (Which, by the way, is the only way to watch them anymore, where the special effects are updated and the planets look like planets, so that it’s no longer embarrassing to watch the original shows without having to keep explaining that those were the best special effects they could do on television in the 1960’s.)

Still, I felt a little embarrassed about watching the episode, “Mudd’s Women”, with my wife, about three sexy women who are brought aboard the starship and give all the male crew members fits. Seeing the episode title, Nicki said, “‘Mudd’s Women’? Like, are they wrestling or something?”

I instantly felt more comfortable, realizing how much worse the episode could have been. “I never even considered that,” I said. “I don’t know if anyone ever has.”

In the episode, Captain James Kirk (William Shatner) rescues a reckless space traveler, Harry Mudd, from crashing his own fleeing spaceship. Along with Mudd, they transport three deliriously beautiful women, whom Mudd describes as his “cargo”. He’s in the business of finding wives for men isolated on distant colonies – the future’s version of “mail-order brides” for the galactic frontier. In that fashion, the women are not slaves, but willing volunteers who are in an equally bad position, having no men left on their own planets.

What Mudd isn’t telling anyone is that these gorgeous women are gorgeous because of the illegal Venus drug, which transforms their ordinary features into those of goddesses. When they find prospective husbands among some dilithium crystal miners, the men are eager to seal the marriage deal. But when one of them discovers that his wife, Evie, is plain-looking without the drug, he feels cheated.

Kirk allows Evie to take the Venus drug again, transforming herself into a desirable woman once more. She only wants to show her new husband how meaningless it is to pursue a beautiful, vapid woman instead of a wife – someone who can be a friend and partner to him. Despite his rude reception of her, she’s already cooked him a good meal and advised him how to sand-blast his pans clean on his wasteland planet. She’s shown him how she can help him – as a wife. Not as a fantasy lover.

But Kirk reveals that the Venus drug Evie took was just colored gelatin. Evie became beautiful because she chose to see herself that way, instead of seeing herself as ordinary and plain-looking.

A marriage involves both.

My wife and I recently were blessed by our church with an overnight stay at a hotel, along with a gift card for a restaurant dinner. It was their way of saying thank you to Nicki, for all her work in heading up our children’s ministry this past year. Their only stipulation was that we not bring our kids, because they wanted us to have time alone to relax.

We weren’t sure what to do with that. I know many couples would love to get away from their kids, but we’ve never been that way. In fact, we haven’t had an overnight stay without kids anywhere since Abby was born, over five years ago. And anyone with kids knows that it takes extra time and money to hire a sitter and make plans for all of that alone time.

But once we had arranged for a sitter to stay the night and headed for our hotel, we soon discovered how much we needed the time away. It’s not as though our marriage was suffering. In fact, we have at least as much fun as most couples, and we rarely have arguments. When we do, they usually get resolved within a matter of minutes.

But after spending time by ourselves, I realized that we normally operate in “work mode”, figuring out how to manage chores of laundry, dishes, and kids, along with other activities of writing and church ministry. We have a great time together doing it, but it always involves work, even when we’re “relaxing” with the kids. It was rare to have an evening out, with no responsibilities. We didn’t know how much we needed that until we had it.

In a marriage, people need to know how to work together. To support one another as partners, co-workers, and best friends.

They also need to know how to let their hair down. To not view their marriage as a business relationship or a drudgery, but as the best relationship that one person can have with another. Something to be treasured and celebrated, in fun getaways, quiet moments, and intimate care for the one they love.

Nicki was surprised to find that she liked the “Mudd’s Women” episode. I’m sure she was relieved that it had nothing to do with mud wrestling.

I’m relieved to know that my marriage is real. Not something I have to endure, in order to help get things done. Nor is it merely a fantasy relationship, that looks sexy and exciting on the surface but lacks any real trust or commitment. Our marriage is fun and adventurous, as well as being practical and supportive. In short, we’re in love.

And we don’t need a Venus drug to stay that way.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Find more reviews of “Star Trek Season 1” at amazon.com!

by Randall Allen Dunn

I had always assumed that most people wanted to celebrate Christmas. Sure, there were people who hated the holidays, seeing them as nothing more than a burden, finding no joy in anything that happened throughout the season. But those were typically bitter people, full of cynicism and spite, who never expected anything good to come of any occasion.

So I was stunned to hear many people talking about Christmas with apathy or even antagonism. It seemed like a lot of people would be happy for the holidays to simply be over, so that they wouldn’t have so much work and pressure, with all the holiday trappings that interfere with their normal lives.

Frankly, I don’t get that.

I don’t understand how a celebration of hope, joy and love can become a burden to people. Whether or not you believe in God, why would anyone hate the thought of having a party to celebrate life?

Maybe some people haven’t found much in life that’s worth celebrating yet. And even at Christmastime – with the best opportunity for finding such things – they’ve given up the search.

One such person would probably be Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum), the young billionaire industrialist on the TV series, “Smallville”. Viewers know that Lex will one day become Superman’s greatest nemesis, but he wasn’t born evil, despite the emotional and mental abuse he received from his father. In one episode, “Lexmas”, Lex has a big choice to make at Christmastime, as he prepares to run for a senate seat. An associate assures Lex he can create a rumor that will remove his opponent, Jonathan Kent, from the race. But Lex is uncertain whether he’s willing to destroy the father of his best friend, Clark.

As he decides what to do, he is shot by two muggers, and falls into a dream-state while doctors work to revive him. In his dream world, he is married to Lana Lang (Kristen Kreuk), living a middle-class life with a young son, a minivan with a complicated car seat, and a new baby daughter on the way. From conversations with Lana and others, Lex gradually learns that it has been seven years since the shooting, and that he lost his inheritance after forfeiting the senate race.

More important, he finds that he is respected and admired by everyone around him. Not only his wife, Lana, but also Clark (Tom Welling), Chloe (Allison Mack), and other friends and associates who had always considered him somewhat suspect. For the first time in his life, Lex is completely trusted by those around him. Even Senator Jonathan Kent (John Schneider), who had never trusted Lex, tells him, “I never thought I would say this, Lex, but I couldn’t be prouder of you if you were my own son.” He makes this statement as he reveals privately to Lex that he has been chosen to receive the award for Humanitarian of the Year.

Lex had bought a big Christmas tree that day, explaining to Lana that his father had forbidden the celebration of Christmas in their home after Lex’s mother died. For him, a big tree represented all the Christmases he had missed when he was growing up.

Later, after everyone toasts his achievement at the Kents’ Christmas party, Lex decides that this has been the happiest day of his life. The spirit of his mother appears, telling him that this isn’t merely a dream, but it’s something he can have, if he makes the right choices.

When Lana has complications in childbirth and is near death, Lex has no choice but to seek out his father, Lionel (Jonathan Glover), to fly her to a specialist. But Lionel insists that Lex chose to live a middle-class life, without the money and power he should have pursued, and must now pay the consequence of his choice.

When Lex confronts the spirit of his mother, asking if this is the life he should choose, in which all of his loved ones die, she assures him that this is, in fact, life.

And it is. Like Lex, we can let fear drive us to believe that we need to control the circumstances of life, to force life to meet us on our terms. In such a life, there would be no poverty, no deaths, no arguments, and no disappointments. No pain of any kind.

But life without pain isn’t actually life. That sort of life is nothing more than a dream, from someone who isn’t actually experiencing the struggle of life, and the joy that comes with it. We can’t make our family love us, or keep our friends from leaving us. We can’t insure ourselves against the threat of job loss, demolished homes, or crippling injuries. We can’t make life favor us. We can only choose to live life, with whatever it throws at us, and whatever it gives us to sustain ourselves, day by day.

Surviving the injury, Lex wakes up in the present time, and makes his choice: to live happily ever after. But in order to live that way, he decides that he will need all the money and power he can acquire. So he tells his business associate to go ahead and discredit Jonathan Kent to knock him out of the senate race, as the spirit of Lex’s mother looks on with sadness.

Like everyone else, Lex decides what to do with Christmas, and what to do with his life. And like many people, he chooses poorly. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing money and power, except when it becomes valued more than people. Even more than the people that could be their best friends and supporters.

The problem is that Lex, like many of us, is scared. Scared that if he takes a risk to secure joy for himself, he’ll be disappointed. So he deludes himself into thinking he can prevent such pain, by providing himself with wealth and position, trusting it will also bring him love and joy.

It won’t.

Christmas is a time of hope, and hope isn’t for cowards. It’s believing for joy in the midst of pain. For provision in a time of poverty. For forgiveness from those you have hurt. For a second chance from those you have betrayed. Even a super-villain in the making can find a joyful life, if that’s what he really wants.

Because in the end, Christmas is a choice.

Just like peace.

Find more reviews of “Smallville Season 5″ at amazon.com!