Posted on 12/30/2005 8:54:50 AM PST by Mike Bates
It wasn’t a particularly good year for conservative cinema. It rarely is. Yet alongside the cavalcade of ideology, mediocrity and stupidity that is Hollywood today, a few gems shone forth dazzlingly.
What is a conservative film?
Let’s start with what it isn’t. It’s not about men with bulging biceps and even bigger guns. It’s not cartoonish action heroes. It isn’t revenge tales masquerading as heroism.
Conservative cinema does more than entertain; movies that do no more are visual candy. It instructs and inspires.
Conservative films celebrate virtue. They tell timeless tales of individuals overcoming all manner of adversity to achieve true greatness. They’re about honesty, loyalty, courage and patriotism. They’re concerned with conservatism’s cardinal values – faith, family and freedom.
If I were to list the best conservative movies of the last decade, they would include: “Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King (2003)” “Open Range” (2003), “LA Confidential” (1997), Mel Gibson’s “The Patriot” (2000), and “Spiderman,” I and II (2002 and 2004). But also some quieter films, like last year’s “In Good Company” and “The Family Man” (2000) would make my list.
Here, then, are my choices for The 10 Best Conservative Films of 2005.
1. Cinderella Man – The miraculous, 1930s comeback of boxer James J. Braddock became a metaphor for America’s struggle to get to its feet after the pounding it took in the Great Depression.
SNIP
2. King Kong – “King Kong” is the blockbuster movie of the 2005 holiday season. How often is a remake better than the original? Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” beats both the 1933 original and the eminently forgettable 1976 remake.
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
I agree on Cinderella Man. Great inspiring movie.
How was LA Confidential a conservative movie?
That's what I was wondering. Murder, prostitution, adultery...not my brand of conservatism.
movie ping
We saw this last night. What a great little movie!!
I know some human parents who could learn a lot from those penguins.
It really was a miserable year from Hollywood. This is the best of the best?
While I did see a pro-life message in "The Island," I also thought the larger theme was an animal rights message, with the clones being proxies for cattle. There were several references to the fact that the clones being killed "felt no pain," but these were often in the context of food, I thought.
How about "National Treasure" for conservative films of the decade? One of the main characters is a German born documents expert who chooses to be American rather than EUROPEAN! and is willing to risk her life to protect the Declaration of Independence. The other main character, who like America, started off working with the British, but ends up on opposite sides of the battle, and, like his father, is awestruck by the work of the founding fathers.
(you have a kick ass nic too!)
Just watched the Great Raid, great movie, and King Kong was terrific, definitely worth seeing at the theatre - a big screen kind of movie. Cinderella man was also terrific. Agree with Lord of the Rings, would have to add Star Wars 3....and maybe Team America - definitely for a grown up audience, but I really enjoyed seeing the libs trashed so badly....
Serenity is my personal favorite.
Read Later
Thanks, Dolly, and Happy New Year to you also.
A good conservative film, nonetheless!
Sounds like a definite contender. I intended to go see that film, but it was out of the theaters pretty quickly.
I particularly liked the portrait of Ouimet’s family: the Irish mother who encourages him to dream, and the disillusioned father (a French immigrant engaged in backbreaking labor) who believes the boy’s dreams will only lead to disappointment and unhappiness.
(Why can’t Hollywood give us functional families in the here and now?) The match swings back and forth, and provides enough excitement to make a movie about golf exciting. It’s a Disney dare-to-dream movie more realistic, and inspiring, than most.
I saw this movie. I really liked it, and I highly recommend it.
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