On our way to see War of the Worlds last week, my wife and I noticed an advertisement poster for the 2006 release of The Da Vinci Code. It’s sure to be a blockbuster with Ron Howard directing and Tom Hanks starring in the lead role. The Da Vinci Code has sold nearly 10 million copies, and it’s still in hardback! Books about the book have been published as well as books against the book’s quirky theological and historical perspectives. Those ignorant of the Bible and history may be influenced by the supposed factual nature of the storyline.

I wanted to like Million Dollar Baby. If you haven’t seen the movie, and you have plans to see it, you might not want to read any further. I love movies with twists and turns. Being fooled plot-wise is a great artistic vehicle. My first encounter with the motif was with Charles Eric Maine’s science fiction novel The Man Who Owned the World,1 a book I read when I was 13.