Cinema Surprises

In an article bearing the same name as this post Christianity Today offers a few thoughts on "movie surprises".. films that folks weren't necessarily expecting much from, but were wowed enough to leave an impression. Here are a few from their readers feedback:
  • Rudy, with its realistic portrayal of working-class life (something you just don't see from Hollywood)
  • Years ago, Rocky caught me totally off guard. More recently, O Brother, Where Art Thou? did it again.
  • Bruce Almighty and Liar, Liar both totally surprised me as I had Jim Carrey pegged as playing only certain types of roles that I did not enjoy.
  • I decided on a whim to check out Galaxy Quest with my boys. It has since become one of our all-time favorite films.
  • Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School. It's so much more than Rocky-does-ballroom-dancing.It's a story about grief and growing up, letting go and fighting for what you really want.
  • Finding Neverland. I was astonished in the wonder which this movie captured Peter Pan.
A few that would make my list are:
  • Dances With Wolves: The story moved me deeply and gave me a different perspective on our treatment Native Americans.
  • Schindler's List: A story that broke my heart and helped me understand the Holocaust in a whole new way.
  • The Sixth Sense: Just a great surprise ending from a pretty good movie.
  • Rain Man: I almost deep-sixed it early on.. then began to watch a love grow between brothers who had been separated.. and the acting from Hoffman and Cruise.. simply outstanding!
I could probably think of a few more. How about you? Any that you would add to the list?

6 comments:

  1. The Fountain - I can never explain it enough to give it justice.
    There will be blood - best performance for me in a movie, Daniel Day Lewis as Daniel Plainview.
    No Country For Old Men - The villain was scary

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  2. Juno

    It got to me. Not just because I married a musician wantabe who didn't want children and I was in the process of leaving him. It was a good movie that gave a real prospective.

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  3. Thx for the recommendations Scott.. haven't seen them yet!

    I liked Juno too Milly.. hadn't thought of that kind of message.. having lived through a time when my teen daughter got pregnant I had a different perspective on the movie.. wish I had handled it more like the movie dad.

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  4. In real life I wouldn't have been as cool about it Bob. Who wants to see the baby have a baby? Not me, not my parents, and without a doubt you reacted like a real dad.

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  5. I also liked Sixth Sense, Bob. And another one we always watch when it come on TV is Shawshank Redemption. (My whole family can quote O Brother, Where Art Thou? - even my 12-year old daughter loves it!) Another family favorite - Pride and Prejudice. The new one with Keira Knightly. The cinematics are outstanding.

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  6. O Brother is one of my favs Heather.. but I am dumber than a bag of hammers :)

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