From: "David Muncey" Subject: (ldsmovies) LDS Movies Mailing list Date: 13 Dec 1998 15:16:18 -0700 Hi everyone, Most of you do not know who I am. My name is David Muncey and I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. The reason that you are receiving this message is you are subscribed to the LDS Movies mailing list. We are still working on getting things ready for any formal discussions or reviews on the web site, but since the mailing list is up and running, feel free to contribute at any time. If you are getting this message and you don't want it, please contact me and I will remove you from the list. Just to let you know a little about the list. We are trying to establish a place where members of the LDS church (or non-members who would like to contribute) can discuss, one of the greatest past times (ok, so that is my opinion) : ) The Movies. We will have a web site up before school starts in January (Jan. 11th to be exact), hopefully. We started the list because we were tired of finding out what a movie was really like, only after we had rented, bought, or gone to the theatre. We hope that with this discussion group, we will be able to enjoy movies that are the really good ones and weed out those that may not be so good or worth the $6.50 at the theatre. The movies that we would like to hear from everyone about are those the would be acceptable in the 'For the Strength of Youth' pamphlet. Or in other words, No 'R' ratings (or higher)! Things that need not be discussed are anything the would be "off topic" or that would go against the standards of the church. Discussions, should be based solely on whether or not movies should be seen by other members of the LDS faith OR those with the same values and standards. We do want to hear what you think about, new or old movies. Any bashing of the (or any) church, its members, standards, practices, doctrines, and leaders, will not be tolerated. Other than that, Please keep you hands and feet inside the ride at all times, hang on and have fun. David muncey@bigfoot.com - To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "David Muncey" Subject: (ldsmovies) movies Date: 13 Dec 1998 15:27:13 -0700 Hi everyone, It is me again. There are a few movies that I would like to hear about. If any of you have seen these movies, please let us know what you thought about them. Practical Magic A Bug's Life Rugrats Jack Frost Meet Joe Black Star Trek: Insurrection The WaterBoy What Dreams May Come David muncey@bigfoot.com - To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "David Muncey" Subject: (ldsmovies) FW: BOUNCE ldsmovies@lists.xmission.com: Date: 21 Dec 1998 17:42:07 -0700 Hi everyone, This letter was sent to the list, but I have a filter turned on that will not allow messages go through that have the words s*ubscribe or uns*ubscribe in them. That is why I am forwarding it to the list. Hope, that you don't mind, Mary. Anyone wishing to speak up can always does so, also. David =========================================================================== Dear David: I really look forward to your getting this mailist in high gear. I also subscribe to 2 or 3 others from "majordomo", and enjoy reading their daily output. Sometimes some of it is quite lengthy, so I don't really focus on it and get as much out of it as I should and could. I guess if I get too inundated, I can always "unsubscribe" to a couple of them. In any event, the movies one sounds real interesting, I have never made any input to any of the others, but I may to the movies. Maybe just so much pontificating from the safety of my high ivory tower, and not much in way of reviewing movies, since we don't usually go to many movies or even rent them. Maybe we don't rent or go to many movies because it has been hard to know what we're getting into until you're neck deep in it. One can't go much by the Movie Industry Ratings (PG, R, etc) because these are often contrived to sell more tickets. Seems the public won't go to movies unless they are R-Rated, so the movie makers INSERT a little bad language, a bedroom scene, etc that looks like it's just "stuck in" to get an R rating. It doesn't even fit in with the context of the rest of the movie, which may be very good in many cases. Other R-rated movies really do earn that rating, like "Pulp Fiction" did in all categories. Too bad--Johnny Travolta is such a marvelous dancer, and I don't think he was shown dancing more than 5 sec if that, in that movie. I wonder if, on some of these marginally R-rated films, if they could release 2 versions: one R-Rated with the 1 or 2 superfluous sex scenes and bad language for those who think they need these things to have a good movie; and the other a "cleaned up" version of identically the same film with those superfluosities deleted, which would then earn a PG rating. I have noticed in the past month that the TV "previews" of soon-to-be-released movies, are advertising a lot more PG rated movies. Is this because it is the Holiday Season and they are trying to appeal to the family audience? Or is it because the movie makers are actually making more cleaned up movies? Or is it because they have changed their rating standards such that just a little bad language or just 1 sex scene now rates a PG instead of an R? Anyway, until the very recent past, when one visits a Video rental store or goes thru the movie theatre listings, there has hardly been anything rated G or PG that does not insult the mature mind. When I say "mature", I'm not talking "dirty", I'm talking adult intelligent mind. Not counting the classics like "Snow White", "Cinderella", "Mary Poppins", etc where the story is classic and the music is too--I find most of the G & PG movies to be an insult to the adult intelligent mind. Disney has been about the worst offender in this. Look at the listings on the Disney Channel: almost all dum-dum "kid rules" movies. That is, the story is about 10 yr olds who do better at handling life than their parents and/or other adults. The adults are the incompetent, stupid bunglers. The kids are smart, resourceful, etc. ("Home Alone" is a good example of this. The first one was kind of cute, but the rest of this series and others like it are just plain boring, dumb and tiresome). When I see the word "Kid" in the title, I know it would be a waste of time for me. Most of the movies I watch are the TV movies, many on the LIFEtime Channel. Probably a lot of them would be R-rated because of all the illicit sex situations and scenes. How much re-writing would it take to have the couples married before they go to bed? Probably not much, and the story would be a lot less offensive and more realistic too. Actually, I have really enjoyed some of the Xmas special movies that have been on TV this year: the Hallmark ones are almost always wonderful; and the Beth Polson movies, and others recommended and/or produced by the Bonneville Corp. These are not dumb "kid rules" films; they are touching and heartwarming; often carry a beautiful message; and appeal to the mature, intelligent adult mind as well as the youth and children. I liked the "Christmas Box" books & TV Movies and this type of thing. I thought the "Christmas Wish" last week was and should be a classic. I really do hope that the PG trend I see advertised on TV portends a happy future of good movies. Of course, the old MGM musicals are timeless in their good clean entertainment value. Other than good full-length features like the above, my favorite TV shows include(d): "Hiway to Heaven", "Little House" anything by or with Michael Landon (unfortunately, no relation), "Touched By An Angel", "Promised Land", most everything with or by Gerald McRainey, Roma Downing, etc. I also enjoy "7th Heaven", though sometimes it borders on the "dumb adult, smart kids" theme. By the way, it's not LDS, but I might recommend you get in touch with and/or subscribe to the Focus on the Family publications/radio programs with James Dobson. Their "Citizen" (Current Events) publication recently devoted almost the whole issue to TV and the Movies from a Christian point of view. Re: The specific movies mentioned below: I have not seen any of them. As I said, we seldom go to the movie house. But, I've seen the ads on a couple of them: "Rugrats", "Bug's Life", "Jack Frost" appear to be the "dum kids rule" type and do not appeal to me at all. Though they do appear "clean" enough. Generally, except in the case of the old Disney classics, animated films do not appeal to me. Now that Disney is cranking them out 2 or 3 per year with the aid of computer animation, they all seem like the same story, even the same faces with different names, settings, skin color, etc. After you've seen one, you've seen them all. Contrasted with "Snow White" and some of those old classics that took 2 yrs or so in the making. I liked "Little Mermaid", "Beauty & the Beast" & "Lion King" (good music), but most of the ones to follow have been a little redo of the same thing. "Joe Black" sounds like it might be good. I'll have to get more feedback from others who see it. Any of the "Star Trek" movies are probably very good, or are they going to be like the Disney ones--mass produced cranking out of the same basic story over & over ad nauseam? "Water Boy" doesn't sound real good, but I'll also reserve judgment on that. "What Dreams May Come" is the one on your list that I have actually seen. I think it was R-rated, but I don't know why. He did use the "F" (4-Letter) word sprinkled thru the script. That language was so contrived and obviously just "stuck in" to get the R rating and bigger audiences (they think). It did NOT fit in with the rest of the context of the show. Other than that, it was a pretty good show. It was not animated, but the special effects, colors & photography were superb! Without the sound track it would have been almost as good. However, the story line almost completely eluded me. I still don't "get it". What was the story supposed to be? What were they trying to say? It seemed there were a lot of "flash backs" and "flash forwards"--almost totally lost me. I felt like it was an opera--I needed a Libretto or translation or running commentary. Maybe they could have substituted some explanation for the little bit of bad language? Of course, I am the person who completely missed the whole point of "Stepford Wives". I was so enthralled & fascinated with the sociological implications and aspects of living in a town where all marriages were deliriously happy, women were immaculate housekeepers and human dynamos with a bottomless pit of energy & stamina to get everything done, keep all the "balls in the air", be perfect wives & mothers, keep gorgeous figures, etc, etc, etc. It never even occurred to me to question how things got to be that way or that there might be a "dark side" to it. Gee, I was all ready to move to Stepford. Now, I'd sure like the name & phone number of that "clutter counselor" character in the recent TV Xmas Hallmark movie "St Maybe". Mary Landen ========================= On Sun, 13 Dec 1998 15:27:13 -0700 "David Muncey" writes: >Hi everyone, > It is me again. There are a few movies that I would like to >hear about. If any of you have seen >these movies, please let us know what you thought about them. > >Practical Magic >A Bug's Life >Rugrats >Jack Frost >Meet Joe Black >Star Trek: Insurrection >The WaterBoy >What Dreams May Come > > David > muncey@bigfoot.com > > > >- > To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to >"majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. > For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send > "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. > - To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: karinsda1@juno.com (karin B Gilbert) Subject: (ldsmovies) Historically-based R-rated movies Date: 21 Dec 1998 21:00:23 -0200 I was thinking about something...I know the church's counsel on watching R-rated movies is to not watch them, but what about movies like Schindel's List and Saving Private Ryan? I am a WWII history buff, and I am especially intrigued by the Holocaust (not in a sick sense, but it's just such an amazing story). I found these movies to be pretty historically accurate, and I don't think there were any scenes that weren't necessary to the movies. I can tell you one thing, if someone was shooting at me, I'd probably be inclined to drop a few f-words here and there. What is everyone else's opinion on this? Are R-rated movies with historical plot an attempt by Satan to draw us away from the church or a chance to see what it might've felt like to be on Juno beach during the Normandy invasion? I know we're not supposed to be discussing R-rated movies here, but I just want some opinion. By the way, I haven't seen any of the movies that are on that list, but I did see Antz (the Dreamworks movie that came out right before A Bug's Life). It was a reat movie and I recommend it to rent when it comes out on video!!! Karin Gilbert Newark, DE ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] - To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "David Muncey" Subject: RE: (ldsmovies) Historically-based R-rated movies Date: 21 Dec 1998 20:09:04 -0700 > I was thinking about something...I know the church's counsel > on watching R-rated movies is to not watch them, but what about movies like > Schindel's List and Saving Private Ryan? I am a WWII history > buff, and I am especially intrigued by the Holocaust (not in a sick > sense, but it's just such an amazing story). I found these movies to be pretty > historically accurate, and I don't think there were any scenes that > weren't necessary to the movies. I can tell you one thing, if someone > was shooting at me, I'd probably be inclined to drop a few > f-words here and there. One of the greatest things about the church is that we are able to choose for ourselves and from everything that I have seen, they are counseling us to not watch R movies, not prohibiting it. Or in otherwords, you can still get a recommend (as far as I know) even if you watch R movies. I know that the church is not against History either, but I am sure that they would encourage members to watch an edited version or not watch it at all. > What is everyone else's opinion on this? Are R-rated movies with > historical plot an attempt by Satan to draw us away from the > church or a chance to see what it might've felt like to be on Juno beach > during the Normandy invasion? I know we're not supposed to be discussing R-rated > movies here, but I just want some opinion. I think that it is a personal choice. You are not going to be kicked out of the church for watching them (at least I would hope that is the case). I think that the problem lies, in where do you draw the line. Of course, all of this is simply my opinion. > By the way, I haven't seen any of the movies that are on > that list, but I did see Antz (the Dreamworks movie that came out right > before A Bug's Life). It was a reat movie and I recommend it to rent when > it comes out on video!!! So was it not worth the theater price? Tell us what you liked about it and maybe somethings that you didn't like about it. As for discussing R rated movies, It is ok to discuss such as you have here. By just asking what people feel about watching them would not be considered against list guidelines. If you were to attack or argue about whether or not someone should watch R rated movies, that would definately be a problem. We also don't really want rated R movies to be "reviewed" or discussed specifically. David - To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: David Muncey Subject: (ldsmovies) Movies Date: 29 Dec 1998 15:35:17 -0700 (MST) Hi everyone, Has anyone seen Patch Adams, You've Got Mail or Stepmom? Is so let all of us know what you thought. Thanks. David - To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: karinsda1@juno.com (karin B Gilbert) Subject: Re: (ldsmovies) Movies Date: 29 Dec 1998 23:36:23 -0200 Well, I haven't gotten around to seeing Patch Adams yet (and I can't wait to see it, either...the "Donner, party of fifty!" line just killed me!!), but I saw "A Bug's Life", and for anyone tha hasn't seen it yet, pack up the van and get to the theater!!! It's a really cute movie that my friends' neices and nephews (ages 3-8) loved!! The humor was clean and the story line was cute. Oddly enough...it was a lot like Antz, but with less adult humor. Well, that's my two-sense...enjoy the movie!! Karin Newark, DE ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] - To unsubscribe to ldsmovies, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe ldsmovies" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message.