Our Faith In Action® » Movie

Contagion

Fr. Ernest Daly — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:40:58 +0000

A movie that makes you realize how fragile life is. When a new, deadly virus breaks in Hong Kong it quickly spreads throughout the world, creating tragedy and chaos. This is a fictional film, but many disease experts say it does depict a real possibility. The movie highlights the plight of one family which is among the first affected by the new disease. It also follows the efforts of several members of the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta as they grapple with the enormous problem and struggle to find ways to come up with a solution. There is real heroism portrayed in the movie, as well as selfishness and cruelty in the face of horror. Viewing the movie can lead to a good discussion about how each of us reacts when faced with tragedy. My favorite scene is towards the end. Try to guess which it is. Hint: most high schoolers will like this scene too.

7 Days In Utopia

Fr. Ernest Daly — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 18:33:20 +0000

Actor Robert Duvall has produced a beautiful movie about relationships and finding peace in our lives. He presents a troubled young golfer who is haunted by his father’s impossible demands for perfection and success. The young man breaks under the pressure and tries to run away from golf and his father: probably a good idea if he is going to have any true happiness in life. But quite by accident he runs into Robert Duvall’s hideaway (literally). It’s a place called Utopia (for real: the movie was really filmed in town called Utopia, Texas), and ends up learning some valuable lessons about golf, about life, and also about God. There’s a budding romance to go along with the story, very well handled by the makers of this film. Not all the questions about the young man’s future are answered, but he discovers the tools to build a life of much deeper happiness. Good acting. Good values. A refreshingly positive story. Well worth seeing.

Sarah’s Key

Fr. Ernest Daly — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:30:31 +0000

An extremely beautiful but extremely sad movie. It tells the story of a little Jewish girl who escapes deportation to the Nazi extermination camps in order to come back and rescue her little brother. The story is told by a woman reporter who discovers a strange link to the story of this little girl. The movie really makes you reflect on evil and cruelty, on compassion and heroism, and on the scars that evil leaves in our lives. It makes you want to be a person who works for healing in the world rather than selfishness. There are some tough themes in this movie, but talking about these themes after seeing the movie can help deal with some of these themes.

Captain America

Fr. Ernest Daly — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 22:39:01 +0000

Captain America: the First Avenger

Good movie about courage and doing the right thing. The hero is an underdog who is chosen for an experiment by a scientist who sees greatness in him: greatness of heart. The young man’s strength is not anger and revenge but wanting to stand up against any kind of bullies, be them the guy in the alley or heads of state. His dreams seem to come to nothing, but he seizes an opportunity when others are sure the situation is hopeless. Good movie about true heroism without looking for the limelight.

The Smurfs

Fr. Ernest Daly — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 21:51:01 +0000

Fantastic movie for it’s family values and light-hearted fun, but it is almost ruined by a bit of gross humor in a scene about the cat coughing up some traces of the Smurfs for the bad guy. The scene is totally unnecessary, or could have been done in another way. I. See the movie, though. Just skip that scene. The movie has a very good pro-life and pro-family message.

Planet of the Apes

Fr. Ernest Daly — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:02:22 +0000

This movie raises some important questions about science run amuck. A researcher is obsessed with his gene altering project and also obsessed with finding a cure to his dad’s Alzheimer’s. He pushes ahead on his research even after it was shut down by his dramatic failure. He seems to find the medical solution he was looking for, and also seems to find a more humane side to his personality by his relationship with the chimpanzee he is protecting. But things go wrong, dreadfully wrong. The movie shows the importance of caution in research. We can’t just play with science only to reach our shortsighted goals. We need to be careful we do not create something that is much worse than the solution we were looking for. The movie also addresses the problems of cruelty to animals. A good movie for a lively discussion among teens.

The Tree of Life

Fr. Ernest Daly — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:57:49 +0000

This is an experimental film that tries to portray a Christian message in a poetic and different way, but is way too long and complicated. Take out the long part about the creation of the universe. Leave in the human drama: just that part alone would have made a great movie and communicated the message better. A lot better if it was shorter.

Kung Fu Panda 2

Fr. Ernest Daly — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 20:36:52 +0000

Totally fun movie, but the “quest for inner peace” of the hero is a bit over the top. Well worth seeing, though, for a fun time.

Alpha and Omega

Fr. Ernest Daly — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 19:45:15 +0000

(Still in theaters)

Although this is supposed to be a kid’s cartoon, teens might enjoy this. It deals with the problem of how to win the girl who is “out of your league” in an entertaining way. It might also help the girls see that sometimes the “nerds” have a lot more qualities than you think. There are other cartoon movies that have come out this year that I like a lot better, but this is movie might lead to a good discussion about the differences between boys and girls, and the differences between personality types.

What If…

Fr. Ernest Daly — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:12:29 +0000

This movie is one of the few Christian movies that I’ve seen that does not fall into the “corny” category. It is a story about a man who is given a second chance by God to see what his life could be like if he had chosen a less selfish path. It celebrates family and service without being patronizing.

I think the acting is excellent, and the dialogue is not the sort of soppy cliche stuff that we have come to expect in Christian movies. It is much more real and honest. I especially liked the angel character, played by John Ratzenberger (Cheers, Toy Story 1-3, Wall-E). You can see why John is one of the six most successful actors of all time. I also really liked the acting of Kristy Swanson (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) who plays the wife and mother role.

This is not an action-adventure movie. It is a thoughtful movie, so be prepared to think and ponder as you watch it. It covers a very important theme we all need to think about: am I becoming a person of love or a person of selfishness?