5. The Descendants
George Clooney is hot.  At least that’s what many women think.  In this movie, he plays a hapless, passive father who is trying to hold his family together amidst a tragedy.  He’s not very hot in this film, but his acting is superb.  The movie is labeled a comedy but the themes it explores are deep and sometimes very serious.  Funny and emotionally moving.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

4. X-Men: First Class
This is my one guilty pleasure movie.  Not realistic.  Not really a movie where characters are explored and developed (although some of that does exist here).  But this was a very good movie that gives the background to all the prior X-Men  movies.  Ironically, I haven’t even seen all of them!  Special effects are great.  Story is good.  Movie is fun.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

3. Win Win
I love Paul Giamatti. He’s one of my favorite actors, and he stars in this simple yet profound film about a man whose career is washed up who meets a boy whose life is a mess.  The acting is excellent; the story is engaging; and the message about the importance of family and parental love comes through loud and clear.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

2. The Beaver
This movie cost $21 million to make and earned less than $1 million in the U.S.  When it comes to box office ranking, it was #209.  A box office flop – probably because it stars Mel Gibson (not a very popular man these days) and is about a man who communicates with his family and friends using a handheld beaver puppet. However…this is a powerful story about living with someone who is mentally ill and the power of family.  Mel Gibson shows that despite his off-screen woes, he is a superb actor.  I found the film to be profound, powerful, and moving.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

1. Moneyball
I love baseball, and I was already familiar with the story of Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s, but this was much more than a baseball flick.  The smart story and excellent acting made for a movie that was incredibly interesting and engaging from beginning to end.  I had to convince Michelle (a nominal at best professional sports fan) to see it with me, and even she said that it proved to be one of her favorite films of the year.  It probably didn’t hurt for her that Brad Pitt was the star, but regardless…this film is excellent.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

MOST DISAPPOINTING FILM OF 2011: The Debt
Wow, does the trailer make this film look good.  I was hooked after watching it and anxiously awaited it’s arrival in theaters. Maybe it’s just me, but I thought the casting of the main male characters when they were older did not match up with how they looked when they were younger.  As a matter of fact, I felt like they should have flipped the older characters which would have made more sense.  Because of this, I was confused and had a hard time following the film at the end. And speaking of the end, how can such a smart film end in such a gruesome, unrealistic way? I’ll not ruin the ending for you, but I felt like the movie (which hailed itself as a smart film) ended in a ridiculous fashion.  Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed at the end.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

My 2010 Top Films
My 2009 Top Films

We’re drinking a cocktail that’s a mix of the Protestant work ethic, the American dream, and the gospel.  And we’ve intertwined them so completely that we can’t tell them apart anymore.  Our gospel has become a gospel of following your dreams and being good so God will make your dreams come true.  It’s the Oprah god.

Films That I Didn’t See

It’s important for you to know that among the top 10 highest grossing films of the year, I only saw two of them: Iron Man 2 and Inception.  I didn’t see many of the top films of the year because they didn’t interest me.  Films like Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, Twilight:Eclipse, Harry Potter (Part 17), Shrek XXVI, and the Ralph Macchio-less Karate Kid were not worth the $9.50 admission fee.  I’m confident that none of these films would have made my top 5 anyway.  The only movie I didn’t catch that I could see possibly breaking into my top 5 is Social Network.  I’ve heard rave reviews about the film, but somehow I missed seeing it at the theater.  It comes out on DVD in a couple of weeks, and I plan to watch it then.

Films That Didn’t Make My Top 5 But Deserve Honorable Mention

FLIPPED
This is a sweet and slow-moving film that follows the life of a little boy and little girl who are neighbors and grow over the years to have feelings for each other despite being total opposites. It’s based on the novel by the same name and stars two young actors who play their roles superbly.  The actor who plays the little girl is especially wonderful.  She’s sweet, yet strong and very believable.  When it came out on DVD, I brought it home for my kids to watch.  Alexis declared it to be “adorable” and immediately asked me to buy it for her!  “Adorable” is a great way to describe this movie, and even though it didn’t make my top 5, it surely deserves mention…and a viewing, if you haven’t seen it yet.

THE BOOK OF ELI
I love Denzel Washington, and I love that he creatively conveys his faith in Jesus Christ in many of his movie roles.  The Book of Eli is a dark, apocalyptic film that has moments of intense violence and feels mostly depressing and hopeless.  However, the ending is amazing, profound, and full of hope.  The Word of God takes center stage, and the extremes that Washington’s character is willing to go to in order to protect and preserve it is stunning and powerful.  The film didn’t quite make my top 5 because of how dark it was.  However, the powerful way in which the film concludes is worth the watch.

My Top 5 Films of 2010

#5: INCEPTION
Leonardo DiCaprio is one of my favorite actors.  I get excited every time I hear that one of his films is coming out.  When previews for Inception hit the theaters, I knew that I was going to like the film.  DiCaprio, cool special effects, funky storyline, and the girl from Juno…what else could you ask for?  And the film did not disappoint.  The special effects were phenomenal, the story was fascinating and incredibly intriguing, and Dicaprio was on his A-game.  I also love the fact that the film ended with more questions than answers.  Is the top going to fall or not?  Love it!

#4: CYRUS
What a fascinating movie!  The storyline of this independent film is, “A recently divorced guy meets the woman of his dreams. Then he meets her son.”  The guy is perfectly played John C. Reilly (Step Brothers); the woman is played by the beautiful Marisa Tomei; and her adult son, Cyrus, is played by Johan Hill (Superbad).  The three of them together make for a stunningly real and at times uncomfortably dysfunctional trio.  Watching the film is like watching real people fumbling (but succeeding) to work through real life issues.  There’s humor, discomfort, sadness, irritation, frustration, and ultimately genuine happiness.  The characters are well developed, the acting is superb, and the story is very enjoyable.

#3: SHUTTER ISLAND
For starters, ditto on all of my DiCaprio praise above.  He is excellent in this movie as well.  The reason why I like this movie a bit better than Inception is because the character DiCaprio plays in this film is easier to feel compassion for.  In many ways, his characters in both movies are very similar: loved ones dead, very sad about that, looking for redemption.  In Inception, he’s a man hardened by the pain of his past, while in Shutter Island, instead of being hardened by the pain, he’s just plain gone crazy.  But, we don’t know this until the end when everything DiCaprio’s character has done in the film is revealed to be part of an extreme, last-ditch effort therapy session.  Great twist.  Great film.

#2: IT’S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY
You may not have even heard about this one, but in my opinion, it was one of the year’s best films.  It’s a film about a clinically depressed teenager who gets a new start after he checks himself into an adult psychiatric ward.  It’s there that he meets a character played by Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Due Date) who befriends him and helps him with his depression – even though he’s  clinically depressed himself.  Galifianakis steals the show.  He’s known in other movies for being funny (even goofy), but in this role, he’s not only very funny, but he’s serious too and invokes a lot of empathy. He’s very believable – somewhat similar to when Jim Carey or Robin Williams venture into more serious roles.  And the occasional cameo by Jim Gaffigan (of “HotPockets” fame) as the boy’s father is a nice addition!

#1: TRUE GRIT
I know.  I know.  It just came out, so how could it already be my favorite movie of the year?  Well, I’m a sucker for a good western, and this one is more than good.  It’s great.  I also love the fact that it’s filmed in New Mexico – the most beautiful state in the country!  Jeff Bridges is superb reprising John Wayne’s 1969 role as Rooster Cogburn.  As he displayed in the movie, Crazy Heart, Bridges plays a drunk very well, and in True Grit, he plays a trigger-happy, drunken U.S. Marshall that has his hard heart melted by a 14-year old sassy but sweet girl who enlists his help in avenging her father’s death.  Although Bridges role is memorable, it’s Hailee Steinfield’s role as young Mattie Ross that steals the show.  She is brilliant and has already been nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role by the Screen Actor’s Guild.  The dialog between her character and Bridges’ produces several great one-liners, and the love/hate relationship between the two makes for some great moments.  I don’t own many DVDs because I’m not one for watching a movie twice.  However, this film is so good that I plan to buy the DVD when it comes out and watch it again and again.  And by the way, Matt Damon as a cowboy?  Believe it or not…it works!

And finally, the worst film of 2010.  It’s a tie between…

GROWN UPS
Why Americans would waste $162 million on this ridiculously stupid movie is beyond me.  Funny stars.  Not a funny movie.  Stupid to the point of insulting.

HOT TUB TIME MACHINE
Had no desire to see it until I read some reviews saying that it was reminiscent of the funny John Cusak movies from the 80′s.  So, since I’m a sucker for things from the 80′s, Michelle and I rented the DVD when it came out.  Horrible movie.  Not funny at all.  Extremely vulgar and senseless.  Turned it off within 30 minutes…30 minutes of life I’ll never get back.

I’ve read more than once about Denzel’s strong faith in Jesus Christ.  Here’s a portion of an article from The Christian Post about his faith:

“I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” he says. “I’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit. I know it’s real. I was in the room. My cheeks blew up, I cried like a baby, and it scared me to death. It kind of scared me off it. I backed up and went the other direction, to be honest with you. I didn’t know what was going on. It was too strong. It has taken me many years to come back around.”

Sitting in his house recently, reading the Bible (he’s on his third time reading the whole thing straight through), Washington came across a passage about wisdom and understanding in Proverbs 4, which made him reflect on his life.

“I’m in this big house with all this stuff,” he observed. “I’ve heard that saying, ‘You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.’ You can’t take it with you. The Egyptians tried; they got robbed. I said, ‘What do you want, Denzel?’ And one of the devotional words that day was wisdom. So I started praying on that. ‘God, give me a dose of that.’ I can’t get any more successful. But I can get better. I can learn to love more. I can learn to be more understanding. I can gain more wisdom.”

So, in light of his open confession of faith in Christ, I had one burning question for him:  “Why on earth did you take the sinister and vulgar lead role in the movie Training Day?“  He won an Oscar for his performance as an LAPD narcotics detective, but his character was so foul and so corrupt that I could hardly watch.  In light of his faith, I was shocked that he took the role…and shocked at how convincing he was.  Ever since watching the film in 2002, I’ve wondered what possessed him to play such a dark and vile character.

Well, two days into Jasmine’s trip, my cell phone rang.  Jasmine was on a bus headed to her next event.  She didn’t have much time to talk, but I could tell that she was excited.  She just couldn’t wait to tell me what had happened.  “I not only met Denzel,” she excitedly said, “but I also asked him your question!”

I was a bit taken back.  I was kidding when I told her that she should ask the question, and I wondered what Denzel thought having just met this 17 year-old girl and being asked such a confrontational question.  “Wow!” I replied.  “What did he say?”

She said that he looked her in the eyes and said, “That is a very good question!”  He proceeded to tell her that occasionally he will take roles that are dark and sinister as long as they portray evil as being truly evil (not glorified and not heroic), and as long as in the end, evil loses and good prevails.  He said that the original script of Training Day had his character surviving, but he told the director that the only way he would take the role is if his evil character dies in the end.  And if you saw the movie, you know that his character’s death was brutal and final.  Evil lost in the end.

I recently watched American Gangster, a movie in which Denzel plays yet another sinister character.  I was watching to see if he would stay true to this philosophy, and sure enough, he did.  His character didn’t die in the end, but he did go to prison for many years and then came out a changed man.

Hats off to Denzel.  His tactics may make some Christians a bit uncomfortable, but he’s a purposeful actor who is trying to make a difference in Hollywood.

So, for what it’s worth, I offer you my top 5 movies of 2009 (plus a couple other random designations).

#1 District 9
Hands-down, the best movie of the year.  So good that I wrote a blog about it after seeing it.  No need to explain.  Just read the blog!

#2 The Blind Side
I’m not much of a Sandra Bullock fan, and I hate the Baltimore Ravens, but this movie was great.  It’s the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick (Ravens) with the help of a caring woman and her family.  The movie is well done, Sandra Bullock is very likable, and the story is truly inspiring.

#3 Terminator Salvation
Go ahead.  Call me shallow, but I thought this movie was good.  The critics didn’t like it very much, but I thought the storyline blended well with the first three Terminator films.  I’m a sucker for good sci-fi, and the Terminator franchise is one of my favorites.

#4 500 Days of Summer
Let me go on the record and say that I can’t stand chick-flicks, but this one was different.  It’s a well-acted romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe true love exists and the young man who falls for her.  Nominated for two Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, it is the exception (not the rule) when it comes to chick flicks.  In other words, it’s good enough that a man can enjoy it and still retain his manhood!

#5 The Hurt Locker
Honestly, this was a hard spot for me to fill.  The top four were easy to name.  Number 5 was not.  The Hurt Locker is about an elite Army bomb squad unit who attempts to safely detonate bombs in Iraq.  It’s one of those movies you only want to see once because it’s so realistic and disturbing.  You don’t walk out of the theater talking about how good it was because of that, but it was really well done.

Top 2009 movie I just can’t bring myself to watch: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
The movie brought-in over $400 million at the box office this year, but I just don’t have any desire to see it.  I saw the first one and although the special effects were pretty cool, I thought the storyline and the attempt at humor were just bad enough to eclipse anything good that was in it.

Biggest Disappointment of 2009: The Soloist
A movie with a great premise: A Los Angeles journalist befriends a homeless Julliard-trained musician while looking for a new article for the paper.  A movie with really good actors: Jamie Fox and Robert Downey, Jr.  But, a movie that fell flat on its face.

Worst Movie of 2009: The Invention of Lying
So bad I wrote a blog on it.  Funny premise, but completely offensive to Christians.  If the movie would have treated Islam like it did Christianity, heads would have rolled (literally).

We decided to see The Invention of Lying – a film with a pretty creative and somewhat fascinating premise.  No one in the world has ever lied.  There’s not even a word for lying.  Ever wonder what the world would be like if everyone said exactly what they were thinking?  Well, everyone in the film tells the truth, and the brutality with which they speak the truth to one another is somewhat uncomfortable but also pretty funny.  Everything changes, though, when Mark (Ricky Gervais) gets himself in a pinch, his brain misfires, and he actually lies.  As bizarre to him as it is to lie, he realizes that he’s on to something, and so he begins to lie about everything in order to get back his job and get the girl he wants.

Because no one has ever lied, people believe everything Mark tells them.  Not only does he use lies to get what he wants, but he also uses lying to comfort people – which is where the real problem with the film comes in.  His mother is dying, and instead of telling her the “truth” about what happens after death (nothing according to this movie), he “lies” to her and tells her that she will go to a better place where “The Man Upstairs” lives and where all of her loved ones are.  Of course, she believes him and is comforted, but some of the hospital workers hear him too, and because no one ever lies, they believe him and see him as some sort of prophet with special knowledge of the afterlife.

So, the rest of the movie follows him as his “lie” progresses.  People want to know more about “The Man Upstairs” and the afterlife, and so he builds upon his initial lie.  And the more he “lies”, the more what he says reflects what Christians believe to be true about God and eternity in heaven.  What I thought was going to be a smart and funny comedy turned out to be a blatant – and very unfunny – attack on the truths from God’s Word that I bank my life and ministry upon.

I think I would have rather watched a movie where the main character is attacked by a chainsaw than to have seen a movie where the main character brutally attacks my faith as was the case with The Invention of Lying.

I’m a big fan of Peter Jackson.  After all, he directed the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which are – in my opinion – three of the best films ever made.  He proved in these movies that he is an excellent story teller.  He also directed the 2005 box office giant, King Kong, which wasn’t much of a story, but the special effects were incredible.

In District 9, Jackson (who worked as the producer this time), combines both his masterful story telling craft with incredible, eye-popping special effects.  The result: the most visually jaw-dropping movie of the year that just-so-happens to include a surprisingly touching story – one that might even prick your heart if you can get past the fact that it revolves around the plight of displaced aliens that look like giant bugs.

The language is pretty rough (although much of it is “tamed” by sharp British accents), and the gore is pretty graphic (very Jackson-esque), but most memorable are noble themes like the importance of caring for the less-fortunate, friendship, loyalty, and the power of committed love in the context of marriage.  I have to admit that I was completely surprised by how good this movie is…I was surprised by aliens!

I know that it’s a very dangerous thing as a Christian and a pastor to recommend a movie, because inevitably there will be someone who can’t believe a Christian (much less a man of the cloth) would enjoy such a film.  So, if you have a hard time with strong language and watching people get vaporized by alien weaponry, I do NOT recommend this movie.  However, if you’re up for a compelling story and incredible special effects, then by all means, go see this movie.

And hurry.  Make sure you catch it before District 10 comes out!

For the record, I didn’t cry (I didn’t even cry at Marley and Me!)…but I did leave the theater feeling pretty miserable.  The story was a sad one, but it was the utter hopelessness the family experienced as they faced the impending death of their daughter that really bothered me.

SPOILER ALERT!  As older sister “Kate” is dying of leukemia, she tells her younger sister “Anna” that she doesn’t know where she will go when she dies, but she says, “If you want to find me, just go to Montana.”  After Kate dies, Anna says that Kate died and became a piece of the blue sky.

Now…I know not to expect anything more than this from Hollywood, but I do have to say that every time I watch a movie that deals with death, and I observe the empty ways in which Hollywood speculates about life after death (or the lack of any life after death), I just feel sad.

I thought the way the family in My Sister’s Keeper processed the eventual death of Kate was so empty, it was hardly believable.  There was no spiritual consideration at all by anyone, which seems a bit hard to believe.  Even the hardest religious skeptic will usually make some spiritual consideration when faced with impending death, but so often, Hollywood neglects the spiritual side of death all together.

Like I said, I didn’t expect anything more than what I got, I just thought I’d share my saddness and the “yuck” feeling I left the theater with after watching Hollywood present death – once again – void of any spiritual specualtion or consideration.  The Scriptures say that man is made in the image of God, and my hunch is that God gets at least some consideration by almost all of us at some point as we make life’s journey toward the grave.