I highly recommend Christianity Today’s Our Top Rated Movies page on their website.
When I am looking for a movie to see, I am in the habit of checking the reviews on Christianity Today’s Movie site. I will hardly ever see a movie that didn’t get at least 3 out of 4 stars from them. I just don’t want to spend two hours filling my head with complete filth and it is hard to judge a DVD by its cover in the video store.
For your convenience, they have placed all of their 3 1/2 and 4 star rated movies on one page called Our Top Rated Movies. I admit that I have sometimes printed that page out and brought it to Blockbuster Video with me. I have also wished that I had internet access on my phone so I could check out this page at the movie theater.
You should know though that their "star ranking" is NOT a group process where all of Christianity Today’s editors watch a movie and then decide what it should be ranked! No, the ranking is one Christian critic’s opinion. I happen to think their 10 critics are pretty trustworthy voices but I also glance at why the movie has gotten the MPAA rating (PG-13, R, etc.) it has gotten. (The review page for the movie gives all of this information in "The Family Corner" section of their review – how much violence, sex, etc.). If it is rated R, I look a bit more closely at why the critic has given it such a high star rating before I see it.
Christianity Today also provides links to reviews by other Christian critics on each of their reviews:
• Plugged In
• Crosswalk
• Catholic News Service
• Past the Popcorn
They also have other lists that you might appreciate:
• Most Redeeming of ’06 – they made this list as a group of critics
• Critics’ Choice 2006 – they made this list as a group of critics
• Readers’ Choice 2006
The reviews are also organized this way:
I will often also check the website Rotten Tomatoes which collates movie reviews and gives you a percentage of how many of the reviews by mainstream critics are positive. Most of the high rated movies by Christianity Today also get a 85-95% positive reviews by all movie critics at Rotten Tomatoes. If a CT review is very high and the mainstream critics give it a low rating, you might want to look more closely at CT’s review to see what they see that the mainstream critics don’t.
Below I have pasted from Christianity Today’s Our Top Rated Movies page, the movies they have given 4 stars or 3
1/2 stars, that I have seen. I have sometimes been disappointed, but not often.
I should say also
though that few of these movies are "veg out and relax" movies. Most
were ranked high by the critics because the themes were dealt with thoughtfully. I have made a comment about each.
4 Stars
- The Aviator (2004, PG-13) – lots of academy awards about idiosyncratic character Howard Hughes.
- Batman Begins (2005, PG-13) – excellent.
- The Gospel of John (2003, PG-13) – the whole Gospel of John. Long but details are quite well done.
- The Incredibles (2004, PG) – delightful!
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003, PG-13) – pretty good.
- The New World (2006, PG-13) – surprisingly good (about Pocahontas).
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994, R) – disturbing but memorable. Stephen King.
- Spider-Man 2 (2004, PG-13) – excellent.
- The Story of the Weeping Camel (2004, PG) – a bit odd. It is a foreign film.
3½ Stars
- Amazing Grace (2007, PG) – about William Wilberforce who championed the anti-slavery movement in Britain. Lots of Christians love this film.
- The Bourne Supremacy (2004, PG-13) – they gave the one that just came out this summer 3 stars only so it isn’t on this list.
- Children of Men (2006, R) – Surprisingly good. I think reading the review will help you appreciate this one.
- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005, PG) – C.S. Lewis – lots of Christians like it.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, R) – I was a little disappointed in this one. An artsy film.
- Glory Road (2006, PG) – a feel good basketball movie about conquering racial differences.
- Just Like Heaven (2005, PG-13) – a little odd . . . not really a romantic comedy. . . it is a thoughtful drama.
- Kicking and Screaming (2005, PG) – I thought this one was pretty dumb.
- The Manchurian Candidate (2004, R) – a bit disturbing. I didn’t appreciate it.
- Million Dollar Baby (2004, PG-13) – lots of academy awards. I liked it.
- Millions (2005, PG) – interesting story about boys and money and some other creepy stuff. It was ok.
- Miss Potter (2006, PG) – good romantic movie with some sad twists but ultimately happy.
- Most ("The Bridge") (2003, Not Rated) – disturbing short Christian foreign film.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006, PG-13) – I liked it but you have to read the Wikipedia articles on Pirates of the Caribbean to appreciate the plot if you like me forgot the plot leading up to it.
- The Queen (2006, PG-13) – I liked this glimpse into Tony Blair and the Queen working together responding to Princess Di’s death.
- Shrek 2 (2004, PG)- funny and smart.
- Spanglish (2004, PG-13) – this is thoughtful romantic drama that focuses on resisting an affair.
- Spider-Man 3 (2007, PG-13) – very good.
- Super Size Me (2004, Not Rated) – memorable and good for most of us to think through. Critique of fast food.
- An Unfinished Life (2005, PG-13) – a hard drama about difficult families directed by Clint Eastwood.
- Walk the Line (2005, PG-13) – the music of Johnny Cash pulls you through the pain of his life.
Ben Witherington is a New Testament scholar at Asbury Seminary. This does not automatically make him a good film critic! But I enjoy reading his take on things on his blog.
He has recent reviews of:
The Bourne Ultimatum– The Ultimate Thriller
‘Hairspray’– Another Hare Brained Musical?
Live Free or Die Hard– or Live Hard and Die Free?…
‘Ratatouille’– A Midsummer’s Gourmet Treat
So, if you are like me and don’t have time to read every review of every film that comes out, listen to Christianity Today’s critics as a starting point. Their 3 1/2 and 4 star rated films are at Christianity Today’s Our Top Rated Movies page.