At the seminary's faculty retreat in August, some of the other Pastoral Ministries profs and I swapped movie recommendations. I was told I must see "The Painted Veil" and "The Bucket List." So we loaded them into our Netflix queue, and in the past few weeks we've viewed both.

Each has moments of stunning cinematography, but the moral premise in each case is what ultimately left us with a sense of profound appreciation. The first is a story of sin and redemption; the second is about things that truly matter. In both cases we appreciated that the stories elevated long-term commitment over short-term pleasure, something we don't always see from Hollywood. These aren't movies for little kids. But for grown-ups, they make for some great weekend viewing and contemplation.