Posts in Film & TV
Why Amazon Prime’s ‘House of David’ Series May Be Even Better Than ‘The Chosen’

(REVIEW) The show impressively manages the difficult task of being a sword-and-sandals adventure fantasy that balances the needs of a faith-based and action-adventure audience. The story of David and Israel’s relationship with God is front and center, and the story creates a world that feels grounded, while still existing among giants and magic as relayed in the Hebrew Bible (Christian Old Testament). The action is good while keeping itself PG-13, and the story is exciting while keeping it faithful to the Biblical themes.

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Stephen King’s Adaptation Of ‘The Monkey’ Serves Up An Existentialist Anti-Faith Film

(REVIEW) When the characters discover the monkey can kill people, they start trying to figure out how it works, to discover its rules so they can play the game and win. But the monkey doesn’t have rules. The characters who cause the suffering in this movie are the ones who try to impose order and meaning on these meaningless death. And it’s when characters accept death and its pointless randomness that the carnage stops and reconciliation occurs. 

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‘The Unbreakable Boy’ Reveals Itself A Beautiful Film Weighed Down By Weak Genre Tropes

(REVIEW) The film’s best elements still chaff under faith-based genre tropes. The genre that Kingdom Story Company has conquered so successfully is built on an audience that highly prizes good messages and family friendliness. Both of these are good things. But that has often rewarded tropes that work against the genre being both truthful or beautiful. These have often become more noticeable as the quality of the movies have otherwise improved.

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‘Rule Breakers’ Could Have Stood to Break Even More Rules In This Formulaic Drama

(REVIEW) The film follows Roya Mahboob, an Afghan woman whose passion in life is giving young girls a chance at a better life by teaching them computer programming. She decides that the only way to gain popular support for her endeavors in a patriarchal society is to start a women’s robotics team and win global competitions. But this will be harder and more dangerous than she suspects. It may go without saying, but the movie has a worthy message based on inspiring real-life people.

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‘Conclave’: Is It Anti-Catholic Propaganda Or An Oscar-Worthy Film?

(ANALYSIS) Easily the biggest religious controversy at this year’s Academy Awards is with the movie “Conclave.” The film, based on the best-selling novel by Robert Harris and starring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, follows a cardinal named Lawrence who’s been tasked with running the selection of a new pope. But Lawrence’s faith is challenged when he uncovers secrets at the Vatican.

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‘No Address’ Film To Share Profits With Churches Fighting Homelessness

“No Address” will give half of its net profits — from the film, a companion documentary “Americans With No Address’” already streaming on several platforms, the novel “No Address” including an audiobook, a study guide and a soundtrack — to churches involved in helping the homeless who register on the film’s website. Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Ashanti joins the cast that includes Emmy Award winner Ty Pennington.

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The Gospel According To Bryan Johnson: What Does This Former Mormon Really Want?

(REVIEW) Bryan Johnson went viral several times before the recent release of his Netflix documentary “Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever.” The title says enough about his goal and the source of his virality — but his story, of course, goes deeper than his obsession with extending his lifespan. 

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‘Presence’ Offers Up Hauntingly Accurate Picture About Changing Spirituality

(REVIEW) The film also gives a fairly actuarial picture of our culture’s modern move toward the supernatural. As people are abandoning organized religion, they’re not becoming secular, but embracing “new age spirituality” — with beliefs in some kind of God and/or spirits and various occult or folk methods of connecting with them.  This is particularly true of young women.

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‘Brave The Dark’ A Film That Puts The Spotlight On America’s Growing Boy Crisis

(REVIEW) “Brave the Dark” is easily the best movie the faith-based film industry has released about the struggles of young men. It’s by far the best Angel Studios movie to date. There’s a major gender shift happening in American Christianity. Church pews have largely been filled by women, even as the pulpits were dominated by men. Women are abandoning church and men are starting to flock to it.

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‘Between Borders’ A Moving Refugee Story About Christianity Deserved Better Storytelling

(REVIEW) “Between Borders” is a timely film that shows the resilience of refugee families, along with the greatness of Christianity and America. Sadly, mediocre storytelling saps it of its emotional power. One might have noticed that immigration is a hot topic in Christian circles these days. It should be no surprise then that faith-based films have increasingly turned to the topic of immigration.

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‘Prevail Without Selling Your Soul’: Why ‘The Brutalist’ Resonated So Deeply With Me

(OPINION) It is seldom that one enters a film that resonates with one own’s life. For me, “The Brutalist” is such a film. It combines the themes of the Holocaust, Israel, immigration, capitalism, architecture, and the struggles to make sense of it all. The film depicts a successful Bauhaus-trained Hungarian architect who reaches the shores of America after his incarceration in concentration camps.

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‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Highlights The Popularity Of Korean Shamanism

The second season of the global streaming sensation “Squid Game” introduced viewers to several new characters. One of the most intriguing has been Player 044 due to her strong religious beliefs. Player 044 is a shaman whose role was to curse others and deliver prophecies as the players moved from one deadly game to another.

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Why ‘Nosferatu’ Represents A Hollow Love Letter To Pre-Modern Enchantment

“Nosferatu” shares many of the strengths of the rest of Robert Eggers' work. The filmmaking craft on display is undeniable. The camera lingers on the screen away from showing all of Nosferatu almost as if the camera itself is scared of him. The production design completely transports you into the world of the 18th century. Nonetheless, this is a film that has issues.

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Denzel Washington Baptized And Receives Minister’s License: ‘It Took A While, But I’m Here’

Movie star Denzel Washington has taken on a new role after he received his minister’s license at a church service in New York. The actor, most recently known for his part in “Gladiator II,” was also baptized. Washington, 69, celebrated the milestone in his faith at Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ. The church is affiliated with the Pentecostal Church of God in Christ denomination.

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Looking Back At 2024: Ranking The Top 10 Faith-Based Movies Of The Year

(ANALYSIS) Here we are, doing a top ten list of faith-based films for 2024. It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since “The Passion of The Christ” helped launch the modern era of faith-based films. Since then, such movies have gone from a mostly-mocked niche genre to one that has entered the mainstream. Here’s what made the top 10 list in 2024.

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Why ‘The War Of The Rohirrim’ And Its Agnostic ‘LOTR’ Anime Just Doesn’t Work

(ANALYSIS) The news cycle hasn’t been kind to “Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim.” The film made headlines as the lowest-grossing (and worst-reviewed) entry in the Peter Jackson series. The film made $5 million on its opening weekend, finishing fifth at the box office and earning a 52% on Rotten Tomatoes. But none of it really matters because the point of this movie was never this movie. Let me explain.

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How Christmas Movies Have Dramatically Changed Over The Last 20 Years

(ANALYSIS) Changes in the film industry, and the changing demographics of family life in America, mean we’re likely to see a more movies in the future that are focused on faith. You might say the future of Christmas films is very much faith-based. One of the most fascinating things is the collapse of the Christmas movie and the rise of the faith-based genre happened around the same time.

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Netflix’s New Biblical ‘Mary’ Biopic A Reverent Disappointment

(REVIEW) Netflix has put out a movie about the life of Mary just in time for Christmas. For those who want a modern retelling of Mary and the Christmas story that lives up to its potential, “Mary” is sure to disappoint. For those who simply want to enjoy a reverent take on the Christmas story that has a place at the table in a world of endless secular content, this might be just what the angels ordered.

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How A Male-Dominant Church Could Save Faith-Based Films In The Future

(ANALYSIS) The genre faces a demographic cliff. The market for faith-based films has always been driven by Christian moms. And as I wrote last year, with fewer women getting married and having kids (and single women increasingly leaving Christianity), that market is inevitably going to shrink. A big shift may actually save the long-term future of faith-based films: The rise of a more masculine American church.

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Why Is The Latest Movie On The Life Of Jesus About, uh, Mixed Martial Arts?

Unlike “The Chosen,” which spends a lot of time on the Jewish rituals that shaped Jesus’ life and that of his followers, “The Carpenter” makes no attempts to authentically portray life and practices in ancient Israel. It doesn’t even portray biblical events. The two plot lines — Oren’s journey to the Jerusalem competition and Yeshua’s serenely intoned life lessons — have seemingly nothing to do with each other.

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