1) Pursuit of Happyness and John Q

I loved both these movies for exactly the same reason. I kept thinking,

“What would I have done if that was my child?”

And both times, I agreed with what the main characters did. A couple of tears were shed over these two movies. Wonderful protagonists

2) Soul Flicks

Anything that involves:

Beautiful, black women and;

Confident, respectable and so-smooth-it’s-ridiculous African American men and I’m there.

The only movie I would add here that is a bit out place would be Guess Whose Coming to Dinner. That movie may be decades old but Sydney Portier’s portrayal of a black man caught up in the prejudices of a mixed race engagement had an excess of class and maturity.

3) Good Will Hunting

Movies such as Good Will Hunting are basically excuses for men to get emotional. I just loved the fact that Matt Damon could jump from being a crude rebel to an absolute genius at the drop of a hat: paradoxes and contradictions like that always make me happy.

Robin Williams is also an absolutely phenomenal actor and human being. Great story.

4) Moolaade

A movie that took me way way back. Though it’s set in modern times, it’s set in a rural West African village that still has old school superstitions and customs, including female circumcision. The movie hooked me in with the story and was quite easy to understand in spite of how foreign the customs were.

The ending struck me as ‘pandering to Western sensibilities’ but still…….great movie. The West and Southern Africans are definitely kicking butt in regards to making great African films.

5) Make it Plain

I have already spoken about how much I am a fan of Malcolm X. This documentary, which you can also watch for free here, delves into his life, his past and his psychology. If you are sitting on the fence in regards to Malcolm X right now, after watching this movie you’ll definitely have an opinion on him.

I just love Malcolm!

6) The Other Boleyn Girl

This is in cinemas now. If you don’t know the history of the English colonial barbarians, watch this movie. If you do know it, watch it, if for no other reason to notice all of the inaccuracies and still be in for a helluva ride. It has more twists and turns than a game of twister with a contortionist.

It’s story line is so convoluted and full of outlandish deception and deceit that it was actually appropriate for me to scream in the middle of the movie, “Don’t do it!” A movie that was definitely a pleasant surprise.

7) Shrek

I think I will forever stop reading movie reviews and just go to the cinema and see what happens. Just like the Boleyn girl, I knew nothing about Shrek when I went to watch it in the cinema many years ago. I laughed and I was completely hooked by the movie’s blend of childish fantasy with adult contemporary humor.

Moral of the story: Don’t watch trailers or read reviews, let the movies speak for themselves.

So what movies have had an impact on your world? Leave a comment and let me know and maybe you can pick up a couple of the above movies this weekend and tell me what you think.

May the Magic of Movies Come Alive in Your Life,

Mwangi