If y'all haven't done "To Kill a Mockingbird" yet, I'd love to write it up. I can't really call myself a "critic," as I find very little in that movie to criticize.
I hadn't thought of it before, but I think this would be a useful experiment. On New Year's day or your birthday, each and every year, write down a list of your favorite movie, favorite song,favorite play and favorite book of all time. Not your current fixation, but the best ever. Flipping back through that list, I think, would provide a pretty good snapshot of what you were thinking at that moment.
In my case -- and leaving out everything before adulthood, because a kid's favorite movie is likely the last one he watched -- I've gone back and forth between Casablanca, Citizen Kane, and To Kill a Mockingbird for the last decade and a half or so. They're all still in my top five, but the interesting question is which is number one at a given moment in life.
We see in our movie heroes what we aspire to be -- Casablanca's Rick hides his idealism under a veneer of cynicism, but he is an ardent and loyal lover, and when he tells Ilsa to get on the plane, he is willingly sacrificing his happiness for hers, and for the greater good. Kane is a Randian hero, an unabashed idealist and iconoclast (not to mention egotist) who never backs down, never accepts or admits defeat. Atticus Finch is a strong, wise and protective father who never talks down to his children, never condescends to his "inferiors," and rises above his times. Atticus does what he can, and more importantly, does what he must.
An old personality test used to ask, "who's you favorite Beatle?" Paul was the cute one, John the smart one, George the quiet one and Ringo the funny, outgoing one. Movie heroes are like that, but more layered and subtle. When I wanted to see myself as a lover, I wanted to be Rick. When I wanted to be a crusader, I wanted to be Kane. Now, I want to be a mentor and a protector -- I don't have children of my own, but I have nieces and a nephew and I'm at that stage of life -- I want to be Atticus.
It's not for nothin' that when the AFI released its list of the top 100 movie heroes of all time, Atticus Finch topped the list. It's like Lord of the Rings -- Legolas and Gimli had skill, Boromir and Frodo had destiny, Gandalf had power. But the real hero was Samwise Ganjee, who had none of those things, but had sheer determination and force of will, loyalty and love for his friend.
Even in the more mundane pursuits of our daily lives, there is a lesson there. I cannot decide to become Spiderman or Superman. I cannot decide to be Legolas. But I can decide to be Sam. Or Atticus.
I've chosen "Jaws" for my review, and I'm working on it as we speak, although I did seriously consider "Casablanca." I've only seen "To Kill a Mocking Bird" once, and that was a LONG time ago, so I'd have to brush up on that one.
Want me to put you down for April 1 next thread for To Kill a mockingbird, Citizen Kane, Casablanca???
I look forward to your write-up of Mockingbird. Both the book and movie are favorites of mine.
BTW, watch Kane sometime in proximity to Stagecoach and you'll see how much Orson Welles was influenced by John Ford.