The Departed
Synopsis Two men who share similar backgrounds pursue very different courses in their lives. One (Leonardo DiCaprio) goes under cover and joins the Irish Mafia, unbeknownst to the rest of the police force. The other (Matt Damon), a member of the mafia, joins the police force and plays the good cop while helping the Mafia [...]
Gladiator
Synopsis Maximus, general of the Roman army, declines to serve the new Emperor and ends up a slave/gladiator fighting for his life and for the entertainment of others. When he is brought to Rome and fights before the new Caesar he eventually realizes his power, even as a slave, to turn the people against the [...]
All Quiet on the Western Front
This movie could be summed up quite well in one statement: “War is Hell”. I haven’t seen too many anti-war films, and though I believe war is necessary in some instances (almost never in provoking, but primarily in defending) this film did a very good job of portraying the terrors of war. Having never been [...]
Braveheart
Rating: 4 William Wallace is a great example of what one needs to do to stand up against evil. Through his character we learn that we can never afford to compromise with evil. If Wallace were to have permitted the Scottish leaders to negotiate with England, the Scots would have still been subject to England [...]
Gandhi
Rating: 5 We watched this movie a while ago and fortunately took notes during and right after viewing it. This was a great movie! Though many of Gandhi’s teachings and beliefs were good, I’m not sure I agree 100% with everything, but I’ll let you decide where you stand. Plenty of lessons worth remembering were [...]
Ben-Hur
Rating: 5 This is a classic, must-see movie. It is definitely a faith promoting film. The story is set in the Middle East during the life of Jesus Christ, in fact Christ and Judah Ben-Hur are about the same age. Even though Judah doesn’t personally know Christ, it is inspiring to see how Christ touches [...]
Chariots of Fire
Rating: 5 I (Luke) was really excited to see this movie after hearing that it dealt with a man standing up for his belief and desire to keep the Sabbath day holy. I was then put a little skeptical when others mentioned this movie scared them away because of the slow motion running and an [...]
On the Waterfront
Rating: 5, World-shaker This movie is a world-shaker. It is very inspiring and really makes me want to stand up to the Jonny Friendly’s of the world. The internal struggle with Terry Malloy and how his conscience weighs on him to do what’s right is very inspiring. The movie realistically shows the difficulty of changing [...]
Casablanca
Rating: 5 Luke I had forgotten why this is considered one of the best movies of all time. I remembered that it was a romance with a lot of famous lines (“Here’s looking at you kid” or “We’ll always have Paris” or “Play it again Sam”, though the latter was never actually said) and I [...]
You Can’t Take it With You
Luke Rating: 5, World-shaker This was an excellent movie! My parents told us how much they enjoyed it and that sparked our interests. It’s a Frank Capra film, so I expected it to be as good as his other films (It’s a Wonderful Life, Meet John Doe, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, etc.). It was [...]