Another movie list.....

......from Christianity Today. I've put their "Most Redeeming" and "Critics' Choice" lists for 2007 in earlier entries. After they have prepared their lists, they ask their readers to chime in and vote for their favorite movies of 2007.

I like this concept, and I like to see how the "real folks" and movie reviewers differ. And there is often such a wide difference. I think it is the same as the difference between the Smock and me. The difference between the professional watcher and the once-in-awhile watcher.

I often wonder, because my tastes apparently diverge so far from those of our newspaper editors, if they (the critics, not Smock) are looking more for something "out of the ordinary" and therefore find it hard to be objective about the ordinary movie. The movies that most of us "occasional viewers" and "wait 'til it comes out on video" folks like.

I find this hard when I try to tell someone about books. There are books that are flat-out fantastic--and I think they are that way on an objective basis, able to be seen by almost anyone. Let's see, I'd say something like Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory. One of the finest books I've read. How do you compare something like Georgette Heyer's Beauvallet to that? I refuse, absolutely refuse, to say that Heyer is anything short of 4 or 5 stars (out of five, mind you). But they're so completely different, how can you judge them on the same set of five little stars? Maybe that's the way of movies, and since the reviewer is stuck with giving a film a star or number or something rating, it is easy to give good movies a poor number of stars because it doesn't match up to some once a year film......

Anyway, that's a lot of exposition for one little list, isn't it? So, here's the list: Christianity Today Readers' Choice Awards, 2007:

1. Amazing Grace
2. Juno
3. Ratatouille
4. The Bourne Ultimatum
5. Bella
6. (tie) 3:10 to Yuma (and the Smock cheers!)
6. (tie) Evan Almighty
6. (tie) No Country for Old Men (the Smock cheers again!)
9. The Ultimate Gift
10. (tie) Once (and the Zman cheers!)
10. (tie) There Will Be Blood

I must admit, I was glad to see Evan Almighty on the list. I know lots of people had lots of bad to say about the movie, but we watched it with the McKid, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. Yes, yes, yes, I know all the points that Steven Greydanus over at the Decent Films Guide brings up. But it was a perfect avenue for talking about obedience to God with the McKid. And I don't think it has deserved the beatings it has gotten.

So, there you have it. More movies for your Netflix queue.