Welcome

Welcome to my Quest for Good Movies!

Many of us have grown increasingly weary of having our intelligences insulted, our values assaulted, or our sensibilities offended by the typical Hollywood fare.

Is it possible to find movies that meet the standard of the 13th Article of Faith, being "of good report or praiseworthy"?

Happily, fine films can be found. My intent with this blog is to share with you some worthy examples.

~Faith
10/3/2010

Friday, October 15, 2010

"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas"

The Catholic Church movie reviews included “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” in its “honorable mentions” list for 2008—meaning that it didn’t quite make it onto their “Top Ten” list because there were so many good movies that year. Other movies that did merit being included in the Catholic “Top Ten” lists for that year were “Wall-E,” for general audiences, and “The City of Ember,” for family-viewing. Contrariwise, The New York Times panned “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” as a dreadful piece of film-making.

As I read several different reviews of the film, I discovered this interesting dichotomy—it seemed that people either hated it or thought it was an exceptional film—no one in between. Some critics thought it trivialized the Holocaust, while others thought it was an excellent vehicle to keep remembrance of the Holocaust alive. It was no “Schindler’s List,” a rated R Academy Award winner that some people view as the epitome in Holocaust films. It was, however, a movie that would have appeal with adolescents, and should spark discussions about prejudice. It was refreshingly devoid of offensive elements (vulgar language, sex, nudity, graphic violence, and immorality portrayed as normal behavior) typically found in movies these days. In my view, the movie deserves being listed as one that is “of good report and praiseworthy.”

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