"42" - A Movie Review

Go see the Movie “42”.

Okay, no, I’m not telling you what to do or anything. I’m just enthusiastic. 

I got mad; I got madder; I got really mad. I laughed. I cheered (quietly). I cried (happily). I all but forgot to breathe for an hour and a half. Well, okay, I really did forget to breathe some of the time. And let me tell you, not breathing can be exhausting. 

So, what is “42”? “42” was Jackie Robinson’s baseball number.  “42” is a movie about Jackie Robinson, which is par excellence!  Bring your teens. It’s PG-13, and you might not want your little ones to hear the language, especially the “n” word, repeated over and over by one man. About that? You picked up that I got mad, right?  No, I wasn’t mad at the producers. I was mad at the attitudes and actions of some of the people. Even though I already knew it was that way in history, it was painful to see it all come to life on the screen. But sometimes we need to see pain, to see how people have pushed through it.  

This movie and all that it stands for is part of American History 101. Living and breathing history. This was life-changing US history!  None of this life-changing history should have ever been necessary. But unfortunately it was. 

Branch Rickie and Jackie Robinson and Pee Wee Reese and others helped bring about change. Many were involved, and many showed courage, but what was most apparent, what was most essential to change the sports climate in America, was the courage of one man who didn't see himself as a hero, one man who just wanted to play baseball: Jackie Robinson. 

I hope you will go see the movie. 

NEW Catholic Movie Reviews!

Here is a place to go to find out about movies! This is a blog that's just been started by a group of four Catholic women (two of whom I know from their personal blogs) in response to their concerns after a reviewer for the USCCB Office of Film and Broadcasting gave a positive review to the anti-Catholic, anti-religious The Golden Compass.

National Treasure, I am Legend, and Juno are among the first reviews these dedicated women have posted. They also offer a list of "Other Places for Good Reviews" in the sidebar of their blog.

Boring Compass

Pete Vere gives a review of the Golden Compass movie, saying it's boring. You can read his review at Catholic Fire blog here.

A Better Review of Bella

Sean at The Blue Boar did a wonderful, in-depth review of the movie Bella. Reading it brought the movie to life all over again, and yet he didn't give away the ending for those who haven't seen it. Hop on over and read it.

Watching Television

Hey, some of us will even spend a milllion dollars (as linked in my previous post) to keep that tube in our lives. Naw, t.v.'s don't have tubes in them anymore. Did you know they used to have lots of little tubes and this one big picture tube...hence the nick-name, "the Boob Tube". (A little diversion from someone whose father had a sideline television repair business.)

Here are a few suggestions I have for those who choose to have t.v. in the family:
1) Monitor programming. Make sure your children now what channels and programs you allow, and what channels and programs you don't.
2) Have television viewing (and video/DVD viewing) be age-progressive. In other words, what's appropriate for a teenager to watch may not be appropriate for a ten-year-old to watch and so on, down the line. This can be controlled either by where the t.v. is kept or by coordinating viewing with progressive bedtimes.
3) Sit and watch programs with your children, at least some of the time, discussing values and lessons. If we make this an enjoyable family activity, they will be more open to our input on this.
4) Occasionally discuss the actors, not their personal lives but their acting abilities and what other shows they've acted in; the scriptwriter and how well they did or didn't do at writing this story; the realism (or not), such as situations you or your child know where people have behaved like this or in a different way; how this movie is or is not like the book or situation it's based on. In these ways, we can help our children to view what is on the screen as entertainment, not real life.

Ben-Hur

Last night we finished our second evening of watching the classic movie, Ben Hur, starring Charleton Heston. It's a long movie (3 1/2 hours), produced in 1959 when our attention spans weren't coddled. It was also produced when no expenses were spared, with an extensive cast and superbly realistic sets.

This historical fiction movie focuses on Judah Ben-Hur, who is a wealthy Jewish man living at the time of Christ. We get a glimpse of the iron bondage of the Roman conquerors over the Jewish people, as we watch Judah sent to the galleys to row the Roman ships, and his mother and sister imprisoned, all because of an accident...and because of the ambition of Judah's former friend who is now a Roman military commanding officer.

Periodically throughout the story, we are given glimpses of the life of Jesus affecting the lives of some of the characters, until the climax, when the glimpses become the profound reality. Reverence for Jesus is paramount throughout the movie, with his face never shown and the very music calling for awe. Each episode involving Christ brought tears to my eyes and a meaningful silence to my guys.

As the end of the movie nears, we watch the characters witness the Crucifixion. The final theme is that of the hope and joy that this supreme miracle brings to us.


Our copy of the movie was one that we videotaped from t.v. about twenty years ago, but the movie is available from Amazon.