DeusWar Reviews

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Rooster, I AM YOUR FATHER!!!

[8/10 · 10 March 2024]

In a baby-boomer galaxy long ago far far away...

Tom Cruise: I have done everything in my career. I am the best! However, I always regretted not being Luke Skywalker. I want to be Luke Skywalker!!!

Scientology yes men: Your highness, you are the best! You should have been Luke Skywalker! We have an idea! We can make it happen. We have just the script for you!

Tom Cruise: I'm listening.

Scientology Yes Men: We will make a new Epic Star Wars movie using the 'Top Gun' universe. You will be like Luke Skywalker who comes in and saves the day, and you will also kind of be the dysfunctional Darth Vader father figure at the same time. Boomers everywhere will love it! It will be better than Star Wars ever was!

Tom Cruise: I'm listening. This better be good.

Scientology yes men: Here is the script. We are way ahead of you.

Tom Cruise: *Reads Top: Gun Maverick*. Great Great great! I am still a sexy young stud. Check. I beat the Zoomer kids, because I am the BEST. Check. I get to be a Yoda trainer smart guy. Check. I beat the bad guys and save the day with my own "Death Star* scene, because I am the BEST. Check. I make peace with a son-figure just like Darth Vader. Check. I get the girl. Check. I do it MY way. Check. Let's do it!

... the rest is history! Boomers everywhere flocked to see this re-telling of their favorite Star Wars movie!

Fighting Chance (2022)

Chad: The Movie

[7/10 · 31 December 2023]

Chad is the toughest Chad on the planet.

Chad mom and dad think he is great.

Chad wife is hawt, she think Chad is great.

Chad fights people for money. Chad knows the danger, but he fights anyway. Chad wins fights.

Chad went to the big fight to win the shiny cup for the best fighter. Of course Chad won, but other Chad was jealous. So other Chad hurt Chad real bad.

Chad had to go to hospital. Chad went to sleep for a month. Chad mom, dad, and wife sad.

Chad wake up. Chad has problems. Chad body hurt. Chad mad at God. Chad mom, dad, and wife sad.

Other Chad sorry. Other Chad help Chad with hospital bill. Chad and other Chad now buddies. Chad now ready to work hard.

Chad work hard. Chad wife hawt. Chad have baby Chad.

Chad work real hard. Chad ready. Chad has old job back.

The End.

Let Us Prey: A Ministry of Scandals (2023)

Is half of the truth still the truth?

[5/10 · 28 November 2023]

"I've been watching this. There are many good things being brought to light, but like always, they are broad brushing way too much. The things that happened at Jon Jenkins' and Bruce Goddard's churches do not represent 1% of the Independent Baptists I have known and loved through the years. There must be a clear distinction made between the small minority of men who cover up for sexual predators, and the vast majority of good men who fear God and operate their ministry with integrity." - Spencer Smith

Like many exposure documentaries these days, this one is no different in its treatment of a group in question. Although there are many clearly factual accounts that happened, this documentary goes on to slander all "IFB" groups for the sins of a small minority.

The Hyles, Ruckman, and Andersonite sects of the IFB world do not necessarily represent the vast majority of honest people that claim this label. Often times the most vocal minorities give the appearance that all are the same way, which is not true at all.

Although this exposure needed to happen to clearly show the evils of a minority, it unfortunately unfairly broad-brushed tens of thousands of innocents within this movement, and for that this documentary only tells 'half-truths'.

Hopefully viewers will do research on Independent Baptists for themselves rather than accept the wild claims made to broad-brush the group as was done in this documentary.

Missing 411: The U.F.O. Connection (2022)

Missing 411 UFO Connection

[7/10 · 22 November 2023]

David Paulides has once again created a high quality documentary in continuation with his previous "Missing 411" movies. However, this documentary takes a different route from others in that it delves into the "Supernatural" world of U. F. Os in their relation to missing people.

Anyone who has been watching Paulides has seen his passionate presentations as well as excellent story telling skills demonstrated on his YouTube channel. It seems like he has been waiting to bring out his true feeling which lie with the Supernatural explanations of these mysterious disappearances. Whether they be "Bigfoot" or "UFO" related, Paulides pushes the viewer into considering these explanations for the missing person problem.

He attempts to describe the UFO phenomenon in physical terms as opposed to spiritual terms, however he does allude to the possibility of other dimensions for the origin of objects. I think he should have considered more of the missing subject's belief-systems and UFO/New Age connections during the interview process. It seems that some of the missing had UFO beliefs/contacts prior to their gone missing, which likely contributed to their future issues.

Joseph Jordan who works with MUFON and has a group called CE4 research, has done extensive interviewing and research with alien abductees and has found a lot of truth that could help Mr. Paulides. I hope they can connect sometime in the future. He has helped a lot of abductees. If you are suffering from any alien related issues, please check out CE4 research.

Otherwise, this documentary is a good place to start to ask questions about what is beyond our physical realm.

The Unlikely Good Samaritan (2019)

Unlikely Gem

[7/10 · 8 September 2023]

The Unlikely Good Samaritan retells the biblical account of Luke 10:30-37 in a modern day American setting. Done in a simple fashion with a few actors as well as a few familiar settings to any American this modern retelling really does an excellent job of connecting with the viewer. From the first viewing the film really connects us with the lives of various characters who are just trying to make it in this world. The filmography really lends to the storytelling with the use of shaky camera, blurry images, and lighting during appropriate times for dramatic effect. (Though some may find these effects annoying.)

The main draw for this film really comes down to the ability to prick the hearts of the people watching by helping to understand that no one is truly without sinful baggage. Although there are a lot of clichés present that many Christian films contain, they are in no wise overdone, but rather are quite memorable. The concepts of grace, forgiveness, and new beginnings are communicated well. This film is certainly worth a watch even if the pace is slow at times. It is good to remember that it is a simple low budget film.

Divine Will (2017)

What did I just watch?

[7/10 · 3 September 2023]

If you are expecting a serious Christian movie, then you are in for quite a shock!

Think: Napoleon Dynamite + Musical + The South + Christian B Movie. If you can handle that, then you will enjoy this movie! If you can't handle that, then it is best to pass on this one!

Upon viewing for the first time I didn't know what to expect, just like when I saw Napoleon Dynamite for the first time I was confused. What did I just watch? The first ten minutes that I saw it, I thought it was stupid, but then upon a further viewing I quickly understood that it was me taking movies too seriously with high expectations, rather than just enjoying a silly movie for the sake of silly.

This movie really does not take itself seriously with many outlandish moments, over the top characters, sudden break-outs into song, and many southern clichés. For that reason it is quite a nice break from most movies. It is even funny at times!

Jurassic World Dominion (2022)

Jurassic World: Ticket Sales Dominion

[6/10 · 3 July 2023]

The 'Jurassic' series has come quite a long ways from the original 93' blockbuster hit. I remember seeing the original Jurassic Park in the theater when it came out and being amazed at the first scene with the large brontosauruses, the terrifying T-rex scene, and the insidious Velociraptor scenes. Now, some 29 years later we have the latest addition to consider. It seems to have established excellent Dominion over ticket sales.

It is incredible to think that this movie had a 265 million dollar budget and was able to snag 1 billion. It demonstrates the power of digital dinosaurs, even when the storyline is patchy at best. What can be done next with the digital dinos now that we are on the 6th installment? Bring in new dinosaurs? Check. Bring in old cast members? Check. Make a new park? Check. Have the new park destroyed by dinosaurs? Check. Have some thrilling dino scenes? Check. Have some action scenes? Check. Have T-Rex show up and save the day? Check.

That is the movie in a nutshell. It is more like a safe reboot than anything, which seems to be the pattern of modern Hollywood films. The storyline really did not matter much as long as some key elements were included to satisfy the fans in this massive cash grab. Overall the movie seems long, clocking it at over 2 hours. It appears to have elements of different directors kind of glued together into one heavily edited end result. Graphically it is a beautiful film with all boxes checked: Snow scene? Check. Adventure scene in exotic location? Check. Mountain scene? Check. Night time? Check. Mysterious Labs? Check. Water scene? Check. Desert? Check. Forest? Check. Farm? Check. All of the graphics are there. It somehow worked, even if it seemed as tired as the old cast members making their re-appearance.

This film also had more obvious social commentary 'woke' content than previous films to reflect the modern era with all necessary evil white guys, strong female leads, strong minorities, etc. Included. Everything almost worked together too well to where the viewer did not feel anything bad could possibly happen to the leads despite being in certain "scary" situations. This is particularly clear in the scene with all of the main characters hiding behind a car from the Super-T-rex. It almost had a Scooby-doo type silliness to it. It is a reflection of the producers of this film not taking any risks to deliver a safe product to check all the boxes to grab the necessary cash! In that regard the film accomplished its goals.

The only strange element that I noticed in the film is Malcom's lecture to the student as well as the film's jab at the Bible by flipping Genesis 1:26 KJV (And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.) to say that the creatures have dominion over the earth rather than mankind. There are obvious shots at God in this film which were silly and unnecessary in my opinion. The film tried to be deep with a plot, but ended up being very recycled and lame for the most part. I give the film a 6.

Fire in the Sky (1993)

Hoax in the sky?

[5/10 · 14 March 2023]

Fire in the sky is a movie based upon Travis Walton's account of an Alien Abduction experience in the 70s. A lot has happened since the 1970s to present day some 50 years later at the writing of this review. In that time his crew boss Mike Heston as well as other members have come out claiming that it was all a hoax for money. If you do some research on the internet you can find out for yourself that the whole thing was a lie that never truly happened in the way that Mr. Walton described. Travis Walton was a known delinquent, drug user, and liar. He even failed a lie detector test about the incident. By knowing all of that ahead of time, you can understand that this whole movie is based upon a lie. Nevertheless it makes for good material to make a movie, like so many other fantastic tales from the imaginations of writers.

The UFO movement in general has been based upon a lot of lies, deceptions, and mysteries which is why it has been such a huge issue to this day. The movie, Fire in the Sky, is certainly an ominous movie filled with truly terrifying "demonic" experiences of torture that will leave any viewer with future nightmares. These experiences are certainly real for millions of people. The UFO movement has a few things in common: 1) people generally ask for it or seek it out 2) New Age/occult involvement in the past or 3) family members involvement with occult to open certain doors for these terrible experiences. These are forces that should not be trifled with!

If you are experiencing issues with UFOs, Alien Abductions, etc. Know that you can experience freedom. Search for CE4 research online. As for the movie, just remember that it never really happened!

Echo Rhyme (2016)

Echo Rhyme: Convoluted Mess

[5/10 · 6 August 2022]

Have you ever been to a buffet restaurant before? Let's say you decide to go to one. You walk around and see someone looking at the buffet greedily. After deciding that everything looks great you see him take a huge plate of everything back to his seating area. Like 20 plates full of food. You think to yourself, wow, there is no way that he can eat all of that. Then, to your utter amazement he dumps it all together on top of his table and attempts to eat it all at the same time. In disgust you recoil as you watch him throw his eating utensils aside, mix everything together with his hands, start furiously eating, drop food everywhere in the chaos, and cover his clothing with food without thinking about it during the whole process. Then after awhile you notice that although he tried to eat everything, he was not able to, and then has to leave with a huge mess and lots of food left over in embarrassment. He looks confused as well as disoriented as he stumbles out. You are also very confused as you watch him, not knowing what to make of the whole thing.

This simple analogy is basically what this film was like for the viewer. Like many well-meaning Christian films, Echo Rhyme, attempts to tell a story using far too many characters, too many plots, and too many scenes. It could have used a good editor to clip out about 30 minutes of unnecessary scenes. The idea behind the film was really good on paper, but putting it together turned into a confusing mess. It was very hard to follow and even understand. Emotionally it was all over the place when trying to identify with the various characters. It was just too much to handle.

On the positive side the filmography was great. It was obvious that they used high quality equipment to capture great scenes and facial expressions.

Theologically, the film was confusing as it tried to hoist upon the viewer the idea that we must do 'God's commandments' and 'works' in order to prepare the way for Salvation. It taught a clearly 'Works + Salvation" type gospel. However, at times it also taught a forgiveness and belief gospel. The message promoted was that a villain type character was somehow redeemed after receiving a new heart transplant from a Christian character in the movie. However, he had to go earn his salvation by first doing good works, then eventually he was baptized. (No scenes of belief in Christ for salvation.) It was very unusual and confusing. The idea promoted is that God gives you a new heart, but you have to earn it by doing good works before it is really your new heart. Totally unbiblical and confusing.

The Bible clearly teaches:

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." - Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16 KJV

Rest assured that the salvation is simple, not confusing like this movie.

Old Rugged Cross (2016)

Only room in this town for one false teacher...

[3/10 · 9 July 2022]

On a cold dark day a drifter walks into a sleepy town eyeing the townspeople carefully as he decides upon his next course of action. This recently-divorced, accused of sexual misconduct, anti-hero has big plans for this little town. You see, these poor people are being taken advantage of by a manical prosperity preacher! It is up to our mysterious anti-hero to shake things up! He is here for trouble! He is here for a church split of his own!

As he moves in, our humble anti-hero starts hearing voices directing him on how to shake things up. A beautiful local single piano player takes note and cannot help but be captivated by his bold charisma. Soon enough the townspeople start to follow the new anti-hero as he preaches his new wild doctrines: Baptism Required for Salvation, Saturday Worship only, Lordship Salvation, Direct communication from God, Healings, Prophecies that come true, and a whole slew of other doctrines to contend with! Everyone is amazed. Every cliche is covered!

Will he successfully shake up the town? Split up the local church? Defeat the dastardly prosperity teacher with some tricks of his own?

Find out in this exciting church take on a classic Western movie plot!

Play the Flute (2019)

Neo-Evangelical Youth Group in Action

[7/10 · 31 May 2022]

Play the Flute is a film about a modern American Neo-Evangelical Youth Group in Action. It depicts an affluent youth group in a typical Southern City with the all-too-familiar issue of apathy toward God, immoral behavior, and forced attendance. The film itself had a good use of sets, excellent believable acting, and a good story overall. It is certainly worth a watch, and is one of the better Christian films out there in many ways.

The social commentary on this movie is quite sad as it tries to realistically depict the reality of many Neo-Evangelical youth groups in America. One of the main points that stuck out to me was that the parents in the movie were in the background if not almost non-existent characters in this movie. Neo-Evangelical church people have come to expect that Youth Pastors teach their kids spirituality. Parents have come to believe that it is okay to outsource their spiritual responsibilities to a 'Professional Seminary Trained' Youth Minister. This movie reinforces that sad reality and also gives social commentary to the fact that most Neo-Evangelical parents are not involved spiritually in the lives of their children, thus shirking their responsibilities. Sad.

This movie was really good up until the very last scenes, which is where I will comment mostly. The Youth Leader is able to have good influence and starts to transform the youth group with three leaders being most evident in their growth. There is also an increasingly angry antagonist. The end stages of the movie revolve around the main antagonist, who is a rich girl who is forced to go to youth group by her mother (who pays her to go). She believes that everyone is being brain-washed by the new youth leader and wants him out so she can maintain the status-quo. She also has some kind of issues with men in general as demonstrated in the movie. Her plan is to frame the pastor by falsely accusing him of 'making a pass' at her while they are alone after a youth meeting. This event leads to the Youth leaders eventual dismissal from the church to avoid a scandal. It is very much like the Joseph story from the Bible which is alluded to in the movie. The Youth Leader takes the false accusation and resigns in peace, telling his youth group to continue on and to not worry about him.

At this time, the three most spiritual leaders of the youth group are able to convince the antagonists' best friend to join them to find the truth: that the antagonist lied and framed the youth pastor to get him fired. This is where the movie could have done a lot better. Instead of resorting to spiritual means, the most spiritual characters in the movie resorted to situational-ethics to manipulate the antagonist into confessing that she framed the Youth Pastor. This was sad and went against the message that the Youth Pastor was trying to teach as well as the message of Christ and Joseph. Once the truth is discovered a good portion of the youth group abandons their church and goes to join the ex-Youth Leaders church (since he is now a pastor elsewhere). The Ex-Youth Leader who is now pastor accepts them into his church without question, thus giving a tacit approval to 'Church Splitting'. No restoration is depicted with their old church. This sadly promotes the idea of church hopping.

I thought this could have been handled a lot better and portrayed biblical truth better, but it didn't. For example, the three spiritual leaders of the youth group could have handled the matter in a spiritual way without manipulation by strongly influencing the youth group into following Christ until the antagonist was alone, which would have complemented the beginning of the movie better since it was only one spiritual girl alone versus the crowd of apathetic people. A 'tables have turned' ending would have been awesome. The antagonist did not have to necessarily be converted, but she could have been humbled greatly as her influence was lost, and experienced forgiveness at a later stage, or even a departure. This would have been an excellent ending.

However the ending that does happen only promotes a form of man-worship. The Ex-Youth-Leader accepts a good portion of his ex-youth group into his new church. Years later one of the youth named Squirrel becomes a youth pastor himself and it is revealed that he is the one telling the whole story. Squirrel then cries and says that the Ex-Youth-Leader who influenced him died of cancer recently. The message depicted is one of following a man, doing ministry because a man influenced him -- nothing of Christ. The ending promotes a form of man-worship by instilling a message in the watcher that we should look for a great Youth Leader to influence us, and that is the reason why we grow spiritually. Such a sad ending, that could have had good potential. It is a real reflection of the dysfunctional reality of Neo-Evangelical churches.

We need to remember that it is not a man who influences us, but the Bible itself and Christ.

Silence (I) (2016)

Silence: What the World wants Christianity to be like

[5/10 · 15 May 2022]

A thoughtful and ascetically appealing film, Silence, paints the picture of what the World wants Christianity to be by exploring a moral-ethical dilemma in 17th century Japan between Catholics and Japanese.

We learn that in order to save a small village from destruction a Catholic priest committed apostasy by abandoning the Catholic faith. As we explore this world the message at the end remains clear: the greater good is to give up on God to save ourselves as well as those around us. This has been the long held desire of the world from the inception of Christ's arrival.

The moral-ethical dilemma is presented when the local Japanese leadership promises to stop torturing (and eventually killing) village people if the priest will recant of his faith. The priest ultimately decides to recant of his faith and embraces the beauty of the world (in the form of Japanese culture) for the greater good. This is portrayed as heroic and acceptable in the eyes of Christ.

However, there is a major fallacy in thinking with this portrayal. Imagine if in the Bible Jesus decided not to die for the sins of the world if Satan promised to preserve them for awhile. Would Jesus then be loved by the world? Would eternal salvation be available after such a 'deal with the devil' is made? Instead Jesus refused any offers of the devil to embrace the world, choosing rather to die, later overcoming the power of death, and making a way for us to have eternal life. This is the message of Christ. The Bible teaches, "To live is Christ, to die is gain." This means that the world cannot offer us anything better than Christ, so death is honorable.

In this film the Priest, believes the Devil (portrayed by the Japanese leadership), trusting that the innocent people will not be tortured or killed in return for recanting. This is what Hollywood, as well as the world wants Christians to be like, and wants them to believe: that they can make a deal with the devil and it will work out in the end. In reality how can we negotiate with terrorists? How can a person trust a terrorist who tortures people? Who is to say that terrorists will hold up their end of the bargain? This is the real deception of the movie in that it assumes the evil-doer will hold up their end of the bargain in a good faith agreement. The audience is led to believe that the ones doing the torture/killing are honorable enough to honor their commitment to the priest by letting everyone go free by portraying in the end that they do indeed hold up their end of the bargain. In reality, are we to believe that the Devil will hold his end of the bargain? If we do, it is us who are deceived in the end. And so, if we are to believe what this movie is portraying, we also are deceived in the end by its message that it is okay to recant of Christ and trust as well as be like the world around us without consequence.

A better portrayal of how Christians should act during a similar moral/ethical dilemma in a Japanese setting is the movie "To End All Wars".

The Northman (2022)

Hacking, Howling, Humping, and Hocus-Pocus

[2/10 · 29 April 2022]

The revitalized interest in Paganism in recent days is evident with the popularity of such a film as 'The Northman'. What kind of value does our society place on 'Paganism'? As our society continually rejects its Christian heritage in search of an alternative, more movies such as this one spring up.

In a nutshell, this film is nothing more than "Hacking, Howling, Humping, and Hocus-Pocus". It clearly demonstrates the madness of the Pre-Christian pagan world. There is not much redeeming value. Overall it does not make much sense: just madness, violence, occult, and sex for no real apparent reason. A sort of fantasy revenge-porn adventure is followed throughout the film, yet we conclude that it really didn't matter, as everyone in the film is an immoral dirtbag anyhow, not much different than animals. The film only further clouds the viewers morals with a depressing sense of hopelessness at the end; a sort of nihilism. Such a sad state of affairs. There is a reason why we left these dark ages in the dark.

(I give it a two for the amount of money and time invested in the visuals.)

Jumper (2008)

High Potential on Paper, Rushed in Reality

[7/10 · 10 April 2022]

The concept of instantaneous teleportation has been explored many a time in science fiction. This movie had great potential with good actors, great graphics, big budget, and an interesting storyline. However, somewhere along the way this movie tried to do too many things at once in order to create a kind of super-hero x-men type story, a drama, a romance, a sci-fi thriller, and a deep backstory all in a short period of time. Overall it was a good movie, however it appeared to be quite rushed. Hopefully in the future someone will pick up this idea again for a better rendition. I give it a 7.

Now for a bit of philosophy behind the movie. It is interesting to me that many Hollywood movies try to include some kind of Anti-God propaganda. This movie is no different. The heroes of the story are the 'Jumpers' who can instantly teleport anywhere that they set their mind to. Interestingly enough, when a person has this ability they lose their incentive to do much and instantly use their powers to live for themselves desiring no limits (robbing banks, pleasure, self-indulgence, no limitations). Much like Satan who desires to do what he pleases without limitations. The villains of the movie are called the 'Paladins' whose life mission is to track down the Jumpers and hold them accountable to the law. Their leader always says that 'Only God' should be able to rapidly move from place to place. The Paladins are said to be religious zealots that were responsible for the inquisition, etc. They represent a God-type that is always trying to stop the Jumpers from having fun while holding them accountable to a normal life within the law.

In a nutshell, the movie seeks to make Satan cool and God the killjoy. Unintentionally, the movie shows that having the ability to instantaneously teleport from place to place only leads to a life of ultimate emptiness, always on the run, never fulfilled -- I. E. a life of Sin. This should be a lesson to us that we cannot ultimately do what we please without consequences.

99-nen no ai: Japanese Americans (2010– )

Japanese depiction of Nisei-Japanese

[8/10 · 17 February 2022]

I had the opportunity to watch this series in its entirety not too long ago. It is a very touching Japanese drama about life for Japanese people moving to America in the early 1900s as well as the second generation living during WW2. It really focused on hardships faced in a new country, family-ties, and racism experienced for the "Nisei" Japanese people.

Aside from the obvious Japanese biases, I would say that the series itself was very good. The acting, setting, atmosphere, and portrayal of events were done very well. Unfortunately, it did not capture the reality of Japanese Nationalism, Japanese racism-superiority, hostility toward neighbors, or Pearl Harbor events very well. This does not bode well for a Japanese audience, who to this day are in much denial about their countries' great contribution to the evils of WW2. A drama like this would have been a good chance to open eyes in Japan, but chose to play the safe-route instead to appease public-opinion.

An unexpected portrayal was that of the Nisei returning to Japan and how they were treated harshly. Few people understand how harshly Japanese treat each other, however this drama really demonstrated it well.

Despite its biases, I believe it is worth a watch for American and Japanese alike.

The Twelve Days of Christmas Eve (2004 TV Movie)

12 Days of Christmas Eve: New Age Redemption Story

[6/10 · 15 December 2021]

This charming film combines elements of 'Groundhog Day' as well as Charles Dicken's classic book, 'A Christmas Tale', to create a modern New-Age style redemption story.

A self-centered materialistic type-A business man is met with death after a successful (in his view) day of wooing a Brazilian businesswoman to complete a deal with his company on Christmas Eve. As the movie progresses he continually dies in various ways after repeating the same Christmas Eve day over and over. He is met with a kind of spirit guide disguised as a no-nonsense nurse who helps him to 'be his best self' by learning new lessons through each death until he eventually 'perfects' himself and is granted permission to continue living into the future.

Combining elements of Buddhistic Karma as well as Catholic purgatory this movie tries to sell the idea that it is up to us to save ourselves through our own good works. The idea is that it is possible to redeem ourselves is popular in modern American pop-culture and is continually hoisted upon us as truth. In this 'reality' we become our own god that can learn and determine our own redemption.

Here are some thoughts for the adept viewer:

The problem with the world-view portrayed is that there is no real evidence that reincarnation is true. By watching these movies we can trick ourselves into thinking that reincarnation is true without investigating it for ourselves.

How can the effort of self-improvement leading to redemption be credited to the main character if it is obviously the nurse character who is guiding and manipulating him? Ultimately the main characters 'redemption' is guided by his selfish desire to stay alive. The reality is, is that all human beings are selfish and sinful. We seek after our own benefit above all else and cannot ultimately redeem ourselves. We need an all-powerful being outside of our existence, who is Holy, to redeem us from our sin trap. This is the reality as put forth by the Bible.

Over the Top (1987)

Over the Top: 80s guide to child custody

[7/10 · 10 October 2021]

How did people win child custody in the 1980s? Over the Top demonstrates this for us. Are you taking notes?

• Don't contact your child in over ten years (except by letter, and don't make sure the child reads them)
• Don't ever give a reason for why you left your child for ten years. Just claim that you made a mistake.

• Only show up for your child if your ex is on the deathbed.

• Force your child to arm-wrestle a random kid at a truck stop.

• Do not provide a stable place to live because a truck will do just fine.

• Disregard any book education and go right for the street smarts.

• Prove you are smart by making your kid drive down the highway in a semi-truck without any prior practice.

• When you get mad that things don't go your way, use your truck to destroy lots of private property to try to get your kid back.

• go to jail.

• Sign your child custody away in a deal, then ignore the contract later.

• Bet away all your money in a all-or-nothing venture.

• Let your kid run around the city wildly, stealing cars, boarding planes, running past airport security, taking taxis in Las Vegas, etc.

If you follow these easy steps everything will work out in the end and you will surely get your child back. Any reasonable 80s judge will deem you a quality parent. Man, I miss the 80s.

Bigfoot, UFOs and Jesus (2021)

Bigfoot? UFOs? and Jesus?

[5/10 · 4 October 2021]

Honestly, this movie is a great example of false advertising as it has little to do with the title. The real title of this movie should have been 'Coming Home' or something to that extent, as the movie is really about a washed-up music star that is coming home to her small Michigan town to heal her relationship with God and her past after her abusive father passed away.

The UFO/Bigfoot element really didn't even need to be in the movie. It was more of a gimmick to attract viewers. Oddly enough, this movie portrays UFOs as Angels, when any small amount of research will reveal that UFOs are anything but angelic -- often associated with abductions, torment, torture, and the demonic. Hopefully someone watching this movie does not decide to get into UFOs by being deceived into thinking that they are friendly.

Finally, the casting was also done poorly as the main actress appeared to be just as old if not older than the actor that was casted to be her mother and sister. I think they should have spent a little more time thinking the casting through.

The good elements of this movie were contained in the mild humor as well as the down-syndrome actor who did a great job. Overall, it is a sub-par movie. I give it a 5.

Ad Astra (2019)

When the Void Stares back: Ad Astra

[8/10 · 10 August 2021]

A slow-moving film with some seemingly strong insight into the reality of humanity, Ad Astra, is a rare gem of a sci-fi movie. Throughout the film we are introduced to the future of a space-traveling mankind complete with a fully developed American space program, a developed and commercialized yet politically unstable moon, and mysterious mars settlement seemingly almost out of touch with humanity.

Throughout the film we are introduced to some strong themes; the role of psychology in the future, corruption and evil always present in mankind, hero worship, and the "reality" of space-travel. Our main character played by Brad Pitt is a complex character who by suppressing his humanity is able to be for a time an emotionless soldier who is able to get any job done until he breaks down and reveals his humanity at the end. His dad, played by an aged Tommy Lee Jones, was a pioneer space traveler who in his strong desire to find life in the galaxy went to extreme lengths including abandoning his family, going on an extreme mission to Neptune, and eventually killing his crew after a breakdown and rebellion. The further he went away from earth, the further he went away from humanity, until his eventual death.

Some hard questions are really pondered when watching this movie. Is the future of space travel worth it? Is there life outside of earth? What is most important in life? What is the extent of our humanity? Does science really have all the answers?

We find by watching this movie that the psychological system can be abandoned (scene where main character fails psych test, yet completes the long-term mission). That human beings and science have definite limits (symbolized by the death of the Norway space crew, rebellion on the moon, and the killing of the Neptune crew by the main characters dad.) That after exploring the depths of space with our ambitious science projects, the end result is that there is no life elsewhere, that we are special creations of God, and that our home is earth. That human relations are important (at the end the main character desires one thing: to end his solitary existence, both by returning home to earth and being present in his relationship with his ex-wife.) That forgiveness is powerful (the main character knows his dad broke down mentally, but forgives him, and tries to take him back home despite the evils that his dad did.) Finally, the failure of atheism/scientism as portraited by the main characters father refusing to come to grips with the fact that life does not exist outside of earth, his breakdown and ultimate madness in this quest to find new life leading to the death of his own crew, and refusal to acknowledge God and return to earth leading to his own suicide. Through this we learn that even though in the scientific community the main characters dad is portrayed as a hero, in reality he is a flawed human, showing that the best of humanity is flawed. Hero worship is therefore folly, the real man is far different from the propaganda portraying him as a hero. The most powerful symbolism was shown in the way that as the film moved further away from earth, it seemed that the characters got further away from humanity. Fortunately, it ended with a powerful scene of forgiveness, acknowledging God, and desiring to return back to earth, I. E.-- back to humanity.

Overall, this complex film deals with some heavy topics in an excellent way. It is likely not popular because it goes against the standard Sci-Fi dogma that has been fed to us for our whole lives -- that mankind can evolve and overcome his faults, that he is destined for the stars, and that life exists outside of earth. For those reasons, this movie will not sit well with many.

Aquaman (2018)

New respect for the Ocean

[7/10 · 4 July 2021]

After watching this movie I just want to say that I will never take for granted how much work aquamen put into giving us good quality crab meat. We may never know of the sacrifices that they made for us. I will never complain about the high prices that I pay for crab meat again.

Translated (2018)

Translated: Neo-Evangelical take on the Apostle Paul in Modern Times

[4/10 · 4 June 2021]

A great idea for a film in which the Apostle Paul is somehow mysteriously taken from first century Rome and placed in the 21st century American northwest area of Eugene, Oregon. It started off as a really good movie for about 30-45 minutes complete with realistic Greek as well as Hebrew speaking with English subtitles. As the movie progressed it went on many rabbit trails and became unclear as to its plot. Who was the main character? Paul or Tim? Why all the unnecessary scenes about dating the reporter? Interpretive dance? Villains plotting, then no resolution? It tried to create a movie about Paul, a movie about Tim and his romance, and a side-scene about some villains that oppose Paul. It was a good idea, but got lost in itself somewhere along the way. The editors could have easily cut about 30-40 minutes to focus on the main character to really create something good, but instead we got a lot of scenes of church people that wanted to be in a movie.

Theologically, the movie was highly questionable which was the greatest disappointment. It was more of a cool Neo-Evangelical take on how the Apostle Paul should act as well as how the church in general is messed up.

In the movie Paul works illegally at a wine vineyard that is used to create wine? Paul is non-judgmental in one scene toward Tim's room-mate that is about to fornicate, in which he basically says only God can judge and later apologizes to him. They end by going into his room to play video games. We get the impression that Paul was a weakling when it came to moral issues. Paul also meets with various pagan religious leaders to learn about them, but never to challenge them with the gospel as that would be judgmental. Hardly anything like Paul from the scriptures. There is a jail scene where Paul is falsely imprisoned and the jailer confesses his personal sin to him, but is utterly lacking of any gospel presentation. (Would have been a perfect time for it.) Also, Tim's room-mate somehow comes to Christ, but we don't know how it happened. We see him Baptized, but that is about it. Paul does a miracle, but no gospel is mentioned at all. After the miracle he gets his own TV show by weakly giving into a producer who compels him to sign an agreement, but we don't know anything about what he says or does on the show. Paul was a real jelly-spine when the world pressured him apparently.

Finally, Paul's main reason for coming to the future is to somehow create an ecumenical alliance of various groups in Eugene Oregon, while condemning their divisions. This is the ultimate Neo-Evangelical fantasy -- to bring everyone together for a huge kumbaya session while utterly disregarding any kind of doctrine. This is the complete opposite of anything that Paul taught in the Bible. Paul comes off as an impotent old man that never judges, never shares the gospel, is cool, and promotes some kind of silly unbiblical ecumenical unity. Biblically, this movie is highly questionable.

As I watched I thought it would be an interesting take to have Paul come to the future to create an ecumenical alliance quickly in order to prepare a one-world-church for the Anti-Christ. Would have made a good thriller! But, alas I got a cool Neo-Evangelical Paul instead. Oh well, it was free. Thank you Encourage TV on Youtube.

Turbulent (2017)

Turbulent Times

[5/10 · 10 March 2021]

Finally, after much anticipation, I was able to sit down and see Turbulent. Now, as a low-budget Christian film fan my expectations were not too high going into this. I can appreciate the sets used in the film which amount to an office, a house, a forested area, and inside of a small airplane. The filmography and acting were decent overall. Good job for a low-budget.

Turbulent seemingly has a double meaning for both the marriage depicted in the film and the winds causing the airplane accident in which the plot is centered around. If this film had focused on one element instead of both at the same time it would have been a decent film in my estimation.

Admittedly, I came into this film hoping for a survival flick with a spiritual message. Instead, I got a movie with a lot of lengthy flashbacks and continual reminders of a dysfunctional marriage. Many Christian movies are focused around a cliché dysfunctional marriage with a saved versus unsaved spouse leading to an eventual salvation resolution for the unsaved spouse, and this film is no different. What was bothering was the lack of imagination that went into the survival element of the film. To my dismay, this aspect made the film almost unbearable as it appears that the main focus was on the marriage element at the cost of the survival element.

Some elements could have been considered more closely for the survival aspect such as: building a shelter, foraging through the wreckage for supplies, looking for a first aid kit, building a huge fire to signal smoke for rescue, not using stagnated water on wounds, etc. I tried to tell myself that he was just in shock, so he didn't do anything, but then the film ended in a rescue with almost no effort put in by the main character to be found. (He was in a cave when the rescue team came.)

If you can ignore the lack of survival elements and focus on the marriage and spiritual elements you may like this movie.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Seeking: Missing Sled

[8/10 · 11 February 2021]

To whom it may concern,

A reward of $10,000 will be given by master Kane for the whereabouts of a certain prized sled with the name 'Rosebud' inscribed upon it. This certain sled is the key to the life purpose of Mr. Kane. He will know if it is the correct sled, so please no imitations. Please arrive at the mansion Xanadu, in the deserts of the Gulf Coasts in Florida.

Signed, The Butler 1940

God Where Are You? (2014)

Twilight Zone for Christians

[7/10 · 23 January 2021]

The best way to sum up this film is Twilight Zone for Christians. It has a lot going for it until some unreal things happen toward the end that make it seem almost surreal. Overall it is a good film with a few moments of annoying music that takes awhile to go away.

Power of the Air (2018)

Good Movie with Bad Theology

[6/10 · 11 January 2021]

I saw this recently on YouTube for free. Overall, it was a good movie in the sense of acting, filmography, and script. My only contention is that it promotes the idea that Christians need to 'Beat the world at its own game'. Basically, it says that rather than separating from the world, that Christians should try to beat the world at its own game by making movies, using radio, etc. This is the idea of Kingdom Now Theology in which we are to reform and Christianize the world, which is unbiblical.