The Shack gets polar opposite reviews of A and F

Movie Title:  The Shack

Grade:  B

Rating: PG-13, 132 minutes

In a Nutshell:  Based on the best-selling New York Times novel by Canadian author William P. Young, this lovely film can heal your heart if you let it.  Lose the cynicism at the door and just allow yourself to feel the love. 

It’s filled with beautiful symbolism and metaphors, yet movie critic haters have given it an extremely low score of F on Rotten Tomatoes.  Christians and fans, however, have given it an A rating on CinemaScore.  You be the judge.  (You being the judge is a strong theme in the movie.)

Uplifting theme: 

• “Pain has a way of twisting us up inside and making us do the unthinkable.” – Mack Phillips (Sam Worthington)
• There is no quick fix to problems. 
• “Don’t forget to enjoy the journey.” – Sarayu (Sumire Matsubara)
• Forgiveness, hope, love, faith, patience
• “Everything bares consequences.” – God
• “You’re not stuck because you can’t; you’re stuck because you won’t.” – God
• “With every act of kindness, the universe changes for the better.” – Jesus (Aviv Alush)
• “What do I do?” – Mack when he was a kid

“Talk to God.  He’s always listening.” – family friend/Papa

Things I liked:

• I love how God is revealed how the character can best accept him/her.
• Beautiful imagery of baptism when he goes under the waterfall.
• Lovely scenery and images.
• The colorful image of the father and son together, forgiving each other was touching.
• I loved the image of Jesus and Mack running across the water together.
• I was impressed with Nan Phillips, the wife, (played by Radha Mitchell) who never blamed her husband once.  What an incredible example of forgiveness and understanding she was.
• Octavia Spencer makes a wonderful God.  Her award-winning movie Hidden Figures is still playing in some theaters.  I also thought it was interesting to show God as a wise, old Indian father, played by Graham Greene. 
• How many of you still think of the movie Avatar whenever you see Sam Worthington?  Did you know Disney’s newest attraction Avatarland opens in May 2017!  My friend, who has the dream job of a Disney Imagineer has been working on this project for months!  I'm so excited to see it!
• Amelie Eve is adorable as Missy Phillips.
• Singer Tim McGraw has been showing up in Christian films quite a bit recently.  Good for him.
• I thought casting Aviv Alush as Jesus and Sumire Matsubara as Sarayu (Spirit) were fascinating choices.
• When Mack asks, “Which one of you is God”? all three characters say, “I am.”  I liked that portrayal of three personages with a singular purpose.  I also love that he spends time with each one as a friend.
• The way the central problem in the story is resolved is a biblical one that may seem too simple, yet is very powerful: trust in God, even when you can’t see or understand what God is doing.
• SPOILER: There is a lot of abstract philosophysing, but Mack is able to apply the principles and put into practice what he has learned.

Things I didn’t like:

• The story jumps back and forth in time a lot in the beginning.
• I think almost every parent has experienced that terrible feeling when you can’t find your child, even if it’s just for a few minutes in the grocery store when your toddler dashes down a different aisle.  The experience in this movie will touch every parent’s heart.
• There are few bad editing moments.
• For some who are currently experiencing grief in their lives, this can be a healing experience or one that is still too painfully raw.
• Most of the music is super cheesy.
• SPOILER: He never has to atone for his own sin of killing his father.
• SPOILER:  A dream?  Really?  Isn’t that the worst cop-out ever?  I didn’t read the book, but I’m told the author didn’t stoop that low.

• Interesting lines:
• “If God’s always with us, why does he care if we’re late to church?” – Missy Phillips

“God cares, because your mom cares.” – Nan Phillips  (great answer)

• “Son, when all you see is your pain, you lose sight of me.” – God
• “Why would you keep working on me?” – Mack

“Cuz that’s what love does.” – God

• “Don’t forget – we love each other.” – Nan
• “Dreams are especially important.  They’re a way of opening a window and letting the bad air out.” – God
• “You misunderstand the mystery.” – God
• “Love always leaves a mark.” – God
• “I don’t need to punish people; sin is its own punishment.” – God
• “When a star twinkles, a prayer is heard in heaven.” – Mack

“Wow, Papa sure is busy.” – Missy

• “Religion is too much work.” - Jesus
• “You want the promise of a pain-free life.  There isn’t one.” – Wisdom

Funny lines:

• “I always pictured you with a white beard.” – Mack

“I think that’s Santa.” – God

• “Honey, you have no idea how much I’m doing right now!” – God
• “Do you like Neil Young?  I’m especially fond of him.” – God
• “Serei can be very persuasive.” – Jesus

“If only I were smart enough to understand a word she says.” - Mack

Tips for parents: 

• The film addresses child abuse, abduction, murder, domestic violence, alcoholism, hypocrisy, religion, Christianity and other heavy subjects.
•  Mack says, "OMG!", but God immediately forgives him; otherwise, no profanity in this movie.  Yay! 

@trinaboice 

Hacksaw Ridge spills blood and faith in big amounts

Movie Title:  Hacksaw Ridge

Grade:  A

Rating:  R, 139 minutes

In a Nutshell: This is NOT your typical Christian movie.  Directed by Mel Gibson, this graphic, true story inspires faith and courage amidst a background of the brutal, horrors of World War II. 

The audience cheered and clapped several times during the movie to honor the first “conscientious objector" to receive the Medal of Honor, Desmond T. Doss.  The theater I sat in was also filled with veterans, based on their reaction and the comments I heard from them while we slowly walked out.

Uplifting theme: 

• “When the world is busy tearing itself apart, it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to me to want to put a little bit of it back together.” – Desmond
• How well do you hold to your convictions?  How well do you show respect to those who do? 
• Bravery, cowardice, patriotism, friendship.

Things I liked:

• The star cast really knocked it out of the park on this one.  The acting really was stellar, led by Hugo Weaving, Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, and Dorothy Schutte.  Vince Vaughn was surprisingly effective. Hugo Weaving was absolutely amazing.
• Most people don’t much about Seventh Day Adventists. It was inspiring to watch a man truly live his religion.
• It reminded me a little bit of the faithful story in Saints and Soldiers, but with the gore and drama of Saving Private Ryan
• How do they film war scenes like this?
• I always love true stories where you get to see video footage and pictures of the real people the story is about at the end of the movie.
• Desmond goes to Fort Jackson.  I didn’t realize it was around during WWII.  My oldest son went there for his Army training too.
• Mel Gibson was a Hollywood hunk for many decades, only to be laughed at and dismissed in the past few years as a jerk and wackadoodle.  This film may be his comeback and apology.  It’ll be interesting to see if anyone is willing to grant him an Oscar.  Gibson is on par with his excellent work in Braveheart and Apocalypto  After a 10 year directing break, welcome back, Mel.
• There is a huge contrast between the sweet, innocent love story between Desmond and Dorothy during the first half of the movie and the brutal, gory carnage of the second half.   That stark contrast reminds me of the incredibly powerful movie “Life is Beautiful.”

Things I didn’t like:

• Does faith, patriotism, and courage have to be packaged with so much violence and gore to be appreciated?
• No guns.  No killing.  Where have I heard that before?  Oh yeah....Batman.
• You feel like your gut has been punched and your heart ripped out by the time you stagger out of the theater.

Here's an interesting trailer with Mel Gibson.  Did he get religion?

Interesting lines:

• “The U.S. Army does not make mistakes.” – 
• “You better come home to me.” – Dorothy Schutte (Teresa Palmer)
• “In peace, men bury their sons.  In war, fathers bury their son.” – Vito Rinnelli (Firass Dirani)
• “You didn’t kill him. “ – Smitty (I loved Luke Bracey in Point Break (2015) 

“In my heart, I did.” - Desmond

• “All I saw was a skinny kid.  I didn’t know who you were.” – Captain Glover (I chuckled to myself, because Sam Worthington's character in Avatar was all about "I see you.") 

Funny lines:

• “I have seen corn stalks with better physiques.” – Sgt. Howell (Vince Vaughn)
• “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy. Keep climbing.” – drill
• “You’re like gum on a shoe, ain’t ya?” – Sgt. Howell
• “It’s a bit late for target practice, don’t ya think?” – Sgt. Howell 
• “I’m going to marry her. “ – Desmond

“Does she know it?” –  Bertha Doss (Rachel Griffiths)

Tips for parents: 

• This is NOT a children’s movie.  It’s rated R for extreme violence, gore, lots of scary dead bodies, and realistic war images.
• You see the rear end of a naked soldier.
• It’s surprising how little profanity there is, considering the movie is full of tough soldiers in horrible situations.