i watch a lot of movies

in preparation for the upcoming film, faith, and justice event, here's another movie-related post!

on january 9, 2008, my favorite movie critic, jeffrey overstreet, provided a list of his top 25 films of 2007. he has since updated the list, but i have pasted the original list below. i have bolded the films that i have seen. of course, i'm not sure why i'm doing this, but everyone likes lists, right?

1. Into Great Silence
2. There Will Be Blood
3. The Devil Came on Horseback
4. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
5. Lars and the Real Girl
6. Ratatouille

7. Zodiac
8. Paprika
9. I’m Not There
10. No End in Sight
11. This is England
12. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
13. Away from Her
14. Once
15. Juno
16. No Country for Old Men
17. The Savages
18. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
19. The Wind That Shakes the Barley
20. Into the Wild
21. La Vie en Rose
22. Climates
23. God Grew Tired of Us
24. Manufactured Landscapes
25. Jindabyne

Runners-up:

• Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
• Waitress
• Eastern Promises
• The Darjeeling Limited
• The Namesake
• Offside
• The Lookout
• Dan in Real Life
• The Simpsons Movie
• The Bourne Ultimatum
• The Host
• Bella
• Amazing Grace
• Hot Fuzz
• Knocked Up

Others that Jeffrey hasn't seen

• 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
• Gone Baby Gone
• Syndromes and a Century
• Ten Canoes
• Great World of Sound
• Ghosts of Cité Soleil
• My Kid Could Paint That
• Rescue Dawn
• Persepolis
• Talk to Me
• Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
• Rocket Science
• American Gangster
• The Great Debaters

i have to get ready

i really like this video.



and also, if you happen to know anyone with a commercial popcorn maker that i might be able to borrow for the Film, Faith, and Justice festival at Mars Hill Graduate School next weekend, please let me know!

events!

in case you haven't heard, the other journal is putting on the third annual showing of their film, faith, and justice (FFJ) festival. i haven't been yet, but it seems like a great event--award winning documentaries from the human rights watch traveling film festival, crazy cool speakers from around the nation, discussion panels that include local community leaders, nonprofit volunteer opportunities--wow.

generally speaking, when i watch films like hotel rwanda or the devil came on horseback, i'm paralyzed by a stark understanding of my own monetary, time, knowledge, and geographical limitations; i'm caught by that ugly question, what now? however, with FFJ, i'm hopeful that the illuminating lectures, discussions, and nonprofit booths will help provide some context, thought, and directive for how i am to respond to these kinds of films.

you can check out FFJ on facebook or the FFJ site (buy tickets here).

you can see some of the movie previews here:

• up the yangtze: this one seems like a must-see.
• a promise to the dead: the exile journey of ariel dorfman: the story in this film seems interesting, but the music at the end of the trailer really catches my attention--it seems so eerie, beautiful, and disquieting.
• the greatest silence: rape in the congo: this one looks tough. it reminds me of a dan allender essay we're publishing in our book remembering the future this month.
• project kashmir: this one looks beautifully filmed and rather engaging.

also, monday night at 5pm (october 12), there's a mock debate at the SE senior center at rainier and holly. if you go, be sure to say hi to mike and mari, friends of the 17 point scale, and perhaps me.