Top Five Movies of ‘08

Now that the Awards are over I can reveal the true five best pictures of the year.  Actually, I promote these films as simply my favorites – not necessarily “the best” (a much more difficult and unreasonable stance to defend).  

 

Number Five:

WALL-E

It’s hardly fair to refer to this wonderful film as merely a “kid’s movie”.  Indeed, Pixar’s annual summer offering was not only up to their usual standards, it was perhaps the best animated movie I’ve ever seen.  Wall-e was beautiful, heart-warming, and provocative – a sermon in and of itself.  Pixar’s redemptive messages continue to be more and more poignant – responsible and seamless faith indeed.  

 

Number Four:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

What I find to be the most curious case about Benjamin Button is how vastly underrated this movie has become in the popular imagination.  Yes, it’s long – but since when has that been a bad thing?  This movie is remarkable to watch for more reasons than just the extraordinary make-up and special effects.  It’s truly a quite beautiful film.  Although I hesitate to admit it, watching this movie was a rather emotional experience for me.  I think it’s because, at its core, Benjamin Button is about the passage of time, and when this theme is explored thoughtfully and through the lens of loneliness, loss, and isolation it often proves to be very powerful.  Comparisons to Forrest Gump are appropriate, but I found this more  affecting simply because – unlike Hank’s Gump – Benjamin Button was fully aware of just how lonely he was.  Speaking of underrated – Brad Pitt is an excellent actor who’s credibility seems to suffer from his tabloid popularity.  This was not an easy role to play and Pitt was fully deserving of an Oscar.  

 

Number Three:

Let The Right One In

 

Oh Yeah.  I don’t expect everyone to understand this, but I love vampire stories (good ones…).  Suffice it to say, I’ve been waiting for this movie my whole life.  I was so jazzed after seeing it I couldn’t go to sleep.  A great movie to provoke conversation – there’s more going on here than meets the eye.  It’s not quite fitting to simply call this a “horror” film – it’s so much more.  Unlike the sloppy helping of cheap thrills usually offered by this genre, Let the Right One In is driven by characters providing, among other things, a challenging metaphor for adolescent coming of age.  See it.  In a dark room.  

 

Number Two:

Frost/Nixon

 

The best of the nominated films this year yet the least sexy one to see.  Regrettably unnoticed, this movie is about so much more than just an interview with former President Richard Nixon.  It’s about conscience and the consequences of a broken one.  Ron Howard successfully makes a movie revolving around an interview exciting.  Again, the key factor is the amazing characters driving the action and Frank Langella portrays the most human and believable Nixon I’ve ever seen in film.  The most under-appreciated talent involved, however, is Michael Sheen’s brilliant portrayal of David Frost – a man equally desperate to find his own redemption.     

 

Number One:

In Bruges

 

This is a movie of many dimensions.  A deft crime thriller that creates characters capable of breaking your heart.  I am a huge fan of witty dialogue, dark comedy, and crime thriller mixes, and I haven’t seen many that do it better.  In Bruges truly took me to a place I’d never been (who has seen this movie and not wanted to travel to Bruges?), told a fresh story I had never heard, and introduced me to novel and quirky characters I’d never met.  Quite an accomplishment.  

 

 

 

 

Continuing the Conversation

This Sunday we tried to view Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 7 through the lens of a first century “feminist”.  The overall goal was to authentically place ourselves within the social context of the Corinthian church in an effort to explore if there is a way to read Paul’s instructions regarding marriage and sexuality in a manner that doesn’t come across as derogatory regarding the institution as it may sound to contemporary ears.  

A closer examination of the first century church truly reveals a community that seriously and effectively redeemed the status of women and the idea of what marriage can and ought to be.  The underlying theme I walked away with is that virtuous living works and is, thereby, life affirming, contagious, healthy, and sustaining.

Top 10 of ‘08 – #’s 10-6

With the pending Academy Awards show I thought it was time to reveal the true “best pictures” of last year.  Below are the bottom five of my top ten.  The top five will be revealed next week (I know you can’t wait).  Admittedly, I haven’t seen all the movies I want to from ‘08 (“Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist” and “Man on Wire” are on my queue), but I feel confident with this offering…

Number 10:

The Wrestler

This movie has grown on me.  When I first saw it I thought Aronofsky’s intense style and indie vibe made a rather trite and formulaic story seem slightly more important than it really was.  It stuck with me, however, and when my friend Chris helped my latent imagination by pointing out a metaphorical lens through which to view the film, it completely altered my thinking.  (Mickey Rourke = 80’s America/Evan Rachel Wood = The American Conscience).  I’ve also been a fan of Mickey Rourke for decades (ever since Angel Heart and The Pope of Greenwich Village), and it’s gratifying to see him get some recognition as a top shelf actor.  

By the way, my theory of who Marisa Tomei’s character is metaphorically – the American Church…

 

Number 9: 

Pineapple Express

I love it when I walk out of a movie thinking, “I’ve never seen that before”.  Although this film isn’t for all tastes, it’s clever, funny, and amazingly unique.  I felt like I was watching Freaks and Geeks directed by Quentin Tarantino.  It’s also significant to mention that this is perhaps the most overt “bro-mance” ever filmed, thus being a quintessential “guys movie” – don’t watch it on a date night.  

 

Number 8:

Slumdog Millionaire

Make no mistake – despite this film’s gritty depiction of poverty and destitution, it’s pure unadulterated fairy tale.  What a revelatory combination!  Who would have thought framing a completely unrealistic feel-good romance in the context of thoroughly realistic and eye-opening impoverishment would work so well?  Yet it’s within this novel fusion that Slumdog Millionaire finds its extraordinary power to capture the imagination.  There’s an inherent desire in all of us for things to be “put right”.  What better way to express our innate longing for justice than to root for Jamal to win the money and get the girl?

 

Number 7:

The Dark Knight

Going to the theater on opening weekend to see The Dark Knight this summer felt like an event.  You could feel a contagious energy and excitement.  This is a rare instance, however, when the hype surrounding a movie is pretty much justified.  Although it generates tension with my seven year old son, I love the fact that Nolan has made a super hero movie that I can’t take my children to.  Please understand, it’s not that I don’t like going to movies with my children, but it’s that I have always thought (as crazy as it may sound) that super heroes have the potential to provide fodder for very complex and adult imaginations.    

Greatest Super Hero movie ever?  It’s hard to say (I still love Spiderman 2), but is it the greatest Batman movie ever made?  Definitely – and that’s saying something.  

 

Number 6:

Transsiberian

A thoughtful character-driven thriller.  In other words, the kind of movie that is all too rare in our current cinematic landscape.  When I saw this I knew I was experiencing a treat that I wouldn’t necessarily experience again for quite awhile.  I was “on the edge of my seat” but not from clever manipulation – I cared about these people and what happened to them.  Extraordinary.

 

My top five of last year to come next week…

The Primacy of Story…

“Humans like stories.  Humans need stories.  Stories are good.  Stories work.  Story clarifies and captures the essence of the human spirit.  Story, in all its forms – of life, of love, of knowledge – has traced the upward surge of mankind.  And story, you mark my words, will be with the last human to draw breath, and we should be there, too, supporting that one last person.”

- Thursday Next (Jasper Fforde – First Among Sequals)

Continuing the Conversation

What a timely conversation Sunday (considering it’s Valentine’s Week) – Sex and Sexuality.  Once again our church is confidently declaring that sex is good and God given.  What I find most profound about our discussion Sunday, however, is the idea that God doesn’t simply give us this gift in order to encourage procreation, feel good, or “have a good time.”  It’s all of these things, of course, but it’s also more than that.  God gives us the amazing gift of sexuality in order to image his relationship with us.  A healthy sex life actually aids us in our understanding of who God is and specifically who he is in relation to us.  

Husbands and wives – encourage each other in your relationship with God by nurturing a healthy sex life (admittedly – not as easy as it sounds, but worthwhile work).

“Life has evolved not in terms of the ways the past has an impact on the present, but in terms of the ways the past is present in the present.”

                                                                                                            -Edwin Friedman