"Midnight Mass" is a very thought provoking look at the gray areas between good and evil. It is one of my favorites. Thanks for including it in your list.
This is a great list, Devil's Advocate is one of my favorite films, but I have to add Constantine. The new Pope is also finding camaraderie with Marxists. Support local and indie theatre! Not giant corporate slop.
Thank you- I'm going to share this with my children because I'd like them to develop this outlook towards cinema and the theater.
"Spotlight" deals with a different kind of terror to be sure- but the heroes have faith in the concept of the divine as much as faith that people can make a difference. I think, no matter your faith or belief system, Pope Leo is making a difference with his vigorous engagement- as a leader we can look up to.
As someone who has been thinking about this and feels acutely that sitting down in a dedicated public space to watch a movie that changes, my perspective is sorely needed in this day and age. However, the thing I always struggle with is what is worth going to given how little free time I have. Culturally we have just lost a sense of what movies are worth going to unless they are these big action blockbusters, which frankly don’t appeal to me.
I heard Sherman Alexie talk about storytelling many years ago. He observed that humans have evolved listening to stories gathered around a light in the dark. Movies are not a campfire, but there is a fundamentally human experience in gathering together to hear stories told to us in the dark. I think that is part of the appeal for me in the movies. I didn't mind traveling as far as DC or NYC to see movies that would be unlikely to play in my town. I still do some of that (maybe traveling to Philly), but not as much since COVID, but will travel for an art house film. Being in the theater, with a bigger screen than I will ever have at home is still the experience I crave. Just wish movies would stay at theaters a little longer than they do now.
What did we do so right to get a pope so cool? And as for the 3-D glasses, he doesn't really need them- he sees everything in clear, stark 3-D naturally. And he's right about why the theatre experience is kind of holy-adjacent. In the dark, we can leave for a short while the hassles and drains of life in the hard daylight. How great that he gets this, and why it's good for the soul. The Church of the Cinema is good for the soul- the pope reccommends it.
The argument about a sitter is valid. All the movies I watch are kids movies because I can take them with me for the price of a ticket, popcorn and a red slush per child. And I score major "good dad" points!
Minecraft Movie
Gabbie's Dollhouse Movie
Spongebob coming in December
Super Mario Galaxy coming next year
I did see Tron: Ares without them though. And I thought it was great! In spite of the tepid response. Maybe I'm not the target audience for this column....
Religion is the social expression of faith. Every religion is an instantiation of universal faith, just as every language is an instantiation of universal grammar. At a deep level, across the entire species, humans are essentially the same. There is a fundamental human nature revealed in religion, and in language, and in thought, which religion and language manifest.
This was a good read. It really does separate you from distractions. In that way, it does feel similar to church, where you have to actively ignore your phone and shut down for an hour.
I've heard (joking) feedback if I didn't want to watch an almost 3 hour movie at home because I didn't have the time, as though I don't have an attention span. But, as stated, it's hard to turn off at home and you are basically committing to this one task when everything is going on around you. It's very different when you take the time to go to a theater.
My two cents - when I go to the movie theater I really enjoy the experience especially since my go to theater of choice has nice comfortable loungers I can sit in and order lunch or dinner. It's just a lot of movies these days don't appeal to me. If it isn't a Pixar, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune or even the latest Avatar movie I won't go. I have enough demands on my free time and wallet.
The movie theater used to be my favorite place in the world. Unfortunately the last few movies in a row were ruined by talking, talking/ texting on a phone, a baby and the best one : a pair of teenagers behind me spent (I assume) the solid two hours chewing gum, rolling it into microscopic balls and throwing it into my hair. Took days to get out and ew.
I am moving soon to a smaller town that has a movie theater.
Hopefully it will be a more dependable experience.
I don't go to movies I expect may be gory and that cuts out a lot. I laugh harder at movies in theaters than at home. Sometimes I'm the only one laughing loudly, so that can be weird
I love our American pope and the fact the that he regularly gets under Trump's skin. Though the church has many issues, of course the pedophilia scandal being such a large one, I like a pope that speaks out on sort of normal things like movies. I too, still like going to an actual theater. But I have to say there is still not much to see if you don't like the ongoing Marvel movies, or action ones with the superhero 20 years past his prime with a 30 years younger girlfriend. And deliver me from the endless Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movies. YUK. Streaming is very tempting, as there are so many, many good choie. But I do find myself scrolling at the same time I am watching, which of course I don't do in the movie theater.
Invite the pope on as a special guest
"Midnight Mass" is a very thought provoking look at the gray areas between good and evil. It is one of my favorites. Thanks for including it in your list.
This is a great list, Devil's Advocate is one of my favorite films, but I have to add Constantine. The new Pope is also finding camaraderie with Marxists. Support local and indie theatre! Not giant corporate slop.
Thank you- I'm going to share this with my children because I'd like them to develop this outlook towards cinema and the theater.
"Spotlight" deals with a different kind of terror to be sure- but the heroes have faith in the concept of the divine as much as faith that people can make a difference. I think, no matter your faith or belief system, Pope Leo is making a difference with his vigorous engagement- as a leader we can look up to.
As someone who has been thinking about this and feels acutely that sitting down in a dedicated public space to watch a movie that changes, my perspective is sorely needed in this day and age. However, the thing I always struggle with is what is worth going to given how little free time I have. Culturally we have just lost a sense of what movies are worth going to unless they are these big action blockbusters, which frankly don’t appeal to me.
I heard Sherman Alexie talk about storytelling many years ago. He observed that humans have evolved listening to stories gathered around a light in the dark. Movies are not a campfire, but there is a fundamentally human experience in gathering together to hear stories told to us in the dark. I think that is part of the appeal for me in the movies. I didn't mind traveling as far as DC or NYC to see movies that would be unlikely to play in my town. I still do some of that (maybe traveling to Philly), but not as much since COVID, but will travel for an art house film. Being in the theater, with a bigger screen than I will ever have at home is still the experience I crave. Just wish movies would stay at theaters a little longer than they do now.
What did we do so right to get a pope so cool? And as for the 3-D glasses, he doesn't really need them- he sees everything in clear, stark 3-D naturally. And he's right about why the theatre experience is kind of holy-adjacent. In the dark, we can leave for a short while the hassles and drains of life in the hard daylight. How great that he gets this, and why it's good for the soul. The Church of the Cinema is good for the soul- the pope reccommends it.
The argument about a sitter is valid. All the movies I watch are kids movies because I can take them with me for the price of a ticket, popcorn and a red slush per child. And I score major "good dad" points!
Minecraft Movie
Gabbie's Dollhouse Movie
Spongebob coming in December
Super Mario Galaxy coming next year
I did see Tron: Ares without them though. And I thought it was great! In spite of the tepid response. Maybe I'm not the target audience for this column....
Religion is the social expression of faith. Every religion is an instantiation of universal faith, just as every language is an instantiation of universal grammar. At a deep level, across the entire species, humans are essentially the same. There is a fundamental human nature revealed in religion, and in language, and in thought, which religion and language manifest.
This was a good read. It really does separate you from distractions. In that way, it does feel similar to church, where you have to actively ignore your phone and shut down for an hour.
I've heard (joking) feedback if I didn't want to watch an almost 3 hour movie at home because I didn't have the time, as though I don't have an attention span. But, as stated, it's hard to turn off at home and you are basically committing to this one task when everything is going on around you. It's very different when you take the time to go to a theater.
My two cents - when I go to the movie theater I really enjoy the experience especially since my go to theater of choice has nice comfortable loungers I can sit in and order lunch or dinner. It's just a lot of movies these days don't appeal to me. If it isn't a Pixar, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune or even the latest Avatar movie I won't go. I have enough demands on my free time and wallet.
The only movies I've been to this year were both re-releases of classics, and both religious. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and "Dogma".
The movie theater used to be my favorite place in the world. Unfortunately the last few movies in a row were ruined by talking, talking/ texting on a phone, a baby and the best one : a pair of teenagers behind me spent (I assume) the solid two hours chewing gum, rolling it into microscopic balls and throwing it into my hair. Took days to get out and ew.
I am moving soon to a smaller town that has a movie theater.
Hopefully it will be a more dependable experience.
Hand to god- and my hair is long. You can’t make that up 😂
What the hell! Gum? In your hair? I would riot.
I don't go to movies I expect may be gory and that cuts out a lot. I laugh harder at movies in theaters than at home. Sometimes I'm the only one laughing loudly, so that can be weird
I love our American pope and the fact the that he regularly gets under Trump's skin. Though the church has many issues, of course the pedophilia scandal being such a large one, I like a pope that speaks out on sort of normal things like movies. I too, still like going to an actual theater. But I have to say there is still not much to see if you don't like the ongoing Marvel movies, or action ones with the superhero 20 years past his prime with a 30 years younger girlfriend. And deliver me from the endless Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movies. YUK. Streaming is very tempting, as there are so many, many good choie. But I do find myself scrolling at the same time I am watching, which of course I don't do in the movie theater.
You need an arthouse theater in your area! There are lots of good movies out there, but few of them show up at the typical multiplex.
There's a reason I refer to going to my neighborhood cinematheque as "going to church." I'll say a rosary at tonight's Nia DaCosta double feature.