Hey! With the Christmas season right around the corner, we’re all sure to be invited to at least one white elephant party. And it just so happens that I have the perfect idea for a white elephant gift! How about tickets to Justin Bieber’s new vehicle for self- indulgence entitled “Believe.”

The movie “Believe,” is presumptuously due for release on Christmas day and from what I gather is a collection of concert clips and interviews which chronicles the young “artist’s rise to ignominy. The new movie / video / two hour selfie, also features interviews with other effeminate young performers who pay tribute to their nineteen year old androgynous leader.

In case my sarcastic tone has not been clear enough, let me state more clearly that I think the world would be pretty hard pressed to name a nineteen year old who actually deserves to have a movie made about them. Oh sure, if we sifted through history we could find someone: a great king, leader or philanthropist, maybe a writer or survivor of some great global tragedy. So what has Beibs accomplished that would make him the least bit interesting to a more educated, informed and mature American audience? Other than managing to tearfully sit through a couple of tats, nothing. Justin Bieber is of course just emblematic of the narcissism of idle youth and the cult of fame and celebrity. And yes I realize I’m sounding more and more like my grandfather, but you know what? He was right about a lot things.

I don’t know whether the Beib’s new attempt at self- promotion will ultimately garner him the worship and attention he so greatly craves. Honestly, I sort of thought Little Biebers time in the sun was mercifully coming to an end. Will this be his Battle of the Bulge or his Yorktown? I guess I’m just not TMZ enough to know at this point. I do strongly suspect that “Believe,” will eventually join the ranks of other cheesy video bios like Eight Mile and Glitter.

So get those tickets, take them to the next Christmas party a make sure you don’t leave with them. I think you’ll find they’re the least desired gift of the year!

Twenty years ago I read what became, one of my favorite novels. I went on to read it at least four more times, and that doesn’t even include the subsequent books which grew out of the original story. Last week millions were introduced to Ender’s Game via the new movie starring Harrison Ford and Asa Butterfield. Now I should say, I’ve never actually forgiven Mr. Ford for that terrible showing he made in that latest Indiana Jones fiasco, so the odds were good I was going to be disappointed in this one too.

For those who’ve never read the book before allow me to ruin it for you. Just kidding. The story is set in the somewhat near future. Humanity has recently beaten back an alien species who had designs on the planet. The problem is they don’t really know how they won. And now, on the verge of a counterattack, humanity must find a leader for its fleet, so they begin sifting the population of the planet looking for the perfect little genius to lead the attack. Enter Ender Wiggin.

Author of the book Orson Scott Card, played a key role in the making on the film, and was unafraid to pull the plug on earlier theatrical incarnations of his book, so I was cautiously optimistic, despite the presence of Mr. Ford. But honestly, by the time I got into the theater I was pretty excited. The film version looked great. The actors did a really good job with their roles, (including Harrison actually), and in most respects I enjoyed the movie… in most respects. I terms of its faithfulness to the original story, It’s not quite what I was hoping for. Not that it diverges from the book exactly, but some fairly significant plot points are excluded for the sake of time.

From the stand point of length I understand the editing choices that had to be made. But I won’t pretend not to be a little disappointed either. Overall I thought the film kept to the spirit of the Novel. The central characters were well cast, and the setting was much like what I had envisioned. I think however I would have preferred to see a miniseries, on the order of Battlestar, or Game of Thrones, (without the lewdness of the latter). Ultimately Ender’s Game is a great movie, particularly if you’ve never read the book. For the rest of us, maybe we’ll be inspired to reread our favorite novels.