50 Most Important Religion Movies: Film Snobbery

Posted on January 6, 2010 at 3:53 pm

Take a look at Phil Hall’s great list of the most important religious films of all time from website Film Snobbery. My favorite film about the life of Jesus, “The Gospel According to St. Matthew” is number 2 on the list. I was pleased to see some provocative and even irreverent titles including “The Life of Brian” and “Dogma.” The list includes well-known crowd-pleasers like “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Chariots of Fire,” and “Ben-Hur” along with some almost-unknowns like “Plan 10 from Outer Space” (“Trent Harris’ low-budget underground comedy reimagines Mormon history with a singing Karen Black as the extra-terrestrial wife of Brigham Young”) and “Man in the Fifth Dimension” (“Billy Graham’s film essay on the spiritual dimensions of the human condition had its premiere at the 1964 New York World’s Fair. It is also noteworthy as the only non-theatrical film shot in the widescreen Todd-AO process”). It has a number of films that are truly inspiring. It includes some movies that frankly explore the mistakes, arrogance, and corruption that have been committed in the name of religion. It has documentaries, fact-based feature films and fiction, movies from the early silent era to a 2007 documentary. It includes films about Christianity, Judaism, Catholicism, Islam, and Buddhism, films about saints, sinners, and a pair of friends who happen to be a tomato and a cucumber. And it has one of the funniest movies I know, “The Mad Adventures of ‘Rabbi’ Jacob.”

The Best of 2009

Posted on December 31, 2009 at 8:00 am

It’s so hard to decide! But at the moment anyway, here are my top films of the year, including three films based on books for children that became movies primarily for adults:

Up in the Air The perfect timing of this story of downsizing and dislocation adds additional resonance to the canny script and graceful performances in this story of a man who learns that staying unconnected is not as easy as he thought or as comfortable as he hoped.

Where the Wild Things Are Maurice Sendak’s spare, poetic, and deeply wise book has been lovingly unfolded into a movie about the child who lives in all of us, brave and fearful, generous and needy, angry and peaceful, confident and insecure, adventuresome and very glad to come home.

Precious Brilliant performances from Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patten, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe make this brutal and disturbing story of an abused girl transcendent.

Fantastic Mr. Fox The screen is filled with enticing details, but it is the performances that keep us connected to what is going on. The story of a thieving fox is based on Roald Dahl’s book for children, expanded by director Wes Anderson and his co-screenwriter Noah Baumbach into a complex and engaging tale of the struggle between civilization and the call of the wild.

500 Days of Summer The best romance of the year is this bittersweet story of love and loss starring the marvelous Zoey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The out-of-order structure means that by the time we see those first, early moments of heady connection, we can tell that the sweetness of those initial feelings will become almost unbearably poignant.

District 9 It has cool and creepy giant insect-looking aliens and there are very cool sci-fi weapons and shoot-outs and chases and space ships and a super-cool giant insect-robot thing, and it is very exciting and scary and sometimes extremely gross (but in a cool, sci-fi way). But, like all great science fiction, it is in aid of speculative allegory. The interactions between humans and aliens all the more powerful for being understated, taken for granted, and filmed in an intimate, low-key fashion that makes it feel like a documentary.

Coraline In the grand tradition of Alice, Dorothy, Milo, and the Pevensie children, Coraline enters a portal to a magical world that is both thrilling and terrifying, one that will both enchant her and demand her greatest resources of courage and integrity. And it will teach her that she does being given whatever she wants is not what she thought — that what she thinks she wants may not be what she wants after all. The creepier it gets, the more mesmerizing the visuals, ravishingly grotesque and dazzlingly inventive.

Up Pixar makes it look easy. Just write a brilliant story about endearing characters and tell it with outstanding voice talent and stunning visuals. This one makes it 10 out of 10 for Pixar. It is the story of a journey involving a grouchy old man, an earnest little boy, an exotic bird, some talking dogs, and a zillion balloons, and it begins with a brief, almost-wordless introduction that is the sweetest on-screen love story of the year.

Star Trek Audiences should be set to stun with this splendid reboot of the 40-plus year old “Star Trek” series. By boldly going where many, many have gone before, J.J. Abrams of television’s “Lost” and “Alias” has managed to make a thoroughly entertaining film that respects the fans but stands on its own.

An Education In this story of a teenage girl who becomes involved with an older man, Danish director Lone Scherfig perfectly captures London just as it is about to move from the drab, stiff-upper-lip, world of post-WWII deprivation to the brash and explosive era of mods and rockers, Carnaby Street and the Beatles, Twiggy, “The Avengers,” and Joe Orton. All of this nicely parallels what is going on with the main character, based on a brief memoir by journalist Lynn Barber.

Runners up: “The Hurt Locker,” “The Damned United,” “Passing Strange,” Anvil: The Story of Anvil, “Cold Souls,” “It Might Get Loud,” “Sugar,” “Julie & Julia,” “Sin Nombre,” “The Princess and the Frog,” and “In the Loop” — and yes, “The Hangover.”

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List: The Most Inspiring Movies of the Decade

Posted on December 21, 2009 at 3:59 pm

The first decade of the 21st century has given us many great films. Here are a dozen I found especially inspiring. From documentaries to fantasies, from real-life heroes to an animated fish, these are the stories that help to show us what we should dream of and what we can accomplish.

Erin Brockovich Julia Roberts won an Oscar playing the real-life single mother whose determination and courage helped hundreds of victims of toxic pollution learn the truth of what happened and find some sense of justice. The movie is candid in its depiction of the price Brockovich herself paid in her personal life for her dedication to the residents who had been poisoned and misled. But it also shows what one individual can accomplish even when the other side has millions of dollars and dozens of lawyers. Quote: “By the way, we had that water brought in specially for you folks. Came from a well in Hinkley.”

Trouble the Water Documentarians Carl Deal and Tia Lessin went to Louisiana for a project that did not work out. They were about to leave when Hurricane Katrina hit. But this Oscar-nominated film is not their story. They turned most of their movie over to Kimberly Rivers Roberts and Scott Roberts, local residents who bought a camera for $20 a week on the street just before the storm and walked around taking pictures of what was going on around them. These citizen journalists document the helplessness of the community and the failure of every possible resource or assistance. Roger Ebert, who included this film in his 2009 film festival, said, “the eyewitness footage has a desperate urgency that surpasses any other news and doc footage I have seen.” The power of the human spirit to tell our stories will always triumph over failures of bureaucracy and even the ravages of storms. Quote: “We lost our citizenship.”

Persepolis Marjane Satrapi’s acclaimed graphic memoir becomes a powerful animated film about her experiences as a child in an Iran that is increasingly restrictive after the Islamic Revolution. After her beloved uncle is executed, her parents send her away to Austria, where she struggles with a new culture and with the new world that is adolescence no matter where or who you are. Perceptive, touching, resilient, this takes animation and memoir to a new level. Quote: “There’s nothing worse than bitterness and revenge. Keep your dignity and be true to yourself.”

Billy Elliot Jamie Bell is sensational as the 11-year-old boy who has to dance, even though everyone he knows is opposed to it. Ultimately his passion and his talent are so inspiring to those around him that they cannot help but give him their support. The play inspired a Tony-award-winning Broadway musical but the gritty authenticity of the original and its setting in a small mining town in Thatcher-era England makes the film version especially powerful. Quote: “Sorta feels good. Sorta stiff and that, but once I get going… then I like, forget everything. And… sorta disappear. Sorta disappear. Like I feel a change in my whole body. And I’ve got this fire in my body. I’m just there. Flyin’ like a bird. Like electricity. Yeah, like electricity. ”

A Beautiful Mind A man sees what no one else can, and we call him a genius. A man sees what no one else does, and we call him crazy. This Oscar-winner for Best Picture is a movie about a man who was both, the true story of genius John Forbes Nash, Jr., who revolutionized mathematics and then became mentally ill. Jennifer Connelly won an Oscar as his loyal wife, a mathematician herself, who stayed with him for decades as he struggled to find a way to master his delusions. Quote: “I’ve made the most important discovery of my life. It’s only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reasons can be found.”

Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson’s splendid trilogy of the J.R.R. Tolkein series is magnificently realized, from the tiniest detail of Elvish dialogue to the grandest vista of Middle Earth. Villains and heroes, quests and romance, this story teaches us that courage, loyalty, and integrity are more important than strength and magic. Quote: “I can’t carry it for you… but I can carry you!”

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind The best film of the decade is this loopy romance, starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet as one-time lovers who pay to have their unhappy memories erased and then find themselves missing even the pain of love. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman plays with the themes of identity, time, memory, and attraction in a slightly off-kilter world that seems oddly homelike and familiar because it is so heartfelt and true about how even the unhappiness of love can enlarge our spirits. Quote: “Blessed are the forgetful, for they get the better even of their blunders. ”

Spellbound
Every family should see this m-a-r-v-e-l-o-u-s movie about the 1999 national spelling bee because it is about so much more. It is about the strength of American diversity and the commitment of this country to opportunity — the eight featured competitors include three children of immigrants (one’s father speaks no English) and a wide range of ethnic and economic backgrounds. It is about ambition, dedication, and courage. It is about finding a dream that speaks to each individual. It is about how even in the midst of one of life’s biggest challenges — middle school — it is possible to find passion and confidence and to achieve excellence. Most of all, it is about family — the opportunity to discuss the wide variation in styles of family communication and values is in itself a reason for every family with children to watch this movie together. Quote: “My life is like a movie. I have trials and tribulations, and I overcome them.”

Finding Nemo This story of a father fish in search of his lost son is an epic journey filled with adventure and discovery encompassing the grandest sweep of ocean vastness and the smallest longing of the heart. There are terrifying-looking creatures, but one of the movie’s best jokes is that even the sharks are so friendly that they keep reminding each other that “we don’t eat our friends.” There really are no bad guys in this movie — the danger comes from a child’s thoughtlessness and from natural perils. The movie has no angry, jealous, greedy, or murderous villains as in most traditional Disney animated films. And it has characters with disabilities that are handled frankly but matter-of-factly. Best of all is the way it addresses questions of protection and independence that are literally at the heart of the parent-child relationship. Quote: “I have to get out of here! I have to find my son! I have to tell him how old sea turtles are!”

In America Writer-director Jim Sheridan’s semi-autobiographical tale about Irish immigrants in New York City is something of a fairy tale set in a sweltering and grimy apartment building where even the kind-hearted drug addicts help look out for the children. Told through the eyes of the family’s daughters, the whole movie is exquisitely tender. The girls’ sense of wonder brings a softness and a glow to whatever they see, whether it is a street fair or a broken-down air conditioner. Quote: “When luck comes knocking on your door, you can’t turn it away.”

Hotel Rwanda When the conflict in Rwanda exploded into violence in 1994, the Hutus began a full-scale slaughter of over 800,000 Tutsis and any Hutus who supported them. In the middle of the madness, Paul Rusesabagina hid more than 1000 Tutsis in his hotel. Using the same skills that made him successful as a hotel manager, he cajoles, barters, and bluffs his way into keeping them safe. Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo as Rusesabagina and his wife provide a center of decency in the midst of madness and cruelty. The sensitivity of their performances is matched by the script and direction, which make their points, both personal and political, with grace, not bitterness. Like “Schindler’s List,” this film takes us deeply into the horror of one of the 20th century’s greatest tragedies by allowing us to focus on the illumination cast by one small story of grace, courage, and humanity. Quote: “There’s always room.”

The Pursuit of Happyness Chris Gardner is a single father who went from homelessness to success as a stockbroker. What mattered most to him, though, was being a good father. Real-life father and son Will and Jaden Smith star in the story of a man who would not give up. At first he focuses on the misspelling of the word “happiness” at his son’s day care. But then he focuses on the word “pursuit,” because he understands that all we can be promised is the chance to try for what we want, and that has to be enough. Quote: “You got a dream… You gotta protect it. People can’t do somethin’ themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it. If you want somethin’, go get it. Period.”

List: 12 Movie Heroes

Posted on September 1, 2009 at 3:59 pm

Humanity’s earliest stories were about heroes. I’m sure that the same people who created those breathtaking cave paintings up to 25 thousand years ago sat around the campfire telling stories of people who triumphed over charging sabertooth tigers or assaults from other tribes. The great myths and legends of ancient Greece first used the word that became “hero.” Those literally larger-than-life figures were demi-gods like Hercules who exemplified courage and protecting others without regard to risk.

In 1903, one of the very first films to tell a story, “The Great Train Robbery,” featured a heroic posse who captured the title thieves. And since then the movies have given us unforgettable heroes and heroines who continue to enthrall and inspire us. I’m going to list a dozen of my favorites — six fictional characters and six inspired by real-life heroes. And of course I want to hear about your favorites, too.

FICTION

1. Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels. What could be more dashing than an adventurer/scholar? Jones admits that even he gets frightened sometimes (he hates snakes). But he always keeps his cool, whether he is facing an enormous opponent who is brandishing a gigantic sword or escaping from an underground temple. His courage, determination, and integrity are what make the non-stop action in this box office champ and its sequels so enthralling.

2. Ellen Ripley in Aliens. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) shows great courage in the first film of the series, but it is really in the second that we see what a hero she is. In Aliens Ripley saves not just herself but the little girl who is the only survivor of the alien’s attack on a space colony. Ripley’s indomitable spirit is shown right from the beginning, when she deliberately takes on the mission to confront the fears she still harbors from her previous encounter with the alien. And the movie creates a fascinating parallel between Ripley as the child’s substitute mother and the alien itself, who is also trying to protect her children.

3. Jefferson Smith in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. James Stewart plays a naive young man who is appointed to fill a term in the Senate because the politicians in the state think he will be easy to control. He makes some foolish decisions at first but his honesty and concern for the boys of his state win him the support of his staff. When the corrupt politicians find him less easy to manipulate than they thought, they try to smear him. But he will not back down. His moral courage is what makes him a hero.

4. Virgil Tibbs in In the Heat of the Night. Sidney Poitier plays a Philadelphia homicide detective who is first a suspect in a murder in a small Southern town and then stays on to help solve the crime. Both he and the local sheriff (Oscar-winner Rod Steiger) have to confront their prejudices and acknowledge their similarities. Tibbs exemplifies the famous Hemingway definition of courage as “grace under pressure” as he maintains his dignity and sense of honor in an environment of bigotry and ignorance.

5. Tom Doniphon in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance John Wayne often played the hero, and one of his best roles was the rancher who stood up to a gunslinging bully (Lee Marvin) who terrorized the town. What makes Doniphon so interesting is hinted in the title. An idealistic young lawyer played by James Stewart builds a political career out of being credited with shooting Valance, a career that enables him to do a lot of good for a lot of people. But Doniphon’s heroism goes beyond the courage to take on the outlaws. He also has the wisdom and modesty to let someone else get the credit and win the woman they both love because he knows it is best for all three of them and for the people of the territory.

6. Han Solo/Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars Trilogy Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) are more than a team; they are two sides of one heroic character. Luke is the young, inexperienced “chosen one” and Han is the cynical, cocky rogue. Together, they make a thrilling hero — hope tempered with skepticism, talent tempered with expertise.

And many runners-up (some with more than one hero), including “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” “Captains Courageous,” “High Noon,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “Sister Kenny,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Terminator,” “Mad Max,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Transformers,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and “Twelve Angry Men”

NON-FICTION

1. Norma Rae in Norma Rae Sally Field won an Oscar for playing a character based on real-life activist Crystal Lee Sutton, who helped organize millworkers to get safer working conditions and better wages. Seeing Norma Rae’s growing understanding of her own power and her ability to help her community is like watching a flower bloom.

2. Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood The real-life Robin Hood was probably not as dashing as Errol Flynn and his legend owes as much to folklore as history. But this stirring story of a truly great hero who fought a corrupt would-be king on behalf of the commoners has inspired people for centuries and he could not ask for better than this magnificent telling. Flynn’s Robin Hood laughs when he is defeated by Little John, exclaiming, “I love a man who can best me!” True heroes surround themselves with people they respect and admire; they love to be challenged.

3. Spartacus in Spartacus Kirk Douglas plays the leader of a slave rebellion in the last century A.D., willing to sacrifice himself for freedom. His example of courage and integrity is so powerful that hundreds of other slaves are inspired to give their own lives in a struggle that still touches us two thousand years later.

4. Erin Brockovich in Erin Brockovich A clerk in a tiny law firm uncovers a cover-up of water contamination by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company that led to a payment of $333 million to the victims. Julia Roberts won an Oscar for her portrayal of the single mother who would not give up. She was tenderhearted and sympathetic with those who had been hurt, and she was fearless in a fight.

5. Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird Author Harper Lee based this character on her own father, a small-town lawyer. Finch is a man of quiet integrity who teaches his children about the importance of courtesy toward everyone at all times. And in an era when “justice” for African-Americans in the South often meant lynching, Finch insisted on representing a black man unfairly accused of rape. Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his portrayal of a man of impeccable honor and courage.

6. Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver Jaime Escalante believed that inner-city high school students could not just study calculus; they could excel. And they did — their test score were so high they were accused of cheating. Sometimes the greatest heroes are those who show us not what they are capable of but what we are capable of. He could have taught math at a school for college-bound kids but he chose to spend his life teaching teenagers to believe in themselves and to dream of greatness along with lessons about derivatives and integrals.

And many runners-up, including “A Man for All Seasons,” “Serpico,” “Amistad,” “Schindler’s List,” “Gandhi,” “Glory,” “Sergeant York,” and “All the President’s Men”

Law on Television: the ABA’s Top 25

Posted on August 8, 2009 at 8:00 am

The magazine of the country’s largest organization of lawyers, the American Bar Associaton has published its list of the 25 all-time greatest legal television shows from enduring classics like “LA Law,” “Law & Order,” and “Perry Mason” to some quirkier choices like the animated “Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law” and the short-lived divorce lawyer drama “Civil Wars.” The list includes a comedy (“Night Court”) and genre-expanding, even surreal (“Ally McBeal”). Some focus more on civil litigators with controversial cases like “Owen Marshall,” “Boston Legal,” “The Practice,” and “The Defenders,” while others focus on the military (“JAG”), civilian prosecutors (“Law & Order”) or defense attorneys — almost always with innocent clients, of course — (“Perry Mason”). Sometimes, the focus is on the judge (“Judging Amy”).
Drama requires confrontation, and putting on a trial is always about telling a story, or rather telling two competing stories and letting the judge and jury decide which one they believe. And the law is where people go in the direst of circumstances, often when they have already tried to come to an agreement and failed. Only certain parts of the story are relevant in a courtroom, but it is always intriguing to find out what goes on behind all of that party of the first part and let the record show. So courtrooms and law offices are always a good place to look for good stories. Real-life lawyers like Erle Stanley Gardner (creator of Perry Mason), barrister John Mortimer (creator of “Rumpole of the Bailey”), Terry Louis Fisher (co-creator of “LA Law”), and Fred Thompson (co-star of “Law & Order”).
In an interview in the magazine, Sam Waterston of “Law & Order” reminds us that there is a fantasy element to even the grittiest legal drama on television. The cases brought to conclusion in one episode would take months or years to resolve in real life. “We tell stories about what’s fair and what’s just so we can get our minds around them, or just get to know them. In reality, conclusions are muddy, there are no final curtains, and life just goes on.”

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