The Passion of Christ

The film opens (in medias res) with Jesus in the midst of an agonizing struggle about whether to go through with the crucifixion in the Garden of Gethsemane, on the Mount of Olives. He temporarily leaves prayers, and finds Peter, James, and John sleeping against a tree. Jesus wakes them and asks why they could not watch one hour with him. They respond with concern, asking whether they should summon the other Apostles. Jesus responds that he does not want them to see him in such a horrid condition and tells them to keep watching and to pray.

Judas Iscariot meets with the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas, the High Priest (see Kohen Gadol), offers Judas, as is their agreement, thirty silver pieces to reveal where Jesus is. Judas accepts. We return to Gethsemane and Jesus praying, where we see he is being tempted by Satan (portrayed here as an androgynous, albino-like figure[1]) to abandon the idea that one man can redeem the sins of the world. Jesus agonises over his coming death, but resists all temptation by calling on his Heavenly Father. Guards from the temple arrive with Judas so that he can identify Jesus. Jesus tells the guards calmly and unhesitatingly who he is.

Judas then steps up and kisses him on the cheek, a signal to the guards that Jesus is the one they want. Jesus berates Judas for betraying the Son of Man with a kiss. As Jesus is being shackled up, Peter attacks one of the guards, Malchus, with his sword slicing off Malchus' ear. Jesus picks it up and holds it against the guard's head, while telling Peter to drop his sword. Peter does so, and we see the guard's face is healed. Malchus is stunned and the Apostles flee in terror. Jesus is then dragged away by the guards, leaving the previously injured Malchus kneeling there, amazed and deeply touched by what has just happened.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, awakes from what seems to be a nightmare. Mary Magdelene is concerned and asks whether Mary is all right. Mary, instinctively knowing something is wrong, responds by quoting from the prayers of Passover, "Why is this night different than other nights?" Mary Magdalene responds, "Because once we were slaves and we are slaves no longer." Suddenly John bursts in, telling them both that Jesus has been arrested.

As Jesus is being taken to the palace of Caiaphas, he is beaten with his chains and is repeatedly beaten about the face, leaving one eye swollen shut. Judas is sitting under a bridge when Jesus is thrown over it by the Temple guards. Judas looks on with agony and shame. A demon appears from out of the air and sends a terrified Judas running away.

At the temple, Jesus sees Mary, Magdelene, and John. Jesus then recalls a tender memory of building a table for a rich man (possibly Joseph of Arimathea) and joking about it with his mother. We then cut back to Jesus standing before the Sanhedrin, including Caiaphas. Mary, Mary Magdelene, Peter, John, and Judas watch from afar as the temple priests denounce every doctrine that Jesus has taught, including that he is the King of the Jews, and the events of the Last Supper. Jesus is asked if these accusations are true, and He says yes, declaring further that they will see him sitting at the right hand of the Father. Horrified by Jesus's "blasphemy", Caiaphas tears his garments and screams in frustration. The infuriated priests beat Jesus and spit in his face. Jesus is then condemned to death.

A horrified Peter attempts to flee, but is seized by several people who point out that he is a disciple of Jesus. Peter denies it each of the three times it is pointed out. As Jesus turns around and bores into him with his uninjured eye, Peter is overwhelmed with guilt and shame. When the Virgin Mary attempts to comfort him, Peter flees, crying that he is unworthy and bewailing what he has done. Judas goes to Caiaphas and pleads with him to release Jesus and take back the money. However, Caiaphas refuses to take it back, declaring that if Judas thinks he has betrayed innocent blood, it is his problem. Judas angrily throws the money on the Temple floor and runs off grief-stricken. As he sits by a fire, two children approach him and ask him what's wrong. When Judas curses them, they turn into demons. They chase Judas, tormenting him as he flees outside the city walls (Satan is visible among them). After they disappear, Judas finds a dead donkey being devoured by maggots. Overwhelmed with despair and unable to live with his shame, Judas takes the rope which was on the donkey and hangs himself from a tree.

Meanwhile, the Temple priests bring Jesus to the court of Pontius Pilate, so that he may be crucified under Roman Law. Pilate angrily demands to know whether they always punish their prisoners before they are tried. After Caiaphas responds that Jesus has declared himself the Messiah, Pontius privately examines him. He offers Jesus a goblet of wine, but Jesus, having vowed to no longer drink the fruit of the vine at the Last Supper, politely declines. Pilate asks whether He is the King of the Jews. Jesus responds that his kingdom is not of this world and that if it were, His servants would never have allowed him to be handed over to his enemies. He further declares that all who hear the truth hear his voice. Pilate cynically retorts, "What is truth?"

Pilate returns to the crowd, tells them that he finds no crime in Jesus and orders the priests to bring him before King Herod Antipas, because Jesus is a Nazarene, and thus one of Herod's subjects. Caiaphas angrily protests but grudgingly obeys. Herod is an effeminate bisexual, deeply impressed by reports of Jesus's miracles. When Jesus remains silent and will not respond to his pleas to work "a little miracle for me", Herod mocks him, laughing that Jesus is just "crazy." When the priests return him to Pilate, he is not pleased. He forces Caiaphas to choose between the release of a "notorious murderer" named Barabbas and clemency for Jesus. Caiaphas cries "Release Barabbas!" Pilate asks them what they feel a fair punishment would be, and the crowd, bribed by the Temple priests, scream out "Crucify him!" Pilate refuses, fearing that Jesus's followers will revolt and that the ensuing bloodshed will turn the Emperor against him. Instead, he orders Jesus to be flogged, hoping that the sight will make Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin reconsider their desire for the death penalty.

Jesus is shackled to a broken pillar. Two Roman soldiers are to carry out the flagellation. They each pick up wooden switches and commence striking Jesus on the back. He is bruised, bloodied, and beaten, and sinks to his knees. Mary, Mary Magdelene, and John all watch, utterly shattered. To everyone's astonishment, Jesus wills himself back to his feet, even after the beating has exhausted the guards. They angrily put down the rods and each pick up a barbed scourge and continue. Jesus' flesh is further mutilated to the point where his left rib cage is visible. He seems on the brink of death before Abenader, the centurion who will later become St. Ctesiphon, angrily orders the flogging to cease, saying that they were not authorized to scourge him to death. The soldiers grudgingly put down their whips and release Jesus, having to drag him away because his agony is too great.

The Virgin Mary and Mary Magdelene are presented with linen towels by Claudia Procles, Pilate's wife, who is just as crushed as they over what has just happened. They both go down to the courtyard and begin mopping the blood with the linen. Magdelene weeps as she remembers how Jesus saved her once from being stoned to death when she was still a sinner.

Jesus is seen in a barn-like room, sitting against a wooden post. The two Roman soldiers who flogged him drive a crown of thorns into his scalp and spit on him. He is given a red soldier's cloak and mockingly treated with royal homage. "Hail, King of the Worms", laughs one of the guards as he bows. Jesus is then brought back to Pontius Pilate who is disgusted by how badly beaten Jesus is. He asks the rioting crowds if they are satisfied, but Caiaphas still demands that Jesus be crucified. Pilate disgustedly washes his hands of the whole affair and declares, "I am innocent of this man's blood." He orders Abenader to do as Caiaphas demands.

We then see Jesus walking between two other criminals sentenced to the same fate He is. The two beside him are tied only to their cross' uprights -- Jesus must carry his own huge cross. Jesus embraces his cross, prompting mockery from one of the thieves. As He carries it through the streets, He is endlessly beaten and yelled at by the crowds and the Roman soldiers alike. Mary, Mary Magdelene, and St. John follow him.

While struggling down a small alleyway, Jesus trips and falls with the cross. The cross crushes him, Mary runs to her son, flashing back to a time when he fell as a small child. As she reaches him she tries to comfort him, saying, "I'm here." Jesus looks at her, and wills himself to his feet to carry his cross, and, quoting the Book of Revelation 21: 5 declares "Behold, Mother, I make all things new." He rises to his feet and continues on his way. As Jesus keeps walking, He continues to fall under the weight of the heavy cross. The guards mock him and whip him each time. Abenader approaches again and, noting how weak Jesus has become, orders the soldiers to help Jesus carry the cross. Instead of doing this themselves, they find a man in the crowds, Simon of Cyrene, to help. He grudgingly agrees to help.

As the two keep going, Jesus falls without the cross. Simon is shocked at the weight which he cannot carry by himself. A riot breaks out, with groups of people fighting to get a chance at beating Jesus. Guards fight them off, and as that happens, Veronica approaches Jesus with a cloth and a pitcher of water. Jesus uses the cloth to wipe his bloodied face. However, as he goes to take a drink, a soldier walks over and kicks the cup over, and drives Veronica away. As the procession continues the viewer sees that Veronica's Veil has been imprinted with the image of his face. While the soldiers continue to beat Jesus with whips, Simon angrily threatens to not help with the cross if they do not cease their beatings. They scornfully call him "Jew", but they oblige. The procession continues, headed for Golgotha, or "The Place of the Skull."

Once there, Simon is ordered to leave. As he is driven away, he looks into Jesus's one open eye with love and pity. We see Mary, Mary Magdelene and John again. They all watch as Jesus is stretched onto the cross. They nail both of his hands, dislocating his right arm in order to make his hand reach the pre-drilled hole for the nail. In the midst of his agony, Jesus prays for mercy for all the sinners of the world, crying "Forgive them, Father. They know not what they do..." They then bind and nail his feet. They flip the cross over on Jesus' front side, however, Jesus is elevated off the ground. After pounding the tips of the nails down, the guards then flip the cross back over and raise it. As the cross is raised, we are taken to a flashback of the Last Supper, considered by Christians to be the first Eucharist. We watch as Jesus elevates the Host.

On the cross, he is mocked by Caiaphas and the Temple priests, and by the thief to his right, who tells him to save them all if he is truly the Son of God. Jesus prays, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do." The thief on his right tells Caiaphas, "Listen, He prays for you." The Good Thief then tells Jesus his punishment is just, and that Jesus would be justified in condemning him, but he says, "Lord, remember me when I come into your Kingdom." Jesus tells the thief "On this day, you will be with me in paradise." As the other thief cackles with laughter over this, a crow comes from the sky and plucks at his face.

Jesus grows weaker; simultaneously, the skies are turning darker. Mary and John approach Jesus on his cross. Jesus declares, "I thirst!" A sympathetic Roman soldier named Cassius, later to become St. Longinus, puts a sponge on a spear and soaks it in, according to the Bible, vinegar (although whether this is water or vinegar is not specified in the film). Jesus tastes it and then turns his head aside. The Virgin Mary pleads with Jesus to let her die with him. Jesus then tells Mary that John will now take care of her, and tells John that Mary is now his mother. Jesus then cries out in Aramaic, quoting the twenty-second Psalm, "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?" ("Eli, eli, lamai sabactani?") Jesus then looks down upon them, saying, "It is completed." Mary Magdelene weeps. Jesus then looks upward and gasps "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." The pupil of his one open eye dilates, and he exhales his last breath.

God then cries a tear that creates a violent earthquake. All the spectators of the crucifixion flee, and the soldiers are ordered to break the criminals' legs, in order to hasten their deaths. The Roman soldier Cassius breaks the legs of the thieves to Jesus' sides, but when he comes to break Jesus' legs, there is another tremble from the Earth. He tells Abenader that Jesus is already dead. Abenader orders him to make sure. Cassius then drives a lance into Jesus's side. Blood and water pour from the wound as Cassius falls to his knees. It is at this moment that everyone, Romans and Jews alike, realize they have indeed killed the Son of God. Meanwhile, back at the temple, the earthquake has shattered it in half and the Holy of Holies is revealed. Caiaphas, stricken with horror and shock, begins to weep.

In the depths of Hell, Satan screams in impotent rage, knowing that his power has been broken forever. That night, Jesus is removed from the cross. Mary embraces the body of her beloved son in a manner reminiscent of Michelangelo's Pieta, kissing him one last time. The Virgin Mary stares blankly ahead, her eyes a mirror of her broken heart.

We are then shown the interior of his tomb three days later, on Easter Sunday. We hear a rock rolling and as the morning light slowly streams into the interior, we see Jesus resurrected and his scourging wounds healed. He opens his eyes and stands up, and we see the hole in his hand from the nail. He walks out of his tomb to triumphant music, and there are no credits.

Urantia: The Beginning

The Urantia Book is a spiritual and philosophical book that discusses God, science, religion, history, philosophy, and destiny.[1] Sometimes it is referred to as The Urantia Papers, the Fifth Epochal Revelation, or by the abbreviation of its title. The book originated in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. sometime between 1924 and 1955, but its authorship is considered to be a mystery. (See Mysterious origin.)
The authors of The Urantia Book state their intent is to "present enlarged concepts and advanced truth" in an "endeavor to expand cosmic consciousness and enhance spiritual perception". Among many other topics, it expands on the origin and meaning of life, describes humankind's place in the universe, discusses the relationship between God and people, and presents a detailed biography of Jesus. The book is 2,097 pages long, and consists of a Foreword and 196 papers, divided into four parts.
The Urantia Book introduces the word Urantia as the name of the planet Earth. "Urantian" is a derivation used to denote anyone or anything that originates on Earth. Colloquially, the word "Urantian" is sometimes used to denote an individual who admires and believes in the book, but this meaning is not found in the book itself.
The Urantia Foundation first published The Urantia Book in 1955 in English. Translations into numerous languages are available with several new translations in process. In 2001, Urantia Foundation lost the U.S. copyright to the English version in a court decision and it went into the public domain,[2] and in 2006, the international copyright on the English text expired.[3] Complete, searchable editions of The Urantia Book are available on the Internet, as well as free audio versions.

Mel Gibson' Signs

Mel Gibson's Apocalypto

El Popol Wuj relata la inexistencia del mundo hasta que el creador y formador decidió generar la vida. La intención era que sus propias creaciones les pudieran hablar y agradecer por la vida. Primero crearon la Tierra, después los animales y, finalmente, los hombres. Éstos fueron inicialmente hechos de barro, pero como el intento fracasó, el Gran creador y formador decidió extraerlos de la madera. No obstante, los nuevos hombres eran altivos, vanidosos y frívolos, por lo que el Gran Padre los aniquiló por medio de un diluvio. Pese a este suceso el creador no desistió y en una última tentativa creó a los hombres a partir de granos de maíz molidos y de los cuerpos de aquellos a cuatro mujeres. Una vez constituidas otras tantas familias, el creador y formador, temeroso de que a sus criaturas pudiera tentarlas la idea de suplantarlos en sabiduría, disminuyó la vista e inteligencia de los ocho.

El Popol Vuh es el libro mas antigüo escrito en America, el cual es el unico indicio que se tiene sobre la mitología maya. En este, el Libro Sagrado de los Mayas Quiché de Guatemala, se cuenta la historia de Los Dioses Gemelos: Hunahpú e Ixbalanqué, que nacieron del encuentro entre Hun-Hunahpú y la doncella Ixquic en las cavernas de Xibalbá. Ixquic quedó embarazada por la saliva del Árbol de Jícara donde estaba depositada la calavera de Hun-Hunahpú y luego subió al mundo exterior escapando de los Señores de Xibalbá.
Ixquic fue eventualmente aceptada y atendida por Ixmukané, quien criaba a los 2 hijos mayores de Hun-Hunahpú. Ellos molestaban a Hunahpú e Ixbalanqué hasta que un día fueron convertidos en monos por sus hermanos menores.
Hunahpú e Ixbalanqué encontraron la cancha del Juego de Pelota Maya que había construido su padre, y al jugar molestaron a los Señores de Xibalbá, por lo que fueron llamados a visitar el Inframundo, donde pasaron por varias pruebas y vencieron a los Ajawab de Xibalbá.
Después de su victoria en el Inframundo, Hunahpú se convirtió en el Sol e Ixbalanqué se convirtió en la Luna.

― "God will give me Justice!"

The year is 1814, during the downfall of the Napoleonic Empire and the Emperor's exile onto the tiny island of Elba.
Second mate Edmond Dantès (James Caviezel) and his friend Fernand Mondego (Guy Pearce), officers of the French trading ship Pharaon, are heading towards Elba seeking help and medical attention to assist their ship's captain who has fallen ill, despite the fact that the British are charged to kill anyone who sets foot upon the island. Upon arriving, Dantès and Mondego are chased by British Dragoons who believe them to be spies of the exiled French Leader Napoleon Bonaparte (Alex Norton); they would have died were it not for the Emperor's timely arival and declaration that they are not his agents. They are then brought to Napoleon's lodge to treat the dying captain. Edmond gives Ferdinand a chess King, saying 'Kings to you, Mondego', for having saved their lives during their encounter with the Beach Patrol. Later in the evening, Napoleon calls upon the ignorant Dantès to ask of him a simple favor; to give a letter to an old friend back home in France. He swears that the letter is innocent, yet still requests that its existance be revealed to no one, not even Mondego. The captain dies later that night, they are sent on their way.
Once arriving at the port city of Marseilles, Dantès is reprimanded by the ship's first mate, Danglars (Albie Woodington) for disobeying orders. The shipping company's boss, Morrell (Patrick Godfrey), is inspired by Dantès' bravery and responsibility and thereupon promotes him to captain. Furious, Danglars storms out. Meanwhile, Dantès' fiancée Mercédès Iguanada (Dagmara Dominczyk) is intercepted by Mondego, who seeks her for himself. They discuss the fact that Edmond will not be able to afford marriage to her for two whole years. When Mondego learns of Dantès' luck, however, they all realise that the wait will now be much shorter than two years. Mondego is ridden with envy; he walks off without giving Edmond the chess piece, although it seems entirely appropriate for the moment.
However, the naïve Dantès does not realize how his fortune affects those he considers "friends". Mondego, shown very drunk in the streets, meets with Danglars, who he tells of the secret letter which he saw Napolean give Edmond. Danglars informs the police, and Dantès is arrested one night (on charges of "treason" as an alleged Bonapartist) and sent to the deputy public prosecutor and chief magistrate, J.F. Villefort (James Frain). Though Villefort is at once sure of Dantès's innocence and is on the verge of setting him free, he discovers that the addressee is none other than his own father, Clarion, a prominent Bonapartist. However, the son has denounced his father to improve his relations with the current royalist regime, and a resurgence of speculation about his true loyalties could irrevocably damage his career and prevent his imminent marriage into a well-known aristocratic family. In order to bury this secret, Villefort burns the letter and fools Dantès into submitting to arrest, and sends him to languish indefinitely in the infamous island prison Château d'If. He barely manages to escape and heads to the Mondego estate to appeal for help. Mondego, feigning ignorance and compassion, draws a sword on Edmond, who is untrained in fencing. Fueled by envy, reveals to Dantès that he read the letter, before wounding him such that he cannot attempt escape. Asked why he is doing this, he tells Dantès that it is "complicated"- Dantes is the son of a clerk, and Mondego shouldn't want to be him. He is re-arrested and sent to the Château d'If.
While imprisoned, Dantès is beaten annually (to commemorate his imprisonment) by the warden Armand Dorleac (Michael Wincott). Out of desperation Dantès attempts suicide. An inscription carved on his wall ("GOD WILL GIVE ME JUSTICE"), however, prevents him from killing himself. Soon afterward, he meets and befriends Abbé Faria (Richard Harris), a priest and a former soldier in Napoleon's army, who appears from the floor into Dantès' cell, having misjudged the direction that he would have to tunnel to escape. Dantès learns that Faria, too, was wrongfully imprisoned, by the Emperor himself, because he claimed to have no knowledge as to the location of the hidden fortune of the now deceased, enormously wealthy count, Enrique Spada. Dantès then tells Faria his story; with the priest's help through his gift of education and military skills, he discovers the horrible truth of his imprisonment and vows to seek revenge on Mondego and his associates in the betrayal once they escape. Their makeshift underground tunnel leading out to sea is interrupted when Faria is buried in a cave-in. Before he dies, Faria confesses to Dantès that he indeed knows the whereabouts of Spada's treasure, which was concealed in an old circular map he kept hidden in his cell. To excuse his lie, he tells Edmond that he's "a priest, not a saint." He also advised Dantès to use the wealth "only for good", with God on his side.
With the tunnel collasped, the priest's death gives Dantès another opportunity to escape. Faria's food dish was left in the tunnel beyond the cave-in, and Edmond cannot get to it in time to put it out for the daily meal. The man charged to feed the prisoners peers into the cell and sees Faria motionless on the ground. He returns with two other men bearing a body bag; they lace the priest up and leave to fetch Dorleac for the 'burial ceremony'. Dantès quickly returns from the tunnel between cells to look in on the priest, but is struck with an idea. He undoes the lacings, removes Faria's body, which he drags into his own cell, and laces the bag again with himself inside. He is carried out by the unsuspecting workers, with Dorleac reciting a mockingly inaccurate burial rite in the lead.
The food server resumes his normal duties and soon discovers that Dantès' cell is now occupied by the body that is supposedly being carried for burial. Seeing the tunnel, he realises what has happened and rushes out just in time to see the body bag being thrown over the cliff. As he is about to be released, Dantès reaches out to grab the keyring hanging from Dorleac's belt, draging him over as well. Edmond undoes the chains tied to his feet with the keys and surfaces near Dorleac, who becomes the first victim of Edmond's revenge.
After his daring escape, Dantès finds himself washed onto the shore of an island not two miles from the prison. Here he encounters Luigi Vampa (JB Blanc), who introduces himself as a smuggler and a thief. He persuades Dantès to fight Jacopo (Luis Guzmán), a crewmember and a traitor who was they had intended to bury alive. Dantès defeats Jacopo but allows him to live. In return for saving his life, Jacopo vows to serve Dantès for life. Under the name of Zatarra, which means 'driftwood', Dantès joins the smugglers in their adventures for three months, but leaves them when he finally arrives at his hometown of Marseilles. He then seeks the counsel of the retired Morrell, who does not recognize him through his greatly changed features and his purposefuly misleading beard. Morrell reveals all of what happened in the past 15 years. He first tells Dantès that his father committed suicide upon learning the nature of Edmond's treason. He learns that his fiancée has married Mondego, who is now a Count. He also learns that Danglars took over Morrell's shipping company. In a fury, he goes to the island of Monte Cristo, uncovers the treasure, and vows to use his new wealth to break Mercédès, Mondego, and the others who conspired against him.
Dantès buys an enormous house and becomes the "Count of Monte Cristo". As he studies his enemies, he comes to learn that Mondego has a son. He hires Vampa and his group to stage a kidnapping of Albert while partying in Rome. Monte Cristo "rescues" him, and invites the boy to his residence. Using the boy as 'a means to an end', Dantès and Jacapo are careful to use certain words in front of Albert, who in return for his rescue, invites the count to his 16th birthday at the Mondegos' Paris residence. At the party, Dantès meets with Villefort to discuss certain shippment of unspecified property. Mondego, however, upon meeting with Villefort later that evening, mentions that his son had heard Monte Cristo use the words gold, shipment, and Spada. These were deliberately spoken in front of Albert to arouse the suspicion that Monte Cristo had found the treasure of Spada. They devise a plan to steal the shipment of gold and split it equally. Due to Mondego's absence, Mercédès is forced to give Albert's birthday toast, but she is cut off by Monte Cristo, who leads the guests to believe that he requested the honor of giving the toast. As Mercédès observes him after his speech, she sees him twirling his hair, confirming her suspicions that the man is actually Edmond. Jacapo allows her to hide in Monte Cristo's carriage to speak with him privately, wanting his master to take what he has won. Edmond does not admit to being her old lover, but accidentally says 'Edmond Dantès', a name which Mercédès had never spoken to him.
Monte Cristo's revenge begins with his confrontation with Danglars, who Dantès has forced Mondego to go to for shippment of goods by exerting his influence over other companies. Danglars attempts to keep two chests of gold for himself. When the police arrive, he believes Mondego has set him up, and then attempts to fight Monte Cristo, who reveals himself as Edmond Dantès. Danglars is nearly strangled in the confrontation and is then placed under arrest. Later, the count gets Villefort to inadvertently confess that he had Mondego kill his father, Clarion, in return for telling Mercédès that Dantès had been executed. He is charged with conspiracy to murder, and comes to realize Monte Cristo's true identity. The scene of his arrest is purposefully similar to his arrest of Edmond, years ago. He finds a pistol on the seat of the carriage, 'a courtesy for a gentleman.' He attempts to shoot himself, but discovers that the pistol is empty, just before Edmond looks into the carriage and asks, 'You didn't think I'd make it that easy, did you?'
Mercédès has realized by this time who Monte Cristo is and confronts him. She admits to him that, although she had quickly married Fernand, she has always loved him, and shows him the ring that she had promised would never leave her finger. After sleeping together that night, Dantès, in a change of heart, decides to take Mercédès and her son and leave the country together. Again exerting his political influence, Edmond causes for all of Mondego's debts to be called in the next day and he goes bankrupt. Mercédès confronts Mondego and reveals to him that she is leaving him, and that Albert is actually the son of Edmond Dantès. It is now clear that the only reason she married him in the first place was because she was pregnant with the son of a supposed traitor. Mondego realizes that she is telling the truth, and that Albert was not premature, as he was originally led to believe. He says goodbye to her and leaves for his old family estate where the stolen gold shipment was arranged to be taken. When he arrives, he finds that the chests are empty. He then sees a man in the doorway, believing it to be Monte Cristo. But as the man comes closer, revealing his now shaven face, Mondego is speachless and is horrified to realize that the man before him is none other than Edmond Dantès. After a brief fight, and exchange of words, Albert rushes out of nowhere to defend the man he believes to be his father. They are joined by Mercédès and Jacopo just as Dantès is about to kill Albert to get to Mondego. Mercédès then reveales to Albert and Edmond that that they are actually father and son Edmond is shocked. The boy turns to Mondego in disbelief, but he admits that it is true. By now, Mondego has loaded his pistol and threatens to shoot Edmond, who, showing mercy, asks him to leave and be gone forever. Mondego opts to put his bullet "where it will do the most damage," and shoots, but Jacapo throws a knife as he as Mondego fires, striking him in the hand and causing the shot to go wide, hitting Mercedes in the shoulder. Mondego flees on horseback, but stops realizing that he cannot live in a world where he has nothing and Edmond has everything. He returns to the estate and calls Edmond out. To end the feud once and for all, the two duel, resulting in Dantès killing his former friend in the ensuing swordfight. As he lies on the ground with Edmond's sword through his heart, Mondego asks him what happened to his mercy. Edmond declares that he's "a count, not a saint."
Edmond Dantès, the Count of Monte Cristo, purchases the prison Château d'If three months later, and is shown giving thanks to Abbé Faria for the sacrifice and wisdom he endowed on him that allowed him to reclaim his life. Mercédès is shown to have recovered from the bullet, and Albert and Jacapo accompany them off the island, which Edmond decides to leave unattended, although he had bought it originally intending to tear it down. The last frames show the old inscription in Edmond's cell, 'God Will Give Me Justice'.

Jim Caviezel: From MonteCristo to Cristo

Jim Caviezel was born in Mount Vernon, Washington, the son of James Patrick Caviezel, Sr., a chiropractor, and Ellen,a housewife and stage actress. He has a twin brother, Timothy, and sisters Anne, Amy, and Erin, and was raised in a tight-knit Roman Catholic family in Conway (Skagit County), Washington. Caviezel's surname is of Romansh origin; his father is Slovak (maternal) and Swiss (paternal), while his mother's ancestry is Irish.Jim attended Mount Vernon High School for two years and then moved to Seattle and lived with family friends in order to play basketball at the Catholic O'Dea High School. The following spring, he transferred from O'Dea to another Catholic school, Burien's John F. Kennedy Memorial High. There he starred on the basketball team and graduated in 1987. Following high school, Jim enrolled at Bellevue Community College where the 6 ft 2 in athlete also played basketball. A foot injury in his second year, however, put an end to Jim's hopes of a basketball career in the NBA. He later transferred to the University of Washington where he turned his focus to acting and became a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

After appearances in Wyatt Earp and G.I. Jane, Caviezel scored a breakthrough performance in Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line. He was originally cast to play Cyclops/Scott Summers in X-Men (2000) but dropped out due to a scheduling conflict with his other film, Frequency. Caviezel is perhaps best associated with his role as Jesus in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ (2004), but he has also starred in such mainstream Hollywood films as Angel Eyes, Pay It Forward and The Count of Monte Cristo (2002). In 2001, he played the lead in Madison, a film that tells the story of the hydro races in Madison, Indiana. Caviezel's character pilots Miss Madison to victory, recounting the 1971 event. The film did not appear in theatres until 2005. In addition, his work in High Crimes (2002) was highly praised by critics. After the release of The Passion of the Christ, Caviezel was offered the role of spokesman for a fashion line called "Heavenly," which he refused, citing that it would be an insult to people who felt the film had something meaningful to offer. Caviezel was struck by lightning while filming The Passion of the Christ. He also was accidentally whipped, dislocated his shoulder and bruised his eye while filming the same movie. In 2002, he played a pivotal role in the film I Am David from the Danish novel known by both David and North to Freedom, written by Ann Holm.

In 2004, Caviezel portrayed Jesus Christ in the Mel Gibson film The Passion if the Christ. In the same year, he expressed interest in playing the role of Superman/Clark Kent for the 2006 Superman Returns film, even mentioning that he would dedicate his performance to Christopher Reeve. Ultimately, he was passed over by director Bryan Singer, who felt that Caviezel was too well known after starring in The Passion of the Christ (2004). The part went to newcomer Brandon Routh instead. Caviezel plays a lead role in Unknown, an IFC project distributed by the Weinstein Company. Caviezel also has a role in Tony Scott's 2006 action film, Déjà Vu opposite Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer. He plays the lead role, Kainin, in the film, Outlander, which began principal photography in October 2006 in eastern Canada. Caviezel is providing the voice of Jesus on the Thomas Nelson Inc.-produced New Testament audio dramatization "The Word of Promise," set to release in the fall of 2007.

Caviezel is a devout Roman Catholic and has been a featured public speaker at religious venues since the release of The Passion. On March 19, 2005 he was the main speaker at the first Catholic Men's Conference in Boston. Caviezel stated that he chose to speak at the conference only because he liked Boston Cardinal Archbishop Sean O'Malley. His wife Kerri, also a devout Roman Catholic, is a teacher and an accomplished flautist. The two are active in their Conejo Valley, California parish. Kerri supports a charity for single mothers and also volunteers with their church's Detention Ministry at a camp for incarcerated youth in Malibu, California. Jim is friends with Debbie Yingst. Caviezel remains a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, which he joined while a student at the University of Washington and is a Minnesota Vikings fan. His 14-year relationship with his schoolteacher wife, Kerri, works, he says, because of his frequent use of the phrases "I am wrong" and "I am sorry." Last year they adopted a baby Chinese boy with a brain tumour.Caviezel is the brother-in-law of current St. Louis Rams head coach Scott Linehan.

On October 24, 2006, Caviezel was featured (along with Patricia Heaton, Kurt Warner, and Mike Sweeney) in an advertisement opposing Missouri Amendment 2 (to provide state funds for somatic cell nuclear transfer, a form of embryonic stem cell research). While non-partisan, the advertisement was widely seen as supporting the Republican Party position on the issue. Caviezel began the advertisement by saying "Le-bar nash be-neshak", Aramaic for "You betray the Son of Man with a kiss," a reference to Judas' betraying Christ and a phrase used in the Greek of Luke's Gospel.[4] The line however, did not include a translation into English. Caviezel closed the commercial with the line, "You know now. Don't do it," referring to the voting in favor of the amendment.
The advertisement appeared to be a response to a pro-Amendment 2 advertisement featuring the actor, Michael J. Fox who has Parkinson's Disease and is a vocal proponent of stem-cell therapies. This was reported to be entirely coincidental, however, said to have been conceived and filmed previously.
Caviezel also donated in 2006 to the unsuccessful campaign to re-elect US Senator Rick Santorum.

Ziyi Zhang as Mulan

February 28, 2006
Zhang Ziyi approached to play Mulan
(Posted In Action Asia Film News Martial Arts Rumors )

It seems you cannot go a day wading through chinese movie news without reading something about Zhang Ziyi. Do you hear me complaining? One of the latest tidbits of new is that Zhang Ziyi has been approached by Stanley Tong to star in the live adaptation of the popular folklore tale Hua Mulan which in turn was popularized here in North America thanks in whole to the Disney animated movies. Shooting locations are being scouted in China and here in Canada. I would think west coast and Rocky Mountains considering. Shooting will begin in October.

If Zhang Ziyi is looking for more breakout roles into the West this may be one to strongly consider. Or, perhaps not. Given that this film, when completed, will be in Cantonese and the idea of foreign film is, well, foreign to a Western audience the only play a film like this would get would be arthouse cinemas, unless it was dubbed, then it would be a very small theatrical run. Still, with the devotion of the Disney Mulan audience it might be an easier sell to Western markets. But then they would have to tone it down to compliment the sugary aftertaste of a Disney movie. Wretch!!!

Posted by Mack at February 28, 2006 11:50 PM

The Einstein Code

The Truth Is Out There

Anthony Hopkins as Sherlock Holmes

Kate Winslet as Anastasia

Leonardo DiCaprio as Dorian Gray

Dorian Gray was the orphaned grandson of Lord Kelso. His mother, Margaret Deveraux, a great society beauty, died in childbirth shortly after Dorian's father was killed in a duel. It was said that Lord Kelso paid a Belgian duelist to cause the fight.
The novel begins with Dorian as a young man. Kelso is dead, and Dorian has inherited much of the Deveraux fortune. He is now the protegé of Lady Agatha, Lord Henry Wotton's aunt, and together they entertain and raise money for the Whitechapel poor.
Until Dorian finally meets Lord Henry he is naïve of his own good looks and personality. His innocence is unspoiled and his knowledge of the world resembles that of a child. To his friend, the artist Basil Hallward, Dorian is inspiration, a privately worshipped icon in the painter's idealistic world. Dorian is described as "wonderfully handsome, with his finely-curved scarlet lips, his frank blue eyes and his crisp gold hair. . . . All the candour of youth was there, as well as all of youth's passionate purity."
One afternoon, while sitting for a portrait in Basil's studio, Dorian meets Lord Henry Wotton. Wotton's low musical voice enchants the lad as he stands upon a dais in the afternoon sunlight. Dorian is convinced by him that his looks are in fact his most important virtue.
The constant flick and dash of the artist's brush melt away, as Lord Henry's doctrine of self-development wakens Dorian to mad hungers. "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it . . ." murmurs Lord Henry. "Resist it and the soul grows sick with longing."
Dorian is transfixed by this philosophy. Flooded with feelings he cannot comprehend, he leaves the studio and goes out into the garden. Lord Henry joins him and under the shade of a laurel tree the boy listens to a second panegyric on youth: "The Laburnum will be as yellow next June as it is now. . . . But we never get back our youth. Our limbs fail, our senses rot. . . . Youth, youth, there is absolutely nothing in the world but youth."
When they return to the studio, Dorian is shown his finished portrait. On seeing it, the sense of his own beauty falls on him like a revelation. The full reality of Lord Henry's warning of the brevity of youth and life's aim of unbridled hedonism, cuts through Dorian's boyhood innocence. In a flash he cries:
I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June. . . . If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that—for that—I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!
In the heat of the moment Hallward, astonished at Dorian's impassioned plea, attempts to destroy the canvas. But before the steel palette knife can do its work Dorian shouts, "No Basil, no . . . it would be murder!"
Under the guidance of Lord Henry, Dorian becomes increasingly self-absorbed and heartless. Yet he discovers and falls in love with Sibyl Vane, a pretty actress. On the night of his introducing Basil and Lord Henry to her, the actress plays poorly; she is no longer able to act out the false love of Shakespeare's heroines whilst filled with a true love for Dorian. Disappointed and bitterly embarrassed for his friends, Dorian ends their relationship.
When the lad returns home at dawn, he notices a subtle change in the painting; there is a touch of cruelty in the mouth. As he looks curiously upon his image, he is unaware that that same night, with her engagement in ruins, Sibyl has committed suicide.
With the passage of time, the portrait ages and spoils. The hair thins, the cheeks grow sallow. It is clear the image is aging instead of Dorian. Incredibly, the portrait also bears burden of his shame.
Under Lord Henry's influence, Dorian continues to live a hedonistic lifestyle, with strong hints of homosexual behaviour. The face of his portrait grows uglier with each moral transgression. Basil comes to warn Dorian of the scandalous rumours that are sweeping London about him. Wholly indifferent, Dorian smiles to himself, and decides to show Basil the painted "diary of his life". Hallward is perplexed as Dorian explains to him that not only God can see one's soul, "for tonight, with your own eyes, you will see my soul."
Together they go up to the old nursery at the top of the house, and as the purple pall is torn from Hallward's painting, the artist falls to his knees and begs Dorian to pray for forgiveness. The loathsome image is sickening. Every vile act, every hideous sign of age oozes from the canvas. Dorian picks up a discarded knife and in a fit of rage, murders his old friend. Blood immediately appears on the picture, staining the bloated hands of its subject. Turning from the scene, pressing his forehead to the cool glass of the window, with Hallward's blood still dripping on the carpet, Dorian determines to hide forever this monstrous mirror.
Towards the end of the novel, Dorian realizes he was wrong to have followed Lord Henry's doctrines. He decides to change, to make amends and to rise above his mentor's cynical epigrams that cut the beauty of life to pieces. But his attempts at reform are shallow and superficial -- and in turn the painting gains a cunning and hypocritical look.
At last Dorian plans to rid himself of his terrible sins by destroying the portrait. Realizing that only a full confession will absolve him, yet fearing the consequences, he decides to kill the last vestiges of his conscience --for it is conscience that has brought him to where he stands now. He stabs the canvas. The servants hear a terrible scream and rush to the nursery, but:
When they entered, they found hanging upon the wall a splendid portrait of their master as they had last seen him, in all the wonder of his exquisite youth and beauty. Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was.

Dracula, The Cursed Templar

http://www.donlinke.com/drakula/vlad.htm