Movie bleg: Help a fellow Pointificator |
by Gina Dalfonzo |
Reader Sue Norton writes:
I noticed you reviewed Bedtime Stories and Inkheart. I'm trying to find a good movie for our youth, ages 12-18, to watch during a pizza night. Do you have any suggestions? I'd love it!
I threw out a few suggestions: the Narnia movies (although most of the kids have probably seen them), City of Ember (haven't seen it, but I've heard it praised by Pointificators and others), Wall-E, and The Incredibles. Maybe The Princess Bride, if it's not considered too ancient. But the truth is, I'm not the ideal person to answer the question. I didn't do many church youth activities at that age; I was usually the kid holed up at home with a rented MGM musical from the '50s or something equally uncool.
So I promised Sue I'd throw the question open to all of you. What are some good youth-group-pizza-night movies?
As Johnny-5 from "Short Circuit" would say, "Need input!" The answer depends; is the movie to entertain, or to spark discussion?
"Over The Hedge" probably allows for both, as do most of the movies you mention above. (Interestingly, most animated features seem to bring in the topic of family, and how to be loyal to yours.)
If the purpose is discussion, why not "Amazing Grace"? And "Fireproof" is out on DVD; still a "church movie" but it tries not to be.
And of course, any movie should be pre-screened by adults thinking about the implications of implicitly endorsing all the content of a movie by showing it in a church context. Youth leaders have been hung out to dry for less.
Per DtS, we should probably avoid suggesting any Swedish comedies.
Posted by: LeeQuod | February 05, 2009 at 02:25 PM
*looks at movie shelf*
Mirrormask is a good story.
Any of the Karate Kid movies.
Sky High and Zoom are both funny superhero kid flicks.
Dragonheart is one of the first PG-13 shows my parents let me watch, and I still love it.
Posted by: David Reagan | February 05, 2009 at 10:01 PM
I'd go for something that would be far more riveting and spiritually uplifting: "St. John in Exile." If you haven't seen it, GET IT NOW! Why feed our kids pablum when we can give them meat? My kids watched it as teenagers and absolutely loved it.
Posted by: Diane Singer | February 06, 2009 at 08:30 AM
Diane, thanks for that recommendation. It sounds really good. But I don't want anyone here to feel that their recommendations are pablum -- they're not. It's perfectly acceptable to pick a lighthearted movie for a "pizza night" kind of setting. Sometimes a kid -- or an adult -- needs something light and funny.
Posted by: Gina Dalfonzo | February 06, 2009 at 08:54 AM
Light hearted--my kids favorite in their teens was "The Incredible Rocky Mountain Race"[1977] ...a Mark Twain story.
Food for thought in our culture?
"Fahrenheit 451"
Posted by: Michael Snow | February 11, 2009 at 06:58 AM