Probably. But I will say that Mom’s Night Out the most recent Christian movie offering genuinely made me laugh and was a legit feel-good movie.
I was pleasantly surprised that that one wasn’t terrible (having Sean Astin in it didn’t hurt…). I think Christian movies (like that) get better when they learn how to not take themselves sooooooooo seriously.
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I haven’t seen most of them. I’m waiting for God’s Not Dead IX to come out, then I’ll just binge-watch the whole collection. Otherwise the suspenseful anticipation of the twist at the end just KILLS me.
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Thanks. This has been fun and productive. Here are the lists I put together from all our suggestions.
Feel Good Movies to watch
Lars and the Real Girl
Wonder (Also as a book)
The African Queen
Shadowlands
Guardians of the Galaxy
Strictly Ballroom
Muriel’s Wedding
Short Term 12
Friendly Persuasion
Mom’s Night Out
Possibly from other genres
Run, Lola Rum (Existential bent.)
Donnie Darkover
Dark City
Already seen by me:
Groundhog Day
Princess Bride (Give another go.)
Anne of Green Gables
Fiddler On The Roof
Lord of the Rings trilogy & The Hobbit
WallE
Inside Out
Dumb & Dumber (For the sake of full cultural literacy.)
Lucy
The Lovely Bones
The Incredibles
Fried Green Tomatoes (Forgot to mention the great soundtrack.)
About Time
Hoosiers
Rudy
Recommended other media:
Squirrel Girl - comic books
The Golden Key - a book by MacDonald
I’ve only seen the trailers for God Is Not Dead. I assume it would deserve a place on Phil’s list.
I don’t think I’ve seen many others unless you count Mircle On 34th Street or The Ten Commandments which I saw as a kid.
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Well, I agree with @jpm that almost all “Christian movies” are cultural bilge water, but I think that’s because he and I are imagining a genre of vapid, nauseatingly pious, gratingly arrogant nonsense of the kind we tragically know to expect from evangelicals. But Chariots of Fire is also a “Christian movie,” even a feel-good entry. So was The Mission. (Opposite of feel-good.) I could list other extraordinary “Christian” movies that we probably don’t associate with the phrase. I don’t think we would or should call Rudy a “Christian movie,” but Rudy’s interactions with a priest (his mentor) are inspiring even to an unbeliever (a quote I’ll ever forget: "…in years of religious studies, I’ve come up with only two hard, incontrovertible facts: There is a God … and I’m not Him.”).
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Agreed and with one excellent soundtrack as well, it should be noted.
For what it’s worth–on the mission field growing up in Niger, I met an elderly man who knew Eric Liddell in China when the man was a boy (in World War II). From what he said, I understood that Liddell never told the Chinese of his Olympic exploits. I guess that, with the reports of how he stuck out as someone who gave humbly to others in the internment camp, implied that he was very much a genuine, humble person.
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I loved that one too.
Actually - they’re still one of my favorites too (I also really like Inside Out or Monsters Inc. among others, so like you I have a rough time choosing). Which I guess goes to show that I don’t let always let my own perceptions of any “wrong messaging” get in the way of enjoying a good story with great humor.
Yes - I do remember that now. Or yet another way one could spin this is that it serves as a warning for how we should treat our young and aspiring, would-be protégés.
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On the Waterfront. I showed it every year at the end of school to my incarcerated students just because I could get away with it. Karl Malden’s speech is the greatest two minutes of preaching Christ ever seen on the big screen.
I think I will start another thread on Christological themes in mainstream secular movies. Interesting how frequently it shows up, I guess the Superman movies and comic books are one of the big examples reaching back to my childhood
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Yes – but also how those who are gifted in a particular area should treat those who aren’t – Mr. Incredible told the pre-Syndrome kid, “Fly home, buddy [he never even learned the kid’s name]. I work alone.” And later admitted he was wrong to tell him that.
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These should probably be under the category of feel-bad movies. I am sure there are worse in this category, but those are ones I am unlikely to ever see. These two can even be said to be good movies but they are horrifying and definitely don’t leave you feeling good. Oh… and we can add “War of the Worlds,” “Puppet Masters,” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” to this list I suppose.
Thanks, fixed that.
Hey, I can have layers. I’m like an onion, or maybe an ogre.
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Well, a worthwhile '“feel bad” movie to see is Silence. It is about early Christian persecution in Japan, and leaves you thinking.
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Don’t know that I’d put this one on either end of the “feel good/bad” spectrum, but on the metaphysical contemplative side: The Truman Show
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Any smarty pants atheist would have a predictable come back to that. But I think it reflects well.
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I guess not predictable enough for me, as I don’t follow.
Unless it is that I guess that show could be seen as a sort of anti-metaphysical triumph (naive young man finally ‘emerges’, ‘grows up’, ‘leaves the faith’, or ‘pulls aside the wizard’s curtain’ - pick your metaphor). But I would argue it could also be a reflection on faith itself growing up and coming of age too. It may not have been intended that way perhaps by the writer, but if not, then I would argue that it unfolded as something potentially deeper than said writer may have grasped. [but I doubt it … and I’m writing all this knowing nothing about the person, but only having seen the show.]
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