The Young Victoria (2009)

Entertainment Rating: 4 of 5

The beginning of the movie was a bit confusing with it jumping from one moment in time to another and introducing different people left and right; as the movie progressed things made much more sense and we found it very enjoyable. If you enjoy movies like Pride and Prejudice there’s a good chance you’ll really enjoy this one. The film might be classified as a romance, but that definitely is just a small portion of the movie. It is really about Queen Victoria’s maturing from a child into an adult and learning how to balance her high position with being a wife.

Moral Rating: 5 of 5

There were a lot things we enjoyed about this movie, particularly because of its moral and educational value. The movie was mostly about Victoria’s maturing from a child to an adult and how she learned to take on her royal duties. She had to assimilate quickly to the life and responsibilities of a queen. At first she confused stubbornness with strength and used it to control her decisions by rebelling against those closest to her who tried to give her advice, fearing that they were using her as a pawn. Later, Victoria understood that being stubborn does not signify strength or wisdom, and her decisions needed purpose behind them so that the people could see that she ruled on sound principles, and not because she favored one person over another.

Through many mistakes and grievances Victoria learned who her friends really were. She was taken advantage of by the Prime Minister at first, because of her naivety; and due to her stubbornness it took a while for her to see it. Luckily the Prime Minister had a change of heart and realized his unrighteous influence and gave her some of the best advice regarding her duties as queen and wife.

Lord Wellington: My guidance has not always been faultless, and I am sorry for it. But I speak to you now truthfully.
Queen: I know
Lord Wellington: The prince [Albert, Queen's husband] is a good man, a better man than any of us knew. I know he does not think as well of me, but my vanity is not the issue here. He is able, he is clever, and he is faithful. Let him share your work.  [Up until this point the queen had a hard time letting anyone assist in her work.  She felt threatened that everyone was trying to take advantage of her and use her for their own selfish interests].

Lord Wellington then gives her one last task to help make the prince “feel truly welcome”: to get rid of the baroness who has served as somewhat of a nanny for the queen and had not treated the prince well; she was seen as somewhat of a threat to his rightful place as patriarch of his family. The queen takes the Prime Minister's advice (asked the baroness to leave) and had her husband’s desk moved in with hers, signifying to Prince Albert that she was going to accept the help that he had to offer, and would make the effort to overcome the confusion between her duties as queen and that of his wife.

Like any married couple, the film displayed some possible sources of contention between Albert and Victoria, but through them we see Albert’s good character, patience, and love for his wife, the queen.

Albert also exhibits a good work ethic and is not willing to just sit back and watch people do things for him. He had a great desire to change things (in his marriage, the palace, and the country) for the better.

This isn't a "knock-your-socks-off" film, but it is incredibly inspiring and well done.  It would be well worth your time to sit through and later reflect on the important lessons presented.

Temple Grandin (2010)

Entertainment Rating: A

This was a great movie following the life of Temple Grandin who had autism and helped the world understand how to help those with autism succeed like she did.

Orson Scott Card summed up our feelings well:

“Last year might have been financially good for the movies, and films like ALICE IN WONDERLAND and holdover AVATAR might rule the box office this year. Films by directors whose hands are always distractingly visible might win the accolades of the cognoscenti. But TEMPLE GRANDIN is, without pretension, the finest artistic achievement in filmmaking I've seen in years; it easily elbowed its way into my lifetime top ten movie list.

It's an emotional rollercoaster, this movie. I laughed and cried so often I thought I had lived an extra year by watching it. Yet this was not because manipulative filmmakers juiced things up; on the contrary, the writers, director, and performers used amazing restraint. This movie never bludgeons us with something that can be conveyed through nuance alone.”

Moral Rating: 5

A lot can be learned from this depiction of the life of Temple Grandin. Even though her autism made her different (not less) than the average person, she learned how to exercise self control, how to hone her skills and apply them productively, and she wasn’t afraid to share her knowledge with those around her.

Her method of giving herself a hug was rather interesting, but demonstrated her desire to exercise control over her emotions and ultimately over her autism. We should all exerted the same effort to control our own emotions, instead of looking for ways to victimize ourselves and complain to or at others.

With the help of a loving family and her school teacher, Temple was able to realize what her strengths were and actively pursued avenues that enabled her to ultimately change the world: She re-engineered the cattle industry and opened up the eyes of the world to autism.

Go out of your way to check this film out.

Erin Brockovich

Entertainment Value

Rating: B

Good movie, but rather predictable (just like a lot of legal thrillers). It is a true story, so it's not like they could change it up or embellish it too much. There was no fancy lawyer battle in the courtroom. I'm not sure why it was Rated-R, it was plenty similar to John Grisham stories and could have been targeted to a broader audience without any excessive language or sexual content.

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate?

Rating: 2

The film comes off with a somewhat good message - that hard work pays off. But are we really supposed to applaud Erin for leaving her family for so long in the care of someone else? Sure people leave their kids at day cares plenty of times, but this made it seem as if she were virtually never home. She treated her boyfriend like a nanny, and yet at the end he was grinning ear to ear because of seeing the work he actually helped assist with. Her family should have been made top priority (very similar situation to Freedom Writers, where the teacher ends up getting a divorce because she spends more time with students than at home with her husband).

The Informant!

Synopsis

Based on the true story of Mark Whitacre, a bio-engineer who stumbles across an international price-fixing scheme involving the company he works for, ADM. Mark secretly reports this information to the FBI and as time goes on, more crimes than just price-fixing surface.

Entertainment Value - B

Good show. Probably only rated-R to target the appropriate audience. This would be a bore for anyone under the age of 18 (and even a little slow for those older, including myself). The movie reminded of Catch Me If You Can, both told pretty crazy criminal stories about two different individuals and how they flew under the radar for so long. The music and acting were great, but didn't make up for a weak plot.

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 3

The Informant! did a good job of showing the consequences of lying and trying to cover up the lies as they become discovered. If you try to cover things up, things don't get better or disappear. A right action doesn't always make-up for a wrong action, especially if that right action is by no means a restitution of the wrong doing.

Somebody Up There Likes Me

Synopsis

Rocky Graziano is nothing but trouble for his family and the community, and works his way into several prisons and work camps. His future becomes brighter when he realizes (with the help of a few mentors) that he has good potential to fight professionally and legally. He straightens up his life, gets married, has a child, and eventually completely turns over a new leaf and realizes what things are most important in his life. Starring Paul Newman.

Entertainment Value - B

Great movie, probably Stallone's inspiration behind Rocky, very similar story line (shady character turns to fighting as a more legitimate profession and marries a shy girl who doesn't like to see him fighting). Paul Newman did a great job, though I like Stallone and Crowe a little better as boxers.

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 5

Norma had a great role. I liked the part where she corrected his manager by telling him that he can't turn a blind eye to Rocky's past. Doing so was dishonest and in no way helping Rocky accept who he was so he could genuinely turn over a new leaf (not the leaf of some imagined self). By accepting his past, Norma was able to accept Rocky for who he really was and help him get to the point where he had nothing to worry about. (He states that he knows that he'll lose his title someday, but that doesn't bother him; what's most important is what he has right then - his family.)

The great moral dilemma comes when he's about to contact the evil..shady? replace "shady" above with "troublemaker"(need better word) Frankie Peppo to do some business with him. At a very opportune moment his friend, a soda jerk, tells him that when he orders a soda he has to pay for it, teaching him he needs to face up to the truth and take responsibility for what he's done and promised to do. He then runs into another friend who wants to start a flower shop (but really wants money to buy a gun and pay someone to hold someone up with the newly acquired gun for the money for a flower shop so he can run a bootlegging joint...). Rocky tries to talk some sense into him, but realizes he can't force the guy to change.

Rocky's reconciliation with his father was touching as well. Their frank discussion helped both realize the true state of their circumstances and allow them to finally see eye to eye. Rocky's father breaks down and says that all he wants for Rocky is to be the champ he, as a fighter/father, never was. Rocky says "Don't worry about a thing!" and the rest is history.

If you're looking for an original (in that it came out before Rocky), inspirational sports story, check this one out.

The Blind Side

Synopsis

A Christian lady (Sandra Bullock) takes in a troubled youth and with the help of her husband (Tim McGraw) and children she instills in the boy courage to finish school and start a new life, full of hope.

Entertainment Value - A

This was a very well done movie. I went into the theater not terribly excited about it, thinking it was going to be just like every other inspirational sports story (good, but because there are so many of them, it's nothing new); but it wasn't. It was inspirational, but football was just a small element of the movie. The performances were great. The music was a little too contrived, I felt more emotionally driven at time because of the music instead of the actual story.

Moral Value - Failure to Communicate? - 5

The focus on the family was very strong in this film. The Tuohy's were your average TV watching family until Big Mike came into their lives. One scene in particular stands out on Thanksgiving day when Michael chooses to sit at the table instead of on the couch watching football like the rest of the family. It doesn't say why, but Michael's example helped bring the family closer that day as the mother corralled the rest of the family into the dining room to spend real family time together.

When Michael first moved in, I was wondering how the mother could do that with a teenage daughter in the home. Apparently she was oblivious to that potential danger (an issue no matter if the boy were a stranger or a good family friend), but when made aware of it by a friend, she made sure to discuss the issue with her daughter to find out her feelings on the situation. This was a good example of humility on the mother's part, realizing she hadn't consulted her daughter on the matter but quickly remedying it.

The last scene where Michael is being interrogated by the NCAA board on why he chose the college he did, was another great scene on the importance of strong family ties. The world doesn't really understand the concept of what a family is and does (as exhibited by the interrogator). She simply thought that the parents were coniving Ol' Miss alumni trying to get some extra points scored for their school; when, like any other parent, all they wanted was for their "son" to be happy, knowing that that school was where they were happy. Michael grounds the interrogator when he comes back and tells her that.

S.J. and his sister showed great initiative in going out of their way to help Michael know he was loved. The husband's support of his wife's charity was inspiring. I really can't say enough good about this show. Go out of your way to see this film, it will definitely find a place in our DVD Binder when it comes out.

Frost/Nixon

Synopsis

This film covered the preparation and the airing of the historical 4-day interview David Frost conducted with former president Richard Nixon.  Some wanted the interview to be the trial Nixon never received (due to Ford's pardon); others simply wanted the experience of interviewing one of the most controversial men in history.

Entertainment Value

I'm not sure how accurate the interviews in the film were with the actual ones, but no matter what, Ron Howard did an excellent job putting this story.  For consisting of mostly just dialog between the titular characters, it was as tense as any other action/suspense film I've seen, reminiscent of the style of film 12 Angry Men was.

Moral Value

It's intriguing to see Frost's motives for interviewing Nixon dramatically shift just before the last leg of the series.  Frost accepted some of his researchers because of their intent on proving Nixon guilty in order to give Americans the resolution they needed for the preceding years of scandal.  Frost didn't quite share that passion and was fighting a losing battle until he too decided to take things seriously and conduct the last interview in a way that would start the healing process for disillusioned Americans.  This is a great example of how anything done halfheartedly cannot bring you real happiness, no matter how optimistic you are.  Once a person has done everything to ensure the success of a goal, no matter the outcome, that person is successful.

Being how this is a depiction of a very important event in our history, I think it is of great value to everyone to see this film.  The film could very easily have been brought to a PG-13 rating, but I fear that Hollywood pushed for the R-Rating solely to target it's audience to a more mature crowd.  I can see that this film probably would not be enjoyed by too many under age 17, so why market the film towards them by giving it a PG-13 rating?

We did watch this edited, and as far as I know only a handful of swearing was cut out (turn up your nudity filter if you don't care to see the back of a naked man running into the ocean at the end).

Braveheart

Rating: 4

William Wallace is a great example of what one needs to do to stand up against evil. Through his character we learn that we can never afford to compromise with evil. If Wallace were to have permitted the Scottish leaders to negotiate with England, the Scots would have still been subject to England and all the wrongs England had imposed on them would have no doubt continued. This situation is very similar to Gandhi's, in the movie of the same name, where he too knew that by giving in you give up. If we don't stand up for what is right, we will always fall short of understanding what true freedom is. Even when it seemed that the Scots' plight was futile, they were more free on the battle field than they would have been sitting at home, enduring their enemies.

An excellent illustration of how subtly evil can work is shown in the conflict between the Bruce and his son. The father's evil influence clouded the son's desire and ability to do what was right. The son was naïve too long before he realized the damage he caused by maintaining his allegiance to his father. This poses a complicated moral dilemma, to what extent should one honor their father? What if the father is abusive, or constantly drunk, or leaves the family?

It was inspiring to see how much Wallace loved his wife (not just before their marriage, but even after her death). He showed his love to her with the desire to start their relationship off right by getting married (though this could be seen as careless or selfish by putting their lives in more danger).

[Spoiler alert] Some of the more questionable elements of the film are the intense and graphic violence (somewhat filtered in the TV version) and that, though resolute in avenging his murdered love, Wallace's character weakens in his committing adultery with the princess. I do understand that this was based on a true story and certain aspects of the story couldn't be changed. This being the case, the story is inevitably not entirely moral, but there are still many great moral truths displayed.

Gandhi

Rating: 5 

We watched this movie a while ago and fortunately took notes during and right after viewing it.  This was a great movie!  Though many of Gandhi's teachings and beliefs were good, I'm not sure I agree 100% with everything, but I'll let you decide where you stand.  Plenty of lessons worth remembering were taught, and we hope this list will give you insight into a small portion of the good this movie presents.

• Love and truth will always prevail
  
• Noncooperation with evil is necessary
• Gandhi fasted until noncooperation with Great Britain stopped.  Gandhi realized the people weren't ready to live this "higher law", they weren't motivated by the right desires (sounds strangely familiar to multiple stories from scriptures)
• No compromise, disgust for alien powers - alien powers don't know who they rule, they don't understand the culture or way of life.
• Gandhi understood that to lead the people he had to understand what they did and how they lived, so he renounced the status his schooling brought him and became one of the people.
• "I've traveled so far and I ended up back home." (It only matters what you become)
• Gandhi was willing to stand up for what's right, was never worried about what others think
• "All battles ought to be fought in our own hearts."
• "Tyrants and murderers at times seem invincible, but in the end they always fall."
• The Indians had to love Gandhi for his fasting to death to mean anything.

This is a long movie (about 3 hours), but I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.

Hotel Rwanda

Rating: 5

This movie is a huge eye opener to how small we sometimes think the world is, and how small it isn't. So many things happen in so many other places than where we live. We hear about atrocities occurring in other countries on T.V. or read about them on the internet, but they aren't a part of our reality. Sometimes we blame the media for being too negative and not displaying the true facts (which may be a valid argument), but the truth of the matter is that there are a lot of people suffering in the world and we should be more aware of them.

Hotel Rwanda is a true story about a rebellion that occured in the mid '90's involving two contentious groups of people, the Hutu and the Tutsi. The movie displays the faith and charity of a man, Paul Rusesabagina, who tried so hard to keep his family in a position to escape the unrest in Africa. He courageously extends his help to others in mortal danger at the same time he cares for the safety of his family. However, it's not a movie for the faint of heart; even watched filtered it carries a serious message with some disturbing images. It's not just a war, it's genocide. The acts of hatred, even to children, and the dimented thinking that infects the people can make your stomach churn. But Paul stands as the sole beacon of hope to otherwise desperate people. In a way, he stands as a Christ figure.

This movie definitely made me want to do more good. It encourages me to be more aware of the larger world around me and particularly to see my "problems" for what they are...nothing. How can I complain about trivial trials when people are fighting for their very lives?? It made me more cognizant of how blessed I really am and reminds me to maintain an eternal perspective.

(FYI: We checked this out from the library)