What makes a Good Movie?

So, sometimes I can be picky about what movies I watch.  If I feel it will be a waste of my time, it takes some persuasion to get me to watch whatever movie is presented.  That being said, I've seen several movies lately, but only 2 of them made my "good movie" list.  For me, the standard of good boils down to the level of hope represented throughout the movie. 

The first movie that I really liked is calld 50/50.  It's a movie about a 27 year old man, who has a cancerous tumor, and when he looks up the survival rate for his specific form of cancer, it says chances are 50/50.  The movie highlights all of his relationships, and he seems to hold back his frustrations and fears for a while.  But the longer his treatment goes on, the more he longs for those around him to be real that this cancer might really take his life. 

So, I really liked delving into these characters.  They all had different flaws - the cheating girlfried, the best friend who exploits his cancer to get women into bed, the mom who wants to take care of him to a smothering degree, the therapist who is new to counseling and has no idea how to really comfort her patient.  Some characters had to go (sorry cheating girlfriend who sucks for cheating on her boyfriend that has cancer, and not just ending the relationship...) while the others grew.  It must be that the reality of cancer weeds through relationships and you learn who really is there for you. 

Well, I've already admitted I like movies that have a hopeful theme, I'll leave the ending alone for you to make the judgement call yourself.  I just really thought the movie was real.  It did not glorify cancer, it was... honest.  I have never had someone I've been close to battle cancer, except my mother, but that does not count because she had cancer before I was even born, so I did not go through that with her.  And, the stories where people beat the cancer are always encouraging, but not everyone survives.  Some people die.  So, I am sure it is probably the most emotional rollercoaster a person ever is thrown into in their whole life.  I hope I never do have to walk that road myself or with someone I love, but seeing that I'm only 30 years old, chances are it will happen.  But, my journey in that trial will have a greater hope, that is, that Christ has redeemed my life, and whether I live or die, I will only be drawn closer to Him. 

The second film I've really enjoyed lately was We Bought a Zoo.  It is about a family struggling to survive because the wife/mother had recently died.  The dad decides his family needs a change of scenery and a change of pace in life, and buys a property outside of the city that owns a zoo.  He becomes the owner/manager of the zoo, and has to upgrade the whole place to get it ready for the public that summer and actually make some money.  The journey of the family and the other zoo keepers uniting over the task of making an excellent zoo is heartwarming.  The father's relationships with his son and daughter grow, and by then end, he is ready to share his love of his wife with them as well. 

I thought this movie also captured the heart ache of losing someone you love, and the grief process that takes place.  It was 6 months after their loss, so I didn't see the immediate pain and heartache, but I did get to see some of what the healing process can look like. But I know that through whatever loss life brings me, again I have hope, and not just hope but a sure faith, that Christ is better than that loss, and that my salvation was secured 2000 years ago on a cross.  Of course, Hollywood movies rarely delve into positive portrayals of modern evangelical Christianity, BUT many do endeavor to portray Christian themes, whether they acknowledge those themes as Christian or not. 

So, I enjoyed these movies the most of all the movies I've had recently, but that's not to say I have not seen other good movies.  Both The Descendants, and Oslo, August 31st were good movies, excellent movies, but there was not much sense of hope from either of them.  Puss in Boots was cute, but no Shrek.  But, really, what has perplexed me is how my mother and I can have such different views of a good movie.  It makes me laugh, though, because one of her criteria is language.  She is simply offended by bad language, whereas I may recognize it is there, but I look at the overall film impact.  Language doesn't bother me. 

If that one simple issue causes a diffence of opinion on the quality of a film, is there a way to independently judge the quality of movies?  Or will it always be simply up to each individual to judge?  I guess it is true, that everyone's a critic.  And in the U.S.A. you can have whatever opinion you want!  (However, your opinions are subject to other's judgements as well.) 

I'm going to chew on this a little more, this post is to be continued.  I have an idea of where I'll be going to find some film critiques.  But I'll end the post by saying my mom and I did agree on We Bought a Zoo - it was a very family friendly good movie.  No language, full of hope.