Monday, December 4, 2017

Day 4 - Love thy neighbor.

December 1 thru December 25 I am posting about movies which reflect each day's focus for #LightTheWorld.

Day 4

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:39)


There are plenty of movie options fitting today's focus since a "neighbor" can be anyone who crosses our path (or even lives half way around the world), so to narrow it down, I've selected some films with main characters who live next door to each other or in the same neighborhood.

I've moved a lot in my lifetime. And I mean a lot. As a frequent new-kid-on-the-block, I appreciated friendly neighbors who included me in their activities, so I have a warm spot in my heart for Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) in The Sandlot (1993). He befriends Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) and invites him to play baseball. Scotty has a lot to learn about the sport (Babe Ruth is not a female!) and s'mores ("You're killing me Smalls!"), but the friendship among the sandlot team is legendary.

YouTube Movies Trailer: The Sandlot

In The Mighty (1998), Kevin (Kieran Culkin) moves next door to Maxwell (Elden Henson). Both are considered freaks by their classmates... Kevin, for his disabled body, and Maxwell, who towers over his classmates, is teased for flunking 7th grade--twice. Although they share a fence, they don't find common ground until the two combine their strengths--Kevin's intelligence with Maxwell's size. Says Kevin, "Think of it as a business partnership: you need brains, and I need legs--and the Wizard of Oz doesn't live in South Cincinnati."

MovieClips Trailer: The Mighty

On a lighter side, Marty, Alex, Melman, and Gloria live in the same neighborhood--the New York Central Park Zoo. Their friendship is put to the test when they end up in Madagascar among some quirky new neighbors! (Madagascar, 2005)

Trailer: Madagascar

Speaking of new neighbors, we live in a condo complex and two units near us changed owners this year. Today I will give service to our new neighbors and extend an invitation to a Christmas party.

Do you have friendly neighbors? Does your neighborhood have any traditions?

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2 comments:

  1. Sandlot! That's perfect. And I love that you included Madagascar. I wouldn't have thought of that one! And I still need to watch The Mighty. ☺ It sounds good!

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    1. I had never heard of The Mighty until I read about it in Leonard Maltin's "151 Best Movies You've Never Seen". I'm glad I watched it. Great story.

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