Film Review: Seven Days in Utopia
Dave Minkus
score: 1/4
I generally keep my faith out of ScreenGeeks.com. I’ve never shied away from the fact that I’m a Christian, but I’ve made a conscious decision not to base what we do around that fact. The point of this site is to talk about film and our love of this beautiful art form. With that in mind, I hope you’ll indulge me for this review as my thoughts when it comes to Seven Days in Utopia are directly affected by my faith, beliefs and convictions.
Christian movies have always had an uphill battle. The apparent train of thought held in the Christian filmmaking community is that the genre must always be in service to the message. This means that certain things can NEVER occur in a Christian movie. Things like swearing, violence, sexualization of any kind gore, crude humor, or anything relating to dark spiritual forces just don’t show up in Christian movies. The theory is that by even showing these things, you are glorifying them, which isn’t what good Christians do. Living by that one rule, most Christian movies end up sacrificing things crucial to the cinematic experience like solid set design, an engaging story and competent direction, writing and acting. If you were to look at most Christian movies, the problem doesn’t lie in the religious message. The problem is everything else.
Over the past ten years or so, though, some films have dared to buck that trend. This year’s Soul Surfer makes no bones that Christianity and faith are incredibly important to the Hamilton family, but they don’t make a display of gratuitous Christianity that crams that faith down your throat. The faith is always present and integral to the entire family, but it isn’t reduced to a spectacle. In 2006’s The Second Chance, writer/director Steve Taylor brought what I think is the most honest and powerful Christian film to date by turning the camera on the church and exposing us for what we are, human. Most importantly and shocking, though, is that it proved Michael W. Smith could act. Yes, there are a couple of swear words, but they reflect the world we live in and the movie questions the way we live as the Christian church in America.
So now we come to the movie I’m supposed to be reviewing. There’s just no nice way to put it; Seven Days in Utopia is a complete failure in every goal it could possibly be setting out to achieve. Outside of a performance by Robert Duvall that is fuelled by pure conviction, there isn’t a single thing to recommend about this movie.
The story is about a golfer named Luke (Lucas Black) who loses it while being at the cusp of becoming a superstar and finds himself in Utopia, Texas, where Duvall’s Johnny offers to help Luke get his groove back if he’ll stay in town for a week. Having nothing to lose, Luke accepts the offer and finds himself stuck in a town with what appears to be only one woman under the age of 50, an emotionally stunted Texas hick who is such a jerk he gives Texas hicks a bad name, and other one-dimensional characters who barely merit mentioning. Luke has a Bagger Vance-like experience with Johnny, goes back to golfing and I’ll let you guess how the movie ends. The worst part is that you’ll still be guessing even after the movie is over, but we’ll get to that later.
I’m purposely leaving out the names of the other actors involved in this film because I firmly believe the awful performances are not their fault. Exhibit A for this is just how wasted Joseph Lyle Taylor is. You might know him as Doyle Bennett in the FX show Justified. In that show, Taylor shows he has acting chops and can be compelling. In this movie, however, he’s relegated to being the overbearing dad without a single redeeming quality. I could go down the list of actors and give them a single trait like this ad nauseum, but I won’t. The point is that writer David Cook and writer/director Matt Russell have crafted a supremely boring movie that by most accounts would be (and should be) overlooked as harmless fluff.
The problem becomes that this movie also has Christian themes…or at least it’s supposed to. Being a G-rated movie geared toward adults means 99% of the time, it’s a Christian movie. It’s entirely possible to do this right. Disney’s The Rookie is proof positive of that. The filmmakers decided that they needed to make a movie that is as family-friendly and toothless as other Christian movies, but I guess they forgot to put the Christian part in there. Instead of having the message most Christians would expect, the movie ends up meandering philosophically throughout the movie and dabbling in themes that could be interpreted as Christian, but also qualify as Buddhist. It’s like they were scared to say the word Jesus. So we end up with a movie about golf, but is actually about how life is more than golf…yet doesn’t actually explain what the definition of what that “more” is. This results in an intellectually insulting piece of trash.
Say what you will about the Left Behind movies, Fireproof, or if you’re older like me, the Thief in the Night movies from the 70’s, but those movies have a definite message. Even if they are a complete failure of an artistic exercise, there is an integrity to them. You know that you’re going to get crappy acting and directing, but a positive Christian message, and that sells these days. It’s like watching a Troma movie. You know EXACTLY what to expect when that label is attached and you’re never disappointed. Yes, I just compared the Christian film industry to what could legitimately be called the only truly grindhouse studio around. I’m a little stunned I went there myself.
Before I get to my main problem, the ludicrous amount of product placement must be addressed. I’m pretty sure Calloway Golf must have paid for at least half the budget of this movie. I found myself yearning for the subtlety of Snakes on a Plane and how they discreetly placed products in scenes. If there is ANYTHING golf related, Calloway is there. If someone is wearing a baseball hat, it’s a Calloway hat. When Daddy Dearest tries to make up with his boy? He said he was sorry with “Calloway’s latest and greatest driver”. I also found out after the movie from one of my coworkers that every single pro golfer who appeared in the movie is sponsored by the same company. I’ll give you two guesses who that company is and the first two don’t count. Seriously people, have a little dignity.
I think I would’ve been willing to just write Seven Days in Utopia off as just another failed attempt at a mainstream Christian movie, but I haven’t reached the ending yet. Yes, I am going to spoil the end of the movie. I am usually vehemently against spoilers, but I feel a responsibility to you, the reader, to warn you of what you have ahead of you should you decide to buy a ticket and catch this atrocity over the weekend. I’d warn you to stop reading if you don’t want spoilers, but this is important enough that you need to read the next bit.
The movie doesn’t end. No, seriously. It doesn’t have an ending. There’s a scene with Duvall narrating that puts a perfect bow on the film that is in keeping with everything else that has happened previously and is in the spirit of the movie. Any crappy filmmaker would have let the fade out happen and then role the credits. Apparently THESE filmmakers decided they hadn’t insulted the audience enough. After said fade to black after they establish that what happens in the climactic moment doesn’t matter, we get two lines of text, each followed by a fade out.
“Want to see how the story ends?”
“Go to http://www.didhemaketheputt.com”
roll credits
A better ending would have been a terrorist running onto the golf course, detonating a suicide bomb and killing the entire cast followed by a grand finale consisting of a crane shot widening out and the maimed corpses breaking out into a chorus of “Always Look On the Bright Side of Life”. It sure would have been in better taste. You don’t take people’s hard earned money and then tell them to go to a freaking website that ends up being proselytizing tool. Here’s tip for the filmmakers: If you want to make this movie a pathetic attempt to be an evangelism tool, don’t take people’s money and then pull a scam like this. At its best, you are telling the audience that you’ve just wasted their time because you don’t know how to end a movie. At its worst, you are cheating the people you’re trying to reach out of their hard earned money in quite possibly the most despicable way possible. With the purchase of a ticket comes the implied agreement that the movie I am about to walk into will end on screen. The ending might be awful, but it WILL end. Had I purchased a ticket to see this movie, I would not have left the theater until my money was refunded. As it is, I think the studio owes me gas money for my drive from Colorado Springs to Denver and back to see it in the first place.
In my opinion, what these weasels did was undermine the tenants of the faith that I hold as sacred and dear. If you have to pull a gag that would make P.T. Barnum slap his head in disbelief that he never thought of pulling a stunt like this in order to do what can only be called tricking people into Jesus while taking their money, the message can’t be that good in the first place. The fact that these vultures can actually sleep at night while releasing this movie for a profit is appalling. Robert Duvall’s performance would have scored this movie as a 2 out of 4, but this disgusting display brought it down to a 1 out of 4 and might spur me to open up the mythical 0 out of 4 for debate.
I feel it’s important to say that I don’t point to Seven Days in Utopia as being an example of Christian cinema. Films like Soul Surfer and The Second Chance show glimpses of what the genre could become. I’d argue that films like Kevin Smith’s Dogma and Terrance Malick’s The Tree of Life should be included in the genre, even if they are films that don’t fit the typical Christian movie mold. That’s kind of the point, though. Until Christian filmmakers understand it’s possible to make a movie where there message is in service to the story/genre without compromising the message, we’re never going to the greatness I see as possible, and that’s a shame. I’m never going to stop my search for the great Christian film, but I can tell you that it isn’t even worth stopping to see the scenery in Utopia.
You are a jerk. That was a wonderful movie. You call yourself a Christian. That I truly doubt. You are portraying yourself as such so you can discredit the movie and cause people not to go see it. What about Facing the Giants, Fireproof and many others. I suppose those are not worth seeing. You are in the right profession. Most all critics are so biased against anything worth while in movies.
Mary,
You obviously don’t know Dave, because there’s no way you would say that if you did. Dave is one of the most genuinely Christian people I know, not just one of those Sunday Christians, but someone who actually cherishes his faith and walks the walk. You should re-read your own comment and really think hard if someone would consider you a true Christian after reading that personal attack. Just because a movie has a Christian theme doesn’t meant that all Christians must enjoy it, that it’s beyond critique. If I’m a sci-fan, does that mean I have to enjoy ALL sci-fi movies, including “Battlefield Earth”? Get a grip.
-Fonk
Mary, I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to comment on the review.
Frankly, you don’t know me and I don’t know you. I’m not about to pass judgement on the state of your faith or salvation, so I’d appreciate it if you afforded me the same courtesy.
While I might be a bit hard on films like the ones you mentioned, I understand that I look at film from a different perspective than someone who watches movies purely as a form of entertainement. Please let me be clear, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It seems that we just come to movies from different points of view. I have friends who make a point of only watching movies without anything remotely resembling something objectionable. I understand and admire that standpoint. The only counter I have to those films is that I want to see movies made where every aspect of the quality of filmmaking is worthy of the message being presented. The Christian message simply deserves better in terms of quality.
As far as Seven Days of Utopia goes, I stand by every word I wrote. This film doesn’t even have the Christian message fully in it. I’ve read a review of the film from a critic who honestly thought the film was promoting surface level Buddhist teachings. This movie ran from its faith. It compounded this issue by being deceitful about the ending. To take someone’s money and then say they have to visit a website to get the ending is wrong and deceitful. There are no two ways about it.
The most frustrating thing about that is the scene with Robert Duvall’s voiceover while the camera was hovering on the shot was the perfect ending for that movie. It was as spiritually insightful as anything else in the movie and would have been as close to a satifying conclusion as you could get without actually showing if the putt was made. If they absolutely had to try and point people to the website, put it at the end of the credits. It seperates the site from the film, which is necessary. When that text crawl came up, the entire theater I was in groaned and a few people even booed.
If you want to get into the actual content of the film, I would argue strongly that yes, it matters if the ball went in the hole. This isn’t because it matters if the actual ball went in the hole. What happens at that point and how Luke responds to the consequences will show whether he has truly matured and how he has changed as a man is what actually matters. Making you go to a website to watch the author read a chapter from the sequel is the kind of sad gimmick that not even William Castle would have stooped to.
I’m more than happy to have an actual dialogue if you’d like to debate this film further. It’s obvious that we have to very different viewpoints, and I honestly want to understand what you see in this movie that I don’t. Should you decide that hurling insults accomplished your goal, have a great day.
I completely agree with you Dave. I have read the book that this is based on and with that note, I enjoyed the book very much. But the reviews I’ve been hearing from my fellow faith-believing friends and critics, I will definitely pass on this one.
If you’d like to know what we need to turn this country around, go see the movie, “Seven Days in Utopia.” It’s not especially about watching someone golf, you can see that on the Golf Channel. It’s not about religion, although discovering the value of being spirituality centered is involved. It’s about developing one’s good character, achieving personal goals. Seeing beyond yourself and within yourself, to not blame others, but to be personally responsible for your own dream, earning your own successes. And so what if there’s golf products/endorsements throughout the movie, expected and right “at home” with golfers like myself. Someone has to pay for the film! With all the hate, trash, shallowness, smut, and other negative movies & messages, the messages this movie/this story tells is much needed & welcomed-especially in these times! And I liked the actors, Duvall was real, sincere, wonderful, and the roles realistic/connected to real life experiences. I LOVED the movie and it’s messages!
Lisa, is there really a golf channel?
Well now I have seen it all.
I just compleated a men weekend retreet with a group of friends and colieagues from my church, of which the topic of study was “Seven Days In Utopia” and how it does and can apply to our own lives.
I was amazed by the story and set, ( as I know where Utopia Texas is and have been there many times ) and thought this really was one of the best movies I have seen so I went out and bought it for my own collection.
Mr. Minkus you are so far off the mark that I personally am ashamed to associated with you through Christianity. I guess it really is no wonder as you do reside in Colorado Springs, the LIBERAL capitol of Colorado. ( In my mind ) I really hope you prayed before you wrote what you did, because if you didnt you need to now and then see if you still feel the same way. If you do you my want to think about if you truly are a Christian or are just acting as if you are. ( some people do )
You really need to find another line of work, like a rodeo clown!
I loved the movie! And I’m not Christian!
I enjoyed this movie, for the most part.
I do believe, that if you go all the way to the end of the movie, you need to show if he made the putt, because that will show how for he had learned the lessons taught throughout the movie.
You could have just as well ended the movie with him in the middle of one of the rounds, showing that he could play side by side with his dad.
As for myself, I am a runner, and spirituality plays a part in my efforts. But, if I were to run most of a marathon and then not finish, how could I celebrate my faith? It did not help me fulfill anything, or help carry me further.
Win or lose, you show your faith in how you finish.
Dave…. sorry but it was a good movie…. Just like a church there are different levels of outward spirituality. This one was just a soft touch and trust me… I watch as many Christian movies I can get my hands on. If only one life is changed out of this movie than the writers and film makers did exactly what God asked them to do. Just as you don’t want to be judge by those who don’t know you please try and not be so critical of those who may be only doing what God has asked them to do. If your job is to give a review of a movie there is a big difference in a review and just down right butchering everything about it. Pray about it and see what God has to say.
Proverbs 12:18 ESV
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Proverbs 21:23 ESV
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.
Proverbs 12:18 ESV
There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Play nice Dave! 🙂
Thanks for talking the time to post, Kim. If you must know the truth, this was me playing nice. This was honestly my 3rd draft of the review and I found a way to tone down my distsin for the film a little bit each time. Butchery was my first draft.
As a Christian, I agree and am thrilled if someone is brought to Christ for just about any reason. In my opinion, though, (and please forgive the Christian-ese, everyone else) this film does harm to the cause of Christ by insulting the intelligence of its audience. The faith deserves better and has to demand better. I’ve spent my entire life being told that we’re supposed to support crap like this because it has the Christian label on it, and I’ve been rebelling against that nonsense for the better part of 20 years now.
We don’t need crap like this. We need honest films like The Second Chance, Soul Surfer and Mercy Streets. We need filmmakers to create works of beauty like The Tree Of Life. I’m seeing Blue Like Jazz a week from tomorrow and have high hopes. I wouldn’t be taking a day off work to see it otherwise.
Now, let me get off my soapbox and admit something. I know full well that my perspective on film is different from most people. I have a far more critical eye. That’s not better or worse than the way you look at films. I see films that you’d never see. While I see certain redeeming aspects to them, I’m not unaware that not everyone can handle the same stuff I see and I keep that in mind when recommending flicks to fellow Christians.
If watching nothing but Christian films is your thing, go for it. I understand the reasoning. I just come at things from a different perspective.
One last thing, I never judged the salvation of anyone involved in this film or any of the particularly nasty emails I’ve received, and was asking for the same courtesy. That’s the only judgement I shied away from. When it comes to us doing things in the name of Christ, we absolutely must judge them on their merits (or lack thereof). If I came off otherwise, I apologize.
Above all else, thanks for the tone of your note. I know we disagree pretty strongly on this film, but this is definitely one of the nicer responses I’ve read and I truly appreciate it.
SEVEN DAYS IN UTOPIA IS RARE FAMILY MOVIE, FEATURING CHRISTIAN VALUES AND LESSONS, NO NAKED SCENES AND NO DIRTY WORDS. IT HAS A WONDERFUL MESSAGE. I ALSO THINK YOU ARE A JERK, PLUS A BIG- HEADED KNOW-IT-ALL.
Thank you for your well reasoned and articulate defense of the film, Mona. The caps lock was an especially nice touch.
The worst review I ever read:
There is no value in what Dave states about the movie “Seven Days in Utopia”, except maybe to serve as a good example of distasteful criticism. His review could have proven more risque; which is apparently what Dave wants according to his own rhetoric. However, he uses the mild-mannered word “crap” instead of using the synonymous S-word it represents; he suggest a little sex and cussing is appropriate to make a good Christian movie. The review is a hack: Dave is seemingly afraid to step-out of his egotistical hypercriticality to respect the fact that not everyone wants to watch a movie like Dave wants to watch. His review of this movie is nothing more than an unwarranted attack on a pleasant and uplifting movie. The review is written in a contrast to his preference of films, film-styles, and proclamations of how Christian based films should be made. . . his own little “utopia” I suppose.
This was a great movie Dave, get a grip!
Dave,
I couldn’t disagree with you more! I enjoyed the film so much that I watched it 3 times in 2 days. I’m a lifelong Christian, and I had no problem with the film. The fact that they are teaching any kind of values at all is a miracle. You trash a movie like this but probably go and see movies with the exact opposite meaning. Who cares if they didn’t show him making the winning shot! That’s not what the film is about. This film is an inspiration about a higher calling than yourself, faith, confidence, hard work, family, friendships, love, and anything other than the pursuit of idols like fame and money. I have no problem with them witnessing
I know exactly how that happened, but the message submitted itself. Anyway, I have no problem with them witnessing on a website the way they did. I personally think it’s a good way to get people to check out a message that normally wouldn’t want anything to do with a message of this type under normal circumstances. There is nothing better than a little curiosity to arouse someones suspicion. This movie would have had a select audience had they come out with a full fledge message like Fireproof or Facing the Giants. This movie is a huge success if 1 person went to the website and became interested in Christ that normally wouldn’t have. Props to Robert Duvall and Lucas Black for amazing performances that were flat out inspiring! I will take a thought provoking message like this any day of week versus the crap Hollywood normally sells.
Dave, please don’t be disheartened by other who see everything through rose colored glasses. I have a hard time listing to people who question anyone’s salvation or faith and spew nothing but hate.
I have a strong faith as you but when I see a movie I expect a movie not a lot of fluff. I love and encourage Christian films of good quality. But ANYONE that has been around since “A Thief in the Night” knows that most “Christian” movies are of the lowest budget and quality. Soul Surfer, The Second Chance and other movies that you mentioned are of “Hollywood” standards and I love and encourage them.
I liked Fireproof and the quality was better than most but still has a typical Christian quality… most notable was no background noise at all during the park scene with Kirk and his on screen father. Not a bird or car to be heard?
I will say I will put you on my favorite list because I respect your honest opinion.
All I can say is it was a great movie. I understand where you are coning from by saying you want to see better quality christian movies. The one the thing I would rebut is in your last post and from most of what you have comment back to others is that you have a critical outlook on films that don’t measure up to your high standards. It sounds like you have a critical spirit also and thats not a judgement but only an observation as you also put it. No one can measure up to God but yet He loves us anyways. Show the same compassion ( as the Lord shows you ) Dave for others work and what they believe is what they are to be doing for the Lord. God Bless my Friend.
Dave,
I am a Christian, and I believe your review was well thought out and beautifully written. You got this one right.
Feeling ripped off at the end of the movie, I take the bait and go to the web site, where I patiently listen to the author read his next chapter. I wondered whether he is a Jehovah’s witness, a Seventh Day Adventist, a Buddhist, or a true believe of Jesus as Lord. I had to do a lot of digging to find out. Why hide Jesus as Lord? What’s the message here? Hide Him to find Him? Hide Him to sell?
Ah yes. Did I not mention the shameless promotion on the web site of ‘Official Utopia Golf Merchandise’. Are you kidding me? Visions of Jesus upturning the tables appear to me, somehow. Yes, we all have to make a living. But seriously, a ‘See, Feel, Trust’ golf cap? You could use that logo to sell beer or sex. How scriptural is that logo? Where’s the chapter and verse? Actually, the Lord teaches the opposite. Faith isn’t about seeing or feeling anything.
It is a sad state of affairs anyway, this whole Christian genre. Mixed messages abound. In Seven Days of Utopia, the stage is set we are gripped with the idea that golf is the most important game on the planet, only to somehow or another end up with the message that lo and behold, golf isn’t really that important after all.
The notion that Luke is now ‘free’ from the world’s idea that golf is life, buries those lies, and thereby is now freed up to win at golf (in 2 weeks after a meltdown!) is at the very least very twisted, and at the most a horrible misrepresentation of how a Christian’s life is played out.
A consistent problem with Christian movies is that by eliminating real-world variables such as sex, violence, and profanity, what is left is sort of a Disney world where everything works out as long as you believe in Jesus as your savior. For example, in Facing the Giants, I might ask, “What about the other team? Weren’t their believers on that team too?” Oh, you mean there are believers on the other team believing for victory? Oh. Well.
Prayers that result in winning are somehow the bottom line in Christian themes, yet Christians are literally being murdered all over the world for their faith. These Christians pray to Jesus and believe him for their life, their circumstances, their families. How is the fact that they are murdered or maimed or raped reconciled with the ‘teachings’ of Hollywood’s portrayal of Jesus in fantasy Christian movies?
It is a mockery of our Lord to produce ‘Christian’ movies that promote him as sort of a wish-granter to all those who believe on him. Jesus died on the cross, despising the shame, to reconcile man to himself, because we are sinners and He loves us. Man was born into sin and needs a savior. Period. There is very little mention of sin on the author’s web site. It is tucked away and seems inconsequential.
Sadly, the messages we get from movies such as Seven Days in Utopia, and in most mega-churches mirror those of Wall Street. I sense that I am really in a fun house mirrored by Wall Street. It’s the sell: Believe in Jesus and here are the bennies: eternal life, answered prayers, health, winning. Modern day pharisees are preaching this message, and serves to hide the true message of our Lord.
Whether we are murdered early in life, or are born into a comfortable 80 years on earth matters little. The picture of life is not pretty and Jesus never said it would be. He did say, “In the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.” Things don’t always work out as we planned. A true believer may lose and lose and lose in life, according to the world’s standards.
Thanks Dave for such an honest review.
While I have no doubt you may hold some tenants of the faith dear, I think you may be referring to the principles, or tenets of the faith in your review. I know full well that my perspective on proper vocabulary is different from most people. I have a far more critical eye. That’s not better or worse than the way you look at vocabulary.
That being said, you criticize this movie because it doesn’t come out and say “Jesus” and therefore does not have a genuine message. You hold up Soul Surfer as a better model for Christian movies, although that movie focused on similar transcendent truths, only mentioned Jesus twice, and used some generic religous references to get its point across — much like Seven Days. The point is, if you’re a Christian already, both of these movies make a lot of sense and we all know what they’re talking about without saying “Jesus.” If you’re not a Christian, what’s wrong with saying that all truth is God’s truth, He made the world to work a certain way, and if this inspirational movie leads you to a Christian church in your search, all the better. Why are Christians so afraid of truth in any arena? Heaven forbid if a Buddhist or (gasp) an atheist uses a little of the God’s truth?
I saw this at home on Netflix and loved the ending because it cost me nothing extra, and it was fun to run to the computer with the kids as soon as it ended. I agree that would have been very different had I seen it in the theater.
I have a couple of observations I would like to share. Please let me know if they seem useful or if you disagree.
1. Were the filmmakers scared to use the name of Jesus? I don’t believe so; I don’t think that was the purpose of this film. I think the purpose was to contrast the difference between truth and lies and to show how a young man found his way. It did a great job in leading the viewer to a place which reveals true friends, family, trust, belief, The Church, The Bible and moreover God are truths that can be life changers. The plot leads Luke to Church and The Holy Bible. In real life, it is the Word of God and His people’s (Christian’s) duty to lead the non-believer to Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit. It’s not Hollywood’s responsibility.
2. Product placement: I applaud the sponsors of this movie such as Callaway, Odyssey, Nike, Titleist Pro-V1 and the Golf Channel. They stepped out and advertised in a Godly movie. Had we rather see them sponsoring sex, drugs and rock&roll? This movie makes me want to go out and buy a set of Callaway clubs.
3. Ending of the movie: There are tons of movies that never end and leave you wanting more. That’s how sequel’s are created. I would love to see a sequel to Seven Days in Utopia.
All in all I loved the movie. I loved the way she didn’t kiss him but said it didn’t mean never. I loved the way they didn’t just wind up in bed together like every other move out there. This was an awesome movie that I can watch with my grandkids and explain life lessons with.
Just my two (um three) cents worth and MHO.
Dave,
Thank you for being honest about your opinions on this film. As you have probably experienced, the Christian world often indulges in religious political correctness, being so afraid of offending another person that we mute our own honest, and often correct, opinions.
Whether you loved or hated the film is your opinion. Whether you respect your readers enough to tell them the your honest response has true merit.
Also, “Mona” and your response made me laugh out loud at my desk at work. Thanks for the chuckle. So glad my mom isn’t crazy like that anymore.
Excellent post, Dave — thank you!
See it-Feel it-Trust ‘It’ ….?
How about “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen?” (Hebrews 11:1). What are we to ‘see’? What are we to ‘feel’? Are we to trust ‘It’, or the person of Jesus Christ?
I saw the movie a little over a year ago. I was hoping for a little more than a ‘feel good’ (at times) type movie. There is little true Christian substance here. And I also got the feeling at times, the movie was based on some quasi-New Age/Zen Buddhist babble.
Sorry, I’m with Movie Critic Dave on this one.