MY KIND OF MOVIES!                DO 2452          1/85

         1. I CERTAINLY DON'T CARE FOR THE TYPICAL COWBOY MOVIES OR WAR MOVIES, unless it's a SPY movie that happens to have war involved, something like that. And I don't care for those violent shoot'm up gangster movies, nor do I really care much for old-hat History, it's gone & done!--Unless it's a real CLASSIC which you can learn something from.
         2. MAMA & I LIKE ROMANTIC STORIES, & WE LIKE SOME OF THOSE HISTORICAL CLASSICS. They're especially good for the kids & you guys too who don't know much about History. It wouldn't hurt you to see a little bit of History in dramatic, more palatable form. But these modern violence movies with all that violence & fights & chases, ugh! The average American movie almost makes no sense at all, it's just a shoot'm-up, a fight, a chase! I think it's terrible the way they absolutely ruin good cars. Almost every single stupid idiotic damn American so-called "action" movie is like that!--So watch out for so-called "ACTION" movies!
         3. MYSTERIES I LIKE, AS LONG AS YOU DON'T MAKE THOSE A STEADY DIET. WHO DOESN'T LIKE A MYSTERY? It's thought-provoking, it gets you thinking to try to solve whodunnit, & usually in those they've got a lot of lessons to learn.--Don't do this, don't get caught this way or that way or the way he did!
         4. YOU CAN LEARN A LOT FROM SUCH MOVIES. If you don't learn what to do, you can at least learn what NOT to do! But I like mysteries, especially if they're intelligent mysteries like Agatha Christie & some of that stuff. "Death on the Nile" was quite a good movie, it really kept you guessing until the end.
         5. THEY'RE REALLY INTRIGUING, & IT MAKES YOU THINK, & ALSO TEACHES YOU A LOT ABOUT SECURITY. On some of these it teaches you a lot about being followed, being chased & what to do & not do, things like that which we could really afford to learn a few things about. I'm also very interested in SPY MOVIES, as long as they're not too stupid & not just that senseless "action" stuff.
         6. CIRCUS MOVIES ARE OFTEN GOOD FOR THE KIDS. We also like SPIRITUAL MOVIES about ghosts & spirits & ESP. But if they get into too much HORROR, that awful horror stuff, vampire stuff, that kind of stuff where it's all scary & all horror, forget it!
         7. I LIKE SOME SCIENCE FICTION BECAUSE SOME OF IT'S QUITE REALISTIC, SOME OF IT IS QUITE INTERESTING. Things about recent World History, atomic war etc. are also very interesting.--Like "World War III" & some of those movies, how people think things are going to turn out, how they think the war might start.
         8. SOME MOVIES ARE ALMOST PROPHETIC! Serious movies with the President of the United States & Congressmen etc., movies that are supposed to be referring to the important events of today & the possible outcome of political or social crises & that sort of thing, are often very interesting or significant.--Serious political movies or even serious war movies, as long as they're not all war & all action.
         9. YOU CAN OFTEN SPOT GOOD QUALITY MOVIES RIGHT AWAY. Number one, they've got quality actors & actresses, well-known top-notch stars who will not usually act in a bad movie. Sometimes it's just a pleasure to watch good stars acting, even if the movie is not all that hot!
         10. WHEN YOU'VE GOT TOP-NOTCH STARS, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A GOOD MOVIE, AS A RULE. It's going to be a movie that's at least entertaining. It's just a pleasure to watch those guys in action because they really know how to act & they usually will not act in a bad movie.
         11. IF YOU'VE GOT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF MOVIES, MOVIE GUIDE BOOKS, they're often quite helpful, & will tell you who the actors are & what the story is & everything, so right away you can tell whether you want to see it or not. However, we've sometimes found that if they're thoughtful movies, the author sometimes thinks they're dull & dead, so he gives them a low rating & sometimes won't even bother to tell you the story or even who's in it!--So you can't always go by the movie book! But once in a while it gives you a lead & a hint what it's all about & whether you want to see it or not.
         12. SOME MOVIES YOU'VE GOT TO GO BY WHO'S IN IT. If they're really top famous stars who usually only make good movies, worthwhile movies--at least entertaining even if it's not necessarily educational or inspiring or historical or whatever--if it's got good stars in it it's bound to be a pretty good movie.
         13. SOMETIMES YOU LIKE TO SEE COMEDY JUST FOR A GOOD LAUGH. Mama & I just nearly split our sides on this funny movie with Dick Van Dyke & James Garner we saw the other night. I got a real kick out of it, it's really got a funny plot, it's a scream, & you're just laughing & laughing all the way through.--Those guys are good comedians, & they can really give you a good laugh.--And you need a good laugh once in a while, you know? It was a good comedy that, you might say, had a clever plot, a serious comedy. It was a good plot even if it hadn't been funny.
         14. OF COURSE, SOME COMEDIES ARE SLAPSTICK COMEDIES, JUST SILLY RIDICULOUS STUFF, idiotic & sickening, usually because they've got that kind of actors in it & that's the kind of stuff you can expect from them. Lou Costello or the Three Stooges & that kind of junk--it's just junk! Absolute JUNK! It's all slapping & hitting each other & throwing pies--silly, idiotic, ridiculous stuff. We came upon a tape with one of those on it, & even our kids thought, "Oh that's silly, isn't that ridiculous?"--Even they were disgusted!
         15. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THEY CALL IT SERIOUS COMEDY OR WHAT, BUT A GOOD COMEDY USUALLY HAS GOOD ACTORS & IT'S USUALLY AT LEAST BELIEVABLE HUMOUR.--But that slapstick stuff is unbelievable, it's not natural, it's not real, it's not normal! The best humour is what's natural & believable & could really have happened, & you figure that it's pretty close to reality. Sometimes it's a little stretched & far-fetched, but nevertheless it's funny. So I really enjoy a good comedy, if it's good humour & by good actors.
         16. WE ALSO ENJOY A GOOD MUSICAL IF IT'S GOOD MUSIC & PRETTY GIRLS & DANCING LIKE "CAN CAN," with a good story & a whole galaxy of famous stars. So try to be a little CHOOSY, & don't waste your time with stuff that's plain junk or silliness or foolishness, OK? I don't like wasting my time watching something that really isn't believable, isn't human, isn't normal, natural.
         17. A LOT OF MOVIES ARE WHAT THEY CALL HUMAN SITUATION MOVIES, MOVIES OF HUMAN RELATIONS & that sort of thing, & they're usually romances, & they're almost like true stories about relationships between people, & they're interesting. You can learn a lot of lessons from them.
         18. THOSE HOSPITAL MOVIES THAT SEEM TO BE SO POPULAR NOW, I DON'T LIKE THEM AT ALL! Some are good, have got good actors & all, but why should I go through all that suffering & gore & blood & guts & junk before I have to!--I hope I NEVER do! So for God's sake, spare yourself from hospital movies!
         19. THE KIND OF MOVIES WE PARTICULARLY LIKE ARE USUALLY SIGNIFICANT MOVIES, you might say, on significant themes of the day like Atomic War or politics or intrigue between nations & spies, things like that. You know the things we're interested in, you've seen them in the WND & you've seen them in my Letters. You ought to have a pretty good idea by this time of what we think is worthwhile & what we think is not. It doesn't have to be a perfect movie, it doesn't have to even be a serious movie, it can even be a comedy if it's really funny & it's good acting. I mean you NEED a good laugh once in a while! Just try to use a little discernment.
         20. ONE THING I LOVED ABOUT ENGLAND--THEY HAD LOTS OF DOCUMENTARIES, travelogues & serious political themes & so on, nonfiction movies. Plus serious historical fiction, serious, thoughtful movies on important themes with good actors & good dialogue, very little violence, almost none of these car chases & shoot'm-ups & shoot'm-outs & bang-ups & blah blah blah fights! They were based on serious themes with lots of dialogue, very thoughtful. Americans hate that kind of movie where they have to think & they have to listen to someone talking!
         21. TAKE MOST OF YOUR BRITISH MOVIES & YOU'LL NOTICE THEY'RE MOSTLY DIALOGUE. They love to hear their language & they love to speak it, & it's beautiful to hear them, those that really know how to speak their own language. And they carry the conversation & dialogue, sometimes with almost no action, it's totally dialogue, totally conversation.--But it's fascinating to me, I like it! I LIKE British movies! (Prays:)
         22. DO HELP THEM, LORD, GIVE THEM WISDOM & DISCERNMENT IN CHOOSING THEIR VIDEOS. It doesn't always have to be of any great, significant value, because video viewing is often a time when we just want to relax & not have to think too hard & not even be too serious. We often just want to rest & relax & be entertained & even enjoy something funny.
         23. SO DO HELP THEM, LORD, TO PICK OUT THE GOOD & ESCHEW THE EVIL. Bless & help them & give them wisdom in their selection of what they watch.--To try to watch things that are worthwhile, things that are encouraging, cheerful, even sometimes funny, to relieve the strain of the responsibility, the burdens of the day.
         24. HELP US TO USE ALL THESE INSTRUMENTS THAT YOU'VE PROVIDED FOR OUR BLESSING & OUR HELP & EVEN FOR THY GLORY, that we might be not only entertained but EDIFIED, instructed, educated, even as we try to do with the children's tapes. Some of it's just entertainment, some just funny, some amusing, some just to enjoy, but we also try to give them as much educational material as possible, instructional material, Lord, that will be helpful, & teach them something worthwhile.
         25. SO HELP US ALL IN THE USE OF THESE TOOLS THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN US FOR OUR EDUCATION & edification & even our entertainment & our recreational hours.--We ask in Jesus' Name, amen. PTL!--Happy video viewing!

Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family