The movies are presented in alphabetical order to aid the solver, and no ordering mechanism is required. As suggested by the flavortext, the roles, and in particular the first names, are relevant:
THE BIG SLEEP (1946) PHILIP MARLOWE (Humphrey Bogart) THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) JOHN BENDER (Judd Nelson) DEMOLITION MAN (1993) SIMON PHOENIX (Wesley Snipes) DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE (1995) SIMON PETER GRUBER (Jeremy Irons) GRAVITY (2013) MATTHEW "MATT" KOWALSKI (George Clooney) LINCOLN (2012) THADDEUS STEVENS (Tommy Lee Jones) MONSTERSm INC. (2001) JAMES "SULLEY" SULLIVAN (John Goodman) MY GIRL (1991) THOMAS SENNETT (Macaulay Culkin) PHILADELPHIA (1993) ANDREW BECKETT (Tom Hanks) THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (2007) BARTHOLOMEW JOJO SIMPSON (Nancy Cartwright) STAR TREK (2009) (YOUNG) JAMES TIBERIUS KIRK (James Bennett) TOTAL RECALL (2012) MATTHIAS (Bill Nighy)
So what's going on here? The author went for something a bit different - rather than give you structure and order with an answer phrase, the solution is wholly associative in nature.
The first names of this cast of characters are each shared with one of the twelve apostles. Those who know their scripture will recognize that Judas was replaced by Matthias here, as he was in the Book of Acts.
As the flavor asks: who had the stage presence to lead the ensemble?
JESUS is the answer. (isn't Jesus always the answer?)