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Great Catholic Titles Available at Netflix

Netflix is, somewhat inadvertently, a part of the reason we started this blog. A lot of Catholic families have discovered that, in spite of the problematic stuff you'll find there (I wouldn't let your kids on the site!), there are many, many fine choices available for families and it can be a more reasonable and more flexible (not to mention more parent-driven) option for movie viewing than cable television. Here are a few films that you may be surprised to find there:

Steve Ray's Footprints of God Apologetics Series
G.K. Chesterton: Apostle of Common Sense Television Series (from EWTN - with Dale Ahlquist)
Pope John Paul II (Cary Elwes, Jon Voight)
Witness to Hope: The Life of Pope John Paul II
The Song of Bernadette
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
Father Brown Television Series

I'm sure there are many others. What goodies have you found on Netflix?

Favorite Christmas Movies

What are your favorite Christmas movies?

Here are some we've enjoyed:

It's a Wonderful Life (naturally)

White Christmas

Holiday Inn

Come to the Stable

Christmas in Connecticut

Joyeux Noel (just discovered this one this year - some mature content)

A Christmas Carol (various versions)

Miracle on 34th Street

Christmas with the Kranks

and last, but certainly not least...

A Charlie Brown Christmas

DVD Stocking Stuffers

What are your recommendations for movies worth re-watching that would make great Christmas gifts? I'll put Christmas movies in a separate post.

Here are a few of our favorites of all sorts:

Marx Brothers Comedies
Bringing Up Baby
The Philadelphia Story
The Princess Bride
Groundhog Day (older teens and adults)
You Can't Take it With You
Going My Way
Bells of St. Mary's
Pope John Paul II
Pride and Prejudice (BBC/A&E)
Sense and Sensibility (the one with Emma Thompson)
Spanglish (older teens and adults)
The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima
Babette's Feast
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Cars
The Incredibles
Prince of Egypt
Joseph King of Dreams
Finding Nemo
Ever After

Darwin Catholic Top 100 Films Meme

Saw this on Darwin Catholic...

Go to the AFI Top 100 list and pick:

1) Your favorite five movies that are on the list.

1. Gone with the Wind (1939)
2. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
3. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
4. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
5. The Sound of Music (1965)

2) Five movies on the list you didn't like at all.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
3. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
4. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
5. Dances with Wolves (1990)

3) Five movies on the list you haven't seen but want to.

1. Schindler's List (1993)
2. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
3. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
4. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

4) Five movies on the list you haven't seen and have no interest in seeing.

1. Taxi Driver (1976)
2. M*A*S*H (1970)
3. The Deer Hunter (1978)
4. Fargo (1996)
5. Bringing Up Baby (1938)

5) Your favorite five movies that aren't on the list.

I can only think of foreign fare and this is an American list, I believe.

Tagging: readers of the Love2Learn Movies Blog.

Movies Based on Novels and Literature List

If you are anything like me, you love to read and you love the movies. Often times, a movie based on our a book we love will disappoint us.

The following is a list in progress for movies that are recommended for families.

1. Ben-Hur (1959) based on the novel by General Lew Wallace entitled Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

2. Boy's Town (1938) based on the book written by Fulton Oursler and Will Oursler entitled Father Flanagan of Boys Town.

3. Cheaper by the Dozen (1950) based on the biography of the Gilbreth Family by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank Gilbreth, Jr.

4. Belles on Their Toes (1952) The sequel to the 1950 movie Cheaper by the Dozen. Based on the biography of the same name. Written by Ernestine Gilbreth Carey and Frank Gilbreth, Jr.

5. Jane Eyre (1944). Based on the book by Charlotte Bronte.

6. The Last of the Mohicans (1992) based on the book by James Fenimore Cooper.

7. The Egg and I (1947) based on the book by Betty McDonald.

8. The Good Earth (1937) based on the book by Pearl S. Buck

9. Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939) based on the book by James Hilton.

10. The Grapes of Wrath (1940) based on the book by John Steinbeck.

11. The Song of Bernadette (1943) based on the book by Franz Werfel.

12. Lilies of the Field (1963) based on the book by William E. Barrett.

13. Quo Vadis (1951) based on the book by Henryk K Sienkiewicz.

14. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) based on one of the books in the trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.

15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) based on one of the books in the trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.

16. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) based on the last book in the trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.

17. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) based on the book by Harper Lee.

18. Frankenstein (1931) based on the book by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley.

19. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945) based on the book by Betty Smith.

20. Rebecca (1940) based on the book by Dauphine du Maurier.

21. The Wizard of Oz (1939) based on the novel by L. Frank Baum.

22. Gone With the Wind (1939) based on the book by Margaret Mitchell.

23. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) based on the book by various sources.

24. I Remember Mama (1948)Based on the book by Kathryn Forbes entitled Mama's Bank Account.

25. Anna and the King of Siam (1946) based on the book by Margaret Landon.

26. Captain's Courageous (1937) based on the book by Rudyard Kipling.

27. The Count of Monte Cristo (2002) based on the book by Alexandre Dumas.

28. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) based on the book by T.E. Lawrence.

29. Little Women (1949) based on the book by Louisa May Alcott. Note: The original 1933 movie starring Katherine Hepburn is also highly recommended. The more recent one in 1994 starring Winona Ryder and Susan Sarandon is not.

Catholic Movie List

I have added a hyperlink for the review of the movies because there were a few I haven't watched and cannot vouch for them. Those movies are marked by an "*". I picked these because they seemed worthwhile watching.

Most of the reviews are the courtesy of Decent Films or IMDB.

This list will be updated as necessary. Please feel free to add to this list by leaving a comment.

1. Therese (1986)*

2. The Song of Bernadette (1943)

3. The Sign of the Cross (1932)

4. La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) SEE PREVIOUS POST REGARDING THIS MOVIE.

5. A Man For All Season (1966)

6. Going My Way (1944)

7. Journal d'un cure de campagne (1950)- Diary of a Country Priest*

8. The Assisi Underground (1984)

9. The Scarlet and the Black (1983)

10. Boy's Town (1938)

11. The Mission (1986)

12. The Passion of the Christ (2004)

13. Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

14. The Bells of St. Mary (1945

15. Therese (2004)

16. The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima (1952)

17. Lilies of the Field (1963)

18. Marcelino: Pan y Vino (1955)

19. The Robe (1953)

20. Becket (1964)

21. Romero (1989)

22. John Paul II (1984)

23. I Confess (1953

24. Moloka'i: The Story of Father Damien (1999)

25. Quo Vadis (1951)

26. The Reluctant Saint (1962)*

27. The Hoodlum Priest (1946)*

28. Don Bosco (1988)*

29. The Silver Chalice (1954)

30. Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)


Sources used: NC Register

The Vatican's Best Films List

USCCB's Movie Site

What movies would the Vatican recommend? Check out the above site to find out. How many have you seen?

You know what? We have the Seventh Seal sitting in our closet and we never watched it. We will have to do so soon.

Lest You Think We're Only About "Serious" Films

Here are my personal favorite Disney movies (in no particular order):

Darby O'Gill and the Little People
Cars
Finding Nemo
The Incredibles
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
101 Dalmatians (1996)
Robin Hood (animated)
Lady and the Tramp
The Absent-Minded Professor (1961)
Swiss Family Robinson (1960)
Heidi (1993)

What are your favorites? Or do you allow Disney in your house?

Terri and Bernie's Favorite "School" Movies

Two of my daughters made this list up for me when they were eight (Terri) and six (Bernie) years old:

David Macaulay Building Big Series

Rick Steves' Best of Europe (the ones they've seen - not by any means all)

Nature (the ones they've seen - I think Bears, Dogs and Horses are particular favorites)

Pope John Paul II (the "new" one with Cary Elwes - i.e. Wesley from The Princess Bride - Bernie says... "I LOVE the Pope movie!")

Jesus of Nazareth (Terri, in particular, loves big epic religious dramas)

Microcosmos (Terri qualifies - "except for some gross parts")

Amazing Caves (IMAX)

This is America Charlie Brown (Bernie is enthusiastic here, but Terri says "sort of")

March of the Penguins

Song of Bernadette

Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima

Black and White Movies that My Kids Love...

Not all are necessarily appropriate for all ages...

You Can't Take it With You
It's a Wonderful Life
I Remember Mama
Song of Bernadette
Safety Last (Harold Lloyd)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Christmas in Connecticut
Boys Town
Mr. Deeds goes to Town
The More the Merrier
The Spirit of St. Louis
The Pride of the Yankees
Bells of St. Marys
Casablanca
Going My Way