Sunday, December 24, 2006
Mary, Mother of Jesus
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: This one is a bit of a surprise. We discovered it one evening while searching through the channels looking for movies. Mom's eyes latched onto the title and we clicked into it, then caught a later run to catch what we'd missed. It's a made-for-TV movie that is more about Mary's imagined influence in Jesus' life than it is about Jesus. It was made by the Kennedy family, to what purpose I'm not sure, but it's intriguing, especially the parts that suggest that the parables of Jesus were actually stories Mary told Jesus, when he was a child, in order to illustrate ethical and moral values. I found the first viewing fascinating but quickly realized it wouldn't be one that I'd watch repeatedly. Mom, though, was quite taken with it and requested that we add it to our collection, so that's what I did. It's been watched once again since it arrived, and, again, Mom said, "I think we should get a copy of that movie." I reminded her that we did, and she just watched it. Interestingly, it reminded me of Anne Rice's book, Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. I wonder if either influenced the other.
It reminded me that the theaters are currently featuring a new movie about Mary's story, so to speak, The Nativity Story. I imagine, when that's in DVD once we've rented it, Mom will want that one added to our collection, as well.
I don't think this movie was seen by a lot of people, so few are the reviews for it. Mary Movies, though, come and go, as we are reminded in this article about the plethora of Mary Movies, published, unsurprisingly, in the Catholic Digest. Despite what may seem like an obvious pairing, the article is actually quite informative about Mary Movies.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Christian Bale Jesus of Nazareth Toby Bailiff Young Jesus Pernilla August Mary of Nazareth David Threlfall Joseph of Nazareth Simone Bendix Mary Magdalene Robert Addie Pontius Pilate Edward Hardwicke Zechariah Hywel Bennett Herod Geraldine Chaplin Elizabeth Christopher Routh John the Baptist Andrew Grainger Barrabas John Light Archangel Gabriel
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1999
Directed by Kevin Connor.
Labels: bible-movies1, christian-bale, jesus-dvds, period4, religion1
Little Miss Sunshine
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: None
- Commentary: I rented this movie for us out of curiosity. We both we so charmed by it that we decided, after watching the rental a second time in as many days, to purchase it. I was surprised at how much Mom enjoyed it. From the little I knew about it I thought I would love it and Mom would find it boring, so her interest in the movie surprised me. It's one of those movies I consider completely perfect and, of course, it features Toni Colette. It's easy for me to like movies in which she's featured. Even if the movie is a bomb (and, I have yet to consider one of the movies in which she's featured a bomb, although there are some that I wouldn't add to our collection, like In Her Shoes, which is pleasant enough but not something I'd seek to watch again), I always enjoy her performances.
Mom was, by the way, astonished at the girls' beauty pageant. "Something's not right about that," she said. I was pleased that she was struck by this.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Greg Kinnear Richard Hoover Steve Carell Dr. Frank Ginsberg Toni Collette Sheryl Hoover Paul Dano Dwayne Hoover Abigail Breslin Olive Hoover Alan Arkin Edwin Hoover Bryan Cranston Stan Grossman Dean Norris State Trooper McCleary
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2006
Directed by Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris.
Labels: female-director2, road-movie, satire1, shared-favorite, toni-collette
The Last Temptation of Christ
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1* *2* *3*
- Commentary: I noticed, in the mentions, one of them states that Mom always thinks she wants to see this movie, then she gets bored with it. This is no longer true. It is now one that she asked after the last time we did a "jesus movie" festival, so, this year, I purchased it.
For me, as well, the more I watch the movie, the more I like it. I tend, now, to ignore the discontinuities, like yet another Nordic Jesus, Harvey Keitel as a red-headed Judas and Barbara Hershey's bee-stung lips. Especially since I've read the book, I tend to appreciate the story more for what it symbolizes rather than what it portrays.
I think what Mom likes about it is the gritty realism and the startling detail, like how the crosses are made. We watched this movie again, recently, right after I ordered it and just after a couple of other Jesus movies. It seems that each movie has its own version of how crucifixion crosses are constructed, which mom noticed this time around, which led to yet another Jesus movie festival.
The only disappointing aspect of this movie was that it promised subtitles and they may exist but they aren't listed in any of the menus so I'm not sure if listing this as a feature was an error or if there is an Easter Egg technique to cuing them. I need to check this out. It does not feature Closed Captioning. I was afraid this would be a problem for Mom but the first time we watched it after receiving it, Mom had no problem with it. This is, at any rate, primarily a visual feast for her, so I guess that's why it doesn't matter. As well, the dialogue is not mumbled or distorted by other sound tracks.
The review linked to the title of this post is an interesting view of the movie from the perspective of how it had been (up to the point of its writing) and may continue to be viewed by the religious community. It seemed to me a relevent discussion to have about it.
Roger Ebert reviewed the movie twice, once as a "regular" movie and once more as a Great Movie.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Willem Dafoe Jesus Harvey Keitel Judas Iscariot Barbara Hershey Mary Magdalene Harry Dean Stanton Saul/Paul of Tarsus David Bowie Pontius Pilate Verna Bloom Mary, Mother of Jesus Andre Gregory John the Baptist Nehemiah Persoff Rabbi Leo Marks Voice of Satan Tomas Arana Lazarus Victor Argo Peter Martin Scorsese Isaiah
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1988
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
Labels: barbara-hershey, bible-movies1, Criterion2, drama8, fantasy3, harry-dean-stanton, harvey-keitel, jesus-dvds, martin-scorsese, nehemiah-persoff, period4, religion1, shared-favorite, spiritual1, willem-dafoe
The Santa Clause 2
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: This is not my favorite movie of the series but Mom seems to like it more than the original, so I purchased a copy for our Christmas sub-collection. I think what she likes is the focus on Mrs. Clause. If it had been possible, she probably would have married Santa Claus, back when she was a fertile, marriage-inclined woman.
Thus, when Mom died, this movie went to my local library.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Tim Allen Scott Calvin/Santa Clause Elizabeth Mitchell Carol Newman Wendy Crewson Laura Miller Judge Reinhold Dr. Neil Miller David Krumholtz Head Elf Bernhard Peter Boyle Father Time Kevin Pollak Cupid Michael Dorn Sandman
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2002
Directed by Michael Lembeck.
Labels: Christmas, comedy1, fantasy3, kids, mom-favorite1, super-hero2
The Santa Clause
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: We first saw this some years ago. Both of us were charmed by it, so it has become one of those movies that I search for on television every year around Christmas time. I finally decided, this year, it was time to add it to our collection.
Update 2/9/18: In case you're wondering, yes, I watched it during the past holiday season. It remains a part of my personal Holiday Movie Line-up.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Tim Allen Scott Calvin/Santa Claus Eric Lloyd Charlie Calvin Wendy Crewson Laura Miller Judge Reinhold Dr. Neil Miller David Krumholtz Head Elf Bernard Paige Tamada Judy The Elf Peter Boyle Mr. Whittle Kenny Vadas E.L.F.S. Leader
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1994
Directed by John Pasquin.
Labels: Christmas, comedy1, fantasy3, kids, mom-favorite1, super-hero2
Mrs. Doubtfire
- Who's watched: M & G
- Mentions: *1*
- Commentary: This is yet another one of those movies that I expected would have been mentioned several times in the journals, since, for years, every time I notice it on TV I cue it for both of us. Although I've gotten to the place with it that I pay attention to maybe about a third of it, the rest has gotten a bit tiresome for me, Mom remains riveted to it every time it plays. Aside from it being one of her beloved gender bender movies, she loves the story and is quite fond of the relationship between the father and the kids. I've been trying to find a decent widescreen DVD copy of it for ages. Finally, this fall, one was released and I snapped it up. It arrived about a week before this review is being published. Mom has watched it twice, with rapt attention, since it arrived. This was definitely a must have for our collection.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Robin Williams Daniel Hillard/Mrs. Doubtfire Sally Field Miranda Hillard Pierce Brosnan Stu Harvey Fierstein Frank Hillard Polly Holliday Gloria Mara Wilson Natalie Hillard Robert Prosky Mr. Lundy Anne Haney Mrs. Selner Scott Capurro Jack Martin Mull Justin Gregory Matthew Lawrence Chris Hillard William Newman Mr. Sprinkles
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 1993
Directed by Chris Columbus.
Labels: comedy1, gender-bender, mom-favorite1, robin-williams
