5 of 5

Movieguide's Ted Baehr says, "Memento brings to light some intriguing thoughts on the nature of human beings and their motives. The answers to those questions lead to a narrow and self-devoted view of the world." But Peter T. Chattaway, discussing the movie at the OnFilm eGroup discussion list, writes that the film "raises all sorts of questions for the Christian viewer — concerning the roles of "instinct" and repetition (i.e., following an impulse versus denying our impulses in favor of a more systematic order) in our own lives, and our own reliance on the notes left by an otherwise long-forgotten past."

The Dish looks like the kind of movie that the whole family can enjoy. In an obscure Austrailian community, a group of local technicians work with an American from NASA to operate a giant telescope during the moon landing of 1969.

Ted Baehr at Movieguide raves, "The Dish is winsome and leaves you with a feeling of joy that these men were able to overcome incredible odds to place a man on the moon and bring him back. Sam Neill is particularly excellent in this movie as Cliff." He is also pleased that it "has some positive references to God, plus a terrific church scene with a sincere prayer by an archetypal Anglican priest at a crucial moment."

The New York Times ' Stephen Holden is also uplifted, saying that this "feel-good movie … doesn't make you uncomfortable for being awed and getting misty-eyed at the astounding combination of teamwork, technology and sheer luck that made Apollo 11 such a success." At The New Yorker, David Denby comes the closest to finding fault with the film, calling it "A pleasant, even charming, movie, but so determinedly small-scale and personal that it flirts with innocuousness."

It's worth mentioning that The Dish has thus earned the best reviews of 2001 so far. Looking at its competition, though, that's not saying a whole lot. Here's hoping the movies have much better things in store for us this year.

Next week: The Widow of St. Pierre, a little movie that's inspiring strong opinions in Christian critics, and they don't all agree. Series 7, a satire about a reality television show in which the contestants strive to kill each other off. And reviews of several more new films.

Jeffrey Overstreet is on the board of Promontory Artists Association, a non-profit organization based in Seattle, which provides community, resources, and encouragement for Christian artists. He edits an artists' magazine (The Crossing), publishes frequent film and music reviews on his Web site (Looking Closer), and is at work on a series of novels.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

first page |  5 of 5

share this page

March (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45