Newsies
Whenever you need a pick-me-up, Newsies never gets old. I have very fond memories of being introduced to the musical about newsboys in New York fighting the tycoons who abused child labor by my mom and honorary aunt when I was twelve. Something about the songs and the story is so inspiring and encouraging. Newsies is and at this point always will be my all-time favorite movie. The inspiring and timeless story, epic singing and dancing, incredible script, directing and casting, and just overall awesomeness makes it...well, awesome! Christian Bale plays the main character, and honestly, I wish that he was more well-known for playing "Jack Kelly" than "Batman." As a sidenote, Newsies was directed by the same guy who directed High School Musical.
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story
This has been a favorite of mine since childhood, as it was a movie about a horse (enough said). I just re-watched it recently, and I was bawling from the first scene and all the way through to the end. It is an amazingly heartwarming, beautiful, and well-told story about an injured racehorse that brings a family back together again. AND, Dakota Fanning stars in it. :) (*disclaimer: a couple mild swears don't ruin the movie, in my opinion; however, you could always watch it on VidAngel to remove those.)
Beyond the Mask
I honestly have never seen a movie that weaves so many different genres into one plot so well. The Burns brothers are absolute geniuses for finding such random historical facts and connecting them in a fascinating and exciting tale. Besides being a huge fan of the historical fiction genre, I loved the analogies of redemption and identity that were showcased in this movie. This was the first movie (not counting documentaries) that I had ever seen in the theater, and I came away completely inspired and motivated to make my own movie. *(update on that to come)
The Runner from Ravenshead
What do you get when one homeschooling father of (now) six decides to quit his job and start making feature length movies with his family? Little Crew Studies! The Runner from Ravenshead was their first production, and it remains a family-favorite of ours to this day. Five kids under the age of nine play all the parts in this action/adventure allegory, and not only are all those little guys superb actors and actresses, but the script is amazing, and the quality of the movie is incredible for first-time movie-makers! They have been finalists for multiple award categories at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival for their movies, and The Runner From Ravenshead won the Audience Choice Award in 2010. It is cute, hilarious, fun, and clever, and the message that is woven throughout brings you to tears at the end of the movie (um, every time, in case you're wondering, and I've watched it at least...10 times? I lost count.)Mandie and the Secret Tunnel
Okay, so I know that a lot of people--especially in the homeschool community--liked the Mandie books by Lois Gladys Leppard. I started reading them along with some close friends of mine at the time when I was 11 or 12, but even though they were engaging, I found that they, especially the later ones, just weren't great books. There were a bunch of little things in them that I didn't like, such as what kind of behavior was portrayed as acceptable. HOWEVER, once I saw the movie that had come out based on the first Mandie book, I loved it! I will break the unspoken code of a writer, that "books are always better than the movies," and say that it was one of the very few movies that I actually did like better than the book (others including Charlotte's Web and Mary Poppins, just in case you were thinking about wasting your time on those books.) Not only did the movie add awesome visuals to scenes that I had been imagining in my head from reading the books, but the ending was a whole truckload better than the book! The actors were wonderful, the characters colorful, and the story was changed just enough from the book to be an improvement, without ruining the integrity of the original story. After watching this movie, my friends and I decided to reenact it and film our own version, something that was never completed, but we had a darn fun time dreaming about! (I have plenty of epic stories about some of our escapades in this venture, if you're ever bored or can't fall asleep and want to hear how, ahem, stupid I sometimes was.)
There are a ton more movies that I could rave all day about, but I'll keep it short for now. What are some of your favorite movies? Tell me about them in the comment section! :)
