50/50 Movie Moments

Fifty memorable film clips in fifty words. A new one added each day.

50. In the movie The Shawshank Redemption…

Andy has a vision. He wants to make things better. He wants to get more books for the prison library, and decides to write a letter every week to the prison authorities asking for funds. Against the odds they send some books and money. ‘Only took 6 years,’ he says…

Proverbs 29 v 18

49. In the movie American Gangster…

Richie Roberts is an honest cop. One day he makes a bust and uncovers a huge haul of stolen cash. Instead of a keeping a little of it for himself he ensures that the whole stash is placed in police custody. Word travels and he becomes notorious/famous for this.

Ephesians 4 v 28, Deuteronomy 25 vv 14-15, Proverbs 28 v 10

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48. In the movie Seven Pounds…

Ben Thomas seeks out others he can help in extraordinary ways. When he discovers Connie and her children are in danger he tells her to drive away from the city and to go to his house on the coast. Once there he signs it over to her and her children.

Acts 4 vv 32, 36-37

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47. In the movie Children of Men…

No baby has been born for 18 years. Till now. A young pregnant mother gives birth to a miracle child in a bombed out tenement building, whilst the world outside is at war. Theo helps her take the child to a safe place, and on the way peace breaks out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5vmo_oUnJo

46. In the movie American History X…

Derek is released after going to jail for manslaughter. Prison affected him deeply and he comes out a changed man. He wants to start his life again, to live differently now. On release he tells his brother about his experience to stop him from ending up in terrible trouble .

Luke 15 v 10, Luke 6 vv 47-48

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45. In the movie The Beach…

Bored with his existence Richard decides to go looking for something more. His life isn’t enough. He wants danger and beauty, he wants to live. So he breaks free, jumps on a plane and travels to a foreign land. There he finds a place full of others searching for more.

Luke 15 vv 11-13

44. In the movie Good Morning Vietnam…

Adrian Cronauer turns up as the new DJ for Armed Forces Radio during the Vietnam War. His zany style appeals to the troops in the field but makes him fall foul of those in authority, who feel threatened. Adrian speaks the language of the ordinary soldier, and that’s his problem.

Mark 2 vv 15&16

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43. In the movie The Book of Eli…

Eli is transporting  a sacred book across a post-apocalyptic land. He protects it with his life. When he reaches a safe haven he produces the book, but it’s not written down, he is carrying it within him. He has memorised the words and now recites them for committing to paper.

Joshua 1 v 8, Colossians 3 v 16

42. In the movie Dan in Real Life…

Dan is depressed. When he takes the kids bowling the place is shut, so they go and see a lighthouse instead. Dan tells them that when you feel like you’re sinking down deep and being tossed about by the big dark waves, it’s the light that keeps us on course.

Matthew 4 v 16

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41. In the movie 24 Hour Party People…

Tony has a vision of God whilst smoking drugs. He has a conversation with him about music. Afterwards, when his friends ask him what God looked like, Tony says, ‘He looked like me. God made man in his own image. If you’d have seen him he’d have looked like you.’

Genesis 1 vv 26-27, Jeremiah 1 vv 4-5

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40. In the movie Cinema Paradiso…

When the cinema is packed one night and the street is full of those outisde who cannot come in, Alfredo the projectionist has an idea. He projects the film onto a building opposite, so that no one is excluded. He liberates the movie for everyone to see, even the outsiders…

Matthew 11 vv 2-5

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39. In the movie Waking Ned…

Young Maurice asks the local priest if he’s ever seen Jesus. Father Patrick says no, but he is working for him for a kind of spiritual payment. Young Maurice says that he doesn’t think that he could ever work for someone he’s never met and not get paid for it.

Mark vv 29-30

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38. In the movie Casino Royale…

James Bond is trying to catch the bad guy, Mollacha, leaping after him from roof to roof. Mollacha is adept at the chase, but Bond keeps slipping and falling and bumping into things. However, he does not give up. No matter how many times he falls, he gets back up….

Romans 5 v 3-4

37. In the movie Just Like Heaven…

Elizabeth is invisible to everyone but David. Trying to discover why, they visit a restaurant. When a customer collapses she realises she can help. She guides David through doing a minor operation, him repeating everything she says, with entertaining consequences. She suddenly exclaims, ‘I’m a doctor!’ So he does too.

John 16 vv 13-14, James 3 vv 17-18

36. In the movie Shooting Dogs…

When the UN trucks prepare to leave the school, abandoning the local Rwandans to the killing gangs, Christopher the priest tells his friend Joe that he cannot leave. He senses God is right there with those suffering people. His love more intense and profound than Christopher has ever felt before.

Romans 8 v 38

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35. In the movie Back to the Future…

Huge bully Biff is attacking Lorraine in his car. The much smaller George McFly sees this, and is terrified, but doesn’t run. Instead, he throws open the car door. When Biff climbs out and attacks him George gathers his courage, swings his fist and brings him down with one blow.

1 Samuel 17 vv 41-51

34. In the movie Contact…

Eleanor experiences something extraordinary when she goes into space. However, she cannot prove it. Instead, when questioned, she can only reply, ‘I was given something wonderful that changed me forever… A vision that tells us we belong to something that’s greater than ourselves and we are none of us alone.‘

Psalm 8 vv 3-5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FbSPXC4btU

33. In the movie About Schmidt…

Warren and Helen have been married for 42 years. But Warren finds himself lying in bed wondering – who is this woman?  And why does she annoy him so much? With her toy and thimble collections, her little habits, the way she discards perfectly good food just because it’s expired…

Ephesians 5 v 25

32. In the movie Joyeux Noel…

Christmas Eve on the Western Front. When the Scottish troops sing a song of home the Germans reply with a rendition of Silent Night. Then one of the Germans places a Christmas tree above their trench. Gradually the soldiers emerge and meet in no man’s land. Suddenly peace breaks out…

Luke 2 vv 13-14. Isaiah 9 v 6

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbGZ7T5EHpQ

31. In the movie A Bridge Too Far…

Major Cook leads his men across the river at Nijmegan. He’s rowing for all his might, using his rifle butt as an oar. Shells and bullets fly around him, men drop and die in the water. All the time he’s praying. Calling out for God’s help to get him through.

Psalm 40 v 1&2, Philippians 4 v 6

30. In the movie Starter for Ten…

Brian has blown it big time, making a huge public fools of himself. He wants to give up, stay at home and hide. But his mum tells him that the people who care about him don’t mind if he makes mistakes, they want to know what he will do next.

Luke 22 vv 31-32

29. In the movie Flushed Away…

Roddy and Rita are running from the bad guys. Rita coolly leaps from drainpipe to drainpipe to escape. But Roddy is not so cool. He jumps and everything goes wrong. He bashes every bit of himself in his catastrophic attempts to follow but still he gets up and carries on.

2 Corinthians 4 vv 7-9

28. In the movie Amazing Grace…

William Wilberforce hosts a dinner party but does not know all his guests.  In their discussion over the meal they tell him: ‘We understand that you’re having problems choosing whether to do the work of God, or the work of a political activist, we humbly suggest you can do both.’

Psalm 45 v 4, Isaiah 61 v 1

27. In the movie Bobby…

Samantha is insecure about herself, often comparing herself to others. When she asks her husband Jack which of the Kennedy wives she’s most like, Jackie or Ethel, he replies, ‘When do you feel like Samantha? You’re more than the designer dress on your back… or the shoes on your feet.’

1 John 3 v 1, Ephesians 1 v 4

 

26. In the movie The Adjustment Bureau…

David Norris stumbles upon another reality. He discovers that other forces are at work, influencing his life and he never knew it. He has plans, but so do others, and one day he walks into a room and ‘sees behind a curtain that he was never supposed to know existed.’

Jeremiah 29 v 11

25. In the movie Love Actually…

The Prime Minister is looking for the one he loves.  He walks from door to door ringing the bells and knocking. Everyone is taken aback and it takes them a few moments to recognise him. A group of little girls get him to sing carols while they dance.  Unexpected encounters.

Revelation 3 v 20

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24. In the movie The World’s Fastest Indian…

Burt races against the local young guys on his old Indian Scout motorbike. They line up on the beach and the others zoom away, but Burt struggles to start. However his friends push him off  and he soon powers past them. Then disaster. He corners too fast and crashes out.

Hebrews 12 v 1, 2 Corinthians 4 vv 7-9

23. In the movie The Mission…

Rodrigo is haunted after killing his brother. Gabriel tells him to haul the armour and weaponry of his slavetrading up a waterfall, as a symbol of his guilt. At the top the local people he has been enslaving cut him free. He laughs and cries as his guilt falls away.

Psalm 124 v 7, Isaiah 6 vv 5-8, Luke 7 vv 47&48

22. In the movie Pretty Woman…

Richard arrives in a  limousine to rescue Vivian. When he asks her what a girl rescued by a knight does, she replies, ‘She rescues him right back…’ However, he is a powerful buisnessman, she is a poor prostitute, they come from two different worlds. This will take some working out…

Isaiah 55 vv 8&9

21. In the movie The Dark Knight…

Batman flees Gotham after battling Harvey Dent. He realises he cannot be the hero that the people want. Instead he must become the villain, take the blame for the destruction in the city. That means they’ll hunt him, set the dogs on him, make out he did all those crimes.

Isaiah 53 v 3

20. In the movie French Kiss…

Luc takes Kate home to meet his family. But he warns her – they hate him. He ran away after gambling away his inheritance and sleeping with his bother’s wife. No one wants him here anymore.  As they near the home an old man appears, throws his arms wide and smiles.

Luke 15 vv 17-20

19. In the movie The Boat That Rocked…

Carl is heartbroken and his friends don’t know what to do. They bring him a  cup of tea and a plate of biscuits. He doesn’t touch any of it. They sit next to him and start drinking the tea. They eat the biscuits. Eventually Carl gives in and joins them.

Galatians 6 v 2

18. In the movie Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events…

Aunt Josephine lives in an old house built precariously on the edge of a massive clifftop. Supported by little more than dilapidated wooden struts, it is ill equipped to face any storms. When the weather turns seriously violent it is ripped apart and bit by bit falls into the sea.

Matthew 7 vv 24-27

17. In the movie The Straight Story…

Alvin Straight drives a ride on mower across America to meet up with his brother. On his way he meets a minister and explains that he and his brother Lyle were close growing up, but not now. Anger and vanity drove them apart he says. Just like Cain and Abel…

Genesis 4 vv 6-8. Genesis 33 vv 1-4

16. In the movie Pulp Fiction…

Jules and Vincent discuss miracles over breakfast. Jules is convinced he has just experienced one, having been shot at at point blank range and survived. And having experienced this he is convinced he cannot be the same. He has felt the hand of God and he must be different now.

John 6 v 26
(Word of caution – there is bad language in this clip)

15.  In the movie The Green Mile…

Convict John visits the sick wife of one of his prison guards. He approaches her bed, tells her not to be afraid. He places his mouth to hers, something strange happens. The house shakes. Lights flicker. She opens her eyes, her face is calm, she smiles. Her husband breaks down.

2 Kings 4 vv 32-35

14. In the movie Regarding Henry…

Henry’s friend Bradley has bad knees, but he doesn’t mind. He tells Henry he wrecked his knees playing college football, and then decided to become a nurse because of the nurse that helped rehabilitate him. Now he helps injured people like Henry to walk and talk and rebuild their lives.

2 Corinthians 1 v 4. 2 Corinthians 12 vv 8&9

13. In the movie This Year’s Love…

Danny and Anna have split up but still love each other. Danny marches into the supermarket where Alice works and says, ‘What does love mean? I care about you. I need you. You care for somebody more than you care for yourself. You risk losing all you’ve fought to gain…’

1 Corinthians 13 vv 4-7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhxG7E1vXX0

12. In the movie Dead Poets Society…

Mr Keating takes his class outside and asks three of them to walk around. They fall into line with each other and the others clap in time. ‘Find your own walk,’ Mr Keating says, ‘and if you others thought you would have walked differently, ask yourselves why you were clapping.’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnAyr0kWRGE
Psalm 139 v 14

11. In the movie Borat…

Borat is invited to a posh dinner party. During the meal there is a knock at the door. Borat answers it and greets a woman called Lunelle on the doorstep. He has invited her along. She’s a prostitute, and her presence embarrasses the others who make excuses and start leaving.

Luke 7 vv 36-50

10. In the movie Gladiator…

Maximus loses everything, is sold into slavery, and trained as a gladiator. In one of the staged battles he tells the rest of the fighters to stick together in the arena. ‘Whatever comes out of these gates,’ he says, ‘we have a better chance of survival if we work together.’

1 Corinthians 12 vv 12&27

9. In the movie The Company Men…

Bobby Walker loses his well paid job with GTX. After going for countless job interviews and getting nothing he shouts at his wife. He tells her he is a loser, a man with nothing. But she replies, ‘You have your children, you have us, you have me. You have me!’

Ecclesiastes 4 v 12

8. In the movie To The Wonder…

Father Quintana’s faith is in crisis, where should he find God now? He feels lost. As he travels round his community, meeting the poor and the lonely and the overlooked, he quietly recites a prayer in his mind. ‘Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ above me, Christ below me…’

Matthew 25 vv 37-40

7. In the movie The Hobbit:An Unexpected Journey…

When Galdriel asks Gandalf why he has brought Bilbo on the quest, he replies,
‘Saruman believes it’s only great power that can hold evil in check, but… I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay… small acts of kindness and love.’
Ephresians 5 v 16

6. In the movie Man on Fire…

Creasey is a bodyguard protecting the young Lupita. When she is kidnapped and murdered Creasey vows to kill all those invlovled. However he discovers that Lupita is still alive, and the kidnbappers offer Creasey a solution. He must give himself up for the girl, and exchange his life for Lupita’s.

Mark 10 v 45

5. In the movie Layer Cake…

Cocaine dealer XXXX discovers his boss is a police informant. XXXX shoots him, burns the clothes he is wearing and takes a long shower. However, he is haunted by what he has done. He tries alcohol, pills and movies to distract him but nothing works. His crimes plague his conscience…

Psalm 51

4. In the movie Cinderella Man…

Jim Braddock and his family are poor, living in one room. At breakfast their daughter asks for seconds, but they only have enough for one portion each. Jim starts telling her about a feast he ate in his dream, then gives her his breakfast – too full to eat it.

Matthew 7 vv 9-11

3. In the movie Paris Texas…

Drifter Travis arrives at a peep-show parlour, where girls please customers who sit on the other side of a glass screen. Travis hides his identity and asks the girl for no favours, instead telling her a story. She gradually realises he is her husband. He’s come to win her back.

Ezekiel 16

2. In the movie Shrek Forever After…

The evil Rumplestiltskin has tricked Shrek to gain power in Far Far Away. Plus he has kidnapped Fiona. Shrek knows that the power is in his hands to save her, so he does the one thing he can. He gives himself up and surrenders his life to set Fiona free.

Isaiah 53 v 5

1. In the movie Invictus…

When Nelson Mandela becomes president he is short of bodyguards so enlists the help of white policemen.
When one of the black bodyguards complains Mandela tells him that he wants his bodyguard represented by blacks and whites. ‘When people see my bodyguards they see me,’ he says, ‘forgiveness starts here.’

John 13 vv 34 & 35

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