Movies that I will never Recommend

After sixteen years of producing TV content some people are astounded when they find out that I haven't seen most of the films that have captivated them and the rest of the world. Some of these folks are other media professionals, most are Christians and I usually just respond by saying, "no, I never saw..." Now, I would like to share why I have not felt compelled to see films that are touted as "masterpieces of film making." Simply stated, holiness trumps knowledge of the world.

Unfortunately the list of films that I have seen and regret seeing is much longer then it should be. Some of the films that I include in this list may surprise you. Films like the Passion of the Christ and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and Schindler's List as well as stinkers like Buckaroo Bonzai and pointless films like the adventures of Mary Kate and Ashley. Some will argue that since many people came to know Christ after watching Passion of the Christ and many others draw spiritual truth from the Lord of the Rings that they are good movies. God does use flawed people and movies to influence people but that does not justify the use of wrong methods.

My criteria is pretty simple: If the film has no redeeming value, I'm not interested. If the film resorts to the use of excessive violence, sex, or emotional manipulation, I'm not interested. If the filmmaker operates under the illusion that they must be super realistic in order to tell a good story, I'm not interested.

About 25 years ago I read the conclusions of Malcolm Muggeridge, a long time producer for the BBC. He basically said that movies and TV did more harm then good. He was right. There are a few people who have managed to use the medium to tell meaningful stories in a wholesome way. Recent productions that have given me hope are The Ultimate Gift and Butterfly Circus. Sadly, while visiting a friend's home recently they were selecting a movie to watch. I recommended that they consider these two options but my suggestion fell on deaf ears while they proceeded to watch a horror film. There happened to be one person who expressed interest in watching The Ultimate Gift. That person does not profess to have a relationship with Christ.

Some argue that since the Bible gives the gory details and juicy tidbits it is okay for us to portray such acts vividly. Desensitization to real human travail, sorrow, ecstasy, etc. is dangerous. I have watched a young child die, attended accident victims, and experienced numerous other extreme situations - they are not neat and tidy, they are rightfully difficult to deal with. I would not have willfully chosen to experience them but God directed me into them and His grace was with me.

When we willfully choose to expose ourselves to things that God hates, i.e. violence, lust provoking imagery, proud looks, and rude speaking, it is simply wrong. What can we say to defend our tolerance of such things "hey God, cut me some slack, I need to be entertained."

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about [and view] such things. - Philippians 4:8

Movie Review: Life as We Know It

My wife, Lori and I, attended a complimentary screening of the movie Life as We Know It to facilitate my review and received a gift card from Mom Central as a thank you for our time.

Life as we Know it was Directed by Greg Berlanti. Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel, Josh Lucas starred in this story of two single adults who become caregivers to an orphaned girl when their mutual best friends die in an accident.

The formula for romantic comedies always seems pretty simple and most people don’t mind seeing elements of the Taming of the Shrew, or The Quiet Man or It Happened One Night repeated over and over, so I won’t fault the makers of Life as We Know It for returning to the predictable theme of two people who hate each, other falling in love. I also won’t fault them for having a fairy tale ending because that’s really what most viewers want from a romantic comedy but there are plenty of other elements in this movie to be concerned about.

Good acting, high production values, and funny gags simply aren’t enough to make this movie worth seeing because of the absence of a single admirable character. The movie condones and deems normal a long list of vices including, homosexual unions and portraying a homosexual couple as the parenting experts, sexual promiscuity and drug use, and almost every couple having one person with a wondering eye. It may not come as a surprise that the child who is supposedly so loved comes across as more of a prop than an actual character. 

As the father of a family with eleven children I failed to appreciate a gag about a father of nine being unable to identify one of his children or remember exactly how many children that he had.


Suffice it to say that I would recommend that you save your pennies for an alternative like “It Happened One Night” with Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable.