Flatliners is dead on arrival

Movie Title:  Flatliners

Grade:  D+

Rating: PG-13, 108 minutes

In a Nutshell: I really liked the original Flatliners movie with 1990 Kevin Bacon, so I was interested to see how this remake would compare.   

I was pleased to see Keifer Sutherland appear in this movie, since he was in the original, although his role is much different. 
Speaking of the original, it’s better.

Uplifting theme: 

• I liked the phrase “dialogue of human knowledge” that Kiefer Sutherland’s character talked about.
• Life, death, and somewhere in between.
• Take responsibility for your actions.  The message at the end is explained by one of the characters when she says, "It's not enough to apologize.  We have to face up to what we've done and then forgive ourselves."
• Restitution for wrongs committed in the past.

Things I liked:

• I liked the idea of exploring near death experiences, but the film goes into a jump-scare horror genre, rather than taking a deeper philosophical approach.
• SPOILER:  Ellen Page is fun to watch in anything, so I was surprised that she actually dies half-way through the movie, leaving us with characters that aren’t as interesting.

Things I didn’t like:

·   It tries to be a thriller-horror movie, as well as a medical thriller, but the mixture is very messy and makes the flow of the movie die.

• Stupid sound effects.
• It never explains certain aspects of the plot, like how the med students are able to be physically touched by their hallucinations.  

Tips for parents: 

• Deadly car crash.
• Creepy jumps and scares.
• Med students volunteer to die.  Make sure your kids know that is extremely dangerous and stupid!
• Pre-marital sex.
• A girl flips the bird.
• Some profanity.

Be sure to check out the original Flatliners 

MOVIE REVIEW MOM

@trinaboice 

Miracles from Heaven encourages Christians not to lose their faith

Movie Title:     Miracles From Heaven

Grade:   B

Rating:   PG, 1 hour 49 minutes

In a Nutshell:    Based on true events, this inspiring story is geared towards Christians who sometimes struggle with their faith when when hard times come. 

Jennifer Garner plays Christy Beam, who explains, “A miracle is defined as something not explicable by natural or scientific laws.  But then, how do you explain it?  How does it happen?  Who or what is behind it?”  

Uplifting theme: 

• “It’s alright, Mom.  Not everyone is going to believe.  They’ll get there when they get there.” – Anna Beam
• Albert Einstein said there are only two ways of looking at life: one is as though nothing is a miracle and the other is though everything is a miracle.
• “Miracles are goodness. Miracles are God.  Miracles are God’s way of letting us know He is here.” – Christy
• Faith is peace.

Things I liked:

• Jennifer Garner does a wonderful job as a faithful mother.  I felt her pain.  She made me weep. Since filming this faith-based movie, she has become more vocal about her own Christian beliefs.
• It's interesting how a tree provides healing, like the symbolism of the biblical tree of life.
• It’s always a pleasure to see Queen Latifah. 
• The mom has a sweet tradition of going into each of her daughter’s bedrooms at night to ask them if they want to share any of their prayers with her.  They chat about what’s on their hearts and what they talked to God about.
• I can relate to a mother who fiercely fights for her children.  Doctors don’t know everything.  I loved it when the mom refused to accept the various doctors’ diagnoses, because she knew that something was wrong.  Mothers know their children better than anyone.  Thank God...literally...for mothers.
• You get to see parts of beautiful Boston.  I love that city!
• I was touched by the many good people that came into the Beam family’s life just when they needed supportive friends the most.  We can be there for each other.  We need to be there for each other.
• At the end of the movie, you get to see video clips of the real Beam family who experienced this story.
• How wonderful to have such a loving, kind caregiver as Dr. Nurko, played by Eugenio Derbez.  He reminded me of the lovable Patch Adams played by Robin Williams.
• The lovely Kylie Rogers plays Anna Beam.  I’m sure we’ll be seeing her in many more movies.  She did a great job.

Things I didn’t like:

• The film is a bit slow moving.
• I'm simply dumbfounded that there are still Christians in the world today who think that if God doesn’t heal a person that it means someone has sinned.  
• It would be nice if we just had to have enough faith and then everything would be OK.  Sometimes things don’t work out. it's not as picture perfect and our challenges aren't always wrapped up neatly in a pretty bow. Here’s the deal though…we still need to have faith.
• I wish we could have seen more about Anna's experience in heaven.  I have always been fascinated with “Near Death Experiences.”  This story reminded me a lot of the movie Heaven is for Real , which was produced by the same peeps.  You can read my movie review for that film here.
• The movie preaches a little bit to the choir, but that’s OK.
• A lot movie critics hate this movie.  Sure, it's not a big blockbuster with mind-blowing action and CGI.  Yes, it's cheesy and preachy.  So.  It's nice to have a simple faith-building option in the theater.

Interesting lines:

•  “Why do you think God hasn’t healed me?” – Anna

“There are so many things I don’t know.  But I do know that God loves you.” – Christy

• “We need a solution and we need it now.” – Christy

“We’ll get it.” –  Kevin Beam

“Oh, yeah?  How?” – Christy

“By not losing our faith.” – Kevin Beam (Martin Henderson)

Inspiring lines:

• “There’s a common phrase: No pain, no gain.  And it is, of course, attributed to the sculpting of our bodies, but the same principle can be applied to the sculpting of our character and the deepening of our spiritual life.” – Pastor Scott
• Faith is really the only true shelter.” – Pastor Scott
• Just because things aren’t ok, doesn’t mean there isn’t a loving God.” – Pastor Scott
• Christy and Kevin Beam always tell each other “It’s a good life.”   Studies show that if we’re grateful and positive, we will see the good in our lives and actually feel happier.
• “You either roll with it, or you get rolled on.” – Angela (Queen Latifa)

Funny lines:

• “You know you could go to hell for swearing.” – Abby Beam“I’m not going to hell!  Hell is in California.” -  Adelyn Beam

Tips for parents:   

• There’s a scene where a bunch of people are outside at a BBQ.  It shows everyone having a great time socializing, and then it scans past a table of teenage girls who are all on their cell phones, ignoring one another as they text other friends.    Ask your kids if they noticed it and use that opportunity to talk about cell phone etiquette. 
• No profanity.
• This is definitely a family-friendly film.
• Death, pain, and suffering are big topics.

If you'd like to learn more about the Beam family's experience, you can read it in:

 

90 Minutes in Heaven spends more time on pain than miracles

Movie  90 Minutes in Heaven: A True Story of Death and Life

Rating: PG-13, 2 hours 1 minute

Grade:    C

In a Nutshell:  I wanted to see heaven, not a hospital room.  This sluggish film of faith takes a lot longer than 90 minutes to finally reveal what Don Piper saw when he “died” in a car accident.  The majority of the true story  features the pain and suffering Don experienced after the crash, making the film kind of a pain to watch.  I was eager to get to Don’s “sacred secret”, which turned out to be a disappointing payoff for sitting through all the boring, dreary scenes about pain.

That being said, the Christian film isn't without merit. There are some inspiring messages that will leave you with increased faith and hope.

Uplifting Theme:

·         In the words of Don Piper: “God still answers prayers.  God still performs miracles.  Heaven is real.”

·         “Choose to be better, not bitter.”  - Don Piper

·         “If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.” – Don Piper

·         People care and want to serve.   They are blessed through their service, so never deny someone that opportunity to love and grow.  The people who surround Don are true heroes in this film.

·         Wear your seat belt.

·         God answers prayers.

Things I liked:

·         I love true stories that build faith and inspire goodness.  Christian audiences have proved that they want them and are willing to pay for them.  Keep ‘em coming.

·         Country music star Dwight Yoakam branched out into acting in the 1990’s and plays Cecil Beaumont, a slimy attorney.

·         I always like seeing the real person who movies are about.  You get to watch the real Don Piper give part of a sermon at the end of the film when he triumphantly states “I have been beaten up, but not beaten.”

·         You will learn about the Ilizarov apparatus, which is a fixation device used to connect bones back together.  It’s truly a medical miracle, but looks extremely painful.    

·         Don’s family has a little black and white Papillon named Butterfly.  (Papillon means butterfly in French.)   I have a little black and white Papillon too!  Here’s a picture of mine.  His name is Blaze.  By the way, a “blaze” is what you call the stripe on a horse’s muzzle (nose).

·         The goal of the movie is to help non-believers have faith in an after-life.  Unfortunately, the movie preaches to the choir.

     - I was very touched by the preacher who prayed over Don's dead body.  

     - There were quite a few miracles that occurred during Don's car accident. I loved that Don thanked the preacher for holding his hand, only to learn that it wasn't the preacher who held it...

         I thought it was sweet that the first thing Don did when he returned to his body was sing.

Things I didn’t like:

·         I think Kate Bosworth is gorgeous, but her acting felt stiff and forced in this film.  She goes to bed with lipstick on and doesn’t dig deep enough to show sincere emotion.  Look closely and you’ll notice that her left eye is blue and her right eye is hazel brown!

·         Most people may not recognize Hayden Christensen, who plays Don Piper.  Director George Lucas rocked his world when he made Hayden Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith .  Hayden is thinner and mostly horizontal in this film.  Interestingly enough, Hayden portrays both Anakin and Don as mopey.

·         The acting isn’t particularly good.

·         The screen would show a bright light and I would get excited, thinking I was finally going to see heaven, but it would just be a transition from one boring scene into another. 

·         The music was super sappy throughout the entire film.  Lee Ann Womack’s hit song I Hope You Dance should have helped a dance scene in the movie become a climactic moment, but the song was cut off and the scene never had time to build into much.  What could have brought the audience to tears came resulted in a ho-hum scene without much energy.

·         Cranky nurses should really be fired and forced to find another line of work.

·         I thought it was super sad that Don’s mother couldn’t pull herself together enough to visit her son in the hospital. 

·         I wish Christian movies were awesome.  As a whole, they’re getting better and always share a message I’d like everyone to hear, but this one just wasn’t up to par.

Interesting lines:

·         “You know, you did something Baptist preachers never do…finish a speech early.” –Jay B. Perkins (played by Fred Dalton Thompson)

·         “We’re going to get through this together as a family.  That’s what families do.” – Eva’s dad (played by David Clyde Carr)

·         “David was my best friend and, like me, an ordained minister.  And by far the most loving human being I’ve ever known.” – Don    -   What a wonderful thing to say about another person.   I hope that someone will be able to say that about me some day.

·         “You know what they say about faith?  You can have hope without faith, but you can’t have faith without hope.”  - Jay Perkins  

·         “Sometimes what inspires you isn’t what you end up doing.” – Jay Perkins

Tips for Parents:

·         The car crash scene is intense and you see Don in a bloody state, which might be frightening for some children.  In fact, you see the car crash scene over and over again.

·         Most children will be bored and tired of waiting for the “good stuff.”

Christian movies to hit the big screen recently...see my movie reviews for them by typing their names in the search bar:

Heaven is for Real movie is simple and inspiring

Movie Title:   Heaven Is for Real

PG, 1 hour 40 minutes

Grade:   B

In a Nutshell:  This is a simple movie with a simple message, and yet it is very powerful.  Perfectly timed for Easter, this faith-building film is based on the New York Times best-selling book Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo, the father of a boy who saw heaven during a hospital operation when he was only four years old.

I heard a recent interview with the “real” Colton and his dad on the radio.  Colton is now a teenager.  He continues to share his simple message that heaven IS for real. 

I thought it was interesting that Colton’s parents (in real life) had such a hard time believing their son, especially considering Todd Burpo was a pastor and his wife was a believer.  I suppose it’s easy to believe IN Jesus Christ, but harder to believe Jesus.  What this film does well is get Christians to really think through what they believe, rather than try to convince non-Christians to believe.

Uplifting theme:   

• Heaven is real.
• God is real.
• We live after this life.
• When Todd Burpo gave his final sermon at the end of the movie at church, the notes that he used were only a few bullet points: “Only faith heals wounds” and “God is love.”

Things I liked:

• I’ve always loved Thomas Haden Church ever since he was a young actor in the old TV show WINGS - Seasons 1 & 2
• Greg Kinnear always gives a solid, charming performance.
• The Burpo’s friend, Nancy Rawling, had a beautiful indoor garden filled with flowers and lovely plants.  Nancy is played by Margo Martindale, who always does a great job as a believable character.  I loved the conversation Nancy and Todd had at the cemetery about their sons.  It was truly touching and profound.
• Connor Corum, who played the young Colton Burpo, did a fantastic job and was absolutely adorable.  He has a bright future in Hollywood.
• I loved the scene when Colton casually mentions to his mother that he saw his unborn sister in heaven.  Tears streamed down the mothers face, as well as mine.  I had several miscarriages and shared the pain and sorrow that Sonja Burpo felt.  My heart ached for my little unborn babies.  After my first miscarriage, I found a book that really helped my heart to heal.  The author (Sarah Hinze) and I are now Facebook friends!  It’s called Life Before Life : A Collection of Mothers’ Experiences With Their Pre-born Children. Since then, Sarah has written several other books about life before life that are very inspiring.  I have read many life after life books based on people’s near death experiences, but Sarah’s books take us on a journey in the opposite direction that provide insights that teach us that this mortal life is only a part of the whole story. 
• The movie is about what Colton saw in heaven, but it also illustrates how precious this time on earth is.

Things I didn’t like:

• I was proud of the child actors for holding that tarantula, but I certainly wouldn’t do that for a sticker!  EEK!
• I think British actress Kelly Reilly is so beautiful and feminine, but her singing voice didn’t add anything, unless director Randall Wallace was going for a home-towny feel for the church with small talent, but big heart.
• David Blaustein from ABC News Radio recently said about the movie “The earnest performances aren’t enough to elevate the vanilla narrative from a faith-based film that will only preach to the choir.”  While I tend to agree, the movie still made me cry and reflect on the wonder of life and death.

Inspiring lines:

• “If heaven is for real, wouldn’t we all live different lives?” – Todd Burpo
• Did Colton go to heaven?  Yes.  He saw the heaven Jesus wanted him to see.” – Todd Burpo
• “God crushed my pride and opened my heart to love and all I have to do.  The one thing love requires is to let others know they’re not alone.”  - Todd Burpo
• “You don’t have to save the world, Todd.  I believe that’s already been done.” – Nancy Rawling
• Todd Burpo (played by Greg Kinnear) explains to his son that some people might be afraid of what Colton said he saw in heaven.  “What are they afraid of?” asks the innocent Colton.  His dad replies “That there might be a heaven or that there might not be.”
• Colton’s sister punched a kid at school who was making fun of her brother .  Her parents encouraged her to be more Christian and “turn the other cheek.”  Cassie says “I DID turn his other cheek when I hit him.”

Things to look for:

• Every time there is a scene that takes place in the church, blue is a prominent color.  Of course, the wall behind the podium is blue, but so is the pastor’s shirt, the children’s choir bows, and many of the other people’s clothing.  I suppose director Randall Wallace wanted to use blue to depict a calming, heavenly color.
• I loved the cool birdhouse in their yard and the view from their home in the heartland of Nebraska.

Things we learn about heaven through Colton’s experience:

• "Jesus has a horse."
• Angels have a sense of humor and laugh.
• "In heaven, everybody’s young"
• "Nobody wears glasses in heaven."
• People are always singing in heaven.
• You feel love and peace.

Tips for parents:  This movie is very family-friendly and a safe place to begin a discussion about death with your children.