BAADASSSSS! (2003) Additional Review by Darrel Manson: Baadasssss! is one of the best films I've seen this year. It has a quality of rooting for the underdog that we so often love. This time, the underdog is out to undermine an oppressive society that is our own. Even as a white person, I cheer him on to “take it to the Man.”
BABE:
PIG IN THE CITY (1998)
Babe has to save the farm. Babe: Pig in the City, the sequel to the
Academy Award® -winning hit Babe, is the continuing story of a lovable
and precocious pig named Babe who thinks he is a sheep dog. When Babe
journeys from his country farm to a faraway storybook city in a quest
to help his "humans," he encounters an incredible assortment of new
animals and learns through his city adventures how a kind and steady
heart can heal a sorry world.
BABY
BOY (2001)
David Bruce reviews: Director John Singleton's journey
through an inner-city L.A. neighborhood and its complex social and political
issues. Jody, a misguided, 20-year-old African-American who is really
just a "baby boy" is finally forced -- kicking and screaming -- to face
the commitments of real life.
BAD
COMPANY
David Bruce Reviews: It was intended to be a suspenseful
spy picture with comedic moments. Unfortunately, it is neither suspenseful
nor funny. Too bad, especially when it has two great stars, a legendary
producer and a well known director. One wonders what went wrong. So, is
there any thing good about this disastrous film? Actually, yes!
BAD
EDUCATION (2004)
Review by Darrel Manson:There are no innocents in this film. Each of the
characters is in turn a victim and also a perpetrator of abuse of various
kinds. Each is morally culpable for some of the evil that befalls others
and themselves. But in each character we see them blaming others without
being willing to accept their own share of the blame.
BAD
LIEUTENANT (1994)
Simon Remark and David Bruce review: Harvey Keitel
commented about the role, "I wanted to play this part because I have a
deep desire to know God. Knowing God isn't just a matter of going to confession
and praying. We also know God by confronting evil..."
BAD NEWS BEARS (2005)
A fresh take on the irreverent 1976 comedy hit, "The Bad News Bears" follows a grizzled former minor league baseball player who is recruited to coach a woefully
June 24, 2006
ed rivals, the Yankees.
THE
BALLAD OF JACK AND ROSE (2005)
Review by Darrel Manson: There
is a good deal of Edenic imagery in this film: a man and woman,
a natural paradise, a snake that plays a key role in the film.
The story isn’t so much a retelling of the Eden story as
it evocative of that story. It wants us to think in terms of Eden,
even if Eden is getting pretty run down.
BALZAC AND THE LITTLE CHINESE SEAMSTRESS Words and ideas can change lives. Each time we open a book or watch a film, the stories have the power to alter us. So it is understandable that China has banned this film. —Review by Darrel Manson
BAMBI 2 (2006) This short film is a microcosm of relationships and how they ebb and flow through the circumstances of life whether good or bad, difficult or cinchy. Watching made me even more aware of the incredible way that we are made as human beings with the need to connect in meaningful ways.
BAMBOOZLED
(2000) We are still racist. Money drives our values. Television gets
a bold new viewing in Spike Lee's Bamboozled. Lee's latest film is a blistering
satire of network television's pitfalls and prejudices, a humorous look
at how race, ratings and the pursuit of power lead to a television writer's
stunning rise and tragic downfall.
BANDITS
(2001) David Bruce reviews: "The
romantic lives of three self centered Robin Hoods...
BAND OF BROTHERS (2006) I finally got to watch these movies after a couple of spurts and starts. I was supposed to borrow them from one friend and ended up leaving them at his house. Then I was able to watch the first movie from a tape I borrowed, then there was nothing for a couple of years. I finally borrowed them from another friend and watched them all...
BASIC
INSTINCT 2 (2006)
Director: Michael Caton-Jones. Stars: Sharon Stone, David Morrissey, David Thewlis.
Novelist Catherine Tramell (Stone) is once again in trouble with the law, and
Scotland Yard appoints psychiatrist Dr. Andrew Glass (Morrissey) to evaluate
her. Though, like others before him, Glass is entranced by Tramell and lured
into a seductive game.
BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
How does one man change the world?
It’s a question that haunts Bruce Wayne like the specter of his parents, gunned down before his eyes in the streets of Gotham on a night that changed his life forever.
BATTLEFIELD
EARTH (2000)
A messianic
Goodboy saves 'men' on earth. The real issue is religious intolerance
suffered by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
THE
BEACH (2000)
The
desire of returning to Paradise beats in all of us. But, the serpent is
always present.
THE
BENCHWARMERS (2006)
Director: Dennis Dugan. Stars: David Spade, Jon Heder, Rob Schneider
In an attempt to right things from their respective childhoods, Ritchie (Spade),
Clark (Heder), and Gus (Schneider) form a three-player baseball team to compete
against standard little league squads.
THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY (2005)
Review by Darrel Manson: For Binh, all his life there has been no place where “they have to take you in.” In Binh’s case, it is not because of anything he has done, but just because of how he was born. His great odyssey is not just from one land to another – it is a searching for a place to belong.
A BEAUTIFUL MIND (2001) With RealVideo Review
Darrel Manson, Annette Wierstra and David Bruce review: This is not a movie about the return to health after the depth of
mental illness. It is a story of a return to life in the midst of mental
illness. In that life is a triumph far beyond what those of us with a
life filled with mental health can fully comprehend..
BEAUTY SHOP (2005)
Leaving the Chicago crew behind, Gina Norris is a long way from the Barbershop -- she now lives in Atlanta and is making a name for herself and her cutting-edge hairstyles at a posh Southern salon. But when her flamboyant, egotistical boss, Jorge, takes it one criticism too far, she storms out of his salon to open a shop of her own.
BE COOL (2005)
Review by Maurice Broaddus: Based on the Elmore Leonard sequel to Get Shorty, Be Cool opens with a lament about sequels, the first clue that this is a post modern sequel that winks at the audience. Letting them in on the (inside) joke, the movie is almost too self-aware for its own good. In this movie, our favorite shylock-turned-movie mogul, Chili Palmer (John Travolta, with his full cool and charm on) tires of the movie game, though “at least they’re honest about being dishonest,” and turns his attention to the music industry.
BEE SEASON (2005)
Everyone in the film is in search of some spiritual fulfillment. Aaron chants in the Krishna temple. Saul teaches Eliza a Kabbalistic exercise designed to clear her mind to be receptive to God. Later, she does this on her own to reach a major (and scary) mystical state.
— Overview (dial up)
BEDAZZLED
(2000) Be careful what you pray for. The Devil as a tool of God.
BEING
JOHN MALKOVICH (1999) Here
is why God is God and we are not!
BELOVED
(1998)
The story of a former slave who is haunted by memories of her
life before the war.
BEST
IN SHOW
(2000)
A human is a dog's best friend.
BETTIE
PAGE (2001)
David Bruce reviews: "E! Network's Hollywood
True Story aired a 2 hour
biography of Bettie Page which included her decision to follow Jesus.
She even worked for Billy Graham. Today she is the most famous cult pinup..."
BEWITCHED (2005)
Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell cast their spell on the movie version of one of TV's most memorable and guiling shows, "Bewitched". Will Ferrell plays an actor taking on the role of Darren in a new version of the classic television show, while Nicole plays the actress hired to play Samantha in the show...except that she's really a witch!
BEYOND
THE SEA (2004)
Director: Kevin Spacey. Stars:Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, John Goodman
The film traces the tragic-heroic life of the late teen singing idol,
Bobby Darin. Born with a rare heart condition that was to limit his life
span to merely 16 years, Darin suvived to age 37 when he was felled by
a blood infection contracted during open heart surgery.
THE
BICENTENNIAL MAN (1999)
What does it mean to be human?
BIG
FISH(2003)
Review by David Bruce: Utterly unbelievable yet magical and delightful,
a father's stories just don't translate to his son who wants to know his
dad's "true" life story. But little by little--through increasingly
outlandish tales at which the son cannot resist smirking--the two begin
to understand each other, and the father weaves his stories into their
genealogical fabric.
THE
BIG KAHUNA (2000) Imagine Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito in a conversation about the
Big Kahuna -AKA God!
BIG MAMMA'S HOUSE 2 (2006)
Director: John Whitesell. Stars: Martin Lawrence, Emily Procter, Nia Long . On his latest assignment, FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Lawrence) once again goes undercover as Big Momma, and works as a nanny for an unhappily woman (Procter) who is under investigation for murder.
BLACK
DOG (1998)
Don't waste your time on this one. But, a lot of Bible in it.
BLACK
HAWK DOWN (2002) With RealVideo Review. David Bruce reviews. On October 3, 1993, Army Rangers and members of the elite Delta Force
participated in a covert operation in Mogadishu, Somalia that went horribly
wrong. Sent to abduct two lieutenants of a vicious Somali warlord, the
soldiers found themselves surrounded by hostile militia. Two Black Hawk
helicopters were shot down and many men lost their lives...
BLACK
ROBE (1991)
About the clash of cultures and the impact of Christianity on the early
native Americans.
BLADE
(1998)
In a world where vampires really do exist, a "messiah" is
born while his mother is fighting the venom of a vampire's bite.
BLADE
RUNNER (1982)
What it means to be human.
BLADE:
TRINITY (2004)
Review by Maurice Broaddus: The movie gives lip
service to wanting to separate the myths from the facts when it comes
to vampires. It is a little known fact that every culture in the world
has a variation on the idea of vampires, most pre-dating their popularization
with Bram Stoker’s "fable" Dracula. It should be noted
that in Dracula, Stoker conceived the perfect "anti-Christ":
a creature who sought eternal life through blood.
BLAIR
WITCH PROJECT (1999) An amazing "true" story of the supernatural. This
film is profoundly spiritual.
BLAIR
WITCH 2 (2000) Logic and religion can't deliver from evil. Post modern helplessness.
BLAST
FROM THE PAST (1999)
Can you imagine Alicia Silerstone as Eve, Brendan Fraser as Adam and
a bomb shelter as Eden?
Great for teens!
BLESS
THE CHILD(2000)
A Christ like child is pursued by Satan.
BLOODRAYNE
In eighteenth century Romania, Rayne, a dhampir (half-human, half-vampire), prone to fits of blind blood rage but saddled with a compunction for humans, strives to avenge her mother's rape by her father, Kagan, King of Vampires. Two vampire hunters, Sebastian and Vladimir, from the Brimstone Society persuade her to join their cause.
BLOOD
WORK (2002)
David Bruce reviews: In an interesting way we are
presented with the idea that blood sacrifice is sometimes necessary for
human survival. In Christian doctrine Jesus sacrifices his life's blood
on the cross so that others might live. In Blood Works a woman permits
the harvesting of her heart upon her death so that another person may
continue to live.
BLOW(2001)
Kathleen Bruce's review added: "Happiness
that money brings is an illusion that quickly deteriorates. Jung watched
his parents continuously fight over there financial problems. He vowed
to never let himself become poor. Despite his father's lessons about money,
Jung still craved it and fell into a money hungry trap, drug selling..."
David Bruce also reviews
BLOW
DRY (2001)
Betty Hamm reviews: "A small English village
and is filled with struggling relationships. This
film takes the characters' bitterness, anger and injustices and looks
at them through the lens of eternity. The film asks: Is your 15 minutes
of fame worth everything? If you knew this was your last day on earth,
would you forgive? Befriend? Begin again? In light of facing eternity
many of our values change.,,"
BLUE
(1993)
This film is patterned after 1st Corinthians 13 -the Bible's famous
love chapter.
BLUE
CAR (2002)
Review
by Darrel Manson: The blue car of the title is Meg's father's car,
and the focus of her poem. It is the car she saw drive away when her father
left, but also the car that brings him for his infrequent visits. It represents
her longing and emptiness, but also her hope.
BLUE
CRUSH (2002)
David Bruce reviews: Nothing gets between Anne Marie
and her board. Living in a beach shack with three roommates including
her rebellious younger sister, she is up before dawn every morning to
conquer the waves and count the days until the Rip Masters surf competition.
BLUES
BROTHERS 2000 (1998)
This film uses the Bible book of Revelation as an outline!
BOBBY
JONES, STROKE OF GENIUS (2004) Overcoming a sickly early childhood,
Bobby Jones' earned recognition as a sports phenomenon by the age of 14.
Triumphing over his own spirited temper, self-imposed perfectionism and
the barbs of public scrutiny, he often endured pain and grueling physical
strain to achieve victory on the golf course.
BOILER
ROOM
(2000)
Money, money money. When the dollar becomes the almighty
BONHOEFFER:
AGENT OF GRACE (2000)
This pastor was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler! Was this morally
right? Showing in certain art houses.
BORN INTO BROTHELS (2005)
A tribute to the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art, "Born into Brothels" is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta where their mothers are prostitutes. Zana Briski, a New York-based photojournalist who travelled to India to document the lives of women in the brothels, gives these youngsters cameras and teaches them how to take pictures, leading them to look at their world with new eyes.
BOUNCE
(2001)
About
the relationship between freedom and destiny.
BOURNE
IDENTITY (2002)
David Bruce and Annette Wierstra review: This film
asks all the basic questions of life: Who am I? Why am I here? Where am
I going? Where did I come from? It deals with sin, redemption and rebirth.
For the spiritually minded this is an amazing film!
BOURNE
SUPREMACY (2004)
Review by Kevin Miller: The Bourne Supremacy could
be just another thriller, along the lines of a James Bond or a Jack Ryan
flick. What allows this film—and the franchise—to transcend
its genre is that it dares to give its lead character a third dimension.
BOWLING
FOR COLUMBINE
Review
by Darrel Manson: It is through Michael Moore's determination to make
us hear his message that he makes us look into the mirror and discover
that we are not who we think we are. He shows us the culture of violence
and fear that is pervasive in America.
BREAKIN'
ALL THE RULES (2004)
Review
by Melinda Ledman: FUNNY - And I mean truly funny . . . all the way
through the movie. Breakin’ All the Rules doesn’t just try
at comedy, it nails it. Its fresh discussion of love and honesty, as well
as its consistent delivery of good humor, promise viewers an hour and
a half of well-spent dollars.
THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY (2005)
Five seemingly unrelated voyagers find themselves united in the same destiny. Five people, on separate journeys for different reasons, happen to be crossing the bridge at San Luis Rey at noon on the fateful day of July 20th, 1714. The bridge breaks and all five fall to their deaths in the deep gorge below. Was it chance or the hand of God that brought them together on that fatal day at that place and that moment in time? Or were they, in some way, to blame for what happened to them?
BRIDGET
JONES'S DIARY (2001)
Kim Yarmuch and David Bruce review: In the opening
credits we hear the lines: "I believe in Human Nature. People are
basically good." The film then puts that statement to the test and
explores the realities of human nature. Can we truly trust it.
BRIDGET
JONES: THE EDGE OF REASON (2004)
Annette Wierstra reviews:
Love is all about accepting each other “just as we are.” Just
remember that the next time he leaves the toilet seat up, or she takes
too long getting ready. Our relationships here on earth are a reflection
of heavenly love. Thankfully God loves us just as we are. Edge of Reason
helps up put everything petty and trivial in perspective – love
is bigger than that.
BRIGHT
YOUNG THINGS (2004)
Review by Darrel Manson: If we become obsessed only
with that which serves our desires -- we run the risk of becoming as empty
and meaningless as the people in this film, who, for all their searching
for fun, never find happiness.
BRINGING
DOWN THE HOUSE (2003)
Review by David Bruce:What makes this film different is its focus on changing
culture and language. Charlene represents the far reaching influence of
urban culture. Hip Hop is here! Her world and Peter's world are like two
different planets with two very different languages.
BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (2005)
Director: Ang Lee. Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams. Two young, modern-day cowboys (Gyllenhaal and Ledger) meet in the early 60s as both work as ranch hands on a sheep ranch in Wyoming. The two form a lifelong bond, even as their lives diverge and one becomes a rodeo star and the other a ranch hand. Based on the novel by Annie Proulx. —Overview (dial up)
BROKEN FLOWERS (2005)
The resolutely single Don has just been dumped by his latest lover, Sherry. Don yet again resigns himself to being alone and left to his own devices. Instead, he is compelled to reflect on his past when he receives by mail a mysterious pink letter. It is from an anonymous former lover and informs him that he has a 19-year-old son who may now be looking for his father.
BROOKLYN BABYLON (2001)
Simon Remark reviews: The complexities of a relationship
between two people from completely different worlds. Solomon is black.
His spiritual background is Rastafarian. Sarah is white. She comes from
a Hasidic Jewish background.
BROTHERS (2005)
Review by Darrel Manson: Brothers is a compelling and evocative exploration of that dual nature within us expressed in the interplay of these two brothers. As we watch the transformation of each brother, we see that the absolutes we thought were the case don’t stand up. As the film opens, it is very clear who is the “good brother” and who is the “bad brother”. It is hard to see the potential that either has to change so dramatically. Yet the potential for good or bad has always been within each of them (as it always is within each of us).
THE
BROTHERS
(2001)
Betty Hamm reviews: "Four men who have been
friends since childhood face the trials of finding their mate for life.
One has already married, one is engaged, one is looking, and one vows
to never marry. "The Brothers" is a film about love, sex and marriage
from predominately the professional black man's perspective..."
THE BROTHERS GRIMM (2005) Director: Terry Gilliam. Stars: Matt Damon, Heath Ledger, Monica Bellucci. Folklore collectors and con artists, Jake and Will Grimm travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. They are put to the test, however, when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage.
BROWN
SUGAR (2002)
Simon Remark reviews: Not everyone will like this
film. It's got a nice love story, but is a tad unoriginal. It's the theme
of integrity and doing something you love at the cost of losing all material
gains that sets it apart from other sappy films. And I love hip-hop.
BRUCE
ALMIGHTY (2003)
Review
by David Bruce: The film centers around Bruce's angry rage against God
-- the result of a bad day -- and God responds by giving Bruce with divine
powers, and then challenges him to take on the big job and see if he can
do it any better!
BUBBLE (2006)
Director Steven Soderbergh may have marked a milestone on January 27, when his latest film, Bubble, was simultaneously released in theaters, on high-definition cable and on DVD. Though this may seem like an economic blunder, Soderbergh feels that....
BUFFY
THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (TV Series)
Review by Maurice Broaddus:
The problem with doing a series retrospective on a show like Buffy the
Vampire Slayer isn’t the fact that it’s hard to find a spiritual
connection, but that it's hard to choose which spiritual connection to
go with. Joss Whedon is a self-proclaimed atheist, yet he is also the
perfect case study for the fact that God is “hardwired” into
men’s hearts. If we are created in God’s image, then much
of His character and essence is part of the fabric of our being and will
come out in our art.
A
BUGS LIFE (1998) This is a wonderful Disney story with important lessons
THE
BUSINESS OF STRANGERS
Darrel Manson reviews: "Two women who couldn't
be more different spend an evening together. What will develop between
them? A relationship? A friendship? Something darker? This film gives
some insight in the great gulf between these two generations -- Boomers
and X-ers in collision...
A
BUGS LIFE (1998)
