Lincoln and Schindler's List

I find it striking how similar Steven Spielberg's portrayals of Abraham Lincoln and Oskar Schindler are. Lincoln is very heroic in this movie, even though he sometimes resorts to less than honorable means to achieve his goals. I also thought it was interesting how we see him on the ground, bending over and stoking the fire like a servant, even though he was the president.  I was glad that I had enough prior knowledge to understand almost everything that happened in Lincoln. I enjoyed the band of misfits that the secretary of state unofficially hired to basically buy votes from the democrats.
I'll tell you what! In the film, Thaddeus Stevens (brilliantly and humorously played by Tommy Lee Jones) is portrayed as a hero of epic proportions. After seeing this movie, I had to look Stevens up on Wikipedia. I really hadn't heard much about him before, and I really enjoyed the first part of the Wikipedia article that explained how historians' perceptions of Stevens have changed over time. And I had no idea that Tommy Lee Jones was even going to be in this movie.
In a lot of ways, Schindler's List is much more intense than Lincoln. It also seems to have a more powerful effect on me. What if those had been my parents that he had saved from certain death? It just makes me want to do only good things. It's so funny and so terrible that the only thing that
Amon Göth cared about was money. Good grief. He never got the chance to enjoy any of that money since he was imprisoned immediately after the war and then hanged in 1946. Why did he even bother charging Schindler so much money to let those people go? He should have let them go free. Yeah, he probably still would have been hanged, but there was really no point in trying to amass wealth. Just let it go. This is a lesson for all of us. No matter what happens, we won't be able to take any of our wealth with us when we die, so we should follow the counsel of the Savior and lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven. These are two different movies, but both Lincoln and Schindler used the influence and resources that they had to do the most good that they knew how to do.

The Sixth Sense

Malcolm Crowe: [after realizing the time has come for him to move on] I think I can go now. Just needed to do a couple of things. I needed to help someone; I think I did. And I needed to tell you something: You were never second, ever. I love you. You sleep now. Everything will be different in the morning. 

Anna Crowe: [in her sleep] Good night, Malcolm... 

Malcolm Crowe: Good night, sweetheart.

I love this movie. It has such a big heart, and I think it can teach us a lot about life. Doing the right thing can be scary sometimes! People can be scary, but we have to look past that and see them for who they are: children of God, all of whom need help every once in a while. And I love the relationship between Cole and his mother.

Emma

Oh my gosh! I can't remember the last time that I yelled at a movie so much! I didn't really know what to expect when I started watching this, but I did not expect Emma to be such a manipulating little brat! Yeah, she's definitely not a one-dimensional character (like the caricature known as Mrs. Elton, for example).
Ah yes, I should have known that the famous image of her with the bow and arrow was a not-so-subtle reference to cupid's arrow.
I just love a lot of the characters in this movie, like Mr. and Mrs. Weston, who are so kind and caring. And especially Mr. Knightley.  There are others, though less numerous, that are insufferable, like the Eltons. So for the most part, it's pretty easy to divide the characters into two camps: cool/awesome/likable and annoying/insufferable. (Even though Miss Bates can be kind of annoying, she still falls squarely into the first category because she's such a good, humble person.) Emma defies that classification as she straddles the line throughout much of the movie. She definitely married up.
I guess Mr. Knightly does kind of have a point. She did accept his chastisement graciously and sincerely. Fine. Ahh! I guess that's what makes the movie good: the unlikely pair gets married, right?
I was also pretty happy when a saw a familiar face playing the part of Miss Smith: it's Cole's mom from The Sixth Sense (Toni Collete)!

Beauty and the Beast 3D

Have I mentioned how utterly fantastic Beauty and the Beast looks in 3D? I mean, good freaking gravy, it was amazing. It was like a totally new movie. The opening scene was drastically different looking, it was like I could see a mile away. I didn't have very high expectations for this 3D conversion, especially since the only other movie that I had seen that had been converted to digital 3D was The Nightmare Before Christmas back in 2007 (one of the first theatrical rereleases to use the technology). That movie was like a stinkin' pop up book: 2D images (for the most part) that were positioned at varying depths. But Beauty and the Beast was way different. Every object, every detail had depth. There were no 2D paper cutout characters in this one, oh no. The Beast's face was 3D; his horns had depth. I mean, even Maurice's hand had depth as he held the fully three-dimensional Chip.

In short, the 3D conversion was brilliant. I think Pixar may have even helped with it. Not to mention it's one of my favorite movies ever.

Oz the Great and Powerful and Wreck-It Ralph

I can't remember the last time I felt such a strong, instinctual urge to protect a character in a movie. I would do anything to protect that adorable, fragile little girl. I just love her so much, and as I watched Oz the Great and Powerful today, I wished from the depths of my heart that I could do something to keep her safe.

It's much the same way in Wreck-It Ralph. I was charmed by the relationship between Ralph and Vanellope. It's hard not to feel compassion for her because, even though she can be a little annoying (just like little girls in real life), she desperately needs someone to be her friend. It's very hard to watch her suffer, and I just want to help make her dreams come true.