Movies Worth Watching

And now for something completely different I offer the Pete Awards for achievement in films, presented early so as not to overshadow the Oscars. Actually, this is a compilation of movies, a baker's dozen of flicks I've enjoyed through the years. See if you agree with me.

13. "A Walk on the Moon." I'm watching this movie as I write this blog. It's the story of a woman's attempt to come to terms with life in 1969 America, perhaps a last fling before her youth vanishes forever. Viggo Mortenson and Liev Schreiber provide support but it's Diane Lane's movie. The movie makes the point that promises are made in bed, whether they're spoken or not, and that reconciliation is always possible.

12. "Pirates of the Caribbean." The original, before all the plot disappeared in the two (soon to be three) sequels. I've included it just for fun, and for Johnny Depp's crazy performance as Captain Jack Sparrow.

11. "Coming Home." Now we're getting heavy. The love story of Jane Fonda and John Voight is tragically compelling, but no less so is the despair of Bruce Dern as the husband betrayed. I live near Fort Carson, in the midst of soldiers who are about to be deployed or are just back from a war zone. Their troubles re-entering peacetime America are awful to see, and this film pulls no punches about their elder brothers coming home from Vietnam, and the women in their lives.

10. "Groundhog Day." This movie seems preachy to me now, but I recall how much I enjoyed it when it first came out. The wisenheimer weatherman who must change his personality to change his life reveals the theme of change which is also in. . .

9. "Bedazzled." The Brendan Frasier - Elizabeth Hurley version in which a lovable loser trades his soul to the devil for seven wishes, all of which turn out to be unfulfilling, until he finally does the right thing and finds his own redemption. The recessional hymn, "If you want to be somebody else, change your mind," by They Might be Giants, sums it up.

8. "The Sting." This one is higher on my wife's list than on mine, but it's still one of the best comedies and revenge pictures in movie history. Paul Newman and Robert Redford team up to defraud Robert Shaw of his ill-gotten gains in an imaginative scheme that holds its secrets nearly to the end. One thought: there are hardly any women in the movie. For a large cast it's almost entirely male. How is it possible I'd like such a thing?

7. "Gandhi." What we need is a hero, and here he is. Without ever killing anyone, without ever hurting anyone, he brought independence to India, and to Indians in South Africa. The movie tells his story with grace and empathy. Good guys can finish first.

6. "A Prairie Home Companion." There had to be a musical on the list and this is it. The songs are lots of fun and the theme of a way of life now being lost to corporate greed resonates. (At least with me.)

5. "Ratatouille." Whoa, another movie with rodents in the cast. "Anyone can cook," says chef Gusteau and Remy the rat proves it. The final scenes, where the critic discovers charity and the human chefs find love are heartwarming. Anyone can cook, and anyone can find happiness and purpose in life. Besides, cooking is my hobby.

4. "It's a Wonderful Life." I know, I know, but for all the syrupy characters, it's still a wonderful flick, and no Christmas season is complete without giving it another look.

3. "Shakespeare in Love." The idea that the first production of "Romeo and Juliet" was going to feature a female impersonator as Juliet and a male impersonator as Romeo is just delightful. Of course things work out in the end, though it's a mystery how they work out. Gwyneth Paltrow won the acting accolades for this movie but the male cast and Judi Dench were also wonderful.

2. "Rain Man." This drama has some extremely funny moments, centering on Tom Cruise's inability to reach or reason with Dustin Hoffman. Hoffman's Raymond is so endearing and at the same time so frustrating as to be almost indescribable. Cruise, as Charlie, acts the part he was famous for, the man in a hurry who learns to take some time to smell the roses. (In this case, the roses were his inheritance from his rigid father.) Of course, the movie is about autism, but it's the story of Charlie Babbitt's gradually emerging humanity too.

1. (Drum roll.) "A Man for all Seasons." Still my favorite, forty-five years after it was made. Paul Scofield's performance as Thomas More is famous, but Robert Shaw as the overwhelming King Henry and Leo McKern as Thomas Cromwell are equal to him. The story of how More is pushed into a corner he cannot escape without losing his soul is powerful and riveting. When I saw this movie for the first time I was a high school senior and very impressionable, but it has held up beautifully and is still marvelous.

Well, that's my list. What's yours?