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The Fourth of July is a time to remember all those who came before us and how they made an impact on the nation we live in today. It is a time to be with family and enjoy the freedom that we now exercise. And family time is often movie time! So here are some of the best movies for July 4th to enjoy as a family.
1. Something To Stand For
2. Beyond The Mask
3. National Treasure
4. The Patriot
BONUS: Disney Short "Ben & Me"
Love of country is a virtue after all and these films are ones that we have often enjoyed as a family that celebrate the brave men who made our nation everything that it is.
So enjoy!
I usually don’t like documentaries but this was an absolute exception!
The humorous retelling of stories from our country’s past through great visual as well as verbal storytelling was fantastic and I felt truly emanated Mike Rowe’s personality.
Mike says that he based his stories on some of his favorites from his podcast and now book, The Way I Heard It.
In this docudrama, Mike tells each story accompanied by actors preforming the scene.
But this isn't just an interesting historical piece, it also has a bit of mystery involved as the names of the characters are not revealed until the end of each story and sometimes they are also shown in times completely different from how we are used to seeing them.
This fact makes the film a great watch for the whole family as each viewer tries to piece together which American hero the story is about as they watch and listen. But the entire film is not completely storytelling as there are small breaks where Mike goes to interview the heroes of our times as well as visit the great memorials in The National Mall.
The intent I felt was to raise awareness about our country's heroes. The men discussed in the film were certainly less than perfect, but we can all still acknowledge the heroic things they did for our country.
And this is a fact that Mike Rowe even mentioned in the movie. He ensures that his audience understands that he knows these men were fallen creatures like the rest of us, but that he also knows that it is important for our children to acknowledge the great feats these men accomplished.
Overall, the film reminded me of the Johnny Cash song, Ragged Old Flag. It was a great and concise testimony of our nation's heroes with a powerful telling of their stories. My mom made all of my younger brothers and sisters watch it and they were absolutely spellbound listening to the stories!
My honest thoughts as a filmmaker: It was indeed a daring storytelling venture to tell the stories in the wrong time periods and using lip-syncing, but I think it worked very well.
Plus, Mike used stories that were not obvious. Instead he chose stories that are largely untold like the one about the time that a giant of a man was challenged to a duel over something he wrote in a paper by a man much less physically impressive than himself.
Allow me one more word: Mike Rowe is a redneck (as the best people are!) That being said, there are a few rather strong redneck ideas and words used in the film. Like there is a story that completely revolves around castrating the bulls after which the characters enjoy a few "shiskaballs". Some may find this crude.
So watch it this year with your family in theaters because this film holds its own in the best movies for July 4th!
A grown child should have independence from its mother, and for that mother to hold its child against its conscience, against its will—is that not tyranny?
William Reynolds (Andrew Cheney) has spent most of his adult life working as a mercenary under Charles Kemp (John Rhys-Davies) for the East India Trading Company.
But he's done.
He is ready to take a good portion and retire far from the danger involved in his current job.
His employer, on the other hand, is not as ready to let him go as Will is to leave. He sees Will's "talent" for the work and wants to take advantage of it as long as possible.
When he meets with Will's determination to retire, he hires another mercenary to assassinate him.
After the assassination is reported to be accomplished, Charles Kemp puts the blame of all the crimes of the East India Trading Company on the name of Will Reynolds.
But William escapes. A clergyman is instead killed and Will takes his place to become parson of a small town church. There he meets an innocent and good young woman and finds himself quickly falling in love with her.
He knows his own name is held in abhorrence by all upstanding Englishmen and keeps up a pretense of being the murdered clergyman. Through a twist of fate, Charles Kemp discovers that he is still alive and Will is forced to flee England.
He goes to America, where the promise of a new life and Benjamin Franklin take him in and Will thinks that he can bury his entire past. Once again, he uses another man's name to hide his true identity. Still trouble catches up with him and Charles Kemp is once again on his trail.
Will knows that the girl he loves is never to be won if he is still the man he was in England. In order to remedy his past life, Will now does all in his power to protect and defend the victims of Charles Kemp's new schemes. To escape identification, he wears a mask as he preforms his daring acts.
Through his new life, he hopes that he can become a man worthy of the girl he loves. But can he escape the blame of his past life and still have a life worth living with her?
Points to Consider: This is a clean romance so there are a few kisses. They are not prolonged or uncomfortably passionate however.
Will is in the role of a "clergyman" and is having a romance with the girl in the story.
A brief discussion on the differences between Catholic clerical celibacy and Protestant understandings of clergymen's roles will help children understand why this is allowed.
I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence.
Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) has spent his entire life dreaming of and searching for the buried treasure of the Knights Templar who, according to legend, attempted to hide their treasure on U.S. soil.
The last clue to this treasure was given to one of Ben's ancestors by Charles Carroll before his death.
Ben considers it his life mission to find the treasure to prove that his family is not a bunch of nut jobs who are insistent that there is a vast buried treasure.
The clue Ben is left with is: The secret lies with Charlotte. After unexplained searching, he finds the place where a great ship is buried, The Charlotte. The moment has finally come when he can defend his family's name and find that treasure.
But the treasure is not there, only another clue.
Ben runs into a big problem when he discovers that the only men who do believe him turn out to be mercenaries not really wanting to help him but rather intent on getting their hands on the treasure.
His disappointment in finding nothing but a clue in The Charlotte leads to a disagreement on how to proceed ending in the mercenaries trying to kill him and his friend, Riley, and taking off, content to continue the search without him.
It is now a race to discover and follow the clues before the mercenary bunch can keep up. Their next clue is hidden behind the Declaration of Independence, and Ben needs to steal it and restore it before his competitors steal it and destroy it.
Standing in his path is a historian stationed where the Declaration is kept on display. Ben starts by asking this woman, Abigail Chase, if she could arrange to let him look at the Declaration of Independence. She refuses to help him, resulting in his breaking in and stealing it.
When she finds out, she chases him and becomes also entangled in the battle between him and the mercenaries, helping him against her will until she believes in his cause and starts helping him for real.
The clues continue to lead from one to another and Ben is left chasing them, but is the treasure real and will he find it before his enemies do?
This movie is fun to watch because of how much it is immersed in American history and our heritage. It is an action and adventure which, although very serious, resorts to many lighthearted moments, making it very entertaining.
And, of course, I had to include it on my best movies for July 4th because of the references to the Liberty Bell, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and our nation's roots.
Points to Consider: It is an undeniable truth that our country was founded by Masonic men. That being said, this movie does refer to many Masonic symbols and beliefs. The clues are all very embedded in Masonry.
In the beginning, the last survivor of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence is Charles Carroll and he is the one who passes off the last clue. He is portrayed as being a Mason here. We, of course, know that this cannot be true because he was, in fact, a strong Catholic.
Although it is not the case, when Ben goes to his dad, tells him he is in trouble, and has a woman with him, the first thing his dad asks is "Is she pregnant?" This is quickly denied, but it is in the film.
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The war will be here, among our homes. Our children will learn of it with their own eyes.
After fighting in the French and Indian War, Ben Martin (Mel Gibson) wants nothing more to do with war. He committed a crime that he is too ashamed to tell anyone even his own children.
So he avoids anything that reminds him of it, especially combat.
When the first rumblings of the American War for Independence are heard, he tries his best to stay away, thinking it his duty as a widower to be with his children instead of fighting. His oldest son Gabriel, on the other hand, is of a very different opinion.
Ben has lost his wife, now all he can do is keep as good of a hold as possible on his children. When both his older boys want to fight with the Americans against the British, Ben is completely opposed.
Just as he predicts, the war comes right into his backyard, until he can no longer stay out of it. When Colonel Tavington of the British Army kills one of his boys, Ben snaps and joins the American forces with a vengeance.
Ben learns that the tactics that helped win the war against the French are viewed with disgust by some of the other soldiers, especially his son Gabriel, which is why he didn’t want to join the war to begin with. He struggles with his temper and keeping his fighting tactics moral, but gives his all to resist both for the sake of his son.
This film is the touching story of a man who gives all he has for his family and country, an inspiring film for mature audiences.
Points to Consider: This film is definitely made for mature audiences as it is quite violent, including images of somebody being hacked to pieces. Ben has a very hot temper which gets the best of him and he takes it too far. Not a family-friendly film, but definitely worth watching for a group of teenagers or adults.
It is also quite sad, so not for sensitive audiences.
On another note, it is a romance with kissing.
From a morality point of view, it is a little something to think about that Ben, being widowed, is in love with his wife's sister, a relationship condemned by the Catholic Church.
Although nothing comes of it, there is also a scene where a young man is visiting the girl he likes and her mother sews him into a burlap bag so that they can be alone together with the mother feeling peace of mind.
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For it was Amos who was really responsible for great deeds that tributed to Benjamin Franklin. And here's the proof in his own words.
I remember fondly this sweet little short about Benjamin Franklin and his little friend, Amos, in which the two experiment together and make some of the greatest discoveries in science.
Meanwhile, however, the American colonies are in an uproar and trying their best to shake free of the restraints placed on them by the British.
Ben and Amos find themselves caught in the middle and Amos plays his own role when Thomas Jefferson needs help with the beginning of his Declaration of Independence.
A cute and memorable short film that I had to add to this list of best movies for July 4th.
Check out our best movies for July 4th runners up:
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