On Fridays, I intend to post a movie review of a one of my favorite films.
I have been interested in films for the past 25 years or so. Not that I did not go to the movies as a child or young adult, but only later did I conclude that the video medium was this age’s premier art, just as painting and sculpture or the novel or drama were in previous eras.
When I began traveling to Africa, I would carry VHS tapes for my family and missionaries. This task became much easier space-wise when films switched to DVD format. In recent years, the airlines have added hundreds of onboard choices, which I have sifted through, sometimes in vain.
Aristotle claimed that the aim of art is to instruct and delight. I shall be featuring films that I personally have enjoyed and that made me think. I am no Roger Ebert, I am eclectic and sometimes eccentric. And I have learned that when it comes to movies, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. So no need to feel guilty or angry if you don’t like my faves.
One final matter. I am reviewing for Christians, but most of my favorites are not overtly Christian. Some films may convey a godless worldview or a critique of religion. Like the strange books of Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Ezekiel or the Book of Revelation, they may push outside one’s comfort zone to “consider the work of God” (Eccles 7:13). I shall note whether films are rated “R” or PG-13. I object to “gratuitous” violence, obscenity and sex in films but realize that Christians have widely different perceptions of where to draw the line on offensiveness.
So let’s turn to some favorites. I am going to post them under Cultural Comment/Movies. I’ll list them by the number, but in truth, they are all favorites in one way or another.
