Movie Reviews

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The following overview lists all movie reviews elaborated by this ministry since the year 2023.
The previous groundwork for those reviews is found in the section 'Discernment', and problematic terms, teachings and teachers are directly linked to the respective discernment, while specific theology is linked to the respective study of this ministry.

Alphabetical List

1 Message, by Jefferson Moore (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 24/08/2024)
American Gospel: Christ Alone (2018), by Brandon Kimber (5 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 01/01/2024)
Apostle Peter and the Last Supper (2012), by Gabriel Sabloff (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 20/07/2024)
The Ark and the Darkness (2024), by Ralph Strean (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 20/03/2024)
Because of Grácia (2017), by Tom Simes (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 27/07/2024)
Behind the Sun (1995), by Robin B. Armstrong (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 28/07/2024)
Blessed and Cursed (2010), by Joel Kapity (5 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 14/01/2024)
The Blind Side (2009), by John Lee Hancock (3 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 02/06/2024)
Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence (2021), by Brent L. Jones (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 01/01/2024)
The Book of Daniel (2013), by Anna Zielinski (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 14/07/2024)
Break Every Chain (2021), by Tim Searfoss (3 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 17/08/2024)
Cessationist (2023), by Les Lanphere (3 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 06/07/2024)
Charge Over You (2010), by Regardt Steenekamp (2 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 07/04/2024)
Chasing After You (2019), by Paige B. Alston (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 01/04/2024)
Christmas Oranges (2012), by John Lyde (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 04/01/2024)
The Chosen (2021 -), by Dallas Jenkins (2 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 12/06/2024)
Clancy (2009), by Jefferson Moore (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 11/05/2024)
The Climb (2002), by John Schmidt (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 25/05/2024)
The Coming Convergence (2017), by Brent Miller Jr. (3 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 05/05/2024)
Cult Explosion (1980), by Walter Martin (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 16/08/2024)
Dialtone (2009 Video), by Brian Lohr (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 07/04/2024)
Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors (2015), by Stephen Herek (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 07/01/2024)
The Emissary: A Biblical Epic (1997), by Robert Marcarelli (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 02/06/2024)
The Encounter (2010), by David A.R. White (5 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 19/07/2024)
Faith Happens (2016), by Rick Garside (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 10/08/2024)
Fireproof (2008), by Alex Kendrick (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 02/09/2024)
For the Glory (2012), by Donald Leow (3 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 16/07/2024)
Foundations (2021), by Brett Varvel (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 10/05/2024)
Gods at War (2012– ), by Kyle Idleman (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 02/01/2024)
God's Compass (2016), by Stephan Schultze (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 18/08/2024)
God's Not Dead, by Harold Cronk (3 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 25/08/2024)
The Healing (1983), by Russell Doughten (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 06/07/2024)
Hoovey (2015), by Sean McNamara (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 05/08/2024)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), by Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise (5 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 25/02/2024)
I Can Only Imagine (2018), by Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 04/01/2024)
An Interview with God (2018), by Perry Lang (4 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 13/04/2024)
Is Genesis History? (2017), by Thomas Purifoy (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 04/02/2024)
It's a Life Worth Living (2020), by Keith Perna (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 12/04/2024)
Jesus of Nazareth (1977), by Franco Zeffirelli (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 17/03/2024)
Joseph: King of Dreams (2000), by Rob LaDuca, Robert C. Ramirez (7 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 08/06/2024)
Late One Night (2001), by Dave Christiano (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 20/04/2024)
Life Changes Everything: Discover Zac Ryan (2017), by Corey Paul (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 16/03/2024)
Love Different (2016), by Anthony Hackett (2 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 04/08/2024)
The Man from Earth (2007), by Richard Schenkman (2 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 16/03/2024)
Marjoe (1972), by Sarah Kernochan, Howard Smith (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 16/03/2024)
Mass (2021), by Fran Kranz (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 17/03/2024)
Modern Day Miracles (2017), by Luke Broersma (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 01/01/2024)
Mountain Top (2017), by Gary Wheeler and Robert Whitlow (7 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 28/07/2024)
October Baby (2011), by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 17/08/2024)
One Night with the King (2006), by Michael O. Sajbel (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 28/01/2024)
The Perfect Stranger (2005), by Jefferson Moore (5 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 25/05/2024)
Polycarp (2015), by Joe Henline (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 30/04/2024)
Prophecies of the Passion (2005), by Wayne P. Allen (7 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 24/03/2024)
A Question of Miracles, by Antony Thomas (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 21/07/2024)
Remember the Goal (2016), by Dave Christiano (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 18/04/2024)
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (2017), by Dallas Jenkins (4 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 05/05/2024)
A Return to Grace: Luther's Life and Legacy (2017), by David Batty (2 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 17/02/2023)
Risen (2016), by Kevin Reynolds (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 10/03/2024)
Sarah's Choice (2009), by Chad Kapper (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 12/07/2024)
Seasons of Gray (2013), by Paul Stehlik Jr. (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 30/06/2024)
The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (2008), by Rich Christiano (10 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 05/08/2024)
Seven Days in Utopia (2011), by Matthew Dean Russell (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 19/05/2024)
The Soloist (2009), by Joe Wright (3 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 12/05/2024)
So, Who Is This Jesus? (1999), by Crawford Telfer (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 25/03/2024)
Stephen's Test of Faith (1998), by Stephen Yake (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 05/05/2024)
This Is Our Time (2013), by Lisa Arnold (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 10/08/2024)
Time Changer (2002), by Rich Christiano (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 06/01/2024)
Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand (7 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 06/01/2024)
Touched by Grace (2014), by Donald Leow (6 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 22/06/2024)
The Ultimate Gift (2006), by Michael O. Sajbel (7 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 25/05/2024)
Undaunted... The Early Life of Josh McDowell (2011), by Cristobal Krusen (8 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 01/04/2024)
Virtuous (2015), by Bill Rahn (4 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 29/06/2024)
The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003), by Philip Saville (9 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 15/06/2024)
Where Is My Home (2017), by Jiayun Huang, Jun Zhang (1 out of 10 stars 〣 Reviewed 31/08/2024)
Find the full list @ IMDb

1 Message, by Jefferson Moore (8*)

Highly recommended.

A good movie which shows us the enormous influence one person can have on our lives in times of crisis. One faithful brother who truly helps, no matter all the stubbornness of her who ought to receive his help. And one friend far away who is also persistent enough to overcome insults, who looks behind the hurt and decides to help, while he is indeed the one who needs help. This is the real and very biblical essence of the movie, to show us that the only way out of misery is to help others, such as the cashier or the handicapped friend. Once we help, we forget about ourselves and heal on the go.

PROS

+ Good actors, not overacting as so often seen when it comes to dramata.

+ A slow pace of the movie (which is good) and a deep dive into the crisis of Becca.

+ Beautiful theme of forgiveness between daughter - mother, and ex-partners.

NEUTRAL

- The Christian theme is not strong. The first ever hint of anything related to faith comes at minute 81: "Look at it this way - if God can forgive me for all I do, then how can I not forgive others?" The movie does not include any salvation, but at least underlying themes of Christianity.

CONS

- She is not really overweight.

- The opening scene is very annoying.

- The movie employs a quote from Eddie Rickenbacker, member of the Los Angeles Elks Lodge #99, a Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (Rites, traditions, and regalia from the Freemasons).

- One foul language 'Son of a b...'

- Sublime endorsement of the American Rep***ican party.

American Gospel: Christ Alone (2018), by Brandon Kimber (5*)

A must-watch, but requiring discernment, in order to not be drawn away from one evil into another evil.

This documentary does a good job in discerning the NAR, the Roman Catholic Church and other questionable teachers. But it requires a good portion of discernment in itself.

It rightly criticizes the Catholic emphasis on Works. But at the same time it shows a strong imbalance, and does not show any understanding of the important differentiation between 'Works of the Law' and 'Works of Faith'. It rather leads the viewer away from doing any works at all.

It shows a view Luther held in his worst days, but does not reflect that even he in his better days recognized 'Works of Faith' as necessary.

The documentary repeats over and over mantras such as 'Grace Alone' and 'Faith Alone', the latter being a popular-, but false reductionism. THEOS contributes His grace, love, mercy and JESUS' sacrifice. Our contribution to Past Salvation is to hear the Word, believe in JESUS and His resurrection, repent from being a sinner, confess with our mouth and have active faith. Present Salvation further implies sanctification, making disciples and baptizing them, obedience, discipline and self-denial by putting everything second to THEOS.

Nearly all of the speakers are Calvinists. The same behavior has been noted in many books by that group, when a cult-like mentality is applied by exclusively selecting / endorsing Calvinist interview partners. A documentary on discernment should be balanced. Their attack on the RCC is also not credible and more of an effort in order to distract from their common patriarch, Augustine.

Apostle Peter and the Last Supper (2012), by Gabriel Sabloff (6*)

A good movie depicting how the Apostle Peter might have died and how he looked back on the NT.

What can I say? It is a great Christian movie, made by secular people. It is indeed surprising how a director, who promotes artwork on his very own website which is clearly satanic, has the motivation for such a movie.

Does a director of a Christian movie need to be Christian? No, he doesn't, but it is hypocrisy to do something just for the money.

Should a director of a Christian movie be a Christian? Yes, that is what makes sense.

Can a director of a Christian movie promote the other side while doing this and several other popular Christian movies? Only in America ...

PROS

+ Great depictions of an extra-biblical story, which tells in parts biblical elements. Obviously, a great creative license is taken, but the movie does not equal to an apocryphal book which someone wants to insert into the Bible.

+ It is beautiful how they portrayed Peter, without the least of fear before his death.

+ Beautiful end with the conversion of two soldiers and one's wife.

CONS

- The movie tries hard to impress through extreme tonality in voices and by excessive music.

- The satan character is certainly not what the Bible describes as a wolf in sheep's clothing. He does not come anywhere close to a 'sheep' in human terms, but is the typical Hollywood scheme to make things appear more extreme ...

- It would have been nice if they would have made at least for some scenes their way out of the LA studios and filmed in an actual setting - be it in Israel or similar.

- The prayer 'you sanctified us with your commandments' shows a fundamental lack of Bible knowledge. We might walk on the road of sanctification while obeying commandments, but we are not sanctified with commandments ...

- When the two Roman soldiers become Christians under Peter's hand (which is beautiful), smoke comes up and eastern meditation music is played. It looks and sounds more like a conversion to Buddhism, if the words would not have been different.

- Peter could have only died in Rome long after the conversion of Saul to Paul. Nevertheless the movie states at the end that they have to empty the cell for a certain 'Saul of Tarsus'. That's why unbelievers should never do a Christian movie.

The Ark and the Darkness (2024), by Ralph Strean (9*)

Overall highly recommended. A wonderful documentary and a blessing to the world.

PROS

+ Great production quality.

+ Well investigated and clearly presented facts.

+ Good selection of scholars, without the pseudo-critical injections sometimes found in other documentaries, while leaving the viewer puzzled which parts ought to be endorsed.

+ One of the few documentaries which actually teaches the Good Message (towards the end, but with precision and love).

+ Excellent argument that museums intentionally do not show e.g. dinos & ducks together, and create a twisted and more dramatized version of the whole thing.

+ It is also very important to point out that barely 40 years have passed since the new consensus had been established.

CONS

- It is probably not true that Eden was buried under hundreds of meters of material. The traditionally proposed Lower / Southern Mesopotamia lies barely at 34 meters ASL, while the Karaca Dag location in Upper Mesopotamia, discovered by Spire and this ministry in 2021, and also proposed by CMI some months later as landing site for the ark, lies still only at 498 meters ASL (plateau around the mountain; 1957 meters the mountain itself). 34 meters ASL do definitely exclude any additional layers and 498 meters do not provide much leverage. We often forget that everywhere material got added, elsewhere it needed to go. The flood stripped bare vast regions, while adding substantially to many other regions. I rather suspect by a look at the current condition, that Mesopotamia as a whole lost during the flood a significant substance (except the mountains which rose during and after the flood). Inspiration for another documentary.

- Usage of the later flood date which collides with the pyramids (2518/2348 BC versus the correct 3298 BC in the Greek OT) and 370 days duration versus the correct 360 days (equal to one year, see Rev 11:3, 13:5) provided in the Greek OT (from 27/02 until 27/02 = exactly one year, not from 17/02 until 27/02). A small detail, but a stumbling block for some unbelievers.

- I would have wished to see a little bit more on the abyss, e.g. to have a quick look at Ringwoodite, and to mention with some words the probable connection between the Pacific Ring of Fire (as localization for the underwater fissures) and the nearby Gran Canyon.

- Another very interesting point would have been the 2 great land bridges (Bering btw. Russia & US, 45 meters BSL; and Doggerland btw. Europe & GB, 35 meters BSL) which clearly existed until the flood.

Because of Grácia (2017), by Tom Simes (8*)

Great movie.

PROS

+ After the movie is relatively flat in the beginning, appearing to be just one more of the many teenage stories out there, it quickly gains momentum and quality.

+ Good defense of the creation account of the Bible.

+ Beautiful example what it means to stand up for the Christian faith and to be firm in it, no matter the opposition.

+ Great example of emotional and spiritual support of Gracia for Amy.

+ Faithful example of the couple to wait until marriage - very beautiful images at the end of the movie.

+ Very good actors.

CONS

- The movie does not show any effort of Amy to get together again with the father of the child. It is beautiful to celebrate a newborn, but it is tragic that this movie simply shows a break-up of two sentences over the phone and simply treats it as sidenote that the child will grow up fatherless.

- Ben Davies was a better fit in his role in 'I'm Not Ashamed'. It was not the best fit for him to play a teacher.

- It was certainly not wise to endorse Socrates in a Christian movie.

Behind the Sun (1995), by Robin B. Armstrong (10*)

Excellent (short) film.

This movie shows in an impressive manner the totally different tolerance levels we encounter in different countries and religions. While it is unthinkable in most countries that the possession of a religious book could cause the death of a family member, this sadly is still reality today in some countries, almost 30 years after the production of this excellent and very impressive movie.

But as the Bible already says, JESUS did not come to bring peace in the first instance, but to divide between good and evil. Nowhere becomes this division more obvious than in the Middle East, which is still widely oppressed by those who do not accept THEOS.

What a surprising and great end of the movie. Highly recommended.

Blessed and Cursed (2010), by Joel Kapity (5*)

A mixed bag.

This movie is hard to review.

Did it draw me closer to THEOS or inspire me to serve more in church? Sadly not.

It is too worldly, showing a church which is rather a club than a church. A church which is rather a business, with its elders being rich and condescending to people under their responsibility. Of course part of it was intentional, to show how the star made his way through those obstacles. But there is little to no holiness and the wording 'oh you are so annointed' is constantly being abused, by confusing it with the singing talent and charisma of a singer.

I like his performance, which is good for a singer who is not an actor by default. Only one scene was bad, when he first pretended to be shy and then suddenly made the biggest show and waved his arms. That change was too sudden and poorly instructed. The rest was good.

But the movie, although long in time, has no real substance, something you walk away and say, yes, that inspired me. I fear that it rather creates a mentality of performance in churches, and of making it more like a business. Worth watching, but not worth recommending it to someone who wants to grow in Christ and especially in holiness.

The Blind Side (2009), by John Lee Hancock (3*)

A movie with some good morals and based on a good story, but used to promote a Christianity which is not Christian at all.

PROS

+ A truly beautiful story.

+ It displays an overall very good moral, to care for the less privileged.

+ Leigh opposes her friends when they ridicule Michael.

CONS

- It comes along with a white-savior mentality and the propagation of the American dream.

- Several lies and problematic practices are displayed:

Leigh (supposedly a Christian) broke into the principals' computer to find out Michael's grades.

Leigh scanned a picture off an Internet ad for a toddler boutique and displayed it at Michael's graduation.

Her husband lies when saying that the instructor lost cell phone service.

- A sex scene is included, where Leigh even brags about her skill to multitask while having sex. It can probably not become anymore anti biblical than this, but luckily we do not see any skin.

- Leigh wears extremely provocative dresses throughout the movie.

- Leigh slapped the b.. of the instructor and said about a recruiter in front of her husband: "I find him extremely handsome."

- Leigh showcased outmost disrespectful treatment of players, grabbing one by the helmet and then pushing him back. She later says that she would cut off the p.. of Michael if he would get a girl pregnant. Michael is being honored after throwing another player over the fence.

- Leigh is displayed throughout the movie as the factual head of her family, which is a highly problematic and anti biblical showcase.

- Several profanities (Leigh uses the bi-word, and we hear from another character the SoaB words).

- The true spiritual character of the movie shows when it unabashedly promotes a political party and bashes the other:

Quote: "Who would have thought we would have a black son before we knew a democrat?" [this is evil]

- Promotion of gun associations:

Quote: "I'm in a prayer group with the DA, and a member of the NRA." [this is evil]

- Throughout the movie, the University of Mississippi is promoted, which supports Freemasonry, specifically the fraternities Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho and Iota Phi Theta.

- The movie includes a prayer and a holding of hands at the dinner table, but this is absolutely everything when it comes to the spiritual discipleship of Michael. They want him to find his 'salvation' in football, but not a word is lost and not a scene is shown where Michael receives any spiritual guidance from his parents, or from any other character in the movie. This movie is abusing Christianity, and is in many parts the antithesis of Christianity.

Bobbi Jo: Under the Influence (2021), by Brent L. Jones (10*)

A highly encouraging documentary.

This documentary is one-of-a-kind. You watch it and you will never forget it.

Some of the content is very hard to watch, but at the end it simply shows the extremes of society we often willingly or unwillingly ignore. It shows the results of a fallen world and what might happen if we live in total disobedience to Him, or if simply circumstances hit us.

But on the other hand it shows the wonderful redemption and forgiveness of our sins we can experience, and that He can restore a totally broken life into something millions of viewers and hearers will praise afterwards, no matter if they are believers or not.

It is incredible what one single person can do, and Bobbi Jo is simply a very powerful example of how to help literally thousands of others, no matter all the obstacles she experienced even after she got physically and spiritually saved.

What a powerful testimony, and what a powerful woman.

The Book of Daniel (2013), by Anna Zielinski (9*)

Very good movie, highly recommended.

PROS

+ The movie is very faithful to the biblical narrative as far as I can tell without reading the Bible along.

+ I am very grateful that they chose this book to be made into a movie and that they told most of Daniel's life.

+ I appreciated the two viewpoints, that the movie starts with Daniel telling his story in his old age while looking back at his younger years, and then later to merge the two viewpoints with a wonderful transition into one perspective. Well made.

CONS

- A mixed bag regarding the actors, some doing a great-, while others a regular job.

- The backgrounds could be better animated.

- Very few women are included in the movie, especially in the beginning.

Overall highly recommended to those who want to see the book of Daniel come to life.

Break Every Chain (2021), by Tim Searfoss (3 *)

No redemption, but a movie rather generating doubts.

This movie would have a great potential, if the music would not destroy it and the lack of redemption would conclude it to be senseless. It is marketed as Christian movie, but the underlying message is very anti-Christian and can create serious doubts in a believer.

PROS

+ Powerful story.

+ Great actors.

+ Great filmography.

CONS

- The movie starts with deep frustration and a severe critique of KYRIOS, and it never recovers from that. It ends with a main actor who hadn't found any redemption after some loose contacts with a pastor, but searched for a solution in counseling, as if KYRIOS would have failed him. Yes, he throws aways his alcohol, yes they have another baby and seem to recover their relationship, but there is no spiritual redemption, no salvation, nada. This is probably the saddest state a 'Christian' movie can end with.

- The music is disturbing and overly dramatic. I had to take my headphones several times off, because it was impossible to stand that nearly demonic music. Yes, the makers wanted to make a point, but that point could have been achieved without torturing the viewer and without an endless repetition of an image of a dead woman's face.

- The producers have sadly no proper theological understanding and have obviously never heard of the age of accountability. "Sydney, 16 all her dreams gone" is a conclusion that could not be more at odds with the Bible, which makes it clear that every child, no matter believer or unbeliever, who dies before the age of 20, will automatically experience salvation.

So why should her dreams be gone, if she experiences something infinitely more beautiful right now? The same applied with the death of their unborn child. We might excuse this misunderstanding with the unbelief of the main actor who just acted how a pagan would react, but his wife is portrayed as a believer and nevertheless has a total breakdown. She should have known her child in much better hands than she could ever provide. This is sadly a very selfish mindset, to put the personal relationship over the joy of the child's salvation he or she would have possibly never experienced if having passed the age of 20.

- Even though his wife is portrayed as believer, it is weird that she never invites him to church or shares her faith with him, while he must be invited by another police officer.

- Very inappropriate dress (2x) of his wife.

Cessationist (2023), by Les Lanphere (3*)

Some good -, but overall highly deficient discernment and theology.

I have warned Justin Peters already in 2022 (1, 2), before this documentary went into production, but sadly to no avail as I now saw two years later.

See also my studies on Spiritual Gifts and Continuationism vs. Cessationism, which is the necessary groundwork for this review.

PROS

+ Great production quality, images, visualizations and music.

+ Some good discernment on the excesses of (extreme) Pentecostalism and Charismatics (Aimee Semple Mc Pherson, Alexander Pagani, Benny Hinn, David Diga Hernandez, Eric Shonebarger, Isaiah Salvidar, Jeremiah Johnson, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggert, John G. Lake, Kathryn Kuhlman, Mark Taylor, Michael Brown, Mike Bickel, Mike Signorelli, Morris Cerullo, Paula White, Robin Bullock, Ryan Rufus, Sid Roth, Smith Wigglesworth, Todd Bentley, Todd Smith).

+ Correct exhortation on not speaking gibberish, not having the primary focus on tongues, and not confusing ecstatic experiences -which occur even in Pagan religions- with Christian salvation.

+ Quote Dan Phillips: "In biblical times when you stood up and you spoke in God's name and it was not God's word, you were stoned to death. Today if somebody does that, either it's inconsequential or doesn't come true, nothing happens. It's just another day ... in the Charismatic community. At least they should be excommunicated." I fully affirm this notion.

CONS

- This documentary is a Calvinist gong-show (see list below). Practically all of the speakers are Calvinists. The same method has been noted in many books and movies by that group, when a cult-like mentality is applied by exclusively selecting / endorsing Calvinist interview partners. A documentary on discernment should be balanced and not just come from like-minded people.

- Min 05:10: Appeal to emotionalism when Elijah raises the widow's son. Here they still pretend to accept miracles, but just one minute later they reveal their real motifs:

- Min 06:20: "There were times, 3 of them in Scripture, where God gave to man the power to work miracles"

5500-1400BC No miracles

1400BC Moses & Joshua 65 years of miracles

1400-800BC No miracles

800BC Elijah & Elisha 65 years of miracles

800BC-30AD No miracles

30-100AD JESUS & The Apostles 65-70 years of miracles

100-2024AD No more miracles

The interview partners are essentially claiming that miracles in biblical history only occurred during 195-200 years in total!! This is one the most ridiculous claims ever heard and every serious reader of the Bible will instantly have one's hair stand on end when hearing such a claim.

Not only does the Bible tell us countless miracles of Samuel, Samson and many others in between those 3 times, most importantly the Bible itself refutes their erroneous claim in Jer 32:20: "You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and TO THIS DAY in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day." Jeremiah was written ~585-570 BC, meaning 800+ years after the Exodus and 200+ years after Elijah/Elisha.

- Min 10:30: Here Sam Waldron manipulates the viewer by confusing JESUS being the cornerstone and foundation of the church, with the spiritual gifts itself. The foundation of a church building has little to do with the gifts used inside, but Waldron suggests that because the foundation was laid in a specific moment, so spiritual gifts ceased instantly after that moment. A truly ridiculous comparison.

- Min 11:20: Here Tom Pennington explains the qualifications of an Apostle, but he either unintentionally or rather intentionally leaves out the Spiritual Gift of Apostleship, which definitely continues to be a gift for believers selected by the Holy Spirit. The mission is to have authority over unclean spirits and healing (Mat 10:1-2), and further to encourage and strengthen other churches, to plant new ministries and churches, go into places where the Gospel is not preached (missionaries, 'apostello'), raise up and develop leaders, and call out and lead pastors. Their own Conrad Mbewe, whom they sent out to plant Calvinist churches in Africa, is pretty much in such a role (although on the bad side).

- Min 14:20: Steven Lawson and Tom Pennington tell us that there is no mention of signs and miracles once you pass the book of 1Cor. This is a highly ignorant claim, knowing very well that the narrative of the Bible was nearly closed with the 4 Gospels and the book of Acts. Everything that follows are simply letters and the next narrative is Revelation, which is our future. To now say that because we have no narrative between Acts and Revelation, we have also no use of Spiritual Gifts, is a straw man fallacy.

- Min 18:40: Nathan Busenitz endorses Augustine and uses him to strengthen the argument for Cessationism (while leaving out that Augustine changed his view ...). Augustine was one of the most problematic figures in ~Christian~ history, being the doctor of the RCC and the patriarch of Calvinism, and of countless heresies that came into the church through and shortly after him, only to mention the Apocrypha, infant baptism, financial tithing, sex being evil, perpetual virginity of Mary, prayers to saints, the 7 Catholic sacraments, amillennialism .... He was also the father of the doctrine of persecution.

Busenitz shows therefore a fundamental lack of discernment, which is sadly very common amongst academics. Solely based on Chrysostom and Augustine, he then suddenly concludes: "The view of the (early) church has been decidedly Cessationist". This is a very poor scholarship.

We have to be aware of the fact that quoting history and / or historians opens the gate for every kind of false teaching, because we can find a historian for nearly every theology we want to propagate. This would not be such a problem if we would only use reliable historians. But this is definitely not the case as perfectly seen by the common use e.g. of those church fathers 'Augustine' or also very often 'Origen', both very problematic figures of 'Christian' history. At the end of the day we have to go back to the Word and avoid extrabiblical sources - what is possible in the vast majority of Bible studies.

Busenitz then drifts into primitive manipulation, by putting Continuationists into the role of those desperately searching for historical reference points and associating them with a heretical movement which literally no Christian of our day has ever heard of:

"In order to find evidence of miraculous gifts throughout church history, the modern continuationist has to redefine what those gifts are. They generally [Who ?] do so by pointing to french movements and french groups like the Montanus movement, which was declared a heresy by the early church."

- Min 32:30: Sam Waldron goes here as far as to open war within their own rows, by discrediting D.A Carson, John Piper, Sam Storms and Wayne Grudem as having 'reformed inclinations' simply because they describe themselves as 'open but cautious' (so as to say 'Second-class Calvinists' in his eyes; later they sequence a video of Sam Storms with Mike Bickel, and even use the repentance of Sam Storms from Cessationism to discredit him; David Lovi/Les Lanphere have obviously a serious issue with him). Firstly, all of those are problematic teachers (and Calvinists) and this is an inhouse discussion. Secondly, one like John Piper can hardly be anymore Calvinist than he is. This war within their own rows shows that they are divided even on that issue.

- Min 58:30: Here Sam Waldron underlines his evil intentions, by criticizing Sam Storms' correct preaching of 1Cor 14:1, where Paul commands to earnestly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Waldron then states that "All commands of the Bible come to us within an assumed context" and terribly twists the Bible when stating that Paul violated JESUS' command to not take money on the journey (Mat 10:9-10), but had accepted donations on the journey. Even to the most naive viewer it should be obvious that there is a huge difference between taking money along, and receiving it later. JESUS never forbade any apostle to receive money or material gifts, He only said that they ought to start with essentailly nothing.

- Min 62:50: Scott Aniol creates the false notion that speaking in tongues is always referring to known languages. He uses Act 2:8 which correctly refers to known languages and then extrapolates this to be the general rule for all expressions of tongues, while ignoring 1Cor 13:1 !!!

Speaking in tongues includes both 'foreign languages' and an 'ecstatic / heavenly language' (see 1Cor 13:1 with the clear differentiation btw. A) tongues of men and B) tongues of angels who obviously do not primarily speak earthly languages; and 1Cor 14:2 with the remark 'no one understands' the 'mysteries in the Spirit'). Speaking in tongues serves as A) Communication with, and impression of unbelievers (Act 2:1-15, 1Cor 14:16, 22), B) Edification of the church (1Cor 14:5-6, 12, 24) and C) Edification of yourself (1Cor 14:4, 27-28). Tongues spoken in public must be interpreted (1Cor 12:10, 1Cor 14:2, 11, 13, 27-28), but we see this almost never being practiced in today's churches.

Nathan Busenitz then supports their perceived abolition of ecstatic languages by stating that it occurred for the first time in history ever when noted through the Charismatic Movement, which is an unsubstantiated claim.

Min 95:55 confirms their de-facto abolishment of Spiritual Gifts: "Well, if we don't have the Spiritual Gifts, what do we have? We have the self-authenticating Word of God. When we have the HOLY SPIRIT promised to bless that Word, there is no reason for disappointment ... that is all we need."

LIST OF INTERVIEW PARTNERS

Andreas Wiget (not Wigit ...; Calvinist)
Brian Borgman (Calvinist, Grace Community Church)
Chad Vegas (Calvinist; Sovereign Grace Church
Conrad Mbewe (Calvinist; Kabwata Baptist Church)
Gabriel Hughes (Calvinist; Master's Seminary)
Geoff Thomas (Calvinist; Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary)
Jim Osman (Calvinist)
Joel Beeke (Calvinist; Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary)
John Piper (Calvinist)
John Reuther (Calvinist; Reformed Baptist Seminary)
Jonathan Master (Calvinist; Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary)
Josh Buice (Calvinist; G3 Ministries)
Justin Peters (Calvinist)
Mike Riccardi (Calvinist; Master's Seminary)
Nathan Busenitz (Calvinist; Master's Seminary)
Phil Johnsons (Calvinist; Grace To You)
Robert McCurley (Calvinist; Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary)
Ryan M. McGraw (Presbyterian)
Sam Waldron (Calvinist; pastor of Grace Reformed Baptist)
Scott Aniol (Calvinist; G3 Ministries)
Steven J. Lawson (Calvinist; Master's Seminary)
Tom Pennington (Calvinist; Master's Seminary)
Virgil Walker (Calvinist)
William VanDoodewaard (Calvinist; Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary)

Charge Over You (2010), by Regardt Steenekamp (2*)

Hardly a Christian movie.

The movie opens with a scene where paramedics cut open the shirt and expose the bra of a young woman.

Then we find a scene where evolution is promoted, while the professor mentions intelligent design as an afterthought and as an 'and if you believe in that ...' option.

Soon after the main protagonist is found to participate in fortune telling, and she wears inappropriate clothing in nearly every scene of the movie.

Then there is the first scene of extramarital sex, followed soon after by an even more intimate scene.

That was 30 minutes in.

Those scenes alone have the strong potential to lead someone away from the Lord.

Later the movie endorses Nietzsche (well known to have hated THEOS by declaring: "God is Dead"):

"Nietzsche is arguing that we have peeled God off and put ourselves in his place. Now the magnet in the story is ridiculed by the people in the marketplace for making his search for God known, they laugh at him and make sarcastic excuses."

The warfare displayed is also not a spiritual warfare which could come from the Bible. It is just a primitive copy of the paranormal stuff we find in secular movies, with a touch of THEOS in it and with a happy end.

The whole story might include some good elements, but it is the last I would recommend to anyone I want to bring to THEOS. This movie rather brings people away from Him and builds a very bad foundation for someone who (want to) become(s) a Christian.

Chasing After You (2019), by Paige B. Alston (8*)

A good movie with a strong Christian theme.

While the beginning of the movie appears somehow flat, it becomes increasingly deeper and more meaningful.

PROS

+ There is actually a lot of Christian talk and content, and not just one of the many 'faith-based' movies with maybe five Christian phrases.

+ It generally displays good morals to strive for.

+ No heresies.

+ No blasphemy, just once he took the name of JESUS with his friend in vain, but not in a negative way.

CONS

- Improper dress of the main actor which could lead to other Christians to adapt such a provocative style.

- It is not understandable why she did not choose a marriage with the father of their child when he asked her to move in together and recover the family relationship.

- Her boyfriend is talking at the grave to his dead father, which is surely not a biblical practice.

- The background music is partly problematic.

- The end is very abrupt.

The Chosen (2017-), by Dallas Jenkins (2*)

Great production & entertainment, but it does not even serve as milk.

The following is not a typical review of this ministry. The author of this ministry has watched season 1, and the first episode of season 2, but relies for most of the following points on external discernment collected here in a condensed form.

PROS

+ Great production quality.

+ Great acting.

NEUTRAL

o Although there can be learned a lot from the series, the bottom line is rather confusion about what belongs now to the Bible and what not. Christians with a very solid foundation could in theory watch the content while being able to discern the differences. But tragically most viewers are precisely those with no-, or with a weak biblical foundation, and typically without the general ability for spiritual discernment.

CONS

- Dallas Jenkins admitted that 95% of The Chosen's content is not from the Bible.

- Originally initiated by three Mormon businessmen having approached Jenkins. The executive producer and the distributor are Mormons. Many episodes were filmed on a Mormon property in Utah, where previously only Mormon productions were allowed to be filmed.

- JESUS is being shown as seeking counsel from His disciples before preaching the Sermon on the Mount (Season 2, Episode 8, min 20).

- JESUS is prematurely arrested before Gethsemane (Season 1, Episode 7, min 33).

- JESUS makes fun of JOHN's diet of carobs and honey, which would have been impossible to happen.

- JOHN THE BAPTIST is being displayed as 'creepy John', contrary to the Bible stating that "no one born of women is greater than him" (Mat 11:11, Luk 7:28).

- MARY MAGDALENE is backsliding from her faith in the series, which is an heretical twisting of the Bible (Season 2, Episode 8). While backsliding was not foreign to JESUS' circle, it resulted in this one instance in the condemnation and death of Judas. To assume that Mary shipwrecked her faith and was restored a second time, is not only heretical, but provokes a laissez-faire 'faith' in viewers.

- Highly problematic actors: Jonathan Roumie (New Age; open support of the Hallow app > Catholic Mysticism / Contemplative Prayer; private use of the 'Divine Mercy Chaplet' > meditative Catholic prayer ritual by Saint Faustina).

Christmas Oranges (2012), by John Lyde (10*)

A fantastic movie.

It is a movie with low budget and surely not with spectacular settings and cinematography. It is a movie that goes back to the basics, to the core of the human being. Children who have lost everything, except to be now in a setting, where they experience some love, but sadly also much hate and control by the leader of the orphanage who has his own struggles.

It is a movie which shatters into pieces our modern sense of entitlement. Never would I have thought how one orange as a Christmas gift could mean so much for children who have nothing else but each other and a home to live in.

And in the end it is a beautiful testimony of THEOS, how He can break an old and bitter man through the grace and talent of a small girl.

There is no happy end, but a good end. Good according to His providence.

Clancy (2009), by Jefferson Moore (9*)

A very beautiful movie.

What a beautiful surprise of a movie. A tremendous story which could have been perfectly written by THEOS.

PROS

+ Great lessons for life, no matter if you believe or not (yet).

+ Great example how to treat homeless people with respect and love, knowing that each one has his or her own story, which is often not by election. We will be surprised in eternity how many homeless people there will be and how few majors.

+ Great production, great and very creative script.

+ Wonderful teaching of the Good Message (just a little bit too much focussed on heaven instead on a renewed earth, but a truly secondary issue here). The inclusion of her book is so very special and the Good Message can hardly be told in a more beautiful way through a child. What a memorable scene. Also very beautiful how he then framed her book.

NEUTRAL

o She was a bit too optimistic if you see her character from a worldly perspective. But seeing it through spiritual eyes, she could have indeed had such joy in the midst of suffering and violence.

o A good example of caring neighbors, but I would have inserted at least a scene where they intend to talk to the mother. They were caring but also well aware of the consequences. Overall a good lesson and warning for single parents who are about to get into a similar pattern.

CONS

- She prays once to a statue of JESUS. It would have been better for this scene to have her pray sitting down on a bench.

- Sadly no redemption of him, but a real transformation.

- Sadly no redemption of her mother, but her restoration would have probably filled another movie.

The Climb (2002), by John Schmidt (6*)

Good movie, but sadly a promo tool for Billy Graham.

PROS

+ The movie puts a spotlight on opposing selfishness, and is today more relevant than 22 years ago. Our culture is now saturated with those types of 'me, me, me'. I do that mountain on my own, I am my own boss in life, I, I, I. What a wonderful lesson Jason could learn in this movie, and is able to teach many others trapped in that selfish mentality today.

+ It elevates the family and the responsibilities of a father. At the same time it elevates the role of a father of the bride and shows how good protection looks alike, but also how biblical forgiveness should be alike.

CONS

- I never saw in a movie such a blatant endorsement, even including a closeup of one of his books. Billy Graham was one of the biggest frauds of Christian history, and this is also the reason why I sadly cannot promote this overall very good movie. (He was a great admirer of the 33° Mason Norman Vincent Peale; had a strong tendency towards Universalism; key figure in the ecumenical movement; used Roman Catholic lay people as supervisors and altar workers; close collaboration with the Vatican and the Pope; endorsement of female pastors)

- The advice Ned gives to the then girlfriend of Jason, when she was trying to get out of fornication, was 'we all go through periods like that'. This is a deeply troubling advise, which has contributed to the notion that it is ok in younger years to commit some 'mistakes', and then simply ask later for forgiveness.

- While it might be true that THEOS can (and will upon repentance) forgive any sin, there is no assurance that we are ever drawn to the awareness of those sins and to the respective repentance. The further down the road, the more a miracle it requires getting out of it. But to the credit of this movie, this bad advice is obviously (and at least in parts) 'overwritten' by the later repentance of Jason.

- When Jason repents, he asks JESUS to come into his heart. This is a formula foreign to the Bible and part of the evangelism scheme of Billy Graham, which enabled him to count the 'conversions'. Another part of this scheme, as now more often seen in churches, is the lifting of hands and then counting those lifted hands as saved people.

The Coming Convergence (2017), by Brent Miller Jr. (3*)

Good teaching mixed with very bad teaching.

This documentary starts out to denounce false prophets from the past, who employed vague prophecies, but curiously enough falls just minutes later into a very similar pattern.

1. One key message of this documentary is the fig tree prophecy - standing for the end times which ought to begin with the rebirth of Israel.

First they say in one sentence that many scholars believe the fig tree to be Israel. One sentence later, now from another commentator, they suddenly change to "Now understanding that the fig tree IS Israel" ...

They confuse a UN declaration done in 1948 with the -SPIRITUAL- rebirth of Israel, while ignoring that people in Israel are currently far away from THEOS and little to no spiritual rebirth as biblically specified has taken place. The vast majority of people still denies JESUS and some Jewish denominations even plainly deny THEOS.

Then they calculate 80 to 120 years from that date, exclusively based on the very generic statement of Psalm 102:12: "Let this be recorded for A GENERATION TO COME, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord"

They now state that the word usually translated with 'TO COME', means the 'LAST' generation. But looking at the Greek text, which is the text the 1st century church received as authoritative, we find a clear contradiction to this, because it uses the word 'HETEROS', which -as we all know very well- means 'ANOTHER' or 'DIFFERENT' (Strong's G2087)!

Greek text (here Psalm 101:19): Let this be written for ANOTHER generation; and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord.

Even the KJV translates the verse with "... remembrance unto ALL GENERATIONS."

It is abstruse exegesis to use this generic verse, to inject 'LAST' into it and then connect it to the fig tree prophecy!

2. Later they state that 3 specific countries will be attacking Israel, but they do not inform us how they see those countries in the biblical context (especially Russia, probably extrapolated from 'Gog').

3. They justify in minute 45 a nuclear war through Ezekiel 39:12, supposedly including a command to leave the bodies alone for 7 months, which in their opinion is an indicator for a nuclear war. But this is a plain lie, because the text states that the people of Israel will be in the very place being affected, cleaning it up for 7 months.

4. When it comes to the 'kings from the East' that wage war, they accuse the big players in what we commonly know as the East. But this is based on a bad reading of the world's map. The biblical map almost certainly connects the world at the Bering Strait, meaning that the East is America!

Cult Explosion (1980), by Walter Martin (8*)

Overall highly recommended.

I am very grateful for such productions which are sadly rare. What Martin Martin produced here, is of eternal value, literally. This documentary provides a good first insight into many cults and religions. It is a bit scary when they speak about out-of-body experiences and fake spiritual encounters, but when we belief in a spiritual life, then those evil facets are possibly also true.

The documentary lacked though a proper introduction to each cult. Some quick facts of 1 minute per religion would have made a great difference (size at that time, countries, exact names and groups to avoid ...). It is also not systematic enough, but follows more the format of modern documentaries to sequence / overlap various topics with the preference of keeping the viewer entertained. This results in a wild rollercoaster and it is hard to get a clear picture of a specific cult spoken about. Lots of bits and pieces. The viewer definitely knows that it is urgent to avoid any of those cults, but he or she would have a very hard time to tell someone else a brief summary of a specific religion after watching this.

Overall highly recommended though.

Dialtone (2009), by Brian Lohr (8*)

Strange concept which justifies the means.

Does this movie have the potential to bring the viewer closer to the LORD?

Yes, it has.

Does this movie have the potential to bring those close to the viewer closer to the LORD?

Yes, it definitely has.

Is this movie biblical?

Rather not. We cannot play LORD nor go back in time. BUT we are definitely in power to influence our future and the future of others.

Therefore, although being based on an unbiblical concept and with a great creative license, it is a good movie which stimulates the minds of the viewers in a very powerful way.

The music is sometimes a bit overly dramatic, but the concept is well-elaborated and fulfills its purpose.

Clear recommendation.

Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors (2015), by Stephen Herek (9*)

A truly wonderful movie.

Worthy is His name, and He works out all things for good, even in the difficult times of life. Sometimes we are so richly blessed, little Dolly with a big family, that we do not realize the blessing until He takes away part of it.

We do not understand why a child has to die so early, but forget that all those little children do not have to go through this hard school of life and work out their salvation with fear and trembling. They just go over into Eternity, because they do not know yet the difference between good and evil (Deu 1:39) and have not yet reached the Age of Accountability.

Remarkable actors (especially Dolly and her mother), beautiful settings, thrown back in time into a typical life of hard work and little diplomacy in words. And a story of a stubborn father, as so many out there, who refused to follow our faith, even though modeled at perfection by his wife. Her perseverance will be decisive.

* The only negative point of the movie is the scene where little Dolly argues with THEOS. This dialogue is overly dramatic and the language is nearly blasphemous. The script writers should not have chosen such language. We can utter our doubts and frustrations, but this one went way too far.

The Emissary: A Biblical Epic (1997), by Robert Marcarelli (8*)

Wonderful movie about the life of Paul.

It is an art in itself to avoid producing another lengthy movie, to compact much material into a format of less than an hour, but still to make this movie appear long. It appears as some commentators prefer longer movies, but I appreciate compact productions with a high content of information as found here.

PROS

+ Great summary and highlights of Paul's life.

+ Mostly great acting.

+ Good production considering a limited budget.

NEUTRAL

Words are added / subtracted to Saul's vision and other stories, but it is never to the spiritual detriment of the viewer and expected to a certain degree in such a movie. And it is good to see a great faithfulness in the dialogue with Agrippa. The accuracy could be higher, but is already much higher than most Christian movies which rather use bits and pieces from the Bible, but not such lengthy passages.

JESUS is shown in the cloud and in Paul's vision. This is not necessarily problematic, but it still doesn't feel right to produce such images of Him.

CONS

- The camera is often excellent, but also sometimes a bit wild.

- Paul healed the son of the sorcerer, a story I do not remember from the Bible. The burning of the books would have implied multiple sorcerers.

- The boat from the last mission trip is way too small and very few prisoners (maybe a dozen compared to 276 people in the biblical account) are present. But the small budget justifies this.

- Paul is not martyred in the Bible.

The Encounter (2010), by David A.R. White (5*)

Very interesting movie, but a depiction of an extrabiblical Jesus.

I was very much surprised and somehow shocked when I saw the first movie with a depiction of the Lord (An Interview With God). After having come across the terrible 'The Man from Earth' and the much better 'The Perfect Stranger', I am still surprised about yet a fourth film depicting our LORD JESUS in an extrabiblical manner, although this movie is certainly the best out of those four.

It includes excellent acting and a well-thought concept and narrative. It really motivates the viewer to think deeply about his or her own relationship with JESUS CHRIST. There is no transgression.

I do not think that it is wrong per se to depict our LORD, as long as it is an outmost faithful and respectful portrayal of a biblical narrative. But I do not think that this new business field of extrabiblical depictions of CHRIST as an everyday man from around the corner, sitting alternately on park tables, restaurant tables or being a guest at a party or a restaurant owner, is something we should endorse, no matter how moving this movie might be.

Faith Happens (2016), by Rick Garside (8*)

Evaluation of the 2016 series. Well-made and definitely recommended.

This review does reflect on the first season of the series available on Pureflix. No movie could be found at the time of the review, neither online nor specifically on their website as pointed out before the closing credits.

The series is overall great, and the individual testimonies and stories are very powerful. They chose different topics (adultery, child abuse, drug addiction, foregiveness, illness, money fraud, refugees ...) which they balanced very well and wove them into an overall story, where individual characters played initially secondary roles and then had their story told later on (or the other way around).

There are many painful stories which turn into redemption, but also stories of a Calvinist pastor which started with an intact family but then turned into pure evil in the form of adultery and a complete breakdown of a family, while telling the story from the perspective of the future couple, which was rather inadequate.

Another definitely inadequate part was in episode 2, when the pastor prayed in the counseling session and said in his prayer: "It doesn't make sense. And it's your [the Lord's] fault. [sobbing and pause] It's his fault. It's your fault." This sadly destroys quite a lot of the overall great production and of the lessons we can definitely learn from it. It is a mystery why they included such a prayer. Surely lamentation is sometimes ok, but this is not a prayer we could find anywhere in the Bible, to blame the Lord that it is His fault that this child abuse happened.

Otherwise a great production, but sad to not find the second season to continue.

Fireproof (2008), by Alex Kendrick (8*)

Great movie, warmly recommended.

Quote of the movie: Aren't you afraid of dying? No. Cause I know where I am going. I just don't wanna go there because I got hit by a train.

PROS

+ Great example of a father-son relationship, where the son respects his father, puts his trust in him and follows his plan, although initially not knowing what it is all about.

+ Great example of leading by own example, and by the example of JESUS CHRIST.

+ Great Christian theme, without holding back much like in many other 'Christian' movies.

CONS

- Caleb's conversion is very, very thin.

Father: Can't you see that you need his forgiveness?

Son: Yes

Father: Will you trust him with your life?

Son: Slight nodding.

Those words ought to constitute his salvation, what is a farce. There is no repentance nor is there any indication of a baptism.

- No repentance from the real adultery of Caleb and the de-facto adultery of Catherine. We cannot only teach human wisdom from a book, but must more importantly follow the biblical teachings for restoration. There will not be a lasting restoration if the most basic step of repentance is neglected, both a repentance towards THEOS and towards the spouse. A generic apology only to the spouse is not enough.

- No salvation of Catherine. She constantly rejects his efforts during the 40 days, does not show the slightest sign of improvement or redemption from her side, and only changes her mind after the 24k donation of her husband. This sends a very materialistic message to the viewer of the movie and tells us that all his efforts would have failed and they would have divorced, if he would not have made that donation.

They remarry again which is very beautiful and he is a changed and supposedly saved person, but that marriage would in real life continue to suffer if there is zero change from her side and her disrespect resurges after a time.

- The movie contains a scene with car racing on a public street, which is shocking for a Christian movie, especially as it is a scene totally disconnected from the movie.

- A hot sauce contest might be entertaining to the viewer, but 1. the label 'Wrath of God' is inadequate and takes His name in vain in a totally unnecessary way, and 2. at least one in a hundred will repeat this and eventually end up in hospital.

- The website www.fireproofmymarriage.com is not working although this movie is still being sold.

For the Glory (2012), by Donald Leow (3*)

Interesting and motivational movie, but problematic.

PROS

+ Good example of his wife to set priorities and to look for a man who shares her faith, although it is not clear in the movie if he really found JESUS or just went to church for her.

+ Great willpower to overcome obstacles from his side and to pursue his goals.

CONS

- Indirect promotion of masonry, specifically of a 'Phi Tau Gamma' fraternity.

- Showcase of a ritual where several men are put down psychologically by wearing diapers and being without shirt, both in a community room and later in public in a restaurant.

- Sadly no salvation for parents - they keep pursuing worldly goals at the end of the movie, but at least show one happy moment in the scene where all hug each other. It would have been beautiful for his mother to find JESUS and to get healed.

- The movie is a good example of what to not seek in Christianity. It is not about following JESUS in order to find fulfillment in own plans and worldly goals. It can involve worldly success, but first before anything it means to follow JESUS and to serve others. Becoming famous and pursuing a career has little to do with Christianity.

Foundations (2021), by Brett Varvel (9*)

Great education.

It is a sad testimony for the world that we need such movies. A world which assumes to have become smarter, has become much more drawn into their sin, into self-centered lifestyles.

It would be very easy for evolutionists to accept the other, much more logical side. But they would never, at no cost. Because that would mean to let go of that lifestyle of endless 'possibilities', of freely being able to chose between evil (and good).

But what the people don't see is that while coming to THEOS, they could still chose between good and evil. With the huge difference that they would not be drawn anymore to do evil, but would find fulfillment in their purpose, to not only live for self, but for the well of others.

We don't know if one of the coming generations will wake up to the lie of millions of years. Maybe. Then people would look back and would say how ridiculous their parents or grandparents had been.

Sadly we are right now at the point of people looking back in ridicule at their grandparents, saying how narrow-minded and religious they had been. Yes, they have sometimes been a bit too legalistic, but what is better, a bit too legalistic (or let's say spiritually cautious knowing very well the dramatic consequences there could be) or being drawn to an extreme which has no precedent in any past millennia.

Humans have believed many things we would call today funny at best. But what society believes right now, that we came from fish and monkeys, is not funny anymore.

Look at yourself. Are you not a wonder?

Gods at War (2012– ), by Kyle Idleman (9*)

Warmly recommended.

I warmly recommend this great series which is apparently part of a bigger volume of productions done by Kyle Idleman and City on a Hill Productions. It is low budget, which makes it in my opinion even better than high-budget series such as Alpha.

Kyle Idleman has a great talent on how to use little budget and ordinary settings, be it just a simple beach or a bar, and to make something great out of it without requiring a whole lot of different settings, actors et al.

And he has a great talent in bringing the Good Message home to the people, to make them understand in natural ways, what pastors sometimes fail to properly communicate to their congregations. Those series fill a very important gap and we can only learn similarly from books, but usually in a much more time-consuming way than those relatively compact series.

In this particular series, Idleman reflects on the different gods we all have in our lives. Not to think of stone, bronze or wooden idols we know from Bible history and easily understand, but those concepts of idolatry we have bigger struggles with to understand.

No matter if money, sex, prosperity, popularity and you name it, he shows us where we often fail and how to become better Christians by staying away from those false gods or idols.

The series is still available on Youtube, so I warmly recommend you to watch it and to share it with those people you also know to struggle in some, or all of those areas of life.

God's Compass (2016), by Stephan Schultze (6 *)

A beautiful story THEOS could have written.

A truly beautiful movie with some surprising turns. Just as the Bible assigns specific roles for widows / people after a certain age, so THEOS assigned in the precise moment of Suzanne's retirement to fill her life with a new responsibility. It is indeed a story THEOS could have written, of bringing together the dots in the right moment of time and to bring about something good out of misery and evil.

PROS

+ Great plot.

+ Great acting by Suzanne, Eli and his sister, average acting of David and Jessica.

+ Beautiful display of strength of Suzanne, in the time when she felt as having lost Eli, her car and 100k.

NEUTRAL

o Great Christian story, but no true redemption. Suzanne was sadly not able to lead Eli to true repentance for his acts, to lead him in prayer confessing his sins. The judge might have forgiven him, but what about THEOS? Though the end is beautiful and we could expect from this a changed life without further crimes.

o Overall great filmography, but the camera in the first scene in the car was not stable.

CONS

- The arrest of Eli was strange. We see no sign why the cop arrested him.

- The comment that prisoners who encounter JESUS in prison and are being saved, return after their release always to their old life, is deeply ignorant, destructive and demotivating for all the workers of the Kingdom who labor in prison ministries. Nowhere in the movie is this devastating comment being corrected.

- The closing credits show highly problematic entries, such as Liberty University (Jerry Falwell and many controversies), Freemason Baptist Church (seriously???) and Holy Cross Regional Catholic School, but no denominational influence is noticed in the movie itself.

God's Not Dead, by Harold Cronk (3*)

Not recommended - neither to believers nor to unbelievers.

While this movie has a very strong Christian theme and seems to defend the Christian faith, it allows through some highly problematic passages of professor Radisson also for the creation of serious doubts in weak believers. I had to tune out from certain passages, while certainly not considering myself weak. Yes, attacks will come to every believer, but it is plainly wrong to project those attacks to millions of believers and unbelievers alike. This movie could seriously lead some honest believers astray, especially considering its strong association to Catholicism and even to Freemasonry.

PROS

+ Good actors.

+ Great display what the boldness of one individual (Josh Wheaton) can cause.

+ Great scene of the possible salvation of the professor before his death.

CONS

- Creation of a false dichotomy, to say that the opposite to Darwinism is Theistic Evolution. TE is a third new way which reaches the hand to unbelieving scientists, while placing the creation account millions years ago and 'converting' THEOS into the role of a bystander, who watched the Big Bang happen. They plainly endorse in the movie the Cambrian Explosion commonly placed 530 million years ago.

- Inclusion of a Franklin Graham sermon (de-facto Catholic; highly problematic teacher ...).

- Endorsement of C.S. Lewis through a quote (Believed in purgatory; Tao is the highest morality; rejected biblical inerrancy; theistic evolutionist; considered Hindu, Buddhist and Muslims as brothers in Christ ...).

- Endorsement of Lee Strobel through a quote (de-facto Catholic; strong support of Catholic Mysticism; Theistic Evolution; Purgatory ...)

- The inclusion of Willie Robertson and the defense of him shooting ducks is confusing, to say the least.

- The song performed by Newsboys has lyrics which have very little to do with Christianity and are rather twisting it.

"Let love explode and bring the dead to life [absurd blathering]

A love so bold to see a revolution somehow [ " ]

In this world I'll overcome [the Bible says you will be hated and persecuted; we will only overcome after our Resurrection]

He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion [this is not biblical at all and rather pop-religion]

My faith is dead, I need a resurrection somehow [confusing words]

Come shake the ground with the sound of revival

Let heaven roar and fire fall" [this is not biblical and can probably be found in the New Apostolic Reformation or in Pentecostalism]

- Another song including absurd blathering is 'This Is The Time' by 'Superchick'. It is a true mystery how such a song made it into this movie. I could go through more soundtracks but will leave it with that ...

"This is the story of your life. A movie starring you. What's the next scene have for you to do? Leave the dishes in the sink. Leave your fear there too. Live the story you would write for you. Say hey hey wake your heart. And break break break apart. The walls that keep you from being you. And walk walk towards the light. And don't stop till you live your life. Like someone died for you. This is the time to try. Step out your life is waiting. And as you fall you'll find that you can fly."

- The closing credits contain references to problematic institutions / organizations:

Alpha Iota Omega 'Christian' Fraternity [Freemasons, seriously?]

Badger Catholic Foundation

Beta Upsilon Chi [Freemasons, seriously?]

St. James Episcopal Church

The Healing (1983), by Russell Doughten (9*)

Probably the most Christian fiction ever seen. Highly recommended.

I was at first skeptical about the movie being very old, and the first minutes are a bit of a contrast to overcome. But once you get into the movie and allow yourself to be taken back in time for some decades, you will very soon enjoy this wonderful movie.

PROS

+ A beautiful story of fallenness turned into redemption.

+ A story of tragedy allowed by the LORD in order to wake up a backslider and bring him not only into salvation for himself, but also for others.

+ A beautiful example of how serving others is, and has always been the best remedy for healing yourself while forgetting about your own pain.

CONS

- None.

The movie is a bit cheesy at times, and the actors and the budget are average, but this does not take away from the spiritual benefit of this movie, which is enormous. It is one of the very few movies which really shows how to act as a believer in ordinary life and to bring the Good Message to others. Most Christian movies talk about the WORD a bit here and there, but this movie is built around the WORD. Again - it is wonderful and highly recommended.

Hoovey (2015), by Sean McNamara (10 *)

Excellent movie, and captivating drama.

It is rare to find a great Christian movie which comes in such a high quality. Even though I am tired of watching another movie about the American Dream and sports, this movie is different. It is strongly based on Christian morals and Bible stories such as the story of Job. It is a drama such as the LORD could have written it, of a suffering He sometimes allows, of a beautiful family unity and strength of that family, and of course especially of Hoovey.

PROS

+ Very great actors.

+ Excellent camera and images.

+ Wonderful movie, to simply enjoy and lean back.

NEUTRAL

o The 3 men who helped to pull out the car could have made some people scratch their head, but there is nothing biblically speaking that does disallow for something like that to happen today. The movie is very sound and apart from this scene which scratches the limits of orthodoxy, there is absolutely nothing to object which is very, very rare in a Christian movie. No swearing, no transgressions, no questionable endorsements or doctrine.

CONS

- The movie is a bit too much focused on the family and we do not see characters involving their church members, friends or extended family.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), by Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise (5*)

A great movie, but not a recommendation.

A masterpiece of a movie I would like to recommend, but I sadly cannot do so because of palm-reading and associations to witchcraft on the good side of the characters.

The movie is great in many aspects, and it is good to see Disney having taken justice against the Catholic Church, and having revealed their often unbiblical, or let us say rather evil motives against those the church should protect.

This movie showed one of the ugly facets, which only centuries ago had still been visible, and has damaged the image of THEOS' church until today.

The true church will protect the innocent and those cast out by society.

I Can Only Imagine (2018), by Andrew Erwin, Jon Erwin (9*)

A must-watch.

This movie is warmly recommended. I watched it a couple of years ago and can still remember this remarkable story based on true events. It starts as a story so often told and lived, within a broken family, with a drinking father and all the ugly consequences.

But this story involves much more, a son who goes out to find himself and to follow his calling, despite the negative messages received over the years from his father, saying that 'you are not enough' and 'you won't make it to anything'. Although Christian life is not necessarily about realizing oneself and gaining a big name, this story is surely orchestrated by THEOS and shows His wonderful redemption and restoration in the midst of brokenness. Not a perfect restoration and with scars remaining, but still very powerful.

An Interview with God (2018), by Perry Lang (4*)

Well made, but problematic. Catholic / Jesuit influence / movie.

PROS

+ Very good plot.

+ Very good music.

+ Very good acting.

+ Overall well made.

CONS

- It is fundamentally wrong to display THEOS in such a way. It is not blasphemous, but has the great potential to permanently damage a believer's journey and relationship with Him. I watched the movie, but intentionally only listened to the scenes with 'god'. Even this was partly disturbing because of words and attitudes the LORD would never display.

- The movie contains some erroneous theology. It is stated as fact that JESUS repeated only 6 out of 10 commandments (probably to justify Catholic idols, because precisely the commands I-IV are excluded in their interpretation). But JESUS affirmed every single command repeatedly (I-Mat 22:37; II-1Joh 5:21; III-Mar 3:29; IV-Luk 14:3; V- Mat 19:19; VI-Luk 18:20; VII-Mat 5:27-28; VIII-Mat 15:19; IX-Mat 15:19; X-Rom 13:9).

- The first opening quote comes from William Cowper, an Anglican.

- The second opening quote comes from Henry Ward Beecher, a Presbyterian.

QUOTES

- Quote in minute 72:

"sono l'unico vero dio" (I am the only true God).

Your Italian is very good.

Loyola Rome, junior year abroad.

Well, that's time well spent."

>> Loyola Rome is a Jesuit University.

- Quote at the end of the movie:

"Having faith is not worth much if you don't really believe."

>> They turn it upside down. Belief is first. Even Satan believes. Faith is much more than belief.

Is Genesis History? (2017), by Thomas Purifoy (9*)

Highly recommended.

It was a beautiful surprise to find this movie.

And it is a rare find to have producers and so many contributors to stand with the Bible, in times where only 2 out of 200 professors at Wheaton College are believing in a true Genesis account. Wild times as we also see through the ratings, either 10 stars or 1 star, especially in Canada, Australia and UK, while the same documentary has 9 stars on Amazon.

This documentary is a wonderful defense of the biblical account and the producer has a great talent in interviewing the right people.

There was one small error, the localization of Babylon which is obviously wrong (Eze 26:7 "For thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I am bringing to -TYRE- Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon from the NORTH).

The rest is just wonderful. Highly recommended.

It's a Life Worth Living (2020), by Keith Perna (9*)

Wonderful, encouraging movie. Clear recommendation.

It had been a while since I cried at a movie, but this one got me. It is not easy to watch, as it shows in a quite natural way the consequences of broken families and the ugly facets of conflict and drug abuse. But so worth it.

PROS

+ Overall good acting, just sometimes the changes in mood were a bit forced and over pronounced.

+ Overall quite authentic.

+ Very encouraging, especially for those who had been involved in such drug abuse.

+ A strong Christian theme, although the conversations related to CHRIST did not always flow naturally. This theme includes restoration & salvation, and restoration of others.

CONS

- Some scenes came across a bit artificial (especially the scene when he visits her at her office, but still a beautiful moment).

> Overall clear recommendation.

Jesus of Nazareth (1977), by Franco Zeffirelli (9*)

A Monumental Masterpiece of Christian Cinema.

* Review of the 104 min version.

PROS

+ Very well-made for the 80's.

+ Very authentic and lively conversations; not always truthful to the Bible, but overall showing very well how the individual people groups would have spoken and interacted without being stiff as often seen in other movies.

+ Excellent actors.

+ The Lord's Prayer is fully recited, what a monumental scene.

+ Beautiful scene where JESUS heals the servant of the Roman ruler.

CONS

- The narrative is overthrown and stories are mixed.

- The story of the woman caught in adultery is not found in the Bible (Joh 7:53-8:11 is added).

- Some false quotations, e.g. "it took centuries to rebuild this temple ...".

- The phrase during JESUS' trial "I too know some Greek" shows a fundamental lack of understanding that Greek was the predominant language in that time, and even the Romans spoke rather Greek than Latin in that area.

Joseph: King of Dreams (2000), by Rob LaDuca, Robert C. Ramirez (7*)

A wonderful production.

PROS

+ Great animations - made with a lot of effort, love and creativity.

+ Overall faithful to the Bible.

+ Great teaching of one of the most beautiful stories of the Bible.

+ Beautiful songs.

+ No swearing, no problematic content or doctrines.

CONS

- It does not fit Joseph's character and the biblical narrative to see Joseph standing in front of all his relatives on a mountain, while raising his arms and seeking admiration. He was made special, but did probably not pretend to be special.

- Joseph would have certainly not used an amulet to protect himself from evil.

- His father would not have said: "You are a miracle child".

- There is basically no display of the faith of Jacob, nor of Joseph, but the faith and the ceremonies of the Pharaoh are displayed.

- The first communication of Joseph with the LORD is at min 42, complaining to the LORD.

- According to the movie, Joseph also asked his brothers for forgiveness which is rather not true. He offered forgiveness.

Late One Night (2001), by Dave Christiano (9*)

Highly recommended.

I am surprised how many emotions a short movie of half an hour can include. This movie is challenging in many aspects, to both believers and unbelievers.

It leaves the unbeliever with the choice if to continue making fun of those Christians and of THEOS, or if to take those warnings about our destiny seriously.

And it challenges a believer who is too comfortable, and who is rather a nominal Christian.

And even more importantly, it challenges the Christian church to become more serious about the business of THEOS and less about money, signs and miracles. The overall image of the church is very important and we have to cleanse the church by a proper discernment of false teachings, which leave such impressions on unbelievers.

Life Changes Everything: Discover Zac Ryan (2017), by Corey Paul (10*)

A truly excellent movie.

It was a pleasant delight to watch this movie. It is apparently filmed on a low budget, but it is very well-made and the script is perfect.

I was only wondering when it would turn out to be a Christian movie and this finally happened in the last part of the movie. It was then just a bit too spontaneous and felt more like injected as afterthought (what it certainly was not).

It is a very beautiful story with a sudden and perfect ending, which leaves the viewer pondering about the essential message of the movie: do not murder innocent babies or embryos.

We never know what the Lord has prepared and what consequences such an act could have.

Love Different (2016), by Anthony Hackett (2 *)

Horrible movie.

This movie has basically a good thought, to take away mental boundaries between different skin colours. I appreciate this thought and wish that more movies are being done on this matter. But this movie is below grade and it is to no surprise at the end, to notice that it was produced by the Seventh-day Adventists. There is no positive Christian message in the movie and it displays Christianity in a rather bad light.

PROS

+ Good thought to break down barriers.

CONS

- Often with ridiculous performances. Stereotypes are often overemphasized and the movie tries too hard to be funny where it is clearly not.

- The main actor claims to be Christian, but displays repeated bursts of anger, bad parenting and badly insults a man which also provokes an almost violent situation where she has to be rescued by the good guys.

- Other actors repeatedly lie, be it pretending to know each other while actually not being the case, et al.

- The movie endorses the abuse of numerologies, in this case that the number 70 means something special as soon as the Christian main actor made a purchase with the bill resulting in that precise number.

- The movie teaches that the wife is the number 1, but no mention of our LORD.

- The client at the end of the movie introduces himself as a 'head elder', an office totally foreign to the Bible. If we allow such offices to be created and being promoted in movies, then we do not have to wonder when other religions call this office on top of the biblical office of an elder a bishop or pope. There is only one position on top of elders, it is JESUS CHRIST.

- The producers are Seventh-day Adventists, belonging to The Call TV. Further endorsement made: the 'North American Division youth Department of SDA', the 'Washington Adventist University', 'Spencerville Adventist Academy', the 'Living Well Christian Bookstore', 'Sonset Friday Entertainment (Anthony Hackett)' and the music producer Brandon Dent Jr. (all SDA) et al.

- The movie displays at the end twice the message: "Executive producer: God". This is truly ridiculous and summarizes the mindset of the movie - disrespect of true Christianity.

The Man from Earth (2007), by Richard Schenkman (2*)

Heretical movie, to be avoided by Christians.

This movie is maybe helpful for those who want to widen their horizon and for those who are still searching for spiritual truth. But sadly it is not a movie any professing Christian would agree with, nor has it the least potential in bringing someone to CHRIST.

It is technically well-made and the music is good, but the whole concept does not make sense and comes from a confused mind. Everyone expects that this confused story makes some sense in the end, but it does end as abruptly as it entered our mind. Spiritual brainstorming with a dead end.

CONS

- A lot of swearing.

- He implies that Buddha was the greatest man ever lived.

- He claims that he lived 14 000 years, but at the same time that dinosaurs were not around in that time.

- He said that Moses is based on a Syriac myth.

- He claims that he -was- CHRIST and met the apostles.

The movie is deeply heretical and should be strictly avoided by any professing Christian.

Marjoe (1972), by Sarah Kernochan, Howard Smith (6*)

Lots of courage, but no salvation.

This documentary is a hard, but necessary pill for us Christians. Especially for those who like Marjoe confess His name with great words and fake tongues, but have no substance in their faith.

This whole scandal comes as no surprise, but still surprises in its magnitude of insolence. We know about many false teachers and similar techniques, but it is enlightening to hear from the very mouth of one who deceived so many with simple salesman tactics and motivational talent.

Kudos to his courage to speak about him having been a con-man, but at the same time with sadness to see no true repentance of his acts which would have enabled him to find the true Christ, no matter how evil his past was.

Mass (2021), by Fran Kranz (8*)

Truly memorable. Much needed production.

At first I was suspicious about the title, but there was no connection to the Catholic 'Mass', simply an unfortunate choice while limiting the potential reach of the movie.

The movie is truly excellent, and I highly recommend it. It is a surprise that no other denomination has come across with such a movie, which is urgently needed in America, where one tragedy follows another tragedy.

Even in the midst of all that evil, there can be forgiveness and reconciliation.

PROS

+ Excellent actors.

+ Powerful display for reconciliation.

+ Powerful testimony against violent video games, mobbing at schools and unbelieving psychologists who try to improve someone while neglecting the Lord.

CONS

- JESUS' name was spoken several times in vain.

- It takes place in an Episcopal Church, a "middle way between Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions". But it does not show any Anglican elements, only once the term 'parishioners' is used and the EC is mentioned twice as reference for the meeting place.

- No pastor present (at least in the background) to lead people to Christ and to ultimate forgiveness.

Modern Day Miracles (2017), by Luke Broersma (9*)

Highly recommended.

One of the best-rated Christian documentaries out there and rightly so.

Some of the content is hard to watch, but overall the documentary is highly inspirational, both from the viewpoint of simply seeing the good others do, and also from the viewpoint of potentially encouraging others to imitate those good deeds.

It is not a high-budget documentary and some viewers might expect more, but it intentionally slows us down to the basics of life. A very good, but still ordinary movie shows ordinary deeds of humans with an extraordinary mercy and grace towards others, namely to relieve their suffering. It is heartbreaking to see such suffering and to imagine much more suffering in those countries, but it is beautiful to see what can be done, even though at only a small scale.

Mountain Top (2017), by Gary Wheeler and Robert Whitlow (7*)

A good movie. Recommended.

PROS

+ Very creative plot based on the book of the same name (Robert Whitlow). Just some things we never learn and that are left vague. The end was kind of crammed together.

+ Great performances, even though Coby does not fit in at all as pastor and conveys little spiritual authority.

+ Beautiful outdoor shots.

+ Powerful music.

NEUTRAL

o Even though the Bible paints the profession of a lawyer in a negative image, it is entirely possible that our LORD would use the talents of a lawyer for His purposes. But it is questionable that He would sacrifice a pastor for a lawyer. The end of the movie rather suggests that he continued as a lawyer and visited only part time the prisons as pastor.

The movie is entirely based on the erroneous application of the Bible, saying that we have one pastor + elders instead of a plurality of elders / overseers / pastors (all the very same office). The overworked pastor we see here is only in such a position because today's churches don't apply the Bible. A conflict between the income-earning profession of a pastor and his pastoral duties is not something Paul would have encountered. He worked at least part time and still fulfilled his pastoral duties.

o While it is perfectly possible that the LORD speaks to us in visions and dreams today, the movie could also create a dangerous precedent for people who seek to abuse this way of communication. But everything in the movie itself is sound.

CONS

- The image of a pastor definitely suffers through that movie. Coby does not look like a pastor, he is an angry pastor with little compassion and he is overworked. He is also not in walking the Spirit, given the amount of times he rejected the request to help, even after the LORD spoke to Him through his future son. If a pastor does not see at this point that the LORD is speaking, then he is nothing more than a professional with the title 'pastor'.

October Baby (2011), by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin (9 *)

Quote of the movie: "Hate the crime, not the criminal."

One of the few movies that really gets you. But it starts slow, appearing to have little potential to be great. Though this slow start probably helped the real target group to connect. Connect to just an ordinary life, of ordinary young people, who live life. Or at least they think so, until they realize the consequences. Or are caught by the acts of others.

The movie masters to not judge the target group, nor the victim, nor the ones caught in between. It masters a perfect balance from every point of view, while provoking deep thoughts, reflection and emotions for every group, including the ordinary viewer who was never involved in such a drama.

The movie has everything - action, drama, heartbreak, 'crime', romance - everything except more sex which is good - Hannah showing a very beautiful example of chastity here (a word which feels interesting to use). It is deeply moving, brutally honest in every detail and does not embellish anything. This story and wonderful idea would have been fruitless and average if not having been acted out by such a great cast. Hannah, Jason, Jacob, Nurse Mary - what a performance! And as if not enough of surprising turns, the epilogue brought about another surprise which even entirely changed our perception of the cold birthmother.

The only thing which lacked was more Christianity and a real pastor who would have had at least the heart to pray with that vulnerable Hannah. But even this reflected the sad reality of closed church doors which contribute to such dramas. Today we have the norm that the doors of abortion clinics are always open while the doors of churches are almost always closed, except for a few hours of service. This was not the case in the past and vulnerable women would not have had this additional barrier to find spiritual help. Where have we gone ...

But overall it is a beautiful testimony for Christianity, for foster parents who care and go great lengths in bringing up the orphaned, and for life itself - good and sometimes evil. But we do not hate the evildoer, but rather evil - as the police-officer worded it well.

One Night with the King (2006), by Michael O. Sajbel (6*)

Beautiful movie, but not faithful to the Bible.

This movie can be enjoyed and brings the biblical story beautifully to life. A story of improbabilities, of ordinary people used for the LORD's mighty purposes.

It is low budget which shows in the poor renderings of panorama shots, but this is ok. If a scene needs to be faked, let it be obvious that it is a fake. This is in some way honest.

But what is not good is the biblical accuracy. If a movie is based on a specific story in the Bible, it should at least be 70-80% in line with the Bible, but this movie was maybe faithful by 40-50%.

Despite that, I still recommend this movie, but suggest at the same time to read the biblical account immediately afterwards, in order to not confuse the biblical narrative in our minds.

The Perfect Stranger (2005), by Jefferson Moore (5*)

A good movie, but impossible to recommend.

This movie is difficult to review. The director and main actor does (almost) not show any transgressions, by not adding extrabiblical elements to the story.

He tells a background from JESUS' childhood which is added to the Bible and therefore problematic. But the remainder of the dialogue is true to the Bible and possibly not far from His real character. One could argue that JESUS did not speak with a more intense and dramatic voice, but those of us who know the Bible, know better.

But I have a serious problem with the whole concept, to show JESUS at a dinner table. He certainly could do this, in a similar form He appeared in the Old Testament long before his incarnation as the Messenger of Great Counsel, better known as the Angel of the Lord. We do not know how many or few times He actually appeared, but we know that he appeared without doubt to many people and did even go before / behind Israel during the Exodus, meaning that he was seen at the same time in some form by hundreds of thousands of people.

But still, this does not give us the allowance to create such an image of a JESUS, who just happens to sit in a restaurant. JESUS works today in visions, e.g. Muslims often have those dreams and visions before they come to Christ.

Many people would argue for the validity of the concept, but here is the catch. This movie gives us the example of goodness (M. Teresa) versus evil (H**ler). Now JESUS in the movie answers 'alright', which is rather affirmative to her assertion of MT being good. He continues to say that 'she did many good things', which might be even correct in a very limited sense.

But JESUS would never affirm the goodness of Mother Teresa, and appearing today, He would tell us how we got fooled by the Catholic Church and by the media in believing she was a saint. He would warn us that we have to develop a better discernment and not trust what the world calls morally good.

JESUS knows that Teresa lied in 1994, when she argued that the abuse allegations against Jesuit priest Donald McGuire were untrue and when she successfully enabled years of further abuse. He knows that she lied, when she defended him again, right before he was convicted to 25 years of prison after 40 years of horrific crimes. He knows that she committed idolatry when she called Mary our patroness and our Mother, and when she claimed that it is her who is always leading us to JESUS.

While the movie correctly states that there is only one way to JESUS, Teresa would have never believed such a thing, being a Universalist. She rather said things such as "All is God - B's, H's, C's, etc., all have access to the same God." This woman went as far as to directly worship Buddha.

Now we have the catch. People watch this movie, their picture of JESUS is transformed away from the holy, and they wrongly assume that He would call good what in reality is evil.

This is not JESUS.

Polycarp (2015), by Joe Henline (9*)

Great throwback in time.

This is a great journey back in time, right into Early Christianity. It does leave out the real brutality which happened in that time, but still gives us a good sensation how the dynamics in that time had been, and challenges us to stand firm in our faith, no matter how big or -compared with those events- rather small our opposition might be.

PROS

+ Great representation of Early Christianity.

+ Great plot.

+ Great screenplay.

+ Great actors.

+ No problematic theology, but a wonderful proclamation of the Good Message.

CONS

- Many scenes are obviously rendered on a computer. Usually this is not visible (and generally not problematic at all), but sometimes details are missing in rendered materials (e.g. the doors of the government building appear very plain) and / or the movement of the picture is unsteady. Probably the worst scene is minute 68, where Polycarb is about to escape and stands in front of a poorly animated backdrop of a hill. It is painfully obvious that the actors stand before a huge screen / animation, and it would have been very inexpensive to film this scene in the setting of an actual hill.

Rendering should be used when it comes to complex buildings that are expensive to actually reproduce, but never to avoid the trip to the next hill.

- It would be more authentic if the language throughout the movie would be Greek with English subtitles. All the people in that place and time, including the Jews, spoke Greek. It is a bit strange to watch such a movie in English language.

Prophecies of the Passion (2005), by Wayne P. Allen (7*)

A wonderful testimony for CHRIST.

PROS

+ Great comparison of OT prophecies, having been fulfilled in the time of CHRIST.

+ Great outlook into our future, the Second Coming of CHRIST.

+ Overall a wonderful testimony for CHRIST.

CONS

- They claimed that CHRIST died before the Passover Lamb was eaten and before Judas died. This firstly contradicts the narrative thread in Matthew 27, where Judas' death and the final purchase of the potter's field both happened before JESUS' death and even before His first trial before Pilate. A field could not be purchased without the involvement of Roman officials (plus payment of taxes) and therefore took time (impossibly some hours in the night; in our societies usually days or weeks). It also does not seem plausible to have Judas die on the very same day as JESUS and therefore to take away significance from JESUS' death, but he rather died in the hours after he knew that JESUS was going to be condemned - and several days before JESUS.

- A Fast-Track trial is not biblical. JESUS died on the penultimate day of the Passover Week - on the second, not the first Day of Preparation.

- Amnon Shor states that JESUS prayed at the Last Supper the Jewish Hamotzi prayer: "Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth." There is no scriptural basis for this and it would have been unusual that He spoke such prayer in Hebrew and not in Greek. The NT specifically points out the rare instances where something was uttered in Aramaic / Hebrew (see Mar 5:41-42, Mar 7:34, Act 22:1-2, Joh 20:15-17), and then translates this into Greek, clearly affirming the niche existence of Hebrew in that time. We should abstain from injecting things into the Bible that are not there, and especially from Judaizing.

- Almost exclusively academics are being interviewed.

- Involvement of Focus on the Family, Greg Laurie, John Bloom (Calvinist), Lee Strobel (de facto Catholic) and Paul Crouch (TBN, Kenneth Copeland).

A Question of Miracles, by Antony Thomas (8*)

Important documentary.

The Bible warned of exactly those people, that many wolves will come in the name of Jesus Christ.

It fills me with grief, to see the people of Africa, many of whom have already suffered much for a long time, are being abused by those teachers in the name of the Most High. But the truth is that even people in the west are susceptible to those practices, although we could not imagine seeing this happen at such a scale.

What is the remedy? We need to read our Bibles, repeatedly if you are a believer, and at least once in your lifetime if you are an unbeliever. It is the most-sold book of all time and it has all the answers to suffering and healing.

Jesus still heals today on occasions, but certainly not through jacket-throwing charlatans.

Remember the Goal (2016), by Dave Christiano (10*)

A wonderful movie, highly recommended.

This movie surprised me greatly. The cover looked like a primitive movie, and the beginning of the movie seemed flat. But this movie became 'better' very quickly, and turned out to be a very great movie.

+ Great Christian theme which develops after a third of the movie.

+ Great teaching of Christian values (how to care for your body, how to obey a leader, how to obey parents, how to restore relationships with parents, how to overcome opposition, how to be faithful, how to stay sexually pure and most importantly how to trust Him ...).

+ A good reflection on the unhealthy pressures many parents not only in the US are generating, and how their interference -if tolerated- could lead to results contrary to the ones desired. A beautiful reminder to parents to sometimes let go and trust teachers and coaches, instead of being overly demanding.

+ Highly inspirational and enjoyable.

+ No questionable theology, quotations or endorsements. No objectionable clothing.

+ Probably the first review I did not find anything to object to. This says a lot. My sincere compliments to the director and the crew.

The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (2017), by Dallas Jenkins (4*)

Some good elements, but very laissez-faire.

This movie is difficult to review. It has the Christian element of restoration. But sadly there is no restoration when it comes to the main actor.

PROS

+ Great actors.

+ Great script.

CONS

- When he looks for a Christian testimony, he gets to Bono. To mention him as a Christian, is ridiculous.

- The pastor states that the other candidates are "terrible actors", which is a strong anti-Christian attitude.

- They quote the Catholic Assisi.

- They allow him to take communion, even though he is obviously not a Christian. This displays a very bad example for churches in America.

- They play the scene of the women caught in adultery, a passage that is foreign to the original Bible.

- At the end of the movie the pastor's daughter falls in love with an unbeliever who would probably lead her in real life away from church or cause serious problems, if no conversion occurred. Worse than that, they offer him indirectly new roles in the church.

This movie has some beautiful elements, but is laissez-faire in many regards and puts pressure on American churches to rather not chose the 'boring and real' Christians to play a role, but to put up a show no matter what.

It is hard to write those words, because the movie causes positive emotions. But from a Christian perspective and for the sake of building up healthy churches, stay away from this movie.

A Return to Grace: Luther's Life and Legacy (2017), by David Batty (2*)

Timothy Dolan? Really?

Explicit promotion of Timothy Dolan, directly involved in the earlier s**ual abuse scandal. It is hard to grasp why a Catholic even appears in a documentary on the Reformation, but it is even harder to grasp why specifically one had been chosen who had been involved in covering up such a scandal.

The documentary also does not even mention once Luther's connections to the Augustian order, that he famously wanted Hebrews, James, Jude and the book of Revelation removed from the Christian Canon, that he gave his blessing to have Anabaptists executed simply based on their correct opposition of infant baptism and emphasis on adult baptism, his ruthless rejection of biblical inerrancy in his commentary on Chronicles, his anti-Judaistic views that contributed significantly to the development of antisemitism in Germany and of the Nazi Party, and his entire rejection of the biblical concept of 'Free Will'.

I do not expect all those details to be reflected, but I expect at least some discernment and honesty. Minor issues can be left out, but to overlook all those details previously mentioned and to only paint a grossly distorted picture with the positive attributes, is certainly not a Christian attitude.

Risen (2016), by Kevin Reynolds (6*)

A good movie, but not a recommendation.

PROS

+ Good actors.

+ In general well-made, good movie set.

+ Interesting idea to tell a story from the viewpoint of a roman soldier.

CONS

- The earthquake was erroneously shown to have occurred before His death.

- The phrase "surely this man was innocent" occurred too early.

- It is not credible that a Roman ruler (Clavius Aquila) let Bartholomew go, after he ridiculed him in front of his guards.

- Thomas stormed into the room (instead of JESUS entering it), and hugged JESUS before being shown His wounds without asking for it.

- The miracle of a leper after His resurrection is not biblical.

- The 'Simon, do you love me'- conversation is fragmented.

- JESUS would certainly not have appeared in a black robe. We associate black robes on the shore of a lake with another character ...

- There were many scenes where an outsider such as Clavius would not have fit in, but it was an honorable idea to tell the story from his viewpoint.

Sarah's Choice (2009), by Chad Kapper (10*)

Wonderful movie.

PROS

+ The movie is quite organic, with great actors speaking how they would speak and act in normal life.

+ It addresses many different aspects when it comes to abortion and unplanned pregnancy. It is a great tragedy that we are one of the few generations who live in the midst of the biggest genocide in history, which in the US alone cost tens of millions of lives and changed the landscape dramatically. Yes, the US became a successful nation, but at what cost? Is self-sacrifice for an employer, a job title or even for a prestigious account worth the negation of life? Certainly not, as this movie shows in an impressive manner.

+ It is especially insightful that those who speak with Satan's voice to kill a baby, are sometimes the same who can admit in a weak moment that they are tormented by their own past choice(s). It would have been beautiful if Sarah could have already ministered to those lost souls and offer them forgiveness for their sins through JESUS CHRIST, but this would probably fill another movie.

CONS

- None. No curses, no promotion of denominations, no questionable endorsements.

Seasons of Gray (2013), by Paul Stehlik Jr. (9*)

Great movie.

This movie is not for the faint-hearted. It involves many extremes, from butterflies to extreme violence. Usually violence does not combine with a Christian movie, but what Brady suffered by the hands of his brothers, is possibly not far from what Joseph suffered some 4000 years ago. Many, if not most details of this movie do obviously not coincide with the biblical story, but the movie never claims this nor is a close match required, because it is framed in subtle allusion.

PROS

+ Excellent actors. Brady is especially excellent.

+ Great plot.

+ Chris showcases the good samaritan, a behavior rarely seen in our age.

+ Wonderful testimony of reconciliation, of overcoming hurt and pride. And a good testimony of what damage broken marriages can cause.

NEUTRAL

- The scene were his brothers nearly beat him to death is hard to bear, and a car in a lake without a body is not credible, but it still serves its purpose - in a similar way Joseph's coat was used to simulate his death.

CONS

- I disliked the parallel drawn from a real estate agent to the Pharaoh's palace, but this is without doubt how the world thinks in terms of status. And it would not have been credible that Brady would have worked under the president of the US just years after starting a new life. But maybe here the movie should have taken a greater leap of faith and indeed portrayed a closer parallel to the biblical account.

Overall a clear recommendation.

The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (2008), by Rich Christiano (10*)

A very beautiful movie.

What a beautiful surprise of a movie. No teenage drama, no American dream, nothing about self but purely of Christ.

It almost feels like an idealistic throwback in time, and this is sad indeed. Rarely do we find personalities like Mr. Sperry today, who live truly for Christ and their neighbors, and can even forgive a drunken neighbor who killed his wife in a car accident. At the same time we find less and less characters such as that of the children, earning their extra money through small jobs, having respect for parents and the elderly, and especially not rejecting the Bible once motivated to read it.

What a beautiful and encouraging story of love, respect, motivation, fellowship, foregiveness, restoration, redemption and biblical perspective. Highly recommended.

Seven Days in Utopia (2011), by Matthew Dean Russell (6*)

A good movie, but not recommended.

PROS

+ Teaches some good values and Christian principles.

+ Strong example for unity in villages, when it comes to holding together and helping even a stranger.

+ Good example how to obey and follow the wisdom of older and more experienced people.

NEUTRAL

No redemption of the main actor, but a beautiful restoration.

CONS

- A bit too American and over the top.

- Too much driven by performance thinking.

- They play with money. Although not specified as such in the Bible, it has a negative taste.

- They endorse rodeo, which is already problematic by worldly standards.

Overall a good movie, but not one that I would recommend based on gambling and rodeo.

The Soloist (2009), by Joe Wright (3*)

An interesting movie, but definitely not Christian.

It is strange that this movie was being recommended as being Christian. It shows a good message of a social gospel, but nothing else. No restoration, no redemption.

PROS

+ Great example how to help homeless people. He did it while being a professional, but still with some heart and persistence involved.

+ Great production quality and story-telling.

+ Perfect acting.

CONS

- Initial quote by Sigmund Freud.

- 2x SOAB, F-word.

- Use of the name of 'God' in vain.

- Blasphemy through 'GDa'.

- Although being clear that Nathaniel could have only been helped by THEOS, the movie actually ridicules the efforts of the Christian musician who prayed for him.

- The movie goes as far as to have Steve being proclaimed god by Nathaniel, then the journalist 'commands' him in his name and answers him that he is granted eternal life by him. Outmost blasphemy. The director of this movie has a serious problem with THEOS.

So, Who Is This Jesus? (1999), by Crawford Telfer (9*)

A wonderful documentary which I can highly recommend.

Great documentary for that time. Not high quality in picture and low budget overall, but this makes it more authentic and does not take away anything. In fact, considering the small means, it is a great documentary.

He goes into the key places and shows ordinary people (who sometimes make interesting faces behind his back ...). More importantly, he teaches the Good Message in a simple and compact, yet comprehensive way. And he traces the way of JESUS CHRIST all the way back to the Old Testament and then connects to the one who announced Him, John the Baptist.

It is a wonderful documentary which I can highly recommend.

CONS

- Endorsement of Martin Luther King at the beginning of the movie (he was not a Christian at all)

- JESUS did not die on a Friday, but on the penultimate day of the Passover week (the 2nd, not the 1st Day of Preparation).

Stephen's Test of Faith (1998), by Stephen Yake (9*)

Great short movie.

I am a bit skeptical when it comes to visions, but Stephen's vision of the real Stephen is obviously not being sold as something that indeed occurred. Not to say that visions cannot occur anymore, which would be far from the biblical truth. But we all know how much abuse has been done.

This being said, we see a great idea behind the movie, to have the boy go in his dream through a quick time travel throughout Christian history. A low-budget movie, but well-made and without any expectation for more. It fulfilled its purpose in a wonderful way, to educate both children and adults about our history, and not to repeat (or at least to a lesser degree) the endless accounts of Christians going on a holiday trip to Rome and coming back with a big smile, knowing little about what place they had been.

This movie did probably a more important job than many other lengthy movies and dozens of books, written without discernment and watering down the boundaries of the church.

It is very important in our times of increasing Ecumenism, when we are about to forget the past of the 'church' and think that everything is at peace, just right before the other side will one day show its ugly face again.

This Is Our Time (2013), by Lisa Arnold (8*)

A very powerful message.

This movie is definitely not the average movie, and this is meant in the rather positive sense.

Speaking about the negative elements first, it has sometimes the look and feel as if trying hard to make up a Christian 'Friends' format. This is not really negative, but in the scene where one character speaks in the sandwich bar with his ex-girlfriend and his friends on the table behind synchronize their conversation, is definitely in the category of sin, of gossip. Not a Christian thing to do. But that was already all the negative and the positive prevails by far.

The movie is very honest with hard questions to the LORD and with the challenges and sometimes toughness of Christian life. This is far above average and very positive, to have a movie speak about those uncomfortable truths we usually rather ignore. And after we learn many small lessons between the tragic element and the end of the movie, we see then a more complete picture of a purpose which could indeed be of the LORD.

Time Changer (2002), by Rich Christiano (9*)

A great movie - Warmly recommended.

When a brother recommended this movie, I was at first skeptical.

The title nor the motion picture appears any Christian. But watching the movie, I was greatly surprised about a profound and very edifying movie. It is apparent that the makers used an extraordinary portion of fantasy for this movie, but this stretch is surely inspired by the Spirit.

Every one of us would do good to go mentally back in time, may it just be to the 80s, to see a glimpse of the decent and much more moral world we are currently losing at a speed of transformation and especially transgression never seen before.

Today we sadly do not consider many things as transgression anymore, things which would have been scandalous just a few decades ago. Today many of us are quick to call fundamentalist, what would have been utterly normal or regarded as high good back then.

Tortured for Christ, by Richard Wurmbrand (7*)

Excellent, but Reformed (Lutheran & Calvinist).

A movie difficult to watch. Difficult in the sense of hard to swallow amid the cruelties. But truly inspirational - obviously not in the sense to repeat such a tragic story, but to be steadfast in the ordinary life of a Christian and the small things of life.

It is also refreshing to read through the book of the same name a story which is not saturated with half-lies or made-up anecdotes.

It would be an excellent movie if the producer would not have partly ruined it, by inserting at the end music from Calvinists (The Gettys) and composing the hall-of-fame of martyrs almost exclusively of Orthodox monks and priests. When it comes to sufferings for CHRIST, we should focus on CHRIST and not on divisions / denominations.

Quote of the movie: "There are two kinds of Christians: Those who sincerely believe in God and those that, just as sincerely, believe that they believe in God."

Touched by Grace (2014), by Donald Leow (6*)

An average movie with a great message.

The first half of the movie requires a lot of discipline to watch, in the hope that a primitive movie turns into a good movie. And indeed there is a dramatic shift with a beautiful end.

PROS

+ Wonderful message - what ugly consequences bullying can have and how to do it much better by becoming friends with the less privileged and accepted.

+ Great message about forgiveness.

CONS

- Utterly American movie, with homecoming parties and living the American dream with a perfect house, car, suit-wearing husband et al.

- While the main actor did a great job, some of the other roles did not act as well.

- Although she became a morally better person, there is no redemption. She might become a Christian, but she did not.

The Ultimate Gift (2006), by Michael O. Sajbel (7*)

Morally an excellent movie, but definitely not a Christian one.

I am somehow surprised.

Surprised about a beautiful movie, and a magnificent storyline I did not expect. But also surprised why this movie has been, and is being endorsed as a Christian movie.

Yes, there are some scenes inside a room with a statue of Christ and the name of 'God' is mentioned. Yes, there is quite a transformation of an arrogant and selfish guy toward a person he himself did not even know that existed within him. There are a lot of elements that are morally good.

But morals are, although being part of Christianity, equally found in the world. Moral does not make someone a Christian, but only the proclamation to follow JESUS. Now JESUS is not even mentioned in this movie, neither does the main actor find any kind of salvation in this movie. He became a better person, but spiritually not an inch closer to eternity with THEOS than before. This might be a hard pill for some, but the Bible does not teach us that becoming a better I than you had been before, makes you a Christian. Such stories are beautiful, but to be really saved we need to accept the offer for salvation from JESUS CHRIST.

No amount of good deeds and charities and donations will bring you into Eternity. Only to follow Him, and then of course plus the good deeds that follow this decision.

What I saw by accident some months after the review: The producer was or is a Freemason (Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity).

Undaunted... The Early Life of Josh McDowell (2011), by Cristobal Krusen (8*)

Highly encouraging biography.

This biography is truly remarkable and well recommended to watch.

What a beautiful testimony of a family that converted from violence, deceit, abuse, drunkenness, hate, suicide and near murder - to a widely restored family of forgiveness, love, compassion and most importantly of faith in THEOS.

He allows a lot of suffering when every member of a family is rejecting Him, but only one member of the family already changed the whole trajectory.

THEOS obviously loves to write stories as such, with some stark contrasts between good and evil, making a powerful testimony to the world and a further motivation to seek him.

PROS

+ Very powerful testimony.

+ They put a lot of effort into adapting his different stages of life with the proper settings.

+ Just about right length.

CONS

- It was kind of shocking to hear in such testimony the two evil names of C. S. Lewis and Billy Graham. This is very sad, but hopefully it was simply a lack of discernment and not a conscious endorsement of the evil within the 'Christian' world.

Virtuous (2015), by Bill Rahn (4*)

A mixed bag.

PROS

+ Excellent actors (with the exception of the cameraman ...).

+ Great plot, except the inclusion of Afghanistan, which was only to dramatize the movie, but didn't fit at all.

+ Mostly sound theology.

+ A movie lifting up the value of women. It does a great job in reflecting on unhealthy, and sometimes even criminal behaviors and practices of men of status and power.

CONS

- The movie is partly idealized and far away from reality. A women who killed someone in order to prevent a rape may indeed be set free under certain circumstances, but she still has to repent of that act before the LORD. The movie rather celebrated her, which is not right. It should have included spiritual repentance, because her acts -although in self-defense- went against the teachings of the Bible to exchange violence for violence.

- In one scene, the female judge gives her husband a trolley as a Christmas present and sends him after 40 years of marriage out of the house. He abused her verbally which was painful to watch, but such a thing does not justify a divorce as suggested in the movie. This lesson is therefore strictly anti-biblical, no matter how good it might feel to the viewer when seeing justice done.

- While the music is good, the timing and selection for the scenes is terrible. It is often totally disconnected from the mood of the respective scene. It seems as if they got a stock of songs and then just spread them evenly over the movie.

In one scene there is joyful music while an old man falls out of his hospital bed. A few minutes later, we hear again joyful music while a dead body is examined.

- The last song she performed in the church was also not synchronized at all to her performance.

The Visual Bible: The Gospel of John (2003), by Philip Saville (9*)

A superlative in Christian movies.

I can hardly imagine being able to enjoy a better screen adaptation of the Book of John than this movie. It is a tremendous work without comparison, at least as far as I can judge. It is a superlative when it comes to Christian movies.

PROS

+ Perfectly faithful adaptation - faithful to the exact wording of the Bible.

+ Excellent acting. Every character is great - even Pilate who is so often portrayed in other adaptations in not convincing ways.

+ Wonderful choice of the narrator.

+ Not perfect, but great movie sets.

+ Even small details are reflected accurately, e.g. the full moon is shown on Abib 14th.

+ Perfect decency when it comes to critical and delicate details, e.g. they intentionally do not show the 2 angels.

+ Perfect decency when it comes to the display of an image of JESUS CHRIST.

+ Their adaptation does not suggest an erroneous fast-track-trial as in many other adaptations.

CONS

- The women are rather chosen by beauty.

- JESUS comes in my opinion too close to a woman in Joh 6:37.

- Inclusion of the woman caught in adultery, a text which is foreign to the Bible, but sadly expected by the common audience.

- The inscription on the cross is lacking '... of the Jews'. I suspect that they missed it for making up a long text; but no matter what, it should have been included.

IESOUS HO NAZORAIOS HO BASILEUS ... TON IOUDAION

ΙΗϹΟΥϹ Ο ΝΑΖⲰΡΑΙΟϹ Ο ΒΑϹΙΛΕΥϹ ... ΤⲰΝ ΙΟΥΔΑΙⲰΝ.

- The choice of the Bible translation is ok, but not very good. The 'Day of Preparation' is e.g. translated with 'Friday', and once with 'Passover'.

- The producers might have reflected on this, but I was confused when laying down the 'outer garment' meant to see JESUS shirtless. But the display might be accurate.

Where Is My Home(2017), by Jiayun Huang, Jun Zhang (1 *)

Beautiful story, but from a cult.

This movie contains a beautiful story, when viewing it from a purely human perspective. A story of suffering children, victims of selfish adults. And of restoration. Although it is not well acted and the language synchronization is primitive, it is well made, very touching and speaks to the human heart.

But sadly it is a very ugly story from a spiritual viewpoint. Minutes 43-50, later 118-122 and once again 127-128 contain a ~scripture~ reading of 15 minutes in total. If that would be from the Bible, it would be a new record in a Christian movie and truly beautiful.

But while it pretends to be from the Bible, it does not take more than 30 seconds into the first sequence to realize that, although it contains scriptural truth, it is not the Bible at all, not even in the most generous translation, but a paraphrasing of the general concepts of the Bible, a clear distortion of it.

Then looking at the publisher, one sees that the movie was produced by the 'Church of the Almighty god', also known as 'Eastern Lightning', a split from the 'Shouters' led by Witness Lee. Digging deeper, one sees that they see the Bible as obsolete record which "offers no understanding" according to their website.

Now we understand why the movie does not contain the Bible, but reads a text from a book most certainly written by that religious group, which is being led by Zhao Weishan and his wife Yang Xiangbin, the latter who is defined by the group as 'Almighty god', and reincarnated 'christ of the Last Days'.

Stay away from this movie.

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