El Laberinto del fauno (Pan’s Labyrinth)

2006

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Distributor: Picturehouse

Key Elements: Visuals - Music

My Review:

The story is about a girl who finds escape from the Spanish Civil War by entering a fairytale world.

Del Toro’s visual effects make this movie- they are at once wonderful and weird. His creepy take on traditional fairytale creatures creates a surreal ride for the eyes.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• Hi! Are you a fairy?
• At least we'll make things harder for that bastard.
• Me? I've had so many names. Old names that only the wind and the trees can pronounce. I am the mountain, the forest and the earth. I am... I am a faun. Your most humble servant, Your Highness.
• My mother told me to be wary of Fauns.
• ...don't you dare touch the girl.
  

Stills:

Nochnoy dozor (Night Watch)

2004

Director: Timur Bekmambetov

Distributor: Fox Searchlight Pictures

Key Elements: Visuals

My Review:

My biggest problem with this movie is its premise. The idea is that good and evil have struck a truce and now must keep each other in balance. But the Christian knows that Good is uncompromising and ultimately triumphs over evil.

But, ignore the story and watch the movie, because the special effects are some of the most amazing I’ve ever seen. Visually incredible.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• Night Watch! Everyone step out of the Twilight!
• Ah, the Light mage with a Dark past has come... just the one I'm looking for...
• I want to live.
  - So live. Live. Who's stopping you?
  I want to be human again.
  - You want to be human? Then act like a human.
  

Stills:

Newsies

1992

Director: Kenny Ortega

Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

Key: Story – Music – Message

My Review:

I was in grade school when I first saw this. I loved it so much, I put on suspenders and started dancing around with a stick in my hand. But even after growing out of that stage, I enjoy this movie.

We see Christian Bale before he was Batman as a New York newsboy leading a strike against exploitative big publishers. The story is strung together with amazing original songs and some great dancing.

It’s a blast to watch.

Clip:



Quotes:

• In 1899, the streets of New York City echoed with the voices of newsies, peddling the papers of Joseph Pulitzer, William Randalph Hearst, and other giants of the newspaper world. On every corner you saw them carrying the banner. Bringing you the news for a penny a pape. Poor orphans and runaways, the newsies were a ragged army without a leader, until one day all that changed.
• For a dreamer, night's the only time of day.
• This is for kids shinin' shoes in the streets with no shoes on their feet everyday. This is for guys sweatin' blood in the shop while the bosses and cops look away. This is to even the score. This ain't just Newsies no more. This ain't just kids with some pies in the sky, this is do it or die, this is WAR! Once and for all, we'll be there to defend one another. Once and for all, every kid is a friend, every friend a brother. Five thousand fists in the sky, five thousands reasons to try. We're going over the wall. Better to die than to crawl. Either we stand or we fall, for once, once and for all! …When you got a million voices singing, who can hear a lousy whistle blow?
• I'm just not used to havin' whether I stay or whether I go matter to anybody. Not that it should matter to you. I'm just sayin', um, well, does it? Matter?
• Sometimes all it takes is a voice, one voice that becomes a hundred, then a thousand, unless it's silenced.There's a lot of people out there, and they ain't just gonna go away. They got voices now and they're goin' to be listened to. Putting them in jail is not going to stop them. That's the power of the press, Joe. So thanks for teaching me about it.

Stills:

The NeverEnding Story

1984

Director: Wolfgang Peterson

Distributor: Warner Brothers

Key Elements: Visuals – Message – Symbolism – music

My Review:

If you are a child of the eighties, you know this movie. It’s a classic.

The premise is that the world of Fantasy is disappearing because people have stopped using their imaginations. This disappearing is called “the Great Nothing.”

I like that the evil force is called a nothingness. Evil isn’t the opposite of good, it’s the lack of it – just as darkness is the lack of light. So that’s actually pretty insightful.

The scene where Artex sinks into the swamps of sadness was the first time any movie had ever broken my heart.

But the thought of riding Falcor the Luckdragon is a soaring fantasy anyone can have.
On top of all this, the theme song by Limahl, is unforgettable.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• Never give up, and good luck will always find you.
• It has to hurt if it's to heal.
• Confronted with their true selves, most men run SCREAMING.
• If we're about to die anyway, I'd rather die fighting!
• He simply doesn't realize that one little boy could be that important.
• But that's impossible!
• Bastian? Why don't you do what you dream Bastian?

Stills:

The Miracle Maker: The Story of Jesus

2000

Director: Derek W. Hayes / Stanislav Sokolov

Distributor: ABC

Key Elements: Story – Visuals – Concept – Characters – Message

My Review:

I was blown away by this movie.

The makers chose a famous cast to voice the characters and did extensive research to ensure that the imagery be true to both western and eastern symbols of Jesus.

The story is masterfully told with stop-action puppets. I think this helps it somewhat in that it removes the hesitation some feel to watch an actor portray God. This approach allows people to suspend judgment and focus more on the story.

I also thought the use of drawn animation when spiritual things occur was a creative tool.
Overall, a work of art in both it’s visual beauty and its integrity.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• God is good.
  - Yes, whatever happens. He is good.
• Another call… My Father in Heaven. And I must answer.
• You are my beloved Son. I delight in you. My beloved Son. This is my beloved Son.
• There are battles which have to be fought alone.
• It is written in the scriptures…
• What is the Kingdom of Heaven like? …I’ll tell you.
• God is my life. Not man, not any man.
• I think we should listen to this Jesus. …No one ever lost his soul by listening to a liar. Only by believing him and following. But if he speaks the truth… we have nothing to fear of the truth. Do we?
• I’ve seen. I’ve seen him do good. …He has power.
• I will go to Jesus.
• Trust in the Lord you God with all your heart… and you must love your neighbor as much as you love yourself.
• Thank you Father.
• It’s true. It must be true. This man was a son of God.
• He’s alive!

Stills:

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

1999

Director: Luc Besson

Distributor: Sony Pictures

Key Elements: Story – Characters – Concept

My Review:

For some reason, this is not a very well known movie. Which is surprising because it has a well known cast and is excellently made.

We get a deeper glimpse into the inner torment and motivation of Joan of Arc, history’s most celebrated heroine. These is very creatively demonstrated both in artistic flashbacks and in the personification of Joan’s doubt.

I don’t think a better movie could be made about this character.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• I am the drum on which God is beating out His messages. And right now He is beating so hard, it's splinting my ears!
• I'm nothing in all this, I'm just the Messenger.
• You seem a little wealthy to be a servant of God, don't you think?
• You, who claimed to be my judges, you'll be careful, for you too one day will be judged.
• It's not my body I want to save. It's my soul.
• France does not belong to you, Charles. She belongs to God.

Stills:

The Nativity Story

2006

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Distributor: New Line Cinema

Key Elements: Story – Characters – Message

My Review:

Every year we focus on this story – it’s cool to have a movie about it.

The interesting thing the movie does, however, is to focus on the experience of Jesus’ parents as much as it does on Jesus himself. It’s the first time I’d ever really considered what a surreal and bizarre feeling it would be to raise the Son of God.

Trailer:



Quotes:

• Elizabeth, why is it me God has asked? I am nothing.
• I have told the truth. Whether you believe it is your choice, not mine.
• There is a will for this child greater than my fear of what they may do.
• Are you afraid?
  - Yes. …Are you?
  Yes.
• He is for all mankind.

Still:

Napoleon Dynamite

2004

Director: Jared Hess

Distributor: FoxSearchlightPictures / Paramount Pictures / MTV Films

Key Elements: Characters – Lines – Message

My Review:

How many comedies come out anymore that aren’t rife with sexual content? This is the only one I can think of. And get this, Hollywood: it’s still a great movie!

It took a while to catch on. I saw the trailer online, and then on the TV long before any theater near me showed the movie. But today it is undeniably an instant cult classic.

The humor of Napoleon Dynamite is in its relatable awkwardness. Growing up is uncomfortable and often un-pretty. But this movie tells us that that’s OK. It’s something we all know about. And really, we should just laugh it off.

If you’re going to find a message in this movie, it’s that, as Napoleon tells Pedro, we should just follow our hearts, no matter what anyone else thinks

Montage:



Quotes:

• What are you gonna do today, Napoleon?
  - Whatever I feel like I wanna do. Gosh!
• Way to Stay home and eat all the freakin' chips, Kip.
  -Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.
  Since when, Kip? You have the worst reflexes of all time.
  - Try and hit me, Napoleon.
  What?
  - I said come down here and see what happens if you try and hit me.
• Um, hello. Would you like to look like this?
  - This is a girl.
  Because for a limited time only, Glamour Shots by Deb are 75% off.
  - I already get my hair cut at the Cuttin' Corral.
  Well, maybe you'd be interested in some home-woven handicrafts? …And here we have some boondoggle key chains. A must-have for this season's fashion.
  - I already made like infinity of those at scout camp.
  I’m trying to earn money for college
  -Your mom goes to college.
• I see you're drinking 1%. Is that 'cause you think you're fat? 'Cause you're not. You could be drinking whole if you wanted to.
• Who are you gonna ask?
  - That girl over there.
  Summer Wheatly? How the heck are you gonna do that?
  - Build her a cake or something.
• Well, nobody's going to go out with *me*!
  - Have you asked anybody yet?
  No, but who would? I don't even have any good skills.
  - What do you mean?
  You know, like nunchuku skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.
• It's a time machine, Napoleon. We bought it online.
  - Yeah, right.
  It works, Napoleon. You don't even know.
• I spent like three hours doing shading the upper lip. It's probably the best drawing I've ever done.
• Pedro, how do you feel about that one?
  - It looks nice.
  Yeah, it looks pretty sweet. It looks awesome. That suit, it's... it's incredible.
• A liger… It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.
• Heck yes! I'd vote for you.
• LaFawnduh is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I'm 100% positive she's my soul mate. Don't worry Napoleon, I'm sure there's a babe out there for you too. Peace out.
• Just tell them that their wildest dreams will come true if they vote for you.
• Just follow your heart. That’s what I always do.
• I caught you a delicious bass.

Stills:

The Muppet Movie

1979

Director: James Frawley

Distributor: Walt Disney Studios

Key Elements: Characters – Lines –Message – Music

My Review:

The first and greatest Muppet Movie.

There is so much great stuff in this movie. Its humor seamlessly ranges from dry to corny to clever. Its characters are likable and fun. And it’s got great cameos throughout: Mel Brooks, Bob Hope, Orson Welles, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin and even Edgar Bergen.

I also love the songs. “Rainbow Connection” is beautiful, as is Gonzo’s haunting “I’m Going to Go Back There Some Day.” There are moments when the movie slips into the existential.

The message of the movie is exactly what you’d expect: Never give up. Never stop dreaming.

Clip:



Quotes:

• Kermit, does this film have socially redeeming value?
• Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection. The Lovers, the Dreamers, and me.
• Have you tried Hare Krishna?
• It's too bad the dancing girls are on vacation. This crowd's getting ugly.
  - If you think this crowd's ugly, you should see the dancing girls.
• Hey, why don't you join us?
  - Where are you going?
• We're following our dream!
  - Really? I have a dream, too!
  Oh?
  - But you'll think it's stupid.
  No we won't, tell us, tell us!
  - Well, I want to go to Bombay, India and become a movie star.
  You don't go to Bombay to become a movie star! You go where we're going: Hollywood.
  - Sure, if you want to do it the *easy* way.
  … We've picked up a weirdo.
• I don't know how to thank you guys.
  - I don't know *why* to thank you guys.
• I hope you appreciate that I'm doing all my own stunts.
• Ooh, you mad, impetuous fink, it's champagne!
  - Not exactly. Sparkling Muscatel, one of the finest wines of Idaho.
• “Stay away from women.” That’s my motto
  - But I can’t.
  Neither can I. That’s my trouble.
• It's not often you see a guy that green have the blues that bad.
• Bear left
  -Right, frog.
• Oh, I'm so nervous. If I'm not funny, I won't be able to live with myself.
  - Well, then you'll have to get another apartment, won't you?
• Everybody stay in focus.
• Life is like a movie. Write your own ending.

Stills:

Moulin Rouge

2001

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Distributor: Fox Movies

Key Elements: Music – Visuals – Message

My Review:

In my opinion, this is Baz Luhrmann’s best.

The songs really make the movie. I love the creativity of blending popular songs around a story. And if you read the lyrics for the one original song, “Come What May,” you’ll find that the song doubles and an excellent worship song.

As if the music weren’t enough, the movie is also visually astonishing. It is a beautiful carnival ride of form and color.

As an artist, I also like all the references to the Bohemian revolution.

Clip:



Quotes:

• The woman I loved is... dead.
• I came to write about truth, beauty, freedom, and that which I believed in above all things: love.
• Can't fall in love? But a life without love, that's terrible.
• You're going to be bad for business. I can tell.
• Come what may, I will love you until my dying day.
• Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself. It always ends bad.
• The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.
• Tell our story Christian, that way I'll-I'll always be with you.
• Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. And then, one not-so-very special day, I went to my typewriter, I sat down, and I wrote our story. A story about a time, a story about a place, a story about the people. But above all things, a story about love. A love that will live forever.

Stills:

The Majestic

2001

Director: Frank Darabont

Distributor: Warner Brothers

Key Elements: Characters – Message

My Review:

One of the most under appreciated movies I’ve ever seen.

Its premise is fun. A blacklisted man gets amnesia and is mistaken as a war hero. But that simple premise leads a story with a completely moving conclusion.

When Peter realizes the truth about who he is, he has to answer to a comity about his “un-American activity” It is here that the light-hearted story dives to real depth as Peter stands up for what he believes is right. He calls out the McCarthyists and compels them to respect the Constitution because so many have died for it. Very moving.

Clip:



Quotes:

• Do you remember me?
  - No, but I'll sure try.
• Just a guy trying to figure things out.
• Aside from the fact that this is a free country, and you can be a Communist if you want to be, leaving that aside, if you're accused falsely you have a duty as well as a right to stand up and suggest they drop dead.
• I'm sorry… It occurs to me there's a bigger issue than whether or not I'm a Communist.
• ...Fact is, I've never been a man of great conviction. I never saw the percentage in it. And quite frankly - I suppose - I lacked the courage. See, I'm not like Luke Trimble. He had the market cornered on those things. I never met the guy, but I feel like I've gotten to know him. The thing is, I can't help wondering what he'd say if he were standing here right now. I think he'd probably tell you the America represented in this room is not the America he died defending. I think he'd say your America is bitter and cruel and small. I know his America was big. Bigger than you can imagine! With a wide-open heart! Where every person has a voice! Even if you don't like what they say-- If he were here, I wonder how you'd respond if you could explain to him what happened to his America.
• …There is another Amendment I'd like to invoke. I wonder if anyone here is familiar with it. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion… or prohibiting free exercise thereof . . . or abridging freedom of speech, or of the press . . . or of the right to petition for a redress of grievances. " The First Amendment. It's what we're about, if we'd live up to it. It's part of the contract every citizen has here. Even though the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are just pieces of paper with signatures on them they're the only contracts we have that are definitely not subject to renegotiation. Not by you, Mr. Chairman. Not by you, Mr. Clyde. Not by anyone, ever. Too many people have paid in blood. People like Luke Trimble and all the sons of Lawson, California. When you get right down to it, fellas that's all I have to say to you.
  -Damn right. And they deserve better than this. All you boys do.

Still:

The Matrix

1999

Director: The Wachowski Brothers

Distributor: Warner Brothers / Village Roadshow Pictures

Key Elements: Concept – Visuals – Lines – Symbolism

My Review:

There has been a lot of discussion about how this movie should be interpreted. Some see a lot of Christian Symbolism in that Neo is “the one” who will free humanity from oppression.

There is also a lot of Plato in this story – particularly the allegory of the cave which teaches that we must free our minds from what has always been presented to us if we are to fully perceive reality.

But what I like most is the suggestion that we cannot trust our minds. Western Culture relies on human reason far too much.

But philosophical musings aside, it’s a cool concept and a great action flick.

Unfortunately, it will forever be associated with its two ridiculous sequels.

Trailer:






Quotes:

• This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
  I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing... why you hardly sleep, why you live alone, and why night after night, you sit by your computer. You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me, he told me I wasn't really looking for him. I was looking for an answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question, just as I did.
  - What is the Matrix?
  The answer is out there, Neo, and it's looking for you, and it will find you if you want it to.
• If real is what you can feel, smell, taste and see, then 'real' is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain.
• What are you waiting for? You're faster than this. Don't think you are, know you are. Come on. Stop trying to hit me and hit me.
• The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.
• There is no spoon.
• I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure.
• That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else you were born into bondage. Into a prison that you cannot taste or see or touch. A prison for your mind. …I'm trying to free your mind, Neo. But I can only show you the door. You're the one that has to walk through it.
  Welcome to the real world.
• What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge bullets?
  - No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.
• My name... is Neo.

Stills: