I just finished watching Bella, and I absolutely loved it. I’ll have more to say about this movie later, but for the time being I simply want to encourage y’all to go out and purchase or rent Bella ASAP (preferably the former).

So, as many of y’all know, I also blog at the biggest and baddest conservative blog there is: RedState. Well, one of the major perks of being a RedState contributor is that I am allowed to participate in the ever-so-exclusive RedState/VRWC email list. As you might expect, there are all sorts of interesting “conversations” that take place between the contributors on this email list, and today one of the fellas sent out an email listing “Ten Beautiful Films You May Not Have Seen.” With the permission of my co-blogger, Leon Wolf, I am publishing one snippet of our email exchange on this topic:

Feddie: Ooooh, and “The Mission.” Y’all simply must see the Mission. So very good. One of the best movies ever.

Leon: I also liked the movie, except that it left one with the impression that the Jesuits believe literally in Christ.

Heh. That cracked me up.

Best. Superhero. Movie. Ever.

Update: Here’s the hidden ending that appears after the credits of the movie.

Here’s something I’ve been meaning to post since returning to SA.  The best movie I’ve seen lately — actually, in years — is “The Lives of Others.”  If you haven’t seen it yet, I strongly urge you to rent it.   It is a riveting portrayal of life in East Germany — particularly the surveillance activities of the Stasi.    That’s all I’m going to say about it.  My advice is that you not try to learn any more about it prior to seeing it; that’s why there are no links in this post.

It is quite a powerful film.  But you don’t have to take my word for it; on seeing it, William F. Buckley “turned to [his] companion and said, ‘I think that is the best movie I ever saw.’”

Once you’ve seen it, you should take a look at the film’s fine website, accessible via www.sonyclassics.com  The short interview with the director, Donnersmarck, is well worth reading. Don’t look at the website before you see the movie, though.  It gives away too much.

The soundtrack is fantastic, as well.

You can read his take on Ben Stein’s documentary here.

The always-interesting John McWhorter praises the documentary, and offers his personal experience of PC at UC Berkeley.

Requiescat in pace.

This looks like it is going to be hilarious.

O.k., I finally got around to watching Tombstone, and I have say that it is a national outrage that Val Kilmer did not receive a “Best Supporting Actor” Oscar (or even a nomination) for his portrayal of Doc Holliday.

What a great movie. And what a brilliant performance by Kilmer.

Like the writer of the story I’m going to link, I was horrified (and intrigued) to hear that Sylvester Stallone was going to make another Rocky film. I hated the fifth installment after enjoying the first four immensely.

But get this, Stallone is marketing the film to Christians. He says he wrote the first film with Christ in mind and that he has returned to his childhood Catholic faith. Stop sniggering!

Here’s a quote from Stallone that made me sit up:

“The more I go to church,” he said, “and the more I turn myself over to the process of believing in Jesus and listening to His Word and having Him guide my hand, I feel as though the pressure is off me now.”

And you Catholics will dig this one to the max:

“You need to have the expertise and the guidance of someone else. You cannot train yourself,” he said. “I feel the same way about Christianity and about what the church is: The church is the gym of the soul.”

Read the story from Stuart Shepard and think about checking it out. I’ve already decided to walk the aisle, the movie theatre aisle, that is.

Who appears in the new Will Ferrell movie, “Stranger than Fiction,” as “Dave.”

I could not be prouder of you, bro. 

Everyone should celebrate this day by watching this inspiring clip from Kenneth Branaugh’s Henry V.  The feast day itself has nothing to do with the Battle of Agincourt, fought on October 25, 1415, but any excuse to watch this clip is a good excuse.  You can read about St. Crispin and his brother St. Crispinian here.

Turner Classic Movies is scheduled to show a lengthy 1972 interview of Hitch by Dick Cavett, this evening at 7:00 and again at 10:00, Central Time.  In addition, TCM is showing Suspicion, Foreign Correspondent, and North by Northwest.

Since I’ve posted a couple of items about this movie, I feel duty-bound to report that reviewers are panning it with enthusiasm.  The Wall Street Journal’s Joe Morgenstern lit into it on Friday:

What a botch.  “All the King’s Men” . . . has no center, no coherence, no soul and no shame.  What it does have is a preening lead performance; a bizarre concatenation of accents; a dreary, pseudo-gritty look; a nonsensical change of period; a surfeit of soul-sickness and a score that could be used for torturing prisoners without violating the Geneva Convention.

There.  You’ve been warned.

All the King’s Men has its world premiere at Tulane U. this Saturday, and goes into general release on September 22.

According to this post on the Laissez-Faire Books blog, there are plans are afoot to make a movie version of the coolest British TV series ever.  I wish these people luck, and sincerely hope they can avoid a fate even remotely similar to that of the attempt to make a movie out of the second coolest British TV series ever.

According to this website, the movie will finally hit theaters on September 22.  I’m looking forward to it, as the cast appears stellar, but more importantly to see how true it sticks to the book.  I only hope the range of emotions I experienced while reading the book are replicated in the film.

I just got back from watching Little Miss Sunshine, which is something I haven’t done since January 2005, i.e., watching a movie at a theater. My return to the land of the sticky floor was good. I highly recommend this movie; it is really one of the best films I’ve seen in a while. It has some highs and lows, in the way you feel, but the characters and cast make you glad that you’re sitting there and watching. Steve Carell really shined in this movie, taking the opportunity to add depth to a character while avoiding the potential typecast as a comic actor, although his character in this movie is funny. If you see a movie in the coming weeks, make sure this is one on your list.

Superb!

Mrs. Proximo and I went to an early screening of World Trade Center last night.  I will simply describe it as a true story, well told and uncontaminated with the typical Stonesque style of weaving fiction into historical events.  If anything, this movie will make you remember…….like a modern day ebenezer (memorial stone) where God met us in the middle of a national tragedy to move us forward with a sense of unity.  As years pass and that unity unravels, it’s healthy to remember.

So sayeth Jon Last about Stone’s World Trade Center.

S.T. Karnick is one of the journeyman writers of the conservative-libertarian (or as he would say, classical liberal) movement.  His work has appeared just about everywhere.  Some of you may remember him from his editorship and co-creation of American Outlook, which was a very good policy and culture magazine put out by the Hudson Institute for several years.  He and Wlady gave me my first opportunities in freelance writing a few years ago.  (Thanks to both for helping through a couple of lean years in Waco.)

Although Karnick has written about just about everything between his freelance work and his regular editorial pieces for the Hudson magazine, he really shines when opining about popular culture.  After years of encouraging him to focus on that area, I am happy to report that Karnick on Culture is now in business.  After only a few short days, Karnick has written posts covering Mickey Spillane, Monk, Psych, the Beach Boys, Touching Evil, Nero Wolfe, The Closer, and Superman Returns.  Spend a little time with S.T. Karnick before you make another CD, DVD, or fiction purchase.  You’ll be glad you did. 

A few months ago, Eric Martin was kind enough to contact me about a documentary that a good friend of his was working on called “The War Tapes.” He wanted to know if I was interested in screening the movie, and then possibly penning a review here at SA. I told him that I would be glad to do it, and then a few weeks later I received a copy of the documentary in the mail.

Now, I have to be honest for a moment. I expected this to be a Bush-bashing, leftist piece of propaganda, attacking President Bush’s decision to go to war in Iraq. How wrong I was.

This is an extraordinary and powerful documentary, filmed entirely by soldiers, that follows the war-time experiences of three of our bravest from the beginning until the end of their tours in Iraq. The film shows the real-world impact that war on has on the men and women who wage it on our behalf, and I walked away from the film with an even greater appreciation for the tremendous sacrifices they make. In short, I think this film is about as close as one can get to beginning to understand the reality of war without actually going into battle. I cannot recommend ‘War Tapes” highly enough.

Always a fine topic to ponder when the people of earth are very busy blowing each other to pieces. I’d like to recommend a couple of DVD’s that should stir the Christian imagination a bit. Recently released, End of the Spear and (a few years older) To End All Wars. Both exceeded my expectations. If you’ve seen either or both, I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Here’s Cal Thomas’s take on Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center”: 

I have a long list of favorite patriotic movies, including “Victory at Sea,” “Yankee Doodle Dandy” and “Sands of Iwo Jima,” but Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center” is right up there with the best of them. It is one of the greatest pro-American, pro-family, pro-faith, pro-male, flag-waving, God Bless America films you will ever see.

Wow. That’s about as strong of an endorsement as I can imagine. I think I’ll have to go see it in the theater.

Are any of y’all planning to see WTC?

Watched the 2004 German film Downfall this weekend.  Very interesting - it tells the story of the end of Germany’s Nazi regime and specifically the end of Hitler’s small circle in his bunker as the Russians advanced on and then, for all practical purposes, destroyed Berlin.  What’s striking about it, and what makes it worth watching, is that it works hard to show not only Hitler’s (and his compatriots’) madness, cupidity, and plain evil-ness, but also their humanity.  They could laugh, sing, show tenderness, even love to one another, all the while their death machine marched on.  It’s a reminder, I guess, that “they” can quite easily be “us.” Well worth watching (though well after the kids have gone to bed).

Here’s what seems like a pretty odd story to me.  Apparently, the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the folks who put those ratings on movies, have decided to give a movie a PG rating because it’s too “evangelistic.”  Having folks discuss their faith (and mean it) qualifies for a warning.

Now, I can see how some parents would find Jesus-talk objectionable.  Many Jews, for example, think that efforts at evangelization directed at them represents a profound anti-Semitism.  (I think their views mistaken, but they genuinely feel that way).  But this seems part of a broader trend in American life, where we take religion to be one of those things that are so sensitive, so given to making problems, that we feel unwilling to talk across our differences.

Here’s something to throw out as just a rough thought.  (I reserve the right to take itall back).  Christians, I think, may be partly to blame here.  Too many of us have grasped onto a “me-too” group victim status, aggrieved by a surrounding culture that seems (if only figuratively) to be going to hell,  that we have helped reconstitute religious belief into a source of cultural identity, no different really than race or ethnicity or nationality or sexuality.  So faith becomes something we have as birthright - like the other identities - and there’s no reason to really try and convince people.  And if you do, you’re just being disrespectful or something.

Or maybe the MPAA is just a bunch of anti-Christian poseurs?  Any thoughts?

Sweet Lord, is nothng sacred anymore? First, traditional marriage; and now, this. Unbelievable. :)   

Oh, and I can see it now:

“‘Superman Returns’ is the must see, feel good movie of the summer! And is it just me, or did anyone else notice the striking similarities between Lex Luthor and Pope Benedict XVI’s worldviews while watching the film?”

-Andrew Sullivan

Update: Apparently, Sully’s gaydar is picking up some “flaming” vibes from a member of Opus Dei. You know, it really is pathetic how flippant Sullivan is about labeling his ideological/theological opponents (i.e., anyone who isn’t down with gay marriage and/or the gay lifestyle) as “gay.”