Movies, Movies, and, also, FILMS!

You hate the title of this post. And you ought to. It's terrible.

But I've watched a lot of movies in the past few days. Between yesterday and today:

1. Moonlight Mile (2002). I saw this film pretty shortly after it came out, and then watched it again within the week. I really loved it back then. So now, older, wiser, a film-student...I was just curious--you know--is this movie actually good, or does it actually, um, suck. Only one way to find out. I won't give any of the plot away; it's better if you go into it blind. Suffice it to say it's a dramedy (maybe more drama than comedy), and it's got Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, and Susan Sarandon. But yes, it's very good, it turns out.
   
2. Baby Mama - I never gave this one a review on this blog, but I very much enjoyed it when I saw it in the theaters. Tina Fey is brilliant, and so is Amy Poehler. And they have, just, fantastic onscreen chemistry. The trailers didn't sell this movie to me, but I trusted Tina, and she delivered.
   
3. Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed - Ben Stein is quite a guy. If you don't know anything about this little indie documentary, I'll try do some painless summarizing (oxymoron, I know). So, Darwinian Evolution, as a scientific theory, has become an establishment. Anyone who questions it's validity, or points out its shortcomings, will be rejected and ostracized by that establishment. This doesn't mean a lot to your basic dude on the street, but to serious scientists interested in serious science (those to whom we owe all of our modern advancements), this is a big deal. It's anti-science. So Ben Stein holds interviews with a good number of people on both sides of the fence--those in- and outside of the establishment, and he tries to help us dudes on the street understand why the issue is so important. I was aware and supportive of the sentiments Ben espouses before I saw this film, but it was still an enlightening 90 minutes. See it.

Because it's Christmas (Eve), it's probably important to talk about Christmasy things. Mainly because I won't be blogging on Christmas Day. At least, that's my hope.

So here my list of essential Christmas films: (I won't encumber them with any kind of a review or commentary.)

1. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
   
2. Scrooge (1951)
3. A Christmas Story (1983)
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
5. Mr. Krueger's Christmas (1980)
6. Elf (2003)
7. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
8. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)
9. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)
10. Gremlins (1984)

And, just for kicks, here are some essential Christmas albums:

1. (This is surprising) The Christmas Sessions - MercyMe
2. Sing, Choirs of Angels! - The Mormon Tabernacle Choir
3. This Good Night is Still Everywhere - Dustin Kensrue
4. Songs for Christmas - Sufjan Stevens
5. The Lost Christmas Eve - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
6. Let It Snow Baby...Let It Reindeer - Relient K

And, of course, I have to finally conclude by saying, "Merry Christmas" (because it's what I'm hoping you will have.)