Adults
Gone with the Wind
This beloved story of the Old South and its disappearance is one of the great classic movies of all times. It's a very healthy thing for Americans, who predominantly side with the North, to at least have some understanding of the South. This movie isn't a bad place to start. Aside from its historical significance, it is a complex story of love, generosity, hate and thick-headedness. It's the sort of movie I can watch numerous times (like Casablanca) and get a little more out of it each time.
Much Ado About Nothing
This is an admirable portrayal of one of Shakespeare's great comedies beautifully filmed on location in Italy. It is a love story that also laughs at love and a drama that ends up being "Much Ado About Nothing." It is so refreshing to see that Kenneth Branagh (director, adapter and co-leading man) appreciates Shakespeare as Shakespeare rather than trying to add on modern nonsense to make it more accessible. Instead, Branagh assists in making Shakespeare's timeless story accessible through good acting, beautiful scenery and an amazingly faithful script.
In This House of Brede
This film, originally made for British television, is based on the novel In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. It is an admirable portrayal of a woman entering a cloistered Benedictine Abbey relatively late in life and how she learns to love all - the lovable and the "unlovable" for the sake of Christ. While the glimpses of the outside world (of the 1970s) are somewhat dated in appearance - clothing, hairstyles, etc.
A Family Journal
This book is a collection of thirty-six "journal entries" (one for each week of the school-year) - stories about the author's family life and homeschooling intertwined with scripture, recipes and her own reflections about life and God's love. (Neat, huh?) The stories are touching, funny, encouraging, sad, uplifting - just like life in this imperfect world (particularly with a family) really is.
Midway
This classic movie with an all-star cast and real war footage presents the dramatic story of one of the most significant battles of World War II - the naval battle of Midway in June 1942. The story also deals, more briefly, with the backlash against Americans of Japanese descent. A good movie and important story, but language and battle-scenes make it most appropriate for teens and adults.
Lord of the World
Lord of the World, written in the early part of the 20th century, is an intelligent and Catholic fictional extrapolation on the trend towards Modernism described and condemned by Pope Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis and Lamentabili Sane