Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Bauer, and . . . E.T.?

betsey: Jane, I know you and Rich saw Inception, Leonardo DiCaprio’s big summer hit, over the weekend. What did you think of it? I wasn’t really interested, although I know a lot of people liked it. To me it sounded kind of weird and confusing.

jane: Inception was weird and confusing - and thought-provoking. The time in the theater flew by, at the end we couldn't figure out if DiCaprio's character was still in a dream, and I kept pondering the movie all the next day – signs the film made an impact.

Oh, and Rich stayed awake through it, another barometer of its success.

(We have one friend who told Rich recently, “My husband likes to brag that he's seen the beginning of hundreds of movies!”) So it was worth the $3.50 we shelled out to see it.

betsey: I really do like a lot of what DiCaprio has done over the years. Titanic was on a few Saturday nights ago, and of course I got caught up in the drama, even though I know how it turns out . . . 

 

jane: Ha! I'll never forget when we saw Titanic in the theater. It was probably for my birthday, because I doubt Rich would have wanted to go to this one unless I was exercising “birthday clout.” Anyway, as the opening credits rolled, he turned to me, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and said, “Why do I need to see this? I already know how it ends.” Sigh. He was joking, of course . . . kind of.

betsey: I think Titanic is simply riveting and unashamedly “Hollywood” in the grand romantic tradition.

I love “movie movies” that play on a big, sweeping canvas.

By contrast, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape is another of my favorites, but it’s a quiet, small-canvas story of a young man (Johnny Depp, who I think is hot) growing up aimlessly in a nowhere Iowa town. Leo plays his developmentally disabled younger brother in an amazing performance. Catch Me If You Can: very underrated, a departure for Spielberg. Love the circa-1965 “mod” look. And I’ve seen parts, not all, of Gangs of New York, with Daniel Day-Lewis – again, it’s one of those larger-than-life, epic films. Very violent, but Scorsese’s re-creation of mid-1800s New York is masterful. You can tell it’s a set, but somehow that gives it the feel of a tragic play unfolding.

What have you seen recently, either in the theater or otherwise, that you would recommend? What are some of your all-time favorites? (I know this is a really hard question.)

jane: Wow. That is a hard one, Betsey. I always have amnesia when it comes to remembering what I've seen lately. I do know my most recent rentals were Babette's Feast, which was wonderful, and Shutter Island, again with DiCaprio; this film also had an ambiguous ending that kept me guessing. But the movies we've seen lately were simply about pure escapism, such as Salt with Angelina Jolie. While we're not big Angelina fans,  we like action films and we needed a Jack Bauer/24-type fix. Sometimes I'll rent a chick flick while Rich is out of town or watch a movie on hulu.com. Rich is picky; there are very few movies he wants to go see or even rent, so I have to sort of twist his arm. He thinks of Hollywood as “Hollyweird” and accuses it of being too formulaic. And sometimes he's right!

But back to favorites . . . I LOVE Dumb and Dumber; I've watched it a gazillion times and it always makes me laugh out loud. See how highbrow I am? Oh, and

I can watch movies like Forrest Gump and Cinderella Man and The Shawshank Redemption over and over and still find something in them that moves me.

The truth is, my tastes are very eclectic – I love British period dramas, quirky indie films, action films, sci-fi/fantasy, and sweeping epics, if they're well done.

betsey: It’s really interesting to think about what makes a movie compelling for you. Or what makes something offensive. I do think I look for that very cinematic, larger-than-life “movie magic” quality. E.T. does it for me every time. Braveheart and Gladiator – I’m a sucker for doomed, noble heroes. 

 

jane: Russell Crowe - YES! Braveheart and Gladiator are two of my favorite films. And, of course, The Passion of the Christ. But E.T.? No offense, Betsey, but I found it cheesy – and still do, just like I did Richard Dreyfuss and his mountain of mashed potatoes in Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I still remember when Rich and I went to the drive-in to see E.T. and brought along Sarah, who was just learning to talk.

She saw the E.T. character on the screen, stood up in the back seat, pointed at the screen, and shouted out, “E.T. a monkey!”

Out of the mouth of babes . . . 

 

betsey: I really detest “rom-coms” and movies that are supposed to appeal to women. People raved about Julie and Julia but I had no interest. 

jane: Oops . . . I enjoyed it. Watched it with Bible study friends; it made me want to eat.

betsey: On the other hand, give me an inspirational sports movie, clichés
and all, and I’m there every time. I kind of want to see Secretariat, even though it’s gotten mixed reviews. That may be a “rent it,” as they say.

jane: Well, I love using our DVR to record films from cable channel Turner Classic Movies. It's a wonderful way to discover and rediscover some great classics. For instance, not long ago I watched To Kill a Mockingbird, The Red Shoes, and ’70s cult favorite Harold and Maude. And on Halloween I viewed Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

 

betsey: What was the first movie you ever saw?

jane: The Wizard of Oz. 

betsey: For me it was The King and I. 

 

jane: Oh, after I watched that on television as a child, I sobbed in bed for hours about how the king had died. I was inconsolable!

betsey: But probably the two films that had the biggest impact on me were Ben-Hur – I truly feel that gave me a yearning for Jesus – and West Side Story, which seemed the ultimate in cool in 1962 but now when you see it looks kind of dated. I did know kids who weren’t allowed to see movies – even Disney – and I felt sorry for them.

jane: Even though my parents were conservative, for some reason they weren't too strict about music and movies. I remember our family went to see Pit and the Pendulum starring Vincent Price. As a teen, I saw films such as Romeo and Juliet (which was a bit scandalous because it contained a discreet “butt” shot of Romeo), 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Ah, Robert Redford, back in the day! In the early ’70s, Wheaton College's student union showed Butch Cassidy, but because the movie celebrated anti-heroes, the college felt it had to hold a discussion of the film for us afterward. How the times have changed.

There are a handful of movies I regret having seen – today I'm more careful about what I view. I typically check out ChristianityToday.com reviews first because I respect their perspective. 

When you think of it, God is the ultimate Storyteller. And

the Bible includes stories of passion and intrigue and violence and adventure – along with the story of his grace and redemption.

In the end, I think my favorite films are ones that use strong visuals and intriguing characters to weave a good story that contains a redemptive theme. 

 

betsey: I am definitely more careful than I used to be – it’s so easy to be a media-and-entertainment junkie in our culture. 

 

jane: And in our industry . . .

betsey: Let’s keep talking about that! Meanwhile, Jane, my new mission is to convince you of the greatness of E.T. But for now, as Ebert and Roeper used to say, the balcony is closed!