Saturday, January 31, 2009

"Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"

When I was 8 years old, my Mimi took all of us nieces and nephews to The Alabama Theatre to see "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang." I remember sitting there--one part of me hoping Caractacus Potts and Truly Scrumptious would share their first kiss over a Toot Sweet, while running from the evil Baron Bomburst, who would stop at nothing to steal Chitty-Chitty...while the other part of me was just hoping and praying that the rapture didn't take place while I was sitting in a "wicked" movie theatre.

Sad but true... but...makes me laugh now.

In the years since, the amazing, sweet, wonderful grace of Jesus has set me free from the fear of missing the rapture...even when I'm at the movies (hee, hee).

I still don't get to see that many of them--I'm typically sitting on stadium seats rather than in movie seats. (And, I'll readily admit that I'm not a fan of most superhero movies.)

However, I am a fan of Christianity Today's (CT) website. Don't agree with everything I read there, but I love reading about other people's faith journeys.

Anyway, each year CT lists "The 10 Most Redeeming Films" for the preceding year. I can vouch for a few of the ones from 2007, because me and my three guys watched several of them after they came out with the 2007 list (Bella, August Rush, Dan In Real Life...to name a few).

This morning I visited the CT website, and they had posted their picks for 2008. I haven't seen most of these, so I don't have any clue as to age-appropriateness. (FYI...and warning...some of the 2007 films did contain behaviors and language that characters were redeemed from.)

But, on this cold January/February weekend, I though I'd list these for you. Pizza and movie night sounds like just the ticket to me. (Too bad that will be next to impossible since we have 13 6th-grade-boys at the house through Sunday morning for our church's Disciple Now weekend....Oh well, maybe next weekend.)

CT defines "redeeming" films as: "movies that include stories of redemption—sometimes blatantly, sometimes less so. Several of them literally have a character that represents a redeemer; all of them have characters who experience redemption to some degree—some quite clearly, some more subtly. Some are 'feel-good' movies that leave a smile on your face; some are a bit more uncomfortable to watch. But the redemptive element is there in all of these films."


Christianity Today's 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2008:

1. Wall*E
2. The Visitor
3. Gran Torino
4. Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who (only "Top 10" Karen has seen--very cute, yet also thought-provoking)
5. Rachel Getting Married
6. Fireproof
7. The Dark Knight
8. Shotgun Stories
9. Slumdog Millionaire
10. Man on Wire

(CT also let their voters choose "One That Got Away"—a film they wish had made the top-10 list.)


The Ones That Got Away:
As We Forgive
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Karen and her three guys all loved this movie, but...of course...the book is way better!)
Defiance
Doubt
The Fall
Happy-Go-Lucky
Iron Man
Ostrov (The Island)
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
U23D
Wendy and Lucy

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