Movie Review: DO YOU BELIEVE?

Rating: Five doves!

Last night was movie night for my husband and me. Bill reserved a film from Redbox and told me, "We have to go pick it up at the kiosk." He didn't tell me the title of the movie nor what it was about, preferring it be a surprise.

So at the kiosk, I watched the title show up on the machine for the film he'd reserved and the pictures on the cover that formed a cross. I was elated that movie night would be spent on a Christian movie--but I was also leery. Christian movies are sometimes a hit or miss proposition.

Do You Believe, from the same people who brought us God's Not Dead, earned every one of its five doves from this reviewer. This one is a definite hit.

First off, this has quite a cast, including familiar faces that we haven't seen on screen in many years: Lee Majors, Brian Bosworth, Ted McGinley, Cybill Shepherd and Mira Sorvino. Delroy Lindo also has a brief but powerful role as a street preacher. In fact, it is his scene that lights the fire for the story.

Or should I say stories? Other reviewers have commented that Do You Believe? is like a Christian Crash, and to a point, that's true. Like Crash, there are several characters, along with their individual storylines--but that's pretty much where the similarity ends.

Make no mistake: This is definitely a Christian film. The gospel is not at all watered down but rather both presented and demonstrated through the story, which well written and well acted, to the credit of its fine screenwriters and actors. I found myself caring about every one of the characters.

Do You Believe? is about broken people: a runaway pregnant teen with nowhere to go...a soldier who's returned from war and is suffering PTSD...a young woman who has attempted suicide...an older couple who are still grieving the loss of their only child...two brothers involved in crime and headed for an early grave...a dying ex-con...a homeless widow and her daughter...an EMT whose marriage and career are at serious risk, all because he's about to stand up for his faith...a pastor and his wife, who have been unable to have children. Each of these characters will have an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ and His cross, and as is the case with every person who has ever lived, each will have to answer the question for themselves: "Do I believe?"

No spoilers ahead--but I will say this movie is an emotional and powerful ride. It's a storyline that moves swiftly; you can't look away for a moment, because each scene is used to develop the characters or move the story along, and that's what's called "good storytelling."

Unlike Crash, Do You Believe? is guaranteed not to win an Academy Award. Do You Believe?, as a reviewer noted on IMDB, is not a movie striving for an earthly award that sits on a mantle and gathers dust. Instead, it seeks to plant a seed of faith in believer and nonbeliever alike, to offer hope to a hopeless and dark world. Its simple and timeless message is that, no matter what trials you face in this world, there is victory and peace to be found at the foot of the Cross on Calvary.

That is worth more than any award on this planet.

Excerpt from ONE SWEET DAY

(Though this book has been out since January of this year, I realized I've never offered an excerpt. In anticipation of the release of LEFT BEHIND, starring Nicolas Cage, here it is.)

Why was he driving the hearse? That was Jason Nolan’s job. Tremayne worked in the office, consoling families and helping them with the arrangements. Mark Wagner had also been training him to do other things, but driving wasn’t one of them. Now, for some reason, he had the keys to the hearse.

“Tremayne, come here—look at this! Something’s wrong.”

He followed his boss’ voice to the rear of the vehicle. What was Mr. Wagner doing there?

Even stranger, the funeral director and three other people Tremayne didn’t recognize were surrounding an open casket, which had been tossed unceremoniously onto the floor. The carriage that was supposed to transport it to the grave was nowhere in sight.

“Oh, Lord,” Tremayne said as calmly as he could manage. “Where is the deceased?”

“He was in the casket.” One of the other men sounded nervous. “You saw him, didn’t you? I know I saw him. He was in there. Now he’s not. He’s not there, but he was…”

Tremayne squinted at him. What sort of roundabout, nonsensical talk was that? And who was the man, because he didn’t recall ever seeing him before?

Was this even really happening? Or was it a dream? It couldn’t have been a dream because a woman on a bike swerved just in time before colliding with him. A biker disrespecting a funeral procession? So, so strange.

“Hey!” he hollered. “Be careful!”

An older gentleman passing him stopped and pushed his hat further back on his head.

“Hurry, son,” the man urged him. “He’s coming, He’s coming! Hurry.”

“Who’s coming?”

Tremayne didn’t wait for an answer, and even if he had, the man was gone.

And he knew the answer. He knew it instinctively.

With the funeral forgotten, he followed the crowd. His heart beat faster with fear and anticipation. Anticipation, because he was starting to understand what was happening. Fear, because he couldn’t believe his eyes: Several of the graves he was passing had been disturbed. Headstones had been toppled over. Graves were open, revealing fresh, soft earth, with rocks strewn in between. Caskets, long buried, torn open.

Open…and empty.

This was it. Tremayne knew it in his heart. He moved from a fast walk to a sprint.

He recognized that hill. It was actually nowhere near the cemetery; it was the same hill that had been behind his childhood home, where he and his brother had been raised together. By his estimation, there were tens of thousands of people—or more—on that hill, hurrying to climb it. Even with all those people, he spotted Lita in the distance. She smiled and waved at him.

“Wait for me, Lita!” he cried. Her face was almost angelic, beaming, and she was dressed in a pristine white robe.

“The blessed hope, Tremayne!” she called back. “The rapture. Oh, Jesus, my Lord—”

For that moment, he looked away from her to the sky.

It looked like the heavens were opening like a scroll. That brought to mind the words of an old hymn: “And Lord, haste the day, when my faith shall be sight; the clouds be rolled back as a scroll…”

It was as if the clouds were pushed away by an invisible hand and ribbons of color appeared in the sky. Ribbons of gold, of red, purple, every shade of blue, green.

Tremayne couldn’t move. His feet might as well have been bolted to the ground. He had never seen anything so beautiful in his life as that sky.

The rapture. This was the rapture.

The blessed hope.

The day that had come, as Jesus had told His disciples, as “a thief in the night.”

Abruptly, Tremayne opened his eyes. He swallowed hard and found that his throat was dry. His right arm was hanging over the side of the bed, and Duke was licking his hand. The puppy wanted to be let out in the backyard to do his business.

“Okay, boy, okay. Give me a second,” Tremayne mumbled with a sigh.

He always wore his checkered pajama bottoms and a short-sleeved T-shirt, that one bearing the name of a local apple orchard, to bed. Tucking his feet into his slippers, Tremayne shuffled down the stairs with the dog in tow.

Opening the back door, he let Duke out and looked out into the backyard. He and Lita had talked about buying a grill for the patio, along with one of those outdoor table and chairs, so they could have friends and family over for hot dogs and cheeseburgers. Eventually, they’d put up a swing set when their children came along.

No rapture yet, he thought, surprised by that flicker of disappointment.

No rapture. Just that present life, with its pain and its suffering, with its wars and hunger and violence and hatred.

But that life wasn’t without its blessings, too. Life on earth had brothers whose big dreams sometimes managed to come true, and mouth-watering, seven-layer cakes were baked by loving, beautiful future brides. And a job that perhaps wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but which he enjoyed because it allowed him to help families, treating them with respect and kindness, during a difficult and heartbreaking time in their lives.

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend; even so, it is well with my soul.

“Not time yet, I guess, Father,” he prayed under his breath. “But maybe in our lifetime. Only You know.”

Another Cinematic Gem!

Movie night found us watching another Christian film, this one starring Kevin Sorbo, John Ratzenberger, and the lovely Kristy Swanson. Incidentally, I don't know if these films are new to you, but they are in this household. Just in case you've never seen it, do make time for 2010's What If, another well done and exceptional inspirational movie. In a nutshell, Kevin Sorbo plays a young man who leaves his college sweetheart (played by Kristy Swanson) behind at the bus depot on his way to success as an investment banker. He is all about the money: flashy cars, expensive jewelry, and an attractive fiancee who's as materialistic as he is. John Ratzenberger gives a brilliant performance as a tough-guy angel sent by "The Boss" (and, no, by that he does NOT mean Bruce Springsteen--LOL!) to show him what God had originally planned for him, a life so much different than the one he leads, as a minister, husband, and father to two beautiful girls. The angel tells him that he "broke two hearts when you left--Wendy's and God's."

By turns funny and touching, What If is unexpectedly and pleasantly romantic, and as reviewers have noted on on Amazon, it will bring tears to your eyes. What if you make watch this one with the love of your life? And what if all movies could have this much heart?

Thinking of buying this one and watching it again. It's THAT much of a keeper. 

Movie Review: THE ENCOUNTER

What a pleasure it was to discover an uplifting AND entertaining Christian movie!

Okay, let's be honest here. Christian movies have come a long way from the offerings of the 1970s and early 1980s. I'm not talking about the unforgettable Passion of the Christ with Jim Caviezel. What I'm referring to is the low-low budget films with the disciples who speak with a Southern twang. Yes, I remember a couple of movies like that, usually shown at church on Youth Night! They were nothing like Fireproof and Courageous, movies of today that are both wonderful and very well written, besides being a blessing with powerful messages.

But, hey, considering Hollywood has lost nearly all its imagination and mostly now just rehashes old TV shows and movies, many of the "regular", or more accurately, the secular movies are sadly not what they used to be, either. You're just paying more at the box office for something that's not nearly as good as the original.

So it was great to find both The Encounter and The Encounter: Paradise Lost on Netflix this weekend. I don't suppose either movie will win any Academy Awards (and a lot of wonderful movies never do), but as far as Christian entertainment goes, both were well worth their weight in popcorn and Junior Mints.

The first movie, The Encounter, has something of a Twilight Zone feel to it, so yes, we enjoyed that. Because of a road that's been closed (by a shady deputy named DeVille--not hard to figure out!), a group of travelers along a mountain highway are diverted to a lonely diner out in the middle of nowhere, aptly named the Last Chance Diner. The potpourri of people include a couple on the verge of divorce; a confused young girl with a troubled past; a former football player who now owns a burger restaurant chain; and a young woman on her way to her fiance.

Imagine their surprise when their host, the diner's amiable owner, claims to be the Son of the Living God Himself. He even wears a nametag that reads JESUS. (That was precious! :D) In one of the film's most amusing scenes, one of the customers reads his name tag and says, "Hello, Jesus!" pronouncing it like the Spanish hay-zoos. The Lord gently corrects him, saying, "Actually, it's pronounced jee-suhs." The movie has sweet touches; for example, Jesus knows exactly what each of his "customers" would love to eat that night, and He serves everything with more than a dash of humility and a heaping of love.

Christian recording artist, Jaci Velazquez, is cast in the role of Melissa, the engaged traveler, and she does a good job, her moments with the Lord believable and tender. Her story made me smile, because the character reminded me of myself when I accepted the Lord as a 20-year-old college student.

Bruce Marchiano gives a unique, warm and intriguing performance as Jesus, in both films. He gives the Lord an "average Joe" sort of persona, while at the same time reminding the viewer that He is God the Son. He conveyed Jesus as having a sense of humor...as being compassionate..."as not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9) There's real delight in this actor's face and true concern, both when are appropriate to the scene at hand. The movie, incidentally, is scripturally sound.

My husband and I loved The Encounter so much that we didn't waste time in watching The Encounter: Paradise Lost. That one moved much slower at first and seemed convoluted in the beginning. We stuck it out and were rewarded for our patience. The storylines include a drug dealer, a DEA agent out to avenge the death of his sister who died of a heroine overdose, a couple who own a resort hotel whose marriage is also in trouble after their son dies in the 2004 Thailand tsunami, and a former Thai prostitute who is rescued by the drug dealer, played by Robert Miano. As I said, this second film has something of a clunky start, but it was Robert Miano's multi-faceted performance as Bruno Mingarelli that kept us watching. Bruno, a brutal drug dealer, was no one-dimensional character, but rather he had these interesting layers to him, including the fact that he truly loved Mimi. Paradise Lost had its high points and is still more worthwhile than watching a film where swear words are tossed around mindlessly like confetti, and considering the subject matter, the violence level is much less than what you'd see in non-Christian films.

All things considered, both movies made our Movie Night a blessing. If you haven't caught these films, go on and give them a chance. Don't forget the popcorn and Junior Mints!