My 10 Favorite Movie Characters of 2022, and What We can Learn From Them!

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Nightcrawler Experience!

2023 is now half- over, and as usual, my first entry of the year will be a faith- based look at my 10 favorite movie characters of the previous year.

Sorry it's taken so disgracefully long to get this one out, work has kept me unbelievably busy!
2022 produced a whole host of wonderful cinematic characters, so narrowing my list down to just ten this year was tough! 
All the same rules as usual apply:

1. The characters are not listed in any order of preference.
2. It can be any kind of character, be it hero, antihero, villain, or supporting character.

3. The characters can be from any movie that came out last year, be it in theaters or streaming online.

4. It can be from any genre of film, of any rating.

5. It can include original characters created for the film, or adaptations of characters from pre- existing properties that are getting the movie treatment.

6. It can include characters appearing for the first time in a movie, or those who we've seen before but who we learn more about.

Disclaimer 1: There will be some spoilers for the movies in question to better show why I like these characters and what they can teach us.

Disclaimer 2: Not every movie featured in this list is suitable for sensitive audiences (It should be pretty obvious which ones are and which ones aren't). Use discretion in deciding whether or not to see each of them or let children see them.

Disclaimer 3: I obviously do not own the rights to any of these movies or characters.

Now then, I've wasted enough time in getting this list out already, so let's jump right into it!


1. Abby Park, 'Turning Red.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user LegendsAvatar$$ at the Disney wiki at   https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Abby_Park?file=Turning_Red_-_Abby_first_appearance.png)

'Turning Red' was a fascinating and funny look at topics like growing up, different generations relating to each other (Always a topic I enjoy seeing addressed, especially when it's done in a balanced way that doesn't make it seem like one generation has all the answers and the others need to just shut up and listen), and all that those entail. It involves a preteen girl named Mei who discovers that a family curse- of- sorts causes her to randomly turn into a giant red panda, and all the problems and opportunities that this brings.

Mei has a nice little circle of friends that do what they can to help her through this, and while all of them are pretty neat in their own ways, my favorite of them, favorite character in this movie, and obviously one of my favorite movie characters from 2022 in general has got to be her pudgy, purple- clad pal Abby Park!
This girl is completely nuts, yet in such an adorable way! Her short fuse, her exaggerated facial expressions (Just look at the grin on her face in the pic of her I used), and her quickly leaping to all manner of extremes are SOOOOOO funny! Her beatboxing skills are pretty amazing, too. I'm sure most of us had a friend a lot like her when we were younger.
Her voice actress Hyein Parks gives such a great, enthusiastic performance, you'd never guess it was her very first acting role!

As crazy as Abby is, though, her heart is most definitely in the right place, and she is marvelously loyal to her friends. She does all she can to help Mei get this little problem of hers under control.
This ties in to the Spiritual lesson that Abby helps to teach us, on the importance of loyalty and helping our loved ones when they face trials. Galatians 6:2 teaches us to "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ." Just as Abby helps Mei in her struggles with the curse, we all need to do what we can to try and help our own loved ones who may be facing real- life trials, such as illness (Of themselves, or someone close to them), loneliness, and depression, not to mention loads of others. That kind of loyalty and compassion is what truly marks followers of Jesus.

So, there we have Abby Parks, a kooky little girl whose love and loyalty to those she cares about are rock- solid, and she can teach all of us to do the same. Just don't try and face off against her in a game of dodgeball, she can get a little TOO intense then!

Now, we go from one rather overweight supporting character to another:

2. Jacob Kowalski, 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore."

(Credit for this picture goes to the user Talisrael at the Harry Potter wiki at https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Jacob_Kowalski?file=Jacob_Kowalski_with_his_wand.jpeg)

Each of the 'Fantastic Beasts' films had a different character that particularly riveted me. In '... And Where to Find Them,' it was the main character Newt Scamander, in 'The Crimes of Grindlewald,' it was the evil Gellert Grindlewald, and in this one, 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,' it's the incredibly likable supporting character Jacob Kowalski. Right off the bat, Jacob is unique in that he is the only prominent character in the entire Wizarding World franchise (Including not just the 'Fantastic Beasts' series, but also the 'Harry Potter' series) who is a Muggle/ No- Maj, so seeing the ways he interacts with all the different magical elements and people he meets makes for some great moments. 'The Secrets of Dumbledore' is good old Jacob reaching his true potential and showing what a hero he can truly be.
At the start of the movie, though, Jacob is in a really rough place. He's incredibly sad and lonely due to his fiancee Queenie having left him and joined the Dark Side at the end of the previous movie, his bakery that he sunk everything he had into is now struggling to stay open, and he is just generally miserable.
Things take a turn for Jacob when the witch Lally and his old friend Newt Scamander end up recruiting him in their attempts to stop Gellert Grindlewald from seizing power over the wizarding world.
Jacob ends up having quite a few adventures over the course of the movie: He is almost certainly the first Muggle/ No- Maj to enter Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a VERY long time, he attends a number of very important wizarding world functions, helps foil an assassination attempt, stands up to one of the most feared dark wizards of all time, and is nearly killed multiple times. Yet, it turns out well in the end: He directly helps save the entire world from falling under the will of a wanna- be tyrant, his bakery gets back on its feet, and (This is what had me straight- up cheering the first time I saw it in theaters) he gets Queenie back. Throughout it all, he remains the kind, brave, loyal, lovable gent he has been all through the series, and his actor Dan Fogler's performance is as great as ever.

The Biblical point that Jacob helps to drive home is on everyday goodness and heroism that we all can show. At the start of the movie, like I said, he is not in a good state. That evening, while he is closing up the bakery and wallowing in self- pity, he sees a woman across the street apparently being harassed by a group of guys. Even though he's not exactly a combat expert and they outnumber him three to one, he still bravely heads out with a frying pan and tells them to scram. It turns out to be Lally and a few friends of hers staging it in order to sort of test Jacob and help him realize the hero he still has within him. That, then, leads to this exchange:

Jacob: "(Indicating the frying pan he is holding in his hand)  Look, see this? See the pan? That's me. I'm the pan. I'm all dented, dime- a- dozen, I'm just a schmo. I don't know what kinda crazy ideas you have in your head, there, lady, but I'm sure as Hell you can do a lot better than me."
Lally: "I don't think I can, Mr. Kowalski. You could have ducked under the counter, but you didn't. You could have looked the other way, but you didn't. In fact, you were willing to put yourself in danger to save a perfect stranger. Seems to me, you're just the kind of average Joe the world needs right now. You just don't know it yet; That's why I had to show you."

Many of the figures in the Bible who went on to do incredible things started from unimpressive, average backgrounds. David was a shepherd boy and the youngest and smallest of his brothers, yet he went on to be a king. Peter was a probably- illiterate working- class fisherman with loads of issues, yet he became the leader of Jesus's disciples. Jesus Himself was the son of a poor carpenter, yet He saved all of mankind and altered the course of human history forever.
In much the same way, I'm sure many of us see ourselves as nothing special, but through following the Lord Jesus, trusting in Him, and striving to model everyday goodness and kindness like how Jacob did in the movie, we too can do incredible things for God and for the world around us.

Even though the poor box- office performance of 'Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore' led to the cancellation of future sequels in that series, at the very least it ends on a good note for Jacob Kowalski, as he gets the happy ending he richly deserves for the good he did and the lessons he taught us on how anyone can become a hero.

Our next entry on the list is another average Joe who ends up doing pretty remarkable things, but unlike Jacob, he was actually a real person (Albeit a fictionalized portrayal of him):

3. Stuart "Stu" Long, 'Father Stu.'

(This fan- made icon was made by the Deviantart user Nandha602 at https://www.deviantart.com/nandha602/art/Father-Stu-2022-Movie-Folder-Icon-v2-913322957)

Right when I saw this movie, based on the true story of the late Stuart Long, I KNEW I had to put him on my list!
As we watch Stu in the movie, we see this troubled good- ol' boy go on all kinds of different paths over the course of his life; From amateur boxer eventually forced out of it due to injury, to struggling actor with multiple brushes with the law, to a nearly- fatal motorcycle accident which gets him thinking more about God and the concept of eternity, to finally setting out to become ordained as a Catholic priest. Even then, life has one more devastating curveball to throw at him.

Mark Wahlberg gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from him when playing Stu. He perfectly balances humor with heart, and you can feel for him with each of the assorted struggles he faces.
I'd say the Scriptural messages to be taken from Stu are pretty obvious. The first is on redemption and calling, and how God can save even the most fallen of us and give us new hope and a purpose. Stu was going nowhere fast throughout most of his life, accomplishing very little good and causing a lot of problems for others with his crude, reckless behavior. Nevertheless, God could save even him, helping Stu to find redemption through Christ and the chance to do great things for the Kingdom of God and draw others to Him. As he at one point puts it, " "God saved me and forgave me to show me that there's a reason I'm here." Interestingly enough, an epiphany similar to that was a part of what eventually led me to accepting Jesus as my own personal Savior in high school. It calls to mind 2 Corinthians 3:18, which says "And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever- increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." As learning more about the Lord saved Stu and transformed him from a directionless troublemaker into a genuine servant of Jesus, so He can save and transform all of us from flawed and desperate sinners into His true faithful servants.

Another point to be taken from Stu is the reality that if God is planning to work a miracle in us, Satan is going to do his best to try and stop it, but we must endure. Stu experiences this firsthand, between his parents scoffing at his newfound interest in the Lord, his girlfriend Carmen (A great character herself) attempting to dissuade him from getting ordained, and finally him being diagnosed with a terminal illness that goes on to have such a debilitating effect on his motor skills that the Catholic diocese very nearly cancels ordaining him because they're afraid his illness affecting his hands could cause him to not be able to properly serve Communion. Nevertheless, he pushes through, and his sufferings and losses draw him closer to Jesus than ever before. He has loads of great quotes throughout the film that show this:

"Like anything, Father, it's the struggle that brings you closer to God."

"When God wounds us, he calls us closer to Him."

"The experience of suffering is the fullest example of God's love. It is a chance to be closer to Christ."

There are loads of Bible verses that reinforce this. First up, 2 Corinthians 4:17 says "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." Also, 2 Timothy 3:12 says "In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted..." Lastly, God Himself says in Isaiah 43:2 that "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

It is just a simple fact that, when we start following Jesus and He begins working in us, the Devil will try and throw everything he can at us to try and stop us. Have faith, however, that God can get us through all of it, one way or another. If Stu could come to understand this so thoroughly through what he experienced, then so can we.
So, that sums up Stu, a great portrayal of a remarkable man who I wish I could have met when he was alive in real life. But, fortunately, we'll have that chance in Heaven.

Now, for the next entry on this list, we will be going from a troubled man who learns to reform and become good, to a truly evil young woman with no interest in reforming:

4. The Prince, 'Bullet Train.'

(Credit for the picture goes to Eric Berkling on the Villains wiki at https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/villains/images/7/72/BT-Character-Poster_Prince_Online-FormThePrinceBulletTrain_.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20220807072118)

As proof that God works in mysterious ways, it at times is strange to me how He helps these lists come about, and how suddenly they can change. Each time I make one of these character lists, I include one villain who I consider the best cinematic baddie from the previous year, and for months it was assured in my mind that the Coachman from Disney’s live- action ‘Pinocchio’ remake (Which I'll be talking about REAL soon in a future entry on this blog) would take that position for this list, as he was a wonderful, charismatic rendition of a deeply- underrated Disney villain. I had a lot of his entry written out, and his picture selected.

So, imagine my surprise when, in mid- January, I watched the 2022 film ‘Bullet Train,’ a marvelous action film about an assortment of assassins and spies each with their own missions and agendas who all happen to be on the same bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto, and found that film contained an even nastier and more effective villain who can teach a similar lesson to the Coachman, but does so in an even better way. Enter “The Prince,” a ruthless assassin posing as a British schoolgirl on board the train. She’s out to kill a powerful crime lord known as “The White Death” as an act of personal revenge, and to that end, she throws the young son of one of his enforcers off the roof of a department store, knowing that the enforcer would then track her down to the train. She points out that one of her men is watching the child’s hospital room, and will kill the boy unless the enforcer willingly acts as an accomplice to The Prince’s intricate plot to kill the White Death.

While The Prince may not be as physically capable as the other assassins on board the train, her specialty lies in her cunning and particularly in her knack for manipulation. She can quickly turn on the charm, acting like a shy, terrified schoolgirl (Complete with tears if necessary) to earn people’s sympathy or get them to underestimate her, then in the blink of an eye pull a gun on someone or drop a figurative bombshell on them.

Joey King (A young actress I’ve been a big fan of ever since 2012’s ‘Oz, the Great and Powerful,’ in which she played the adorable China Girl) gives a truly magnificent performance. When she puts on her innocent facades, even after knowing her true nature, it still seems hard to not be as taken in by her as everyone else is. When she shows her true colors and reveals what a merciless sociopath she truly is, it's genuinely scary.

The main lesson to be taken from the Prince is on being careful whom you trust. Someone can put up a good show seeming to be harmless or friendly, but turn out to be sincerely evil and out to lure you to your destruction, as the Prince was towards pretty much every character she interacted with in the movie. She saw all of them as nothing but pawns for her to exploit and manipulate for her own benefit, and there are plenty of people in the world who could view us in the same way. The Bible often teaches this, the importance of discernment in whom we trust. For instance, Proverbs 12:5 teaches that "The thoughts of the righteous are right, but the counsels of the wicked are deceitful." Learning who is okay to trust is a hard skill to develop, but with the Lord's guidance, you should be able to pull it off well.

So, there we have the Prince, an amazing villain who helps demonstrate that we need to be careful whom we trust, and not follow those who seem okay but inwardly are evil to the core.

A few other memorable 2022 movie villains include the aforementioned Coachman from Disney's 'Pinocchio,' Jimmy "Mr. Scrooge" Martinez from 'Violent Night,' the Riddler from 'The Batman,' the Grabber from 'The Black Phone,' and literally ALL the villains from 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' (They're each awesome in their own way: Goldilocks and the Three Bears bring some humor and loads of heart, Jack Horner brings hilarious scumbaggery and acts as the most prominent threat, and Death brings a sense of more subtle yet terrifying menace and drives the titular character's inner turmoil).

Fortunately, our next entry on the list is a much more pleasant female British character:

5. The Ghost of Christmas Past, 'Scrooge: A Christmas Carol.'

(Here she is, guiding a reluctant Ebenezer Scrooge along the path to redemption; Credit for this image goes to the user Jeminali on the Netflix Wiki at https://netflix.fandom.com/wiki/The_Ghost_of_Christmas_Past?file=Scrooge_A_Christmas_Carol_Scrooge_and_The_Ghost_of_Christmas_Past.png)

There have been TONS of adaptations of Charles Dickens' unforgettable novella 'A Christmas Carol,' each of which brings something different to the table. While this version of it, which premiered on Netflix last November, isn't really one of my favorite versions of it (I personally think the 2009 version with Jim Carrey is the best, with 'The Muppet Christmas Carol' in close second), it definitely has lots of strengths and high points, with one of the foremost being how it portrays the Ghost of Christmas Past!
In most versions of the story I've seen, I've found the Ghost of Christmas Past to be honestly one of the least memorable of the major characters. I mean, that portion of the story in general is wonderful and quite essential to revealing Ebenezer Scrooge's backstory, getting him to feel a little more remorseful for how he treated some of the people in his life, and paving the way for his redemption, but the Spirit itself as a character doesn't have the charm or poignance of the Ghost of Christmas Present or the quietly ominous scare- factor of the Ghost of Christmas Future.
This version changes all that, making her easily the most memorable and likable of the three Spirits, and in my opinion the best character in the movie as a whole! Here, she is a perky, quirky, shape- shifting candle- woman delightfully voiced by Olivia Colman, who you can tell is having so much fun with the role! She hardly goes 20 seconds without bringing a smile to my face if not an outright laugh! Most of the movie's funniest moments involve her. I think this version of her could even make for a nice spinoff movie, maybe seeing her help someone else come to terms with their past!

Another thing I like about this version of the Ghost of Christmas Past is that, unlike prior versions of the character who are more like impartial observers of Scrooge's past, she seems just as emotionally affected by what she and Scrooge discover in his past Christmases as he does. In the scene where we see the memory of Scrooge's long- lost love Isabel breaking up with him (To the accompaniment of a suitably heartbreaking song called "Later Never Comes"), the Ghost appears to be on the brink of tears watching it. 
One more thing I like about this version of the Ghost of Christmas Past (Especially in comparison to other versions of the character) and that ties into the Scriptural lesson she helps to teach, is that she not only shows Scrooge's past, but also helps point out the real importance of our pasts. As she tells Scrooge at one point in the movie, "The past can hurt, especially yours; but, it can also heal, IF you learn from it."

 As I explained during my review of 'Avengers: Endgame' a few years ago, remembering and learning from our pasts can greatly help guide us throughout our lives and out walk with God. Throughout the Old Testament, the Israelites were in a kind of loop; They'd start faithfully serving the Lord, then over time, they'd forget all that He had done for them (i.e. Freeing them from their time of enslavement in Egypt, guiding them to the Promised Land, etc.) and start sinning and worshipping false gods, then God would allow them to be conquered and subjugated by rival nations, then over time the Israelites would turn back to God and He would free them again, and the cycle would start all over again. It's all because they kept failing to properly remember and honor their pasts, using the examples of all that God had gotten their ancestors through as proof that He is there for them and will continue to lead and guide them as long as they remain faithful to Him.

Isaiah 46:9 instructs believers to "Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me." Also, Romans 15:4 says "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
Through properly remembering our pasts, we can come to grips with our mistakes, learn from them, find peace over them, and see all the ways God has guided us through our lives and will continue to do so if we let Him. It might at times be painful, but it is how true healing through Christ can come.

That's about it for the Ghost of Christmas Past, a marvelous new take on a key character from a timeless story, who teaches us all an equally timeless message on the value of our pasts.

Next up is another character from a Christmas- related movie, except this one is a LOT more robust:

6. Santa Claus, 'Violent Night.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user Spongetoonnetwork on the Christmas specials wiki at https://christmas-specials.fandom.com/wiki/Violent_Night?file=ViolentNight.webp)

'Violent Night' was a bloody, chaotic, immensely entertaining Christmas action film, that can best be summed up as imagining the movie 'Die Hard' if its hero was Santa Claus instead of John McClane. And, what a Santa (And hero in general) he is!
We see here a gruff, boozy, world- weary Kris Kringle, played by 'Stranger Things' star David Harbour. He nails this role, showing that Santa's grown tired of doing this Christmas gig for going on 1100 years now, yet still tries to be committed to bringing joy to children, and is trying to power through his disillusionment with Christmas and do his job as best he can. That is a great, original way to handle this character.

Speaking of original ways to handle it, the way they use his "Naughty/ Nice List" is really cool, too. Merely opening the list will cause it to magically display the name of the person he's thinking of, which of the two categories they fall into, and their good or bad deeds. It's amazing to see, almost like a fusion of modern technology and good old- fashioned Christmas- magic (Speaking of which, this Santa also has the recurring catchphrase of saying, regarding his Santa- magic, "I still don't really understand how it works."). Plus, seeing the good and bad deeds of each character examined with it is pretty funny.

 Another thing I like about this version of Santa is that his disillusionment with Christmas that he feels at the start of the movie isn't just the usual "Christmas has become too commercialized, and kids have become too greedy and materialistic" point that we often see in Christmas movies. There is a little of that, but he also has grown to greatly dislike how increasingly tedious his job has become, as we see nearly everyone on his list now only wants three things for Christmas: Video games, gift cards, and cold hard cash.
All that changes one Christmas Eve, however. While drunkenly making his deliveries, he learns that a sweet little girl named Trudy and her wealthy extended family are in grave danger, having been taken hostage by a gang of mercenary thieves out to crack and plunder a massive safe that the family matriarch has hidden on her property. At that point, this not- so- jolly St. Nick decides to step up, save little Trudy and her family (Even though most of her relatives are pretty rotten), and teach the evil thieves a new meaning to the phrase "You better watch out."

One more immensely cool thing about this version of Santa is what we see as his backstory. Normally, in movies that show Santa's backstory (Including a couple I covered on this blog in the past, like 'Santa Claus is Comin' to Town' and 'Klaus'), we see that he was always a good, kind, generous man who eventually gained magical powers. That is NOT the case here. In a neat flashback scene, we learn that this Santa was once a particularly brutal Viking warrior known as "Nicomund the Red" who spilled a TON of 10th century blood with the aid of his warhammer "Skullcrusher" before eventually reforming and becoming a symbol of hope and goodwill.
That backstory even factors into how we see Santa fight the thieves in this; He's quite skittish about using guns, but once he gets his hands on a sledgehammer, he starts wielding it like the old pro that he is.

The Biblical lesson to be learned from 'Violent Night''s Santa is on staying true to our faith and the good work we do even when it gets rough and we don't feel like doing it anymore. Santa certainly learns this over the course of the film. As I said, he had been getting sick of doing this for as long as he had and how tedious it had become, but helping to save Trudy and her family and seeing the faith that she inspires in them and in him renews his love of Christmas and his commitment to spreading yuletide cheer and goodwill. As he tells Trudy in the end of the movie, "Thank you, for reminding me that Christmas still matters; That I still matter. You gave me my 'Ho, ho, ho' back."
In much the same way, for us as Christians, remaining committed to serving the Lord with our gifts and ministries can get tiresome, and we can have a hard time seeing the point of it. I've felt that way about this blog on some occasions, and about the other work for the Lord I engage in. Nevertheless, I endure because I know that what I do in service of Jesus has eternal effects and rewards, and the same goes for each and every one of you in the good that you all do for Him in your own lives. Galatians 6:9 says "Let us not become weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Remember that always, to never give up in our acts of service for the Lord.

So, that sums up 'Violent Night''s Santa Claus, a marvelous hero guaranteed to make everyone try extra- hard to remain solidly on the Nice List, if for no other reason than to make sure none of us earn a date with "Skullcrusher."

Our next entry on the list makes for another character who's not exactly kid- friendly, and seems to not belong on this list, but he actually does have a lot to teach us in his own way if we let him:

7. Beavis, 'Beavis and Butt- Head Do the Universe.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user "MasterShake" on the Beavis and Butt- Head wiki at https://beavisandbutthead.fandom.com/wiki/Beavis?file=Beavis-1.png)

Yeah, I know it seems weird to use this character in this capacity, but just hear me out.

Last year saw those two lovable morons Beavis and Butt- Head make their long- awaited return via the hilarious Paramount Plus streaming film 'Beavis and Butt- Head Do the Universe,' in which the dim- witted duo become part of a 1998 NASA mission into outer space (As you can probably guess, they mess it up), get sucked through a black hole time portal into the year 2022, and wreak all kinds of havoc in their continued, endless pursuit of some day scoring.

 While Butt- Head remains mostly the same as ever throughout the movie, we quite surprisingly see Beavis experience some real growth and development as a character, and learn that he is actually A LOT more complex than he always seemed. While Beavis has always been consumed with the obsessive desire to score with a woman, this movie marks the first time that he actually, genuinely falls in love with one, at times with no physical lust involved at all. Mike Judge does his usual great job with Beavis's gravelly voice, at times even bringing real, relatable emotion into it.

A key scene with Beavis takes place about a third of the way into the movie. Having acquired a smart phone, Beavis unwittingly activates the interactive phone service Siri, and mistakes her voice for a woman named Serena that he and Butt- Head hoped to hook up with (As you can probably guess, the feeling is not mutual). He then is alone in a room with the phone, and starts having a conversation with Siri in which he really vents his emotions and bares his soul to her, which goes as follows:

Beavis: "So, um, I know you probably like Butt- Head more, but I was thinking..."
Siri: "I don't understand 'Butt- Head.'"
Beavis: "Yeah, yeah, heh heh, me neither! It's like, he thinks he can tell me what to do, he's always trying to kick my ^## for no reason, and it just gets old after a while! Heh heh, you know, I'm tired of it."
Siri: "How can I help you?"
Beavis: "Oh, just, you know, listening helps a lot. I guess I never really had anybody that actually listens, like, when I'm talking and stuff. Like, nobody hears the real Beavis. You know what I'm sayin'?"
Siri: "I don't understand 'Beavis.'"
Beavis: "You know, neither do I sometimes! Yeah, heh heh. Neither do I."

There is SOOOOO much depth and spiritual meaning from that exchange. Deep down, all Beavis really wants is people in his life who care about him, who listen to what he has to say, and are interested what he's going through. Really, most people you'll meet are like that, just wanting to know they are loved and listened to, and we should try and do that for them, especially as part of our walk with God.

Scripture is filled with calls for this. Galatians 6:2 instructs believers to "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." We need to be willing to look after each other and help each other (Especially our brothers and sisters in Christ) with a listening ear and a compassionate heart, through whatever we each may be facing.

Another Scriptural lesson that Beavis can teach relates to bringing hope. At one point over the course of the movie, the boys find themselves in jail and Beavis turns into his wild, hyper alter- ego "The Great Cornholio." In this state, he incites an inmate uprising over their unfair treatment by the guards (Most notably not being given enough toilet paper) that leads to genuine change and reform happening in the jail. A guard makes the comment that "He did the most dangerous thing he could do in this prison... He gave those men hope."
Hope can indeed be a powerful if not "dangerous" thing, as it can give people the strength to endure the hardest of times in the most desolate of places, by causing them to know that they can rise above those circumstances, even if they can't see how just yet. Hope is a key part of the Christian walk, the hope that God provides that He will get us all through this life, has amazing plans for us, and is preparing a place for us in Heaven. Romans 8:24- 25 says that "For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Jesus is truly the ultimate bringer of hope.

That's about all there is to say about Beavis. He's as funny as ever, but also surprisingly deep and teaches us a lot here. As he himself would put it, "WHOA! That rules, heh heh!"

Next up is one more "Moral grey- area" kind of character:

8. Teth- Adam/ Black Adam, 'Black Adam.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user BuccaneerMarx on the Heroes wiki at https://hero.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Adam_(DC_Extended_Universe)?so=search&file=Black_Adam_%28DCEU%29.webp)

'Black Adam' was an intense, action- packed joy of a movie, with the entire cast quite solid. However, the standout was definitely the titular antihero from DC Comics, played by action superstar Dwayne Johnson.
The movie shows his backstory very well. Teth- Adam originally lived thousands of years ago in the country of Kahndaq, and gained powers to help overthrow the tyrant who had been oppressing and enslaving his people, but in the process, he let his rage overtake him, caused catastrophic damage that killed millions, and was magically buried/ exiled until finally being unearthed in the present day. He's regarded by the history books as a liberator of his people, but when unearthed and finding a new group of villains oppressing his country, he starts throwing down against them, but he yet again starts going too far, leading to a group of heroes called the JSA having to intervene. Eventually, he learns to control himself more, use his powers in a more helpful way, show mercy as much as he can, and eventually save all the world, and gains the new codename "Black Adam."
Black Adam is a character I'm not too familiar with, other than knowing that he becomes the main archenemy of the superhero Shazam, but the movie turns him into an excellent antihero that audiences can cheer for in one scene, then cringe in terror at in another scene. A scene early on in which he completely annihilates an entire squad of enemy troops to the accompaniment of the Rolling Stones' classic "Paint It, Black" is truly unforgettable in its carnage and sheer coolness. Dwayne Johnson brings his usual excellent screen presence to the character, but at the same time makes him a good deal darker than most of the roles he usually plays.

The first Scriptural lesson that Black Adam teaches is on self- control and especially controlling one's anger. As indicated earlier, his allowing his sheer rage to consume him caused untold suffering and death, and it's not until he learns to control it that he can become more of the hero that he is remembered as by his people. Self- control is a key part of the Christian walk, including properly controlling your anger. Psalm 37:8 tells us "Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil." Ecclesiastes 7:9 says "Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools." Proverbs 25:28 says "Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control." Those who have no self- control and let their anger control them may not be capable of leveling entire kingdoms like Teth- Adam did, but they can ruin relationships, get themselves in all kinds of trouble, and greatly hinder their Christian witness. 

There’s also the matter of using your gifts for good. Teth- Adam, when he first gained his powers, became so blinded with rage over what had been done to him and his family that he became just as destructive as the tyrant he was trying to free his people from. In the present day, the JSA and the other new friends Black Adam makes help him learn that he needs to truly put his amazing powers to the best use he possibly can, becoming a force for freedom and justice rather than a force for vengeance. In much the same way, we all have our own gifts and talents, and God gave them to us not for our own benefit, but so we could help others and glorify Him. 1 Peter 4:10-11 says "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." We all have things we are good at, that God can use to help spread His salvation and His love to those around us, we just have to be receptive to using them the right way.

That's about it for this portion of the list and the look at the great antihero Black Adam. In conclusion, to paraphrase a key quote from his movie, when someone asks you how you learned the importance of self- control and directing your talents for good, "Tell them the Man in Black sent you!"

Now then, we go from a male antihero discovering his more heroic side, to a female hero wrestling with a newly- discovered dark side.

9. Giselle, 'Disenchanted.'

(She's definitely not looking as chipper as she used to. Credit for this image goes to the user Lola987 on the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Giselle/Gallery?file=Disenchanted_-_Photography_-_Evil_Giselle.jpg)

I have always adored the 2007 fantasy film 'Enchanted,' in which animated fairy tale girl Giselle (Amy Adams) falls through a portal and finds herself in real- life modern- day New York, gains newfound perspectives and helps others to do the same through her cheer, kindness, and belief in the power of true love.
Last year brought it a sequel, 'Disenchanted,' in which Giselle has married her true love from the first movie, Robert, and we see them move along with Robert's now- teenaged daughter Morgan and their baby daughter Sofia to a new house out in the country town Monroeville. Needless to say, it turns out to not exactly be the ideal, happy existence Giselle had hoped it would be. The house is in the middle of being renovated, she's starting to have clashes with her teenaged stepdaughter, and other problems ensue.

 When Giselle acquires a magic wish- granting wand, she uses it to wish that her life could be like a fairy tale again. While it leads to some fun things like talking appliances and animals, and spontaneous musical numbers, there is a colossal downside to this: Not all fairy tale characters are good, ESPECIALLY step- parents. Giselle starts acting more like a fairy tale "wicked stepmother," cold and cruel to Morgan and viciously power- hungry, determined to become the new ruler of Monroeville. Her good and evil personalities war with each other constantly as the movie progresses, leading to a great ending.

Giselle has always been a great character, but 'Disenchanted' made her so much more complex. Amy Adams's performance as her is a masterstroke. Her "Good" moments are as delightful and heartwarming as they were in the first movie. Her "Evil" moments are brilliant as well; At times in this mode she is sinister and calculating (While still maintaining some of her old mannerisms), other times she is hilariously over- the- top, especially in the rivalry she forms with the town's snooty mayor Malvina (Maya Rudolph) who has been turned by the spell into an "Evil Queen"- type. They have an amazingly catchy villain- song- duet called "Badder," and you can tell both actresses must have been having the time of their lives making it. Nevertheless, by the end, we are eager to see Giselle restored to her pure- hearted old self, and her good relationship with Morgan restored as well.

The Biblical lesson that Giselle helps teach is on the transformative effect of unconditional love. As I said earlier, as the movie progresses and the spell does its thing, Giselle's good side and her newfound evil side clash with each other a lot, and the evil side quickly begins prevailing. Fortunately, the good in her is still there, and Morgan ultimately helps bring it back out of her again by reminding Giselle of all the love that she has always had for her husband and stepdaughter. This helps Giselle to snap out of it and undo the wish before its effects become permanent.

Unconditional love can indeed have a powerful, transformative effect on people. It can help end quarrels between families and friends, restore and strengthen bonds, and enable people to see the world in different ways. 1 Peter 4:8 shows this by telling believers to "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." It was God’s own unconditional love for all of us that led to Him sending His Son to Earth to die on the cross to save us from our sins. Romans 5:8 shows this by reminding believers that "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." We all similarly need that kind of love and mercy towards others, to help mend our relationships and she a light on God's amazing love.

That wraps up our look at Giselle, a character as delightful to watch as she's always been (Even when her nastier side starts coming to the forefront), who teaches an equally delightful message on what unconditional love can do.

Our final entry in this list is another character from a film series that takes a rather satirical look at fairy tales, but this time from Disney's #1 rival Dreamworks:

10. Puss in Boots, 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user RRabbit42 on the Dreamworks wiki at https://dreamworks.fandom.com/wiki/Puss_in_Boots:_The_Last_Wish?file=Puss_in_Boots_The_Last_Wish_Official_Poster.jpg)

'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' was a straight- up animated masterpiece on a lot of different levels, a wonderful improvement from the previous movie in that series, one of the best animated films I've seen in years, and one of its main strengths is how amazingly well it handles its title character.

In this, we see that Puss (Voice of Antonio Banderas) remains the daring, adventurous hero he has always been, but also see the downside of this early on; His reckless lifestyle has resulted in him dying multiple times (Complete with a pretty darn funny montage of his previous deaths, from being trampled in a Running of the Bulls, to falling off a roof while drunk, to an allergic reaction to eating shellfish, and so on), and now he is on the last of his nine lives. A terrifying encounter with Death itself leads to Puss retiring and going to live with an old cat- lady, briefly taking up a miserable existence as a regular housecat who goes by the name "Pickles." Thankfully, this depressing state doesn't last long, as Puss learns of the existence of a magical star that can grant a wish to whomever finds it first, and so he reasons that he could use its power to get all his lives back. Along the way to try and find this star, he makes new friends, reconnects with old ones, and learns a lot. 

Puss in Boots has always been easily one of the most likable and entertaining characters in the Shrek universe, and that certainly holds true here. While he still has his charm, his courage and his cocky, devil- may- care attitude, he also now has newfound vulnerability, gains a sense of humility, and starts to develop deep connections to his companions over the course of his journey to find the wishing star.
'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish' deals a lot with various concepts relating to life and death. Puss comes to learn that, rather than trying to regain the lives/ time he has lost, he needs to cherish the life he has left and make the most of it.

Indeed, making the most of our life and the time we have left on Earth are important themes talked about in the Bible. Ephesians 5:15- 16 instructs believers to "Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." An excellent way to ensure we get the most out of life is through actively pursuing the growth of our spiritual lives. Proverbs 21:21 says "Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity, and honor." This is what God intended us to do with our lives. In fact, John 10:10 has Jesus Himself saying that "I came so that they (All of us) might have life- indeed, so they can have life to the fullest."

Who would have guessed that a cartoon cat in boots could teach us all such a wonderful Scriptural lesson in such a magnificent movie? Good kitty!

A few honorable mentions for this list include include Lemon from 'Bullet Train' (A black, British assassin loosely affiliated with the Yakuza who has a deep love of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' and used what he learned from it to help him read people; You gotta admit that's an original concept for a character), Perrito from 'Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,' Dr. Fate from 'Black Adam,' Mr. Wolf from 'The Bad Guys,' Carmen from 'Father Stu,' Billy Butcherson from 'Hocus Pocus 2,' and P.B. the potbelly pig from 'DC  League of Superpets.'

That’s all for this long- overdue edition of the Nightcrawler Experience.
You won’t have to wait long at all for my next entry, as this very Thursday I will be starting my annual partnership with St. John’s United Methodist Church’s Summer at the Movies event, so stay tuned for that.
Until then, stay well, and may God bless you all!

Standing Against Selfishness, Witnessing for Truth, and Knowing the Reason for the Season: A Faith- Based Look at 'The Pee- Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special.'

 Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience! Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas!
Sorry this Christmas- related entry is coming so late, I was UNBELIEVABLY busy this Christmas season, and could barely get it out at all!

 I will be continuing a series of entries on this blog that I call "A Very 80's Christmas." I started it last year with my look at 'He- Man and She- Ra: A Christmas Special,' but my computer died on me so I had to put the series on hold after that.
Well, now I've got a new computer, and am ready to dive right back into my faith- based look at certain 80's Christmas specials. Unfortunately, my planned third and final entry for this series will have to wait until next Christmas, so you'll just have to be patient for that one! Sorry! 

Anyway, today, I'm going to take things on an admittedly rather weird note by looking at the Christmas special for the incredibly surreal TV series 'Pee- Wee's Playhouse.'

It was a children's show that ran in the late 80's and involved the incredibly eccentric man- child Pee- Wee Herman (Played by Paul Reubens, and yes, I'm fully aware of the scandals he was involved with which led to the show's cancellation), and his various friends, human and puppet alike, interacting with each other in his big Playhouse. Practically everything in the Playhouse was alive and talking, from the furniture to some of the food in his fridge to even a section of the floor! In each episode, there is a "Secret word" which, if spoken by a character over the course of the episode, causes everyone in the Playhouse to loudly scream (In this Christmas special, the word in question is "Year").
Needless to say, this was a weird, weird show, but funny and pretty memorable. It also gains points for being an early career role for a young Lawrence Fishburne, who plays Pee- Wee's buddy Cowboy Curtis.

The Christmas special, made in 1988, was pretty straightforward in terms of plot: After a REALLY snazzy opening musical number featuring the UCLA Men's Glee Club singing like a Marine Choir, we see that it's Christmas Eve in the Playhouse, and Pee- Wee and his pals are preparing for it in various ways. Along the way, various guests drop by to offer presents and well- wishes to Pee- Wee and co., from usual supporting characters on the show to a whole plethora of celebrities making cameos. We see them all go through all kinds of holiday and winter- related activities (From interesting ways to make homemade Christmas cards, to a nice Hannukah moment, to various games that can be played in the snow), and Pee- Wee making his gigantic list of presents he wants from Santa.
Then, in the end of the special, Santa himself shows up, and it leads to a quite nice and heartwarming ending and a merry Christmas for all!

This short is absolutely jam- packed with cameos from 80's celebrities. Admittedly, most of the celebrity guests seen in it are now either dead or has- beens, though a few of them are still rather relevant today (i.e. Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Cher), and the episode uses most of them in pretty funny and clever ways, sometimes to sing a song, other times to just talk with Pee- Wee for a bit. The use of the late Dinah Shore in particular makes me laugh HARD every time I see it!

It can also feature at times some subtle humor aimed squarely at adults. For instance, the first guest/ visitor Pee- Wee receives at the Playhouse is his lovely friend Miss Yvonne (A recurring supporting character on the show), bearing a gift. Always fashion- forward, she shows up with a new hairstyle that has mistletoe on it to ensure that she gets as many kisses as possible from the others there. A number of the Playhouse characters volunteer for this, and Pee- Wee chimes in, "So, Miss Yvonne, before you start makin' out with everyone in the Playhouse, how about forking over the gift?"
Speaking of gifts, there's a pretty funny subplot in which each and every guest who comes to the Playhouse over the course of the special (Both the recurring characters from the show, and the celebrity guests) gives Pee- Wee a fruitcake as a present. Making it especially funny are Pee- Wee's reactions to each one (Paul Reubens has such an expressive face), the heavy metal "CLANG" sound effects used whenever Pee- Wee sets one of those Yuletide monstrosities on a table or shelf, and how this dilemma with all the unwanted fruitcakes is ultimately resolved at the end of the show in a quite clever way.

Basically, the 'Pee- Wee's Playhouse Christmas Special,' while bizarre, nevertheless is very funny and enjoyable as an "Off the beaten path" Christmas special. Just don't expect a lot of high drama from a show with talking puppet furniture.

In spite of how weird at times this special is (Not to mention how weird its star is), it does have some pretty good Scriptural lessons.

First up, this special earns some serious cool- points for the fact that it at one point quite unashamedly talks about what Christmas is truly meant to celebrate. Near the end of the special, Randy (A mean little marionette who acts as kind of a recurring antagonist on the show) attempts to sabotage Pee- Wee's lighting of the Playhouse's Christmas tree, on the grounds that he hates Christmas because he believes was just made up by corporations to "Exploit consumer guilt." Pee- Wee points out that this is wrong, and has his friend the Magic Screen shows a video of a Nativity play and explains that it is celebrating the birth of the Christ- child in Bethlehem and the Wise Men bringing Him gifts. Randy is noticeably moved by this, and even thanks them for setting him straight on the matter.

We as Christians should similarly be prepared to stand against the world's lies about the faith and the Savior it's geared around. 1 Peter 3: 15 says "Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it." That's what Pee- Wee and the Magic Screen do for Randy, and that's what we all should be prepared to do to any who may have questions or misconceptions about our faith.

The special also offers a good lesson on the problems that selfishness can cause, shown in two parts. Right from the start, Pee- Wee's only caring about making his Christmas list consumed his thoughts so much in the beginning of the special that he completely forgot to put up the Playhouse's Christmas decorations, which he laments as a direct consequence of only thinking about himself; Fortunately, a well- placed wish to his pal Jambi the Genie (Did I mention that this was a REALLY weird show?) enables the Playhouse to be magically decorated in seconds thanks to Jambi's magic. Then, it's really driven home in the very end of the special: Santa arrives at the Playhouse, having given Pee- Wee every gift on his massive list. However, Santa points out that he spent so much time making all the MANY gifts on Pee- Wee's list that he couldn't make any for the other children of the world, and asks if Pee- Wee would be willing to let Santa have his presents and give them to all the children. Pee- Wee is at first hesitant about this, but then remembers his own words from earlier in the special: "Christmas is the time when we should be thinking about what we can do for others," and so he agrees to let Santa give his presents away. Santa is so impressed with Pee- Wee's selfless generosity that he lets Pee- Wee ride with him in the sleigh and help him deliver the presents that night, and the episode ends with them happily doing that while flying around the world.

The Bible is littered with condemnations of selfishness. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says "No one should seek their own good, but the good of others." Also, Proverbs 11:25 says "A generous person will prosper; Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." As Christians, we know that the truest joy and happiness comes from putting others before ourselves, and that especially holds true during the season of Christmas as we celebrate God being willing to give us the ultimate gift of His Son coming to Earth to eventually save us from our sins. So, we too should be more willing to give than to receive. Acts 20:35 points out the exact point, when it says "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give, than to receive.'"

That sums up my look at the 'Pee- Wee's Playhouse' Christmas special, an odd but fun Yuletide gem which teaches great messages on putting others before ourselves and always being prepared to witness to others as to the truth of Jesus.

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. I'm working on my Top 10 Movie Characters of 2022 list, so keep an eye out for that entry when it comes.
Until then, happy New Year, and may God bless us all!

Focus, Courage, and Leaning on the Word: A Christian's Guide to Halloween Horror Nights.

Hi everyone, and happy Halloween from the Nightcrawler Experience!
This will be an unprecedented sort of entry for this blog; It doesn't involve a movie (Directly, anyway), TV show, book, or video game. It involves a seasonal event at a theme park.
I am a devoted fan of Universal Studios' annual "Halloween Horror Nights" event. This is in fact my thirteenth year of attending it. I went each year from 2007 through 2010, for one night in 2014 (I was only able to hit about half the Houses that year, but my friends and I made good choices on which ones to hit), then each year from 2015 to the present, including the sort of quasi- year they had in 2020, in which they didn't technically have the event due to the pandemic, but opened a couple of the planned Houses during regular park hours (It was christened "Halloween Horror Lite" by fans for that reason).

(Credit for this image goes to the user HorrorUnearthed on the Halloween Horror Nights wiki at https://halloweenhorrornights.fandom.com/wiki/Halloween_Horror_Nights_31?file=3E0A51B3-337C-4EB3-8E6F-5FD6214C62DC.jpeg)

First, I might as well describe it for those who are unfamiliar with the event:

Halloween Horror Nights is an annual Halloween event they have at the Universal Studios theme park, after normal park hours. It was first held in 1991, though that first year it was known as "Fright Nights." It's been held every year since, if you again count the quasi- event they held in 2020.
 While a few of Universal Studios' normal rides are open during the event (Mainly the really popular ones like 'Revenge of the Mummy,' 'Men in Black: The Ride,' and 'Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit'), people tend to come to Horror Nights more for the terrifying special features it has. The big focus of the event is on the Haunted Houses (Sometimes known as "Mazes," even though you travel in a normal walking path through each of them), scattered throughout the park, some based on previous intellectual properties like movies or TV shows, while others are original concepts that the events' writers came up with. After waiting in line like you would for a ride, you eventually enter the Houses, and make your way through them, with performers known as "Scareactors" popping out at you at random points in each room. Each House takes approximately 3-5 minutes to walk through, and they're usually pretty dark and there is NO flash photography or video recording allowed.
A nice thing about the event is that, to ease the tension a bit, each year usually features at least one "Scary/ funny" House that blends laughs with screams through the use of dark humor in various forms.

In addition to the Houses, there are also what are known as "Scare Zones." These are areas in the normal walking spaces of the park which each have a special theme and their own Scareactors who might similarly jump out at you or lunge at you, but whom you can also take pictures of or with if you so choose.
The third unique feature to Halloween Horror Nights is that there is often at least one live show each year. For decades, there was 'Bill and Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure,' which had the famous movie duo and their time- traveling phone booth hilariously satirizing whatever movies, shows and celebrities were big that year. Sadly, it ended in 2017. The performance dance troupe known as Academy of Villains have also had a few shows at Horror Nights in recent years, but that too ended a couple years ago when the troupe was forced to more or less disband amid a "Me Too"- esque scandal. There is frequently also a magic show of some sort, and they've recently started having a lagoon show in which the fountains and bursts of water on the theme park's lagoon are combined with creepy holographic images projected onto them to create a nice little show.
Another element that Halloween Horror Nights often has is an "Icon," a scary original character who acts as the host/ Master of Ceremonies for that year. For this year, they're bringing back an evil being known as "The Pumpkin Lord" who is kind of the master of Halloween, and first debuted last year in the marvelous "Wicked Growth: Realm of the Pumpkin" House.
One more just generally cool perk about Halloween Horror Nights is the specialty foods and drinks they serve at the events.  As a matter of fact, from what I've heard, the profits made off of HHN's specialty drink sales alone make it one of Universal's biggest moneymakers of the entire year! While I can't speak for the drinks (I can't hold alcohol very well, and by the end of the night am usually battling fatigue already, so I don't want to have any alcohol in my system when I'm driving home to worsen things), the foods are usually awesome, and this year they've seriously outdone themselves! I highly recommend the Pizza Fries (French fries topped with cheese, marinara sauce, pepperoni, and often bits of hamburger), as they are a longtime staple of Horror Nights for a good reason. Another French Fry- related dish which they debuted this year that is pretty good are their "Petrified rat tails" (Funnel cake fries topped with crab dip and chopped scallions). One dessert item I'd suggest avoiding is the "Major Sweets' Ice Cream Sandwich," which is a quite large ice cream sandwich with two candy- corn- shaped cookies (With a cute face drawn on them) and candy- corn- flavored ice cream. It tastes really good and all, but the cookies are too thick and hard to really work for an ice cream sandwich, and the ice cream melts FAST.

Here are the Haunted Houses they have this year, and my thoughts on them:
1. 'Halloween.' A walkthrough of scenes from John Carpenter's classic 1978 horror film of the same name, in which you'll be face- to- face with the horrifying killer Michael Myers. It's quite similar to when they did a House based around that movie back in 2014, but with some new twists added. There are loads of scares in this one, as Michael Myers is practically EVERYWHERE in it in one form or another, and other Scareactors playing other characters from the film (i.e. Laurie Strode, Dr. Loomis) will occasionally pop out at you as well. A small weakness this House has is that many of the scares, especially those tied directly into memorable scenes from the movie (i.e. The scene in the end when Dr. Loomis empties a pistol into Michael Myers until the lunatic is knocked out a window by the force of the bullets), depend on you arriving at certain points in the House at just the right moment.

2. 'Bugs: Eaten Alive.' This original House, which is the token "Scary/ funny" House this year, puts you in a 1950s- style "House of the Future" which boasts of using a cutting- edge new form of pest- control technology called "Exterminair" that supposedly kills pest insects AND cleans/ purifies one's home and air at the same time. As you can probably guess, it turns out to have (If you can forgive the pun) a few "bugs" to work out. As you progress through the House, swarms of vicious, hyperaggressive bugs altered by exposure to "Exterminair" descend upon you, and many quickly mutate into giant abominations as big as a person if not bigger. Let me tell you, this House ROCKED! It had scary and gross moments (From the Scareactors playing big mutated bugs, from ones playing their tormented victims, AND at times from special effects), some funny moments largely centering around the 1950s aesthetic they used, and impressive set and character designs. The only thing I'd have improved was, while there were a good variety of insects seen wreaking havoc in the House (i.e. ants, flies, bedbugs, LOTS of spiders and cockroaches, etc.), there were no mosquitoes at all and only I think one use of bees/ wasps/ hornets. I'd imagine seeing more of those types of bugs mutated by the effects of "Exterminair" could REALLY get some screams from people! Just picture a scene with a giant mosquito completely sucking a person dry! Oh, well, a wonderful House anyway. 

3. 'Universal Monsters: Legends Collide.' For the last few years of Horror Nights, Universal has featured Houses that wonderfully incorporate their classic movie monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, etc.), and they are now continuing that trend with this House. In this one, we find ourselves caught in the middle of a three- way battle royale between Dracula, the Wolf- Man and the Mummy, as all three of them are duking it out over possession of a magical Egyptian amulet; the Wolf- Man thinks its power could cure his curse, Dracula thinks it could enable him to survive exposure to sunlight, and the Mummy is the one it belongs to in the first place and isn't too eager to part with it. This house was great, large and scary, but a weakness it has is that I'd say it relies WAY too much on the Mummy appearances, at the expense of the other two monsters. So, while you have the Mummy lunging at you in almost every room, Dracula doesn't seem to appear at all until near the end. One plus to it is that the final room in it varies a lot in depicting which of the three monsters ended up winning the battle (My first time hitting it, Dracula was the winner, but my second visit ended with the Wolf- Man on top), so multiple visits might be required in order to see each outcome.

4. 'Spirits of the Coven.' Similar to 'Bugs: Eaten Alive,' this too is an original House which is a period piece, though this one is set in the 1920s; Evil witches disguised as beautiful 1920s "Flapper girls" lure you into their coven's speakeasy, only to then attempt to make you the key ingredient in their foul brew. Even though this House is not very popular among fans, I must say, I personally LOVED this one! The costume designs and set pieces were really fitting for its historical setting, and there were loads of scares. However, the best thing it had going for it (Besides its clever and original concept/ setting) is how well it gradually amps up the intensity as you proceed through it. It starts by seeming like a typical 1920s speakeasy in terms of its appearance/ set design, the flapper girl witches seem like beautiful normal dancers who will maybe just jump at you a bit, and the other employees there (i.e. The bartender, the piano man) also seem like normal people who'll maybe just do a little jump and growl at you. Then, as you proceed further in, the place looks seedier and more dangerous, with dark rooms and assorted corpses and body parts of previous "Customers" on display (i.e. One section which looks like the speakeasy's gambling room has a roulette wheel with a severed head on top of it), and with the girls now looking more haggard and aggressive. Finally, by the last few rooms, it appears to be more like a decrepit dungeon, and the witches have completely shed their past disguises and now lunge at you shrieking in their hideous, cronelike "True" forms. In short, I highly recommend this House, it's probably my favorite this year.

5. 'The Weeknd: After Hours Nightmare.' This House is based around the songs and music videos of the rap artist known as "The Weeknd." His songs and videos often contain horror elements, and this House has us walking through scenes from several of them. It's recommended that you watch at least a few of the music videos of the songs from his 'After Hours' album first in order to understand what you see in this House (In particular, the videos "Heartless," "In Your Eyes," "Too Late," and "Save Your Tears," as well as the "After Hours" short film). If you just go in blind, figuratively speaking, you won't have a clue what's going on. That being said, it does have a few memorable moments, such as a scene in which you seem to almost get hit by a subway train and a Hall of Mirrors portion. So, an alright House all in all.
6. 'Fiesta de Chupacabras.' This original House puts you in south of the border, where a small Mexican village has what appears to be a big annual party, but it is in fact designed to lure tourists in to be used as sacrifices for the Chupacabras (Monsters from Mexican folklore, usually depicted as slaughtering and drinking the blood of goats, but these varieties seem to be hungrier for humans). This House worked pretty well, as the village seemed quite realistic in terms of its layout, it really feels like you're in the middle of a Mexican block party between the music and the regular sounds of fireworks going off, and the townspeople lunge at you with machetes and wearing creepy fiesta- type masks for good scares. When the Chupacabras first really show up halfway into it, they look awesome! They're extremely well- made animatronics that look sort of like a cross between sabretooth tigers and giant rats, and they'll scare you out of your mind every time they pop out! A good House I recommend.
7. 'The Horrors of Blumhouse.' Horror Nights has a couple times in the past made Houses dedicated to the horror films put out by the studio Blumhouse, and this one has you walking through scenes from two of their more recent hits: 'Freaky' (Which I talked briefly about in my 'Top 10 Favorite Movie Characters of 2020' list, it's a horror- comedy film in which a shy teenage girl switches bodies with an aging serial killer for a day) and 'The Black Phone' (A more serious film in which a boy in the 1970s is kidnapped and imprisoned by a different serial killer, and soon discovers that a disconnected telephone in the basement he's trapped in enables him to hear the voices of the killer's past victims who try and give him advice on how to escape). Pretty good House with lots of scares and mostly good usage of key scenes from both movies, but the only small problem is, the section devoted to 'Freaky' feels pretty short while the section devoted to 'The Black Phone' feels quite long. Though, perhaps that's more of a personal gripe due to the fact that I liked 'Freaky' as a movie somewhat better than 'The Black Phone.'

8. 'Hellblock Horror.' This original House has you entering a prison in which the inmates are in fact monsters, that are about to break out. Mostly a decent House. The set pieces usually aren't very remarkable, but a plus it has is that its character designs, especially for the inmates, are extremely diverse. Some of these monstrous inmates resemble demons, others look like aliens, others look like zombies, still others look like human/ animal hybrids, and so on. It even includes some besties from past years of Horror Nights! Could be worth a visit, but not if doing so would prevent you from hitting one of the other Houses I more highly recommend.

9. 'Dead Man's Pier: Winter's Wake.' This House, an extension of the popular past Scarezone 'Dead Man's Wharf,' has you in a New England fishing village in which undead sailors and fishermen have emerged from their watery graves in search of revenge. I have sort of mixed feelings on this one. The costume/ makeup effects for the ghostly sailors and fishermen look alright (A couple of them REALLY nailed me as I went through it, such as one who appears to be hung on a runner hook and swings back and forth), but nothing to really write home about. However, where this House truly shines is that its set designs/ environments look simply GORGEOUS! Between the sights, sounds and even smells, you will feel like you really are passing through a chilly New England fishing town, and the doomed ship which the undead sailors came from and which you board in the last portion of the House looks so beautifully detailed, like something that could be seen on a legitimate movie set. I hope whoever worked on its sets gets some sort of award for it. Definitely worth a visit.

10. 'Descendants of Destruction.' In this House, you're making your way through the subway tunnels of a postapocalyptic New York City, dodging mutants who think you look good enough to eat. One thing to give this House credit for is that its Scareactors are really bringing their A game! They put a lot of "Oomph" into their performances, really radiating the sort of aggressive savagery that you'd picture postapocalyptic mutants to have. The costumes and makeup for them look good, too, with some just looking poor and ragged while others look horrifically disfigured. It does a pretty good job of capturing the environment of an NYC subway, too. A mostly good House.

The good thing about my having attended the event for so many years is that it's let me pick up quite a few tips, tricks and guidelines on how to make the most of one's time there, which I decided to share with all of you:

The first guideline concerns advanced planning on when to go. Keep in mind that you will likely be there very late. Another thing to keep in mind is in terms of time. Horror Nights usually opens at about 6:00 or 6:30 each night. In planning/ scheduling the trip, plan around the fact that it'll generally take several minutes just to get through the parking gate/ toll area, about another 3- 5 minutes to get a parking space, and then approximately fifteen minutes to get from the parking lot through City Walk and finally to the park. Then, there's the matter of getting your tickets, which can slow things down more. So, essentially, if you want to be among the first to pour through the gates when the event opens, try if at all possible to get there about an hour or so early to help go through all that more easily.
Another important guideline I can think of involves how to avoid lines for the Haunted Houses; If you want to visit one of the high- demand Houses (i.e. 'Halloween'), it would be best to do so near the end of the night, as the lines generally ease down in the last hour or two of each night. At the start of the night, go for the Houses in the back of the park, near the 'Men in Black' ride (i.e. 'Bugs: Eaten Alive' and 'Descendants of Destruction').

In addition to guidelines on time efficiency and avoiding lines, there are also a few rules and guidelines that I've learned from my time at Halloween Horror Nights that can help first- timers keep from getting too scared when going through Houses (A major concern I've heard from many people thinking of attending):

1) In the Houses, stay in the center of the walkway at all times; DO NOT get too close to the walls or barriers on either side. Scareactors often lurk within the walls, in tucked- back alcoves or secret passage chambers called "Boo- Holes" before popping out at people, so to stray too close to a wall where one of those spots might be located would be, to the Scareactors, like thrusting a steak in front of a starving man.
2) Remain aware of your surroundings as much as possible. HHN's creative team LOVES using techniques like Distraction (Getting your attention fixed on a Scareactor or effect at one side of the room, then using a completely different Scareactor or effect to nail you from behind) and Camouflage (Having a Scareactor use a disguise that blends in with the walls or decorations, so they can suddenly pop out at you, such as going through a room full of statues, only one or two of those "Statues" are really Scareactors standing very still until you're right next to them) to take visitors by surprise. They can also change things up by having scares come at you at times from above, or even once or twice from below!
3) Keep your ears peeled. Many people underestimate the effectiveness of sound effects in scaring people. One of the main reasons why chainsaws are often used at Horror Nights in various ways (With the chains removed, so there's no safety hazard) is because there are very few sound effects scarier than the roar of a chainsaw. In addition, through hearing the screams of the people ahead of you in line, you can thus better determine where the Scareactors will pop out at you next.
4) Keep in mind that the Scareactors, frightening though they are, cannot actually touch you. They can jump out and wave their arms and yell "Booga- Booga" or whatnot, but if they actually physically touch you, they could be arrested. The opposite is true, too, you're not allowed to touch THEM, either. I recall a story I heard from 2008, when a drunk visitor to one of the Houses that year got a little too grabby with an attractive female Scareactor. As you can probably guess, park security was NOT happy about that, and the night didn't end well for the drunken creep in question as a result.
5) As a Christian, one technique I have used since my very first year attending Horror Nights is, when just about to enter a House (i.e. When the line I'm in has ten or so people left between me and the House's actual entrance), I recite to myself Psalm 23, paying special attention to "I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me." This helps me compose myself and gather my courage in preparation for what awaits me. It can likely do the same for any of you. It's an easy passage of Scripture to memorize, too.

In addition, though it's not connected to Houses, if you need to find a place free of Scareactors where you can go to kind of decompress and relax for a while, the best option is definitely the London/ Diagon Alley section of the park, aka the Harry Potter- themed area there. There's no Horror Nights- related stuff there (I'd picture J.K. Rowling being pretty angry if that section was used in such a way), and it has a lot of things to do, from the magnificent 'Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts' ride to a few eateries to a whole bunch of gift shops. Try the Butterbeer (An incredibly high- quality cream soda topped with a mind- bendingly delicious vanilla foam head), I'm fairly positive it will be on tap in Heaven!

An interesting thing is, many of these tips for going through Houses aren't just good for attending Halloween Horror Nights, they often contain elements of Scriptural wisdom, as well, that can help guide you year- round. For instance, the first hint I offered about staying in the center of the walkways at all times and not getting too close to the walls  and the second one about not being distracted but staying aware of your surroundings can both tie in to Proverbs 4:27: "Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil." This verse reminds believers that, just like when going through a Haunted House, we must stay on the one true path in the middle, fixed on the faith and destiny that God gives to us all, and not being lured aside or distracted.

Also, the tip about knowing that the Scareactors can't hurt you calls to mind Psalm 118:6, which says "The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" When we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for guidance and protection, we can gain amazing courage. If we are saved through Christ and leaning on Him, the feeble attacks by men against us are as ultimately nonthreatening as Scareactors jumping out and giving a growl before letting us pass. What fellow humans can do to us is temporary; What the Lord Jesus Christ provides us with is eternal.

For one more example, the tip about reciting the 23rd Psalm not only helps drive home the Lord's role in protecting and providing for us as our Good Shepherd, it also calls to mind the importance of relying on God's Word, the Bible, in general. Psalm 119:05 says "Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Also, in Psalm 1:2, it says of a righteous and wise person, "But his delight is in the Law for the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night." Lastly, in John 15:7, Jesus says "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you." It is through knowing, memorizing, and meditating on what God says through His servants in the Bible that we can always live in Him and achieve the glorious plan He has for us.

That about sums up my look at Halloween Horror Nights 2022, an awesome year for an unforgettable Halloween event which teaches equally awesome lessons on focusing on what's important, living in the courage God provides, and earnestly knowing His Word. It's so good, it's scary!

That's all from the Nightcrawler Experience for now. I'm working on my upcoming Christmas entries, and some others as well. Until then, happy Halloween, stay safe, and may God bless you all!

Mercy, Misplaced Theology, and Childlike Faith: A Faith- Based Look at 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!'

 Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!

This is the first in a hopefully two- part Halloween- related series for this blog this year, and is again done in partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church, this time for a family event tying in to their wonderful Pumpkin Patch fundraiser. Tonight, we will be looking at the well- loved old Halloween TV special, 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!'

(Credit for this image goes to the user Baldwin17 on the Halloween Specials Wiki at https://halloween.fandom.com/wiki/It%27s_the_Great_Pumpkin,_Charlie_Brown?file=It%2527s_the_Great_Pumpkin.png)

Obviously based on the classic Charles Schulz comic strip "Peanuts" with Charlie Brown and his friends, this 1966 special has the whole gang each preparing for Halloween in their own ways.

Good old Charlie Brown and his friends are anticipating trick or treating and a big Halloween party. His younger sister Sally is excited as this will apparently be her first year being able to go trick or treating.
Their dog Snoopy, who dresses up as a World War 1 flying ace for the occasion, becomes quite convinced he actually IS one and must stop the "Red Baron" and escape from behind enemy lines (Strange, I know).

 Last but most prominently, Charlie Brown's best friend Linus camps out in a local pumpkin patch to await the expected arrival of "The Great Pumpkin," a figure who apparently comes out of a "Sincere" pumpkin patch every Halloween and brings presents to all children who believe in him. He eventually convinces Sally, who of course has always had a crush on him, to join him in this.

Nobody's night goes well. Charlie Brown for some unexplained reason gets rocks from every house he trick or treats at, and is humiliated at the party. Linus and Sally don't fare any better as the Great Pumpkin never comes, and Sally angrily yells at Linus for this.
Nevertheless, the next day, Linus's faith remains unshaken, as he vows he'll keep trying each Halloween until he sees the Great Pumpkin.

Now, it's time for a little honesty: I've always considered 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' to be rather overrated. Even as a kid, I found it REALLY depressing, as so many characters' Halloweens are completely ruined; Charlie Brown gets nothing but rocks from everyone while trick- or- treating (Seriously, why does everyone hate Charlie Brown so much? Did he poison the town's water supply or something? Also, how could the people at the houses even tell it was him, considering that his ghost costume covered him all over, including covering his face?) and the party was a disaster for him, and Linus and Sally both waste their Halloweens waiting for the Great Pumpkin who never comes. Consider, in contrast, the Charlie Brown Christmas special: That, too, had Charlie Brown going through a lot of unpleasant things, but at least it all came together well in the end and his efforts were rewarded. In this, though, there's no such happy payoff.

Nevertheless, it does have some funny and charming moments, and while I'm not a huge fan of it, I can see why others are. The voice acting from the kids is good, and it establishes a nice Halloween- esque atmosphere. It nostalgia value is through the roof, too.

I was able to find a few good Scriptural lessons to be taken from 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.'
The first, in the devotional distributed at the screening, used 2 Timothy 3:16 and Romans 1:20 to help show that, unlike Linus's misplaced faith in the Great Pumpkin, we as Christians can rest assured that our faith in Jesus Christ is well- founded, well- proven and 100% true.

Once again, though, I'd say there's more to be found.

Another theological lesson I've found in it is on the surprising kindness and mercy that people can be capable of. An obviously quite prominent character in 'Peanuts' stories is Lucy Van Pelt, who is Linus's sister and Charlie Brown's most frequent tormentor. Needless to say, she is NOT a nice person, terrorizing Charlie Brown every chance she can get and regularly mocking Linus for his faith in the Great Pumpkin. Nevertheless, even someone as nasty as her can be capable of kindness and mercy, as shown in two ways: While out trick or treating, Lucy makes a point of requesting extra candy that she can give to Linus, and at the end of the night, while Linus is miserably sleeping in the pumpkin patch with the weather increasingly colder, Lucy gets up, leaves the house, gets her brother, and lovingly brings him home and puts him to bed. I wouldn't have thought she had it in her! Such kindness is especially powerful because she was pretty angry at Linus at the time, due to his devotion to the Great Pumpkin making her as his sister look bad.
This is very much a Scriptural concept. Ephesians 4:32 instructs believers to "Be kind and compassionate to each other, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you!' If even someone as normally unpleasant as Lucy can show such compassion and forgiveness, then why can't we? God forgave us and showed mercy to us through sending Jesus to die for us, the least we can do is forgive and show mercy to each other for the much smaller in comparison wrongs we may commit against each other.


I think a final lesson to be taken from 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' is on developing a childlike innocence and faith. However, this concerns not the special itself, but rather a quite heartwarming story I've heard relating to the fans' reactions to it. It appears I'm not the only one who was saddened by the unfairness of Charlie Brown getting nothing but rocks for Halloween; Charles Schulz once said that, in the weeks following the special's premiere, he received a ton of fan- mail packages from children all over the country which included bags full of candy and instructions to give all of it to Charlie Brown! This great story reminds me of what was said about Jesus in Matthew 18:2-4: " 2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." I'd say that story about how the children reacted to this special gives a good example of some of what it means to be like a child in the way Jesus described. Simple kindness, innocence, a humble faith, and a desire to set things right and help those we believe have been wronged.

Before this entry ends, I have one more funny addition to make relating to 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,' if any of you are interested in it: One of my current favorite Youtube channels is known as Shanieology, and the best feature of it is when he does what are known as "Skeletor Reaction" videos, in which he appears in costume and in character as He- Man's archenemy Skeletor and reacts to various videos and shows (Sometimes He- Man- related, other times not) in this way. They are always very funny to watch, and he has done many of these reaction videos in which he reacts to the assorted 'Peanuts'- related TV specials. He did a reaction video to 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' last year that makes for a genuinely hilarious analysis of it. Check it out:

(Credit for this goes to Shanieology at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3cbOKL55zU)

That about sums up my look at 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown': While it might not be my favorite Halloween special, I can understand its appeal, and can certainly admire the great lessons it teaches us about having solid theology, mercy towards others, and a childlike innocence and faith.

With that, I bring this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience to a close. Keep an eye out for my next Halloween- related entry, I should have that up soon. Until then, take care, and may God bless you all!

Not Fleeing from Life, and True Confidence Through Faith; a Faith- Based Look at 'Sing 2.'

 Hi everyone, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!

Better late than never (I know the screening was a few weeks ago, but between being on vacation, and taking a very demanding new job, this is the first time I've had enough time to get it submitted), this is the concluding entry in my blog's annual partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church for this year's Summer at the Movies series, and we'll be finishing on a very strong note by looking at last year's 'Sing 2'!

For those unfamiliar with the 'Sing' series, it is a "Jukebox musical" series set in a world of anthropomorphic animals similar to the Disney film 'Zootopia' (In fact, I actually think it handles that particular concept better than 'Zootopia,' as it includes animal groups not featured in that movie, such as primates, birds and reptiles). The first one centers around Buster Moon, a koala who holds a singing competition in the hopes of saving an old theater he was deeply attached to, and in the process gains a quite diverse group of gifted aspiring singers: Porcupine rocker Ash, British gorilla Johnny (My favorite of them), pig homemaker Rosita and her flamboyant dance partner Gunter, and the shy but incredibly talented elephant Meena.

In this one, having saved and restored the theater in the first film, Buster has now turned it into a nice enough performance venue using some of the performers from the first movie. However, a play they put on fails to impress a major talent scout who tells him they'd never make it in the major metropolis of Redshore City.
Determined to prove her wrong on this, Buster gets the singers back together and they travel to the city to pitch their latest show idea to big- time entertainment mogul Jimmy Crystal, a wolf who has a lot of influence on the city's entertainment scene and the money to make their show a success.

To further appeal to him, they lead him to believe they can get legendary rocker Clay Calloway (Voice of musical legend Bono) to perform for the show. However, when they attempt to recruit Calloway, they learn the aging lion is embittered with fame and music in general after his wife's passing and has no interest in performing again.
Buster and Ash (A lifelong fan of Calloway's) set out to try and convince him to appear in the performance, especially as Jimmy has openly said he'll straight- up KILL Buster if the production is not a success, but that's far from the only problem the production faces. Rosita's fear of heights hinders her from performing a key stunt in the play, Jimmy insists that his daughter Porsha be given a part in the musical, Meena is cast in a romantic role but can't get into character because she's never been in love before, and Johnny struggles to learn choreography for his number even though he's never been good at dancing.

It all comes down to the night of the big performance, and seeing if everything can come together to create a show that will never be forgotten.

'Sing 2' probably could have used a better main antagonist. Jimmy was a pretty straightforward "Rich jerk who's a proxy for Donald Trump" villain. He could have used a little depth, maybe a reason why he was so opposed to the idea of anything that might potentially embarrass him (i.e. Maybe a childhood memory in which he was traumatically humiliated by someone).

Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed 'Sing 2,' perhaps even more than I liked the first film in the series. It had loads of humor, a bit of heart, and some pretty awesome musical numbers!

It continued the nice trend of having a little subplot for each of the major characters, and brought in a few new ones that were mostly handled pretty well.
As I said earlier, my favorite character in the 'Sing' series is Johnny the gorilla, both because gorillas are among my favorite animals on Earth and because he is simply a very sympathetic and relatable character in each of the movies. His subplot involves him initially being set up with a professional high- end choreographer, a proboscis monkey called Klaus Kickenklober (Gotta love that name), to learn his dance moves for the show, but the merciless jerk insists Johnny will never get it and never be great. Undaunted, he turns to a charming street- dancing lynx named Nooshy who helps him truly get in touch with his inner dancer. It makes for a very satisfying subplot to the movie, especially when it comes to fruition with a couple final twists in the performance.

One new character who I ended up liking a LOT more than I thought I would was Jimmy Crystal's daughter, Porsha (Voice of pop singer Halsey). In her first couple scenes, she's just a stereotypical spoiled, demanding ditz. However, around the second half of the movie, you start to like Porsha a LOT more, as it's clear that she does have her talents (Though acting is not one of them), and can put them to amazing use in the performance. Seeing her shake off the shackles of her father and become her own person is wonderful to see.

Clay Calloway is a great character, too. You can feel the inner torment he's in of wanting to rejoin the world again, but being trapped by the grief he still feels over his wife Ruby. Bono injects a good deal of emotion into Clay's voice in every scene. A really nice visual occurs with Clay near the film's climax. Clay is still determined to not do the show, but then hears Ash downstairs on his porch playing one of his songs. As he begins walking towards her, we see pictures of his late wife Ruby on the wall, including one presumably near the end of her life, which shows her in a wheelchair. Then, at the bottom of the stairs, he must pass by an open closet with Ruby's wheelchair stored inside it. I felt like that symbolized Clay literally and figuratively moving past his grief and obtaining a new lease on life.

The songs in 'Sing 2' are all amazing. Starting with a fun performance of "Let's Get Crazy" in the beginning of the movie, and continuing especially into the climax with the actual show being performed, with highlights being Johnny's performance of "Sky Full of Stars" during his big combat/ dance number, Porsha's rendition of "It Could Have Been Me," and Clay performing the U2 classic "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." It'll be VERY tough to resist singing along to these stellar musical numbers!

There are a couple good faith- based messages to be taken from 'Sing 2.'

The first, from the devotional that I had passed out at the screening, was on not running from our problems and responsibilities. Near the film's climax, Buster has incurred the wrath of Jimmy, who will be sending hit men after him any minute, and is preparing to quietly flee town. At that moment, Clay (Who by this point has been convinced to join the show) comes along and, seeing what Buster is planning to do, points out to him that "Runnin' and hidin' away ain't all it's cracked up to be." I pointed out that this was similar to what Jonah went through in the first chapter of the book of the Bible named after him. He was told by God to go to Nineveh and convince them to repent and turn to the Lord, but he didn't want to do this, and so he tried fleeing from this responsibility. He tried hitching a boat ride to Tarshish, but God wouldn't let this happen. He first sent a storm to stop the voyage, then sent a great fish to swallow Jonah for three days. This led to Jonah repenting and agreeing to do what God told him to do. Just like Buster eventually did in the movie, Jonah realized he couldn't run from his responsibilities. Similarly, we can't run from our responsibilities and trials in life, even if they seem scary. We need to confront them with the courage of knowing that God is always looking out for us and wants what's best for us.

Another Scriptural lesson to be taken from 'Sing 2' is on confidence through faith, using Johnny's struggle to learn dancing as an example. Nooshy's dance lessons help Johnny a lot, but what really enables Johnny to excel at dancing is her helping him to slowly yet surely regain his inner confidence that Klaus had destroyed during his brutal early lessons. As she puts it, "Just forget what Klaus told you, and go with the flow!" She helps Johnny learn a little bit at a time, restore his faith in himself, and before long, he can flawlessly perform the routine! Even on the big night, when Klaus attempts to disrupt his big routine and shake him emotionally, Johnny is able to stand up to him and give a magnificent performance. This calls to mind Psalm 16:8-9, which says "I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; My flesh also dwells secure." Keeping the Lord before us, as the first thing in our minds and on our hearts, can give us enough confidence that we can endure anything that the world may throw at us, be it naysaying bullies like Klaus in the movie, or our inner feelings of guilt, failure or inadequacy. Sometimes it can be hard (Believe me, considering my new job, that's something I've been experiencing firsthand a lot), but it is always worth it in the end. Trusting in Him can enable us to have the courage to move mountains and do incredible things for His Kingdom.

That's about all there is to say about 'Sing 2,' a nice fun sequel with brilliant songs and even more brilliant messages about how we need to face our responsibilities head- on, and how trusting in Jesus can give us the courage and confidence to do incredible things in life. I'd say those lessons are really something to sing about!

That's it for this year's Summer at the Movies series, and for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Keep your eyes open for some future entries I have in mind for the coming weeks and months, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!

Selfless Friendship, the Price of Fame, and Seeking Deep Connections: A Faith- Based Look at 'Ron's Gone Wrong.'

 Hello, dear readers, and welcome to another edition of the Nightcrawler Experience!
This is the fourth entry in my blog's annual partnership with St. John's United Methodist Church for their Summer at the Movies series. For this entry, we will be looking at the 2021 animated film 'Ron's Gone Wrong.'

(Credit for this image goes to the user Bszabo15 on the Disney wiki at https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/Ron%27s_Gone_Wrong?file=Ron%2527s_Gone_Wrong_official_poster.jpg)

In this movie, tech corporation Bubble Tech has unveiled its masterpiece: "The B- Bot," a small cylindrical robot buddy that can interact with its owners in an amazing variety of ways, and help them connect with and befriend other humans by syncing together with THEIR B-Bots to see what they have in common. It almost instantly proves a smash hit, as practically everyone gets a B- Bot in a short period and relies on them for just about everything.
Everyone, that is, except a middle- school boy named Barney Pudowski (Voice of Jack Dylan Grazer, who played young Eddie Kaspbrak in the recent 'It' movies). He has no friends whatsoever (In fact, a former friend of his named Rich now routinely bullies and humiliates him for a prank- centered Youtube channel), an odd family consisting of his widowed father who struggles to get his novelty- item business off the ground and an eccentric Bulgarian grandma and a number of farm animals, and they cannot afford a B- Bot for him, which further isolates him from his peers as literally everyone else at his school has one.
Miraculously, on Barney's birthday, his father manages to acquire a B- Bot that was discarded as it fell out of the delivery truck and was damaged.

Barney's initial joy at this is greatly hindered, though, as the damage this B- Bot (Voice of Zach Galifianakis) suffered caused it to be severely defective in a number of ways. It constantly glitches, and makes multiple mistakes, including the fact that its disabled safety functions cause it to fight back against an annoying bully AND a cop! Nevertheless, Barney grows to like the weird little fellow, names him "Ron," and sets out to teach Ron how to be his best friend.
However, Ron's glitchy behavior soon attracts the attention of the Bubble Tech higher- ups, including a scheming COO who bears a MAJOR resemblance to Steve Jobs, feel like it could harm the company's publicity and set out to find and destroy Ron. Barney runs away into the woods with Ron to try and avoid this, many other major developments occur, and everyone learns a lesson on what true friendship can look like.

One of the only problems I have with 'Ron's Gone Wrong' is with the bully Rich, as while he redeems himself by the end of the movie, it feels a little rushed. There are no real moments of him feeling remorse for his awful past actions, apologizing to Barney and the others he's wronged, or anything like that. I mean, it's always great to see in a movie when a jerk manages to come around, but they need to show what led to him doing this and him acknowledging that his past actions were wrong.

In spite of this, 'Ron's Gone Wrong' is a real underrated animated gem. I think it really deserves to get more attention than it ended up getting.

The humor is pretty constant in it, most of the characters are believable and likable, and there are some real moments of poignance scattered through it. The friendship that Barney eventually develops with Ron really is quite nice to see.

It also has some good social commentary relating to social media, and how, while it can be used for good and help people to better connect with each other, it also can cause them to isolate themselves from each other a lot (i.e. We learn that Barney used to have a nice group of friends, but them getting B- Bots caused all of them to distance themselves from him as this new gizmo caused them to be more concerned with things like online gaming and internet fame than in- person friendship). I know that this seems like a similar message to the one for the movie I looked at in the previous entry on this blog, 'The Mitchells vs. the Machines,' but there's a big difference: 'Mitchells' focused on our society's addiction to technology in general with social media being only a small part of that, whereas 'Ron's Gone Wrong' seems to specifically focus on social media's effect on our society.

Now, for the character run- down. Barney is quite well- developed as a main character. He's easy to relate to with his loneliness, his initial struggles with being picked on and with how much he and the rest of his family clearly miss his late mother, and desperately wanting to make friends. He can at times be selfish and struggle to put others first, but he grows a lot and eventually does learn that, ad becomes a better and more sociable kid in the process.

Barney's father Graham is shown to be quite a kind, loving man who does all he can to help his family. There are times when he doesn't have quite enough time to be there for his son due to his work and trying to find buyers/ investors for his novelty items, but considering that he seems to be pretty much the sole family breadwinner and the only thing keeping a roof over his family's heads, that's forgivable.

Barney's grandma Donka is, quite frankly, AWESOME! She is so funny and crazy (Both in a typical "Kooky grandma" way, and in the quirks she has as a Bulgarian immigrant and ardent anti- Communist), yet it's clear that she immensely loves her son and grandson. She spends all day cooking and baking for Barney's birthday party, even though no one comes, and uses her own "Funeral money" to help buy Ron simply because she knows it will make her grandson happy and help him to make friends. Definitely one of the best fictional grandparents I can recall seeing in a movie.

Ron's assorted acquaintances/ former friends are all a pretty interesting group, each with their own quirks and hangups. Mostly seem like a nice group other than Rich, and even he gets better by the end.
The company's well- meaning CEO, Marc Wydell, is pretty likable, too. While he wants his company to succeed, he's humble and good natured (Unlike the Steve Jobs- esque CEO), and is fascinated at what Ron can do, and how it could potentially help everyone.

However, the most prominent and memorable character in 'Ron's Gone Wrong' is definitely Ron himself. He is insanely funny in pretty much every scene he is in due to his glitchy nature, and also has a few moments of real poignance. In spite of his glitches, he is a fast learner of human behavior, and quickly learns to be a supportive and loyal friend to Barney. In fact, when I did my "Top 10 Favorite Movie Characters of 2021" list, Ron made an Honorable Mention on it. Just a delightful character all the way!

In general, 'Ron's Gone Wrong' is a nice film for the whole family to enjoy. It'll make them laugh, make them think, and maybe even make them cry.

There are a few Scriptural messages that I think can be taken from 'Ron's Gone Wrong.' The first, which I put on the devotional that was passed out at the screening, was on how true friends need to be selfless with each other, esteeming each other more than themselves, as Romans 12:10 says.

Another important message is on the fleeting and honestly undesirable nature of fame. A character in 'Ron's Gone Wrong' who demonstrates the downside of seeking and achieving fame is Barney's classmate, Savannah. She starts out as an aspiring vlogger who records and posts online pretty much everything in her life. However, an incident involving a bunch of malfunctioning B-Bots leads to her being horrifically humiliated on video that soon streams and trends worldwide, and causing Savannah to be branded with a grotesque new nickname that I won't mention here. She gains the sort of global fame and attention that she had always sought, but for all the wrong reasons and in a VERY negative way that makes her life miserable. Even in this sense, though, she learns her lesson and becomes a wiser person for it. In the very end of the movie, when Rich asks to be allowed to livestream the amazing details of everything Barney did in the movie, Savannah interjects, "Take it from me, Rich: Fame is overrated."
Savannah's observation is very much a Biblical concept. Proverbs 25:27 observes that "It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one's own glory." Seeking to constantly elevate yourself is not a pleasant way to live, any fame which may come from it usually doesn't last long, and often does not end well, as Savannah learns the hard way. We should instead strive to humble ourselves, and seek out the Lord God, the One who is truly worthy of fame and admiration.

Another Scriptural lesson to be taken from 'Ron's Gone Wrong' concerns the need for people to be united together, not isolated. Early in the movie, before Barney's family acquires Ron, there is a brief but telling exchange when Barney's dad asks, "You need a B- Bot to have a social life?" Barney responds, "Yeah, Dad, kind of." Sadly, far too many people hold to views similar to this with their phones and computers. There is also an important scene near the end when Barney sees through recorded B- Bot footage of Savannah, Rich, and his other former friends that while they each seem happy and fulfilled outwardly in their own ways, in reality each of them is incredibly lonely, insecure, and desperate for real companionship and affirmation. This proves to be a real epiphany for Barney, and so he finds a way to arrange for all of them and himself to sort of rediscover each other and become again the close- knit, supportive group of friends that they used to be. As Psalms 133:1 puts it, "How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!" Ron and his group eventually discover this firsthand, and so too can all of us if we reach out to each other for direct connections. Over- reliance on social media is causing us to not develop as many lasting friendships with in- person people. We all need that kind of in- person connection with others.

In summary, 'Ron's Gone Wrong' is a wonderful little film that helps us see what true friendship can look like, the price of seeking temporary fame, and the importance of reaching out personally with fellow children of God whenever possible. There's nothing glitchy about any of those!

That's all for this edition of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next week for the concluding entry in the series (I initially thought there were only four films in the series, but there are actually five; WHOOPS!). Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!