Knowing nothing about the source material, “Twilight” caught me completely by surprise – which is the only excuse I have for falling pretty hard for a longing, dew-eyed romance aimed at teenage girls. “Twilight’s” has its flaws, but underneath the vampirism-pathos was a surprisingly old-fashioned love story set in a small American town not filled with Hollywood stereotypes. Goodwill goes a long way and helps to forgive much (like weak special effects and listless action scenes), but “Twilight” earned plenty of goodwill with parents everywhere using metaphor as a way to teach teenage girls that true love is not based on sex.

“Twilight” is all about the self-restraint of both appetite and passion. Also playing an important thematic role is the importance of self-sacrifice, loyalty and family. It’s awfully hard not to like a film aimed at teens that’s so unapologetically earnest and well-intended. In this cinematic age of nihilism, moral relativism and hyper-sexualization of young girls, ”Twilight” should be hailed as the work of iconoclasts.  (more…)

National Review’s 25 Best Conservative Movies of the Last 25 Years did what all good lists do, ignite debate and discussion. Last week, NRO’s own Kathryn Jean Lopez jumped in to make a solid case in favor of “Rocky Balboa,” yesterday Maura Flynn stirred things up with a little disagreement and smart choices of her own, and on Monday Ben Shapiro weighed in with a line by line argument for and against the NRO picks and a few excellent additions, including “Tombstone,” and “L.A. Confidential.” Thus far, it’s been a fascinating conversation, and while I normally don’t argue “taste,” Ben’s opinion on “Braveheart” requires a response:

It’s an action epic with some romance thrown in.  Liberals could easily caricature Braveheart’s Longshanks as a redneck, particularly after he defenestrates the prince’s gay lover. 

Ben’s correct about what “Braveheart” is and what liberals could do with it, but you also have to look at what “Braveheart” is about. The film’s essence is about fighting and dying for liberty, a value the Left conceded thirty-plus years ago on the Killing Fields of Southeast Asia straight through to their call last year to strip 25 million innocent Iraqis of their liberty (and security) in the hopes of embarrassing George W. Bush. Like patriotism-when-the-guy-you-didn’t-vote-for-is-in-office, what was once a universal value has become through default, a conservative value. (more…)