Summer is drawing to a close, and looking back on things I enjoyed over the past few months, I remember these with particular fondness: golfing, walks on warm summer nights, swimming in our lake, out of town guests, strolls on our downtown boardwalk listening to several bands, and… MOVIE NIGHTS!
Okay, movies aren’t restricted to summers, but around Christmas and summer holidays, you can generally look forward to a few great movies arriving. This summer, I enjoyed Divergent, Train Your Dragon 2, Guardians of The Galaxy (yes, I’m a bit of a sci/fi fan), The Fault in Our Stars, and am looking forward to seeing The Hundred-Foot Journey.
But is it just me, or are Christian movies gaining popularity?
When Heaven is for Real arrived, I scooted out and took my mom to see it on its first weekend, concerned it would only last a couple weeks at most. But SURPRISE! The movie was in our town for over a month, and the second time I went three weeks after its opening (yes, I do go see movies a second time if they’re good) the theatre was still more than half full! SHOCKING! But very encouraging!
Now, the movie, Noah, was surrounded by much controversy, as it really didn’t follow what many consider biblical fact. But to be fair, the movie was based upon only a very short part of the bible: Genesis 6 – 8. So there was a lot of ‘artistic license’ used to pad the story and fill 2 hours. When I went with my minister and a few friends to see it, I was prepared for an aftermath of heated words against the producers, directors, screenplay writers, characters, and anyone else connected to the movie. Imagine my awestruck wonder when my minister LOVED it! His comment was that Noah kept to biblical principles and themes, and was a good ‘ride’.
Next up, will be Exodus; Gods and Kings. With actors and actresses like Christian Bale, Sigourney Weaver, and Ben Kingsley, and director Ridley Scott (Aliens), my ears are in a full-up-perk.
But even if these movies tank, which they haven’t so far, the whole idea that religious movies are starting to take center stage is exciting. For so long, any movie that had even a sniff of Christian content, would rarely make it to the big screen, (The Passion of the Christ being one of the exceptions of course).
I remember when a bus cruised through our town sporting the words “There’s probably no God, so stop worrying and enjoy.” I was appalled to say the very least, however a minister was quoted saying “When the subject of God enters conversations for any reason, it’s all good. These words on the bus started a dialogue.” Which was true, it certainly did!
So what is your opinion on the latest religious movies? Have you seen them? Did you like them? Were there any others you enjoyed over the summer?
The Scriblerians 
I haven’t seen any of them but to be fair, I’ve seen almost nothing this year. We’re just too busy (& too poor after buying a house!) for movie theaters not to mention when we do go, it’s usually something the kiddo will enjoy, too. We rarely even rent dvds lately, waiting for the rare new movie to hit Netflix most of the time. I do desperately want to see The Hundred-Foot Journey as cultural-conflicts are one of my favorite subjects. But I’m betting I’ll end up waiting for dvd or, at least, for it to hit the cheap-seats as I have a free ticket there I’ve been saving!
I’m not sure how I feel about the liberties taken with Biblical content in certain movies. While I appreciate the dialogue it opens, I think my appreciation of the content depends on the specific liberties and the intentions behind them. Noah had a lot that I thought was unnecessary. But I really liked the way things were done in The Bible mini-series. Especially Sodom and Gomorrah – I can see people being inspired to read the Bible after watching that!
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I’m with you on the ‘artistic license’ on Noah. That’s why I was shocked my minister liked it. I feel there may have been a bit too much sci/fi used to cater towards what the director felt would be accepted. I didn’t see the mini series. What part of the bible did it cover?
If you like cultural movies, we found Water to be intriguing and also shocking. Its about a 7 year old Indian widow (she was betrothed but had never met her husband) who is forced to live out her life in seclusion with all the other widows (they are only considered half a person if their husband dies). You can rent it.
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I only saw halfway through the 4th episode before my husband accidentally cleared the DVR. The first episode started on the ark with Noah telling the story of Eden to his family. Events are covered pretty quickly – the first episode ended with Moses fleeing into the wilderness. The second episode covered the exodus and wandering in the wilderness and ended with spies in Jericho. The 3rd covered Jericho and the story of Samson. The 4th is the stories of Saul, David & Solomon.
Water sounds very interesting. I recently saw Arranged and thought it was excellent. 🙂
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What is the mini series called? I’ll look it up. Arranged looks good too. Did you see Memoirs of a Geisha? Excellent movie as well.
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It’s called “The Bible” – they really scratched their heads for that name. 😉
Yes – I both saw and read Memoirs. I didn’t like it but I found it very interesting – you know what I mean?
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Ha ha, The Bible, how imaginative! Yes I do know what you mean. I saw Shindler’s List, and a few other more graphic wartime movies. I didn’t like them, but they were interesting. Things I do for my husband! 🙂
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I really enjoyed God’s Not Dead too. 🙂
I’ve heard some really scary things about the agenda of Noah’s writer, but I haven’t seen the movie yet myself.
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Lisa, I’d like to hear what you heard! I really wanted to see God’s Not Dead. It sure wasn’t at the theatre for very long!
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Watched Heaven is For Real last night. I for one firmly believe the happenings portrayed in the movie. I was however somewhat disappointed in the “hokeyness” of the movie. It’s hard to put into words, but too often Christian films have a look and feel about them that seems hokey or homemade. Might very well have to do with the amount of money available for production. Anyway, I’m glad I saw it and plan also to see God is not dead. Do not plan to see Noah.
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I do think that many of the characters, and occurrences of Heaven’s for Real were exaggerated to ‘enhance’ the movie and story. Like you, I don’t like it when that happens, but even so, I’m glad that the story has been so widely accepted both in book-form and movie. The book was a bit more realistic from the character’s stand point. The little boy in the movie was phenomenal though! I will see God in Not Dead too.
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