Top Fives: Christian Movies
In this special Easter episode of Film & Whiskey, Bob and Brad dive into the heart of faith-based cinema, exploring films that not only challenge and inspire but also create a meaningful conversation around spirituality and storytelling. Join us as we count down our top five Christian movies, from the historical depth of "Risen" and "Paul, Apostle of Christ," to the modern-day impact of "Jesus Revolution," "The Case for Christ," and 2024's "Ordinary Angels". We'll also share our thoughts on the groundbreaking TV show "The Chosen," offering insights into its unique approach to depicting the life of Jesus and his disciples.
In today's episode, we're venturing into a genre that, while niche, holds a powerful place in the hearts of many: Christian cinema. Our journey through the highs and lows of faith-based films takes us from the sands of ancient Jerusalem in "Risen" and "Paul, Apostle of Christ," through the radical transformation depicted in "Jesus Revolution" and the investigative rigor of "The Case for Christ," to the anticipated release of "Ordinary Angels" in 2024.
Our discussion isn't just about the movies themselves but the stories they tell and the impact they have on both Christian audiences and the wider movie-going public. We delve into the craftsmanship behind these films, the performances that bring biblical and historical figures to life, and how these stories resonate with today's challenges and triumphs of faith.
But it's not just the silver screen where these narratives unfold. "The Chosen," the first multi-season series about the life of Christ, has captivated millions with its deeply human portrayal of Jesus and his disciples. We explore what makes this show a landmark in Christian media and how it's changing the conversation around faith in popular culture.
Join us as we navigate through these poignant narratives, uncovering the layers of faith, doubt, and redemption that make Christian cinema a unique and evolving landscape. Whether you're a devout follower or simply curious about the genre, this episode promises a thoughtful and engaging exploration of spirituality in film.
As we wrap up today's episode, we reflect on the power of cinema to explore the deepest questions of faith, humanity, and existence itself. Christian movies, with their diverse narratives and complex characters, offer a window into the struggles and joys of spiritual life, inviting viewers of all backgrounds to engage in a dialogue about what it means to believe, to doubt, and ultimately, to belong. Join us next time on Film & Whiskey, where we continue to explore the wide world of cinema, one sip at a time.
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--- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/filmwhiskey/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/filmwhiskey/support00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:02,720
Well, hey there, everybody.
Welcome into the Film and
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Whiskey Podcast.
I'm Bob Book.
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I'm Brad G.
And we're coming at you with
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another special bonus episode.
BA BA BA bonus.
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Episode Brad.
It is almost Resurrection Sunday
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in the Christian Church.
It's almost Easter.
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It sure is.
Man, this is without a doubt the
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biggest holiday in the world of
Christianity and we thought what
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better way to celebrate then
drinking 17 different whiskeys
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and reviewing them on this
podcast.
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Yeah, we did scrap that original
idea, which was let's get drunk
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to celebrate the resurrection.
But in lieu of that, Brad, you
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know, we've talked many, many
times over the course of this
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podcast about our upbringings
being raised in the church or
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around at the church, if you
were me.
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We went to seminary.
We're both Christians.
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We try to inflect a lot of our
analysis of these movies with
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what these mean to us on a
spiritual level.
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And we've never actually broken
down like movies that help form
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our faith.
And I thought the best way to
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get into that, Brad, is to talk
about this current craze that is
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sweeping movies everywhere.
And it's these quote, UN quote
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Christian movies.
Now, folks, I don't mean like
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movies about Christianity or
movies that deal with issues of
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faith.
These have been fixtures in
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cinema since the very beginning.
You know, we've looked at Cecil
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B DeMille movies on this podcast
before.
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We watched Ben Hur last season
that way.
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I mean that talk about a movie
that deals with Jesus.
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What a chariot race.
Setting the Jesus aside, what a
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what a chariot race.
But specifically I would say
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over the last 15, almost 20
years now, there has been
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popping up these media companies
that produce media by Christians
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for Christians.
It is a subculture that has
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taken root, especially in the
evangelical world.
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You know, very similar to what
happened in the 1990s with the
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contemporary Christian music
movement.
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And folks, I have to say, as a
guy who watches a lot of movies,
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99% of these things truly, truly
suck.
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They are terrible movies.
You know how you can watch like
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an HBO show and then, you know,
change the channel and have like
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a rerun of Days of Our Lives?
Yes.
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Like and you immediately know
within two seconds like just
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based on the camera like.
Shot the production values
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everything about.
It you go, oh, this is a soap
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opera And you know right away
that's the level of difference
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between like a top tier Denny
Venne film and Christian media
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often times.
Often times I will say the the,
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the bridge, the gap is narrowing
a little bit, which is good to
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see, you know, to give a brief
history of this whole thing.
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Brad, the first one that I can
really remember breaking through
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now back in the the early early
2000s you had Kirk Cameron
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producing Left Behind movies.
Yeah you did that were I believe
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shot on a camcorder somewhere
and those did, those swept the
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subculture.
But the first one that I
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remember people being like, oh
this is like a real movie, was
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this truly God awful movie back
in like 06.
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It was called Facing the Giants,
and it was a movie about a
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Christian football team.
And God, does that movie suck.
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But the people?
Who is that are like fireproof?
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So yeah, the people that made
that movie then were like, we
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got money from this football
movie, let's make a bigger
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budget movie.
And they made this movie called
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Fireproof where they got Kirk
Cameron again to play a
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firefighter.
And then they made this movie
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called Courageous where they
were all cops and it was like
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all these movies.
I can't remember the name of the
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company that produced all these
movies and thank God they're not
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the big name in the area
anymore.
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But that's what really jump
started this whole craze.
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And I remember specifically Brad
going to church one Sunday and
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someone knowing that I was a
movie fan and asking me if I'd
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seen Fireproof.
And I said absolutely not.
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And I swear to God, this person
said, if you just set aside how
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bad the acting is and like, the
camera works, not good.
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And like, it's really cheesy and
it's really tacky if you can
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just get past all that, like,
the message is so good, man.
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And I remember thinking, like,
OK, so if I set aside all the
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things that make this a movie,
it it's a good sermon.
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That's what you're saying,
right?
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Yeah, I can.
I can learn that it's important
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to be faithful to my wife
without a terrible movie
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teaching it.
I.
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Don't need to waste two hours on
that.
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Thank you so much, Kirk Cameron,
But luckily in the intervening
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15 years, I know that we have
kind of pushed this genre aside
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with all of the gods not deads
of the world and things like
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that.
I have watched quite a few of
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these movies and there are some,
Brad, that are like surprisingly
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good, but then also legitimately
well made movies and I've
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recommended them to people a lot
because they are on par with
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Hollywood productions.
Now again, they're not, you
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know, it's not Avatar we're
talking about here.
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But like you don't notice the,
the cheapness of these movies.
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And I think that they are not
only good examples of Christian
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movies, they're good movies.
And so, Brad, I'm going to break
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down my top five today.
And then you also wanted to talk
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about a piece of quote, UN quote
Christian media that's been
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really important to you as well.
Yeah.
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And I'm excited to hear your top
five partially to hear you
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answer the question, Bob, like
what keeps you coming back?
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Because obviously it did not
start in a good place.
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But as somebody who watches a
lot of movies, like what kept
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you in this place of saying, you
know, I'm going to try one more,
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just one more.
We'll see where they're going.
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It's not even that so much as,
like, you really do it when
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you're a guy who reviews movies.
You know, almost for a living at
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this point, Brad, Like, you got
to keep up with the zeitgeist a
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little bit.
You got to know what people are
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watching.
I did the same thing, you know,
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5-6 years ago when The Greatest
Showman came out.
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That movie also sucks, but I had
to go see it because it's like I
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couldn't have conversations with
people if I never saw that
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movie.
So yeah, yeah, it's it's the
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same thing now.
I went and saw that Sound of
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Freedom movie last year that was
had everybody up in arms and
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like, it was neither as good or
as bad as anyone said it was.
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It was just a perfectly fine
movie that had Jim Caviezel.
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It was like your average CBS,
you know, Without a Trace
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episode.
By Jim Caviezel, do you mean
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Evangelical Jesus?
I do, I do OK.
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Good, Good, Good.
All right, man.
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Before we go any further, I want
to hear this piece of media that
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you've been telling me all about
and that you want to share with
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our audience.
Oh man, if y'all haven't watched
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The Chosen yet, The Chosen is a
television series that's been
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crowdfunded, which, like, is the
worst way of introducing the
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level of quality.
It's like, hey, you know how
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Alex Jones stays on the air?
That's how they did this show.
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Honestly, take that, take that
into your first viewing of this
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and you'll be blown away because
the production value on this, on
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this TV series, The Chosen is
out of this world.
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I mean, at the start of I think
the second season there's an
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episode where there's a 12
minute Warner and you're just
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like following the disciples
around the campfire and see like
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observing how they are
experiencing the ministry of
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Jesus in such a naturalistic
way.
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I I have been blown away there.
There's a great John Mulaney
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comedy sketch where he talks
about Ice Cube understanding
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what sexual addiction is and how
he compares it to a bunch of
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different things.
Right Bob, you you turn me on to
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this I and and John Mulaney is
like I the the episode goes on
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but I could just watch him
describe different addictions
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for 45 minutes and then fade to
black.
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I could watch the Chosen depict
Jesus healing people for an hour
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straight and fade to black.
I mean, it is just the most
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incredible portrayal of the
Gospels that I think I've ever
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seen.
You know, I've never gotten
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around to watching it.
I've never watched one episode
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of The Chosen.
But don't don't be offended by
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it because I don't think I've
watched one episode of
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television that's not a rerun
of, like, The Office in eight
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years.
All right, Brad, if it's OK with
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you, I'm going to go ahead and
get into my top five here.
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Now again, folks, we are talking
about quote, UN quote Christian
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movies or quote UN quote,
faith-based movies.
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You would recognize some of
these production companies if
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you saw them.
Angel Studios is a big one right
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now.
I'm not going to be talking
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about like Scorsese's silence or
something like that.
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You know, that's a mainstream
Hollywood movie that deals in
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issues of faith.
But I'm trying to shine a light
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on some of these, like,
Christian subculture movies that
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I actually think are worth
watching.
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So the first one is one that got
very little fanfare when it came
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out in 2018.
And it's a movie called Paul,
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Apostle of Christ.
It is a biopic, more or less, of
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the apostle Paul when he is in
captivity and getting ready to
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be executed.
And the disciple, the apostle
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Luke comes to Paul and is kind
of taking down all of his
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dictation as he's writing his
New Testament epistles.
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And it's really cool and I love
the way they do it.
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And a lot of these Christian
movies are very smart in not
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depicting exactly what's in the
Bible, like they're fleshing out
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the world of the Bible.
And this one's just like that.
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You know, you have Luke coming
on the scene, learning from
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Paul, but then you get a lot of
the behind the scenes politics
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of Rome.
You know, when it actually does
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come time for Paul to be
executed.
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Like it's a very beautiful
sequence.
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That kind of stuff's not in the
Bible.
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So it's really cool to see them
making movies that are a little
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bit extra biblical that way.
Not contradicting, not
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undermining the text, but just
kind of shining a little bit of
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historical, I don't know,
fantasy on this situation and I
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really love this movie.
It's got great performances,
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really well shot.
So yeah, I'd recommend it.
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It's called Paul, Apostle of
Christ.
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Oh, I I am fascinated.
Bob.
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As you should be, Brad.
All right, I'm gonna give in.
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I'm gonna give my #4.
This is a movie that came out
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just last year, I think was this
23/20/23.
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It's it was like the number one
movie in America for a couple
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weeks.
It was called Jesus Revolution.
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It's set in California.
It's true story from the 1970s
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about a movement called the
Jesus People movement.
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Basically like the hippies in
Socal got turned on to Jesus and
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then started some of the biggest
churches in America as a result
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of it.
It's really cool.
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And I think one of the things I
really liked about this movie is
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that it didn't shy away from a
lot of the flaws of the key
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figures of this movement.
Because, you know, as the years
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went on, there were leadership
flaws and, you know, not, I
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don't wanna say scandals, but
like inappropriate workplace
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stuff.
Like one of the these guys was
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just a butthole to a bunch of
people and they kind of depict
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that like the early seeds of one
of these guys.
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It kind of goes to his head a
little bit and you see the seeds
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of him being authoritarian.
And so, like, it's great that
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00:11:26,360 --> 00:11:30,640
these historical documents are
not just depicting, Like, isn't
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00:11:30,640 --> 00:11:33,840
it so great that we follow
Jesus, I think if you're a fan
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00:11:33,840 --> 00:11:37,840
of, like a if you're a fan of
period pieces, they do the 1970s
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00:11:37,840 --> 00:11:39,240
really, really well in this
movie.
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00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,240
But it's also, it's full of
really good performances.
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00:11:42,240 --> 00:11:45,880
The guy that plays Jesus in the
chosen, Brad is kind of the lead
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00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:48,680
of this movie, well worth a
watch.
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00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,280
And, like, it kind of breezed by
and it ended.
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00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:54,760
And I was like, Oh my gosh,
like, this is at least a 7 1/2
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00:11:54,760 --> 00:11:57,880
out of 10.
This is like, I kept expecting
220
00:11:57,960 --> 00:11:59,840
like somewhere along the line
this thing's going to tank,
221
00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:01,520
right, Because too many people
like it.
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00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:03,960
And then it ended and it was a
really good movie.
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00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:08,480
So there you go, Jesus
Revolution. 7.5 Glowing
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00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:10,960
recommendation from Bob.
Hey, listen, maybe The
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00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:13,480
Revolution is just let's make a
passable movie.
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00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,600
I mean, we've been talking for a
long time about how desperately
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00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:24,120
Hollywood needs to be OK with
like C plus to B movies that
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00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,880
make, you know, 50 million at
the box office.
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00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:29,760
So here, here we are.
Jesus Revolution, baby.
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Would you consider a 7 1/2 AC
plus like a three out of
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00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:38,800
four-star movie?
That's a 75 out of 100.
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Yeah, I'd be see.
Like, listen, I don't know that
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00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:45,040
I grade like whiskeys and movies
the same way.
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00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,280
Like the American education
system.
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00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:48,680
Sure.
Great.
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00:12:48,680 --> 00:12:51,680
Like you know, a three star
movie is like, this is worth
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00:12:51,680 --> 00:12:54,000
going to the theater to see.
Like, it's not.
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00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:56,640
It might not be a great movie,
but like, we had a good time
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00:12:56,640 --> 00:12:59,000
seeing it and it was worthwhile
and I'll probably recommend it
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00:12:59,000 --> 00:13:00,920
to people.
Would you say that it's a
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00:13:00,920 --> 00:13:03,560
passing grade?
I would, but I wouldn't like if
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00:13:03,560 --> 00:13:06,240
I went into work the next Monday
and said like dude, I saw a
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00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,920
really good C Plus movie, you
should check it out.
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Like I would never be tempted to
go spend money on AC Plus.
245
00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:15,520
Yeah, no, you're you're not
wrong.
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00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:20,560
All right, Brad, my #3 is a
movie called The Case for
247
00:13:20,560 --> 00:13:23,160
Christ.
Now this was an adaptation of a
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00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:25,320
book written by a guy named Lee
Strobel.
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00:13:25,680 --> 00:13:29,200
If you grew up in or around
Christian circles in the 1990s,
250
00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,760
the case for Christ was like a
big deal.
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00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:35,440
And my guy Lee Strobel wrote
like a 1,000,000 sequels.
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00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:38,280
The case for God, the case for
creation, like.
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00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:43,240
So he started as an
investigative journalist and he
254
00:13:43,240 --> 00:13:46,400
got invited to this church in
Chicago and basically decided,
255
00:13:46,400 --> 00:13:49,720
like, it was gonna make it his
mission to disprove God using
256
00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:54,480
his investigative reporting
skills and in conversations with
257
00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:57,040
the pastor at this church and in
doing his own research and
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00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,800
reading the Bible for himself.
He came to be a believer.
259
00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:04,200
And so his book is a really
interesting look into his own
260
00:14:04,200 --> 00:14:08,160
insights into, you know, how he
came to these conclusions.
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00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,600
The movie itself is a lot more
about what a mess this guy's
262
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,160
life was at the time.
And again it's it's I love that
263
00:14:15,160 --> 00:14:18,400
the movies shine light on
different things than just they
264
00:14:18,400 --> 00:14:21,520
could have made a documentary
Out of the Case for Christ book.
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00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:23,240
They didn't do that.
They wanted to tell the story of
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00:14:23,240 --> 00:14:28,120
the guy that wrote the book and
his personal encounters with
267
00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:30,560
faith.
I I thought this movie was super
268
00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:32,800
compelling.
It has a lot more of a brain
269
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:35,680
than any of these other
Christian movies do you know I
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00:14:35,680 --> 00:14:40,680
like I felt like I had to argue
with the atheists in my life.
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00:14:40,680 --> 00:14:43,320
Brad, for a long time about
God's not dead.
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00:14:44,080 --> 00:14:46,480
And I'm like, dude, like, really
like this?
273
00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:50,520
You're gonna take God's not dead
as, like, the best depiction of
274
00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,040
the Christian faith.
Come on.
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00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:54,520
Yeah.
So I mean that's like that's
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00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:59,360
like trying to use, you know,
certain popular pastors as like
277
00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:01,960
a defense of the faith versus
like ACS Lewis.
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00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:06,960
I'll never forget, you know,
like Christopher Hitchens and
279
00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:10,040
Richard Dawkins and all the guys
in the New Atheism were like the
280
00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,200
big bad guys on the block for
such a long time.
281
00:15:12,200 --> 00:15:14,400
And then I actually read
Dawkins, The God Delusion.
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00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:17,760
And I was like, I'm a sophomore
in college and I feel like I can
283
00:15:17,760 --> 00:15:20,800
debunk everything in this book
or like at least have a counter
284
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:23,080
to it.
And it's kind of like that.
285
00:15:23,080 --> 00:15:25,560
It's like just because it's the
most popular thing that the
286
00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,160
Christians like doesn't mean
that it's the best at
287
00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:29,920
encapsulating what they actually
believe.
288
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:33,560
And I I also wouldn't say The
Case for Christ is like a
289
00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,000
doctoral level thesis on
Christianity.
290
00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:39,440
But it's a lot.
It takes a lot more seriously
291
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:40,880
the intellectual side of the
faith.
292
00:15:40,960 --> 00:15:43,080
I really liked the movie Brad.
Yeah.
293
00:15:43,560 --> 00:15:47,040
What's next on the list, Bob?
Next on the list is one that I I
294
00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:49,280
feel like I've told you about
this one 100 times, Brad.
295
00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:53,160
It's a movie called Risen.
It came out, oh, I don't know,
296
00:15:53,160 --> 00:15:56,600
2015 or so.
And again, it it tells a
297
00:15:56,600 --> 00:15:59,200
fictional story that is like
Bible adjacent.
298
00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:04,640
It's the story of a Roman
centurion who has been tasked
299
00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:09,320
with finding the body of Jesus
after it goes missing on a very
300
00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,280
specific Sunday.
And so over the course of like a
301
00:16:12,280 --> 00:16:15,680
week, you watch this guy give
the shakedown to a bunch of
302
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:18,920
people that have been in and out
of Jesus's life, obviously
303
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:22,520
culminating in him seeing the
resurrected Jesus and having his
304
00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,600
own encounter.
And dude, I I have to be honest
305
00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:27,720
with you, It sounds like a
contrived plot.
306
00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:31,480
It sounds manipulative.
It's actually like if you're
307
00:16:31,480 --> 00:16:35,440
going to have like an entry
point into OK, in the world of
308
00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:38,360
this movie, Jesus is real and
Jesus is resurrected.
309
00:16:38,640 --> 00:16:40,840
This is like the best, most
grounded way to do it.
310
00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,200
It's like it is a boots on the
ground movie.
311
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:47,280
You're following one guy as he
deals with his own struggles and
312
00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,960
doubts and insecurities.
And I like I had a moment at the
313
00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,560
end of this movie where I was
reduced to tears because it the
314
00:16:55,560 --> 00:16:59,040
way that they do.
The payoff with Jesus is so
315
00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:04,160
emotionally earned by the movie
constructing A believable world
316
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:05,920
and then taking that world
seriously.
317
00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:11,040
I like it's it might be my
favorite faith-based movie that
318
00:17:11,040 --> 00:17:12,000
I've ever seen.
Brad.
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00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,960
Oh man, you.
You have talked to me about that
320
00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:20,359
one multiple times.
I have an ability to watch it,
321
00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:23,680
and I'm going to do it sometime
soon, probably maybe even this
322
00:17:23,680 --> 00:17:24,640
weekend.
There you go.
323
00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:26,960
It's Easter it.
Sure is.
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00:17:27,280 --> 00:17:30,240
There's like, if you're gonna do
it, Brad, that was the time.
325
00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:32,000
Don't wait until, like,
September.
326
00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,080
Yeah.
All right.
327
00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,240
Finally, and then I'll stop
talking.
328
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:38,840
So Brad, you can talk a little
bit more.
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00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:42,440
There's a movie that just came
out, oh gosh, two months ago,
330
00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:44,280
three months ago.
It's a movie that they were
331
00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:47,080
advertising for a long time.
I think it was originally slated
332
00:17:47,080 --> 00:17:49,360
for a 2023 release.
And then it got bumped.
333
00:17:49,880 --> 00:17:52,840
It's called Ordinary Angels.
And the thing about this movie,
334
00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:56,000
Brad, is that it stars two time
Academy Award winner Hilary
335
00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:00,160
Swank.
And here's the cheat code for
336
00:18:00,160 --> 00:18:02,680
Christian movies.
Hire good actors.
337
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,720
It's very helpful.
Kirk Cameron is not the best you
338
00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:08,800
can do, folks.
You can get two time Academy
339
00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:12,480
Award winner Hilary Swank now.
Like you can watch this movie
340
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,360
and look for evidence that
Hilary Swank needed a job and
341
00:18:16,360 --> 00:18:19,400
wanted a paycheck.
And I'm going to be honest with
342
00:18:19,400 --> 00:18:22,320
you, I did not see evidence of
that in the performance itself.
343
00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:26,000
Super committed performance.
Again, based on a true story
344
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:30,320
about a guy who loses his wife
and then his daughter comes down
345
00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:34,880
with a almost incurable disease
that she ends up needing a
346
00:18:34,880 --> 00:18:36,960
transplant for.
They get her on the transplant
347
00:18:36,960 --> 00:18:40,560
list and it's about his own
financial hardships and this
348
00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,760
woman in his life that just saw
their story on the news, played
349
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:46,960
by Hilary Swank.
She's an alcoholic.
350
00:18:46,960 --> 00:18:50,640
Her life is falling apart and
the efforts that she takes to
351
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:55,040
help this family and address the
demons in her life at the same
352
00:18:55,040 --> 00:18:56,640
time.
The thing about this movie,
353
00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:01,360
Brad, is that it is like
Christian movie adjacent, but
354
00:19:01,360 --> 00:19:03,840
they only talk about God in like
2 scenes of the movie.
355
00:19:04,200 --> 00:19:06,200
So it's kind of weird because
it's produced by this big
356
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,920
Christian company and a church
plays a big role in the movie.
357
00:19:10,320 --> 00:19:15,840
But like, it's the least overtly
Jesusy of any of these movies.
358
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:20,560
But it's got that, Like it's a
wonderful life type feeling
359
00:19:20,560 --> 00:19:22,640
where you know what I mean?
Like it's, you know, there's no
360
00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:24,520
supernatural elements or
anything like that.
361
00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:28,600
But the same way that, like,
George Bailey and all the people
362
00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,240
around him embody the virtues
that we talk about in
363
00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:33,560
Christianity, that kind of
thing's happening here.
364
00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:36,960
I was the only person in the
movie theater that saw this a
365
00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:39,160
few weeks ago, 'cause it had
been out for a month or two.
366
00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,320
I wept like I cried hard at this
movie frat.
367
00:19:44,280 --> 00:19:46,280
Didn't have a.
Didn't have a Coco experience.
368
00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,080
I no, it wasn't.
It wasn't like audible sobs, but
369
00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:52,440
I probably cried at like 3
different parts of this movie.
370
00:19:52,440 --> 00:19:57,520
Just a really, truly life
affirming good ass movie.
371
00:19:57,520 --> 00:20:01,880
It was really good, dude.
Yeah, I mean it makes sense for
372
00:20:01,880 --> 00:20:05,200
Hilary Swank though, 'cause they
they made it seem like Clint
373
00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:07,320
Eastwood killed her at the end
of $1,000,000 baby.
374
00:20:07,320 --> 00:20:11,040
So if she's still alive, I would
imagine she'd be an alcoholic.
375
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,120
Brad, before we get out of here
today, you know, before we press
376
00:20:16,120 --> 00:20:19,800
record, you did say that there
were two movies that did not fit
377
00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:21,720
this mold that we were going for
today.
378
00:20:21,960 --> 00:20:24,640
And folks, this is probably not
the only time we'll talk about
379
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:26,720
important movies in our faith
development.
380
00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:29,480
But I want to give you the floor
just for a minute, because you
381
00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,320
also had two suggestions for
movies that have been really
382
00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:35,600
important to you.
Yeah, I mean, I I don't know if
383
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:39,640
they've been like, like highly
formative in my faith, but
384
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:42,520
they've definitely made me think
more deeply about it.
385
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,800
And those would be Tree of Life
and Silence Tree of Life that I
386
00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:51,880
watched for the podcast about
five years ago, which is wild to
387
00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:56,320
think about that that man, oh
man, like dealing with the
388
00:20:56,320 --> 00:21:02,480
subjects of grace and law in a
incredibly grounded and
389
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:06,240
experiential way.
Like, it's like it's taking this
390
00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:10,960
heady, theological, metaphysical
arguments that Paul can have in
391
00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:16,000
Romans and grounding it in the
experience of a human being in a
392
00:21:16,000 --> 00:21:20,120
way that feels relatable.
Man, what a great film, good
393
00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,720
movie.
And silence.
394
00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:27,000
We we watched Silence a few
seasons back, and I I think that
395
00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,240
there are so many important
questions that we ought to be
396
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:37,120
asking about suffering and about
the seeming distance of God in
397
00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:40,280
the face of suffering and what
that means for our faith.
398
00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:44,520
And while I like, I don't
necessarily agree with all the
399
00:21:44,520 --> 00:21:48,200
conclusions that Scorsese comes
to, I think it's important that
400
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,080
he's having the conversation.
So I I think those are two
401
00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:56,000
movies that you easily should go
watch, and then you should come
402
00:21:56,000 --> 00:22:00,000
back and listen to our episodes
and reach out to us, have a
403
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:02,360
conversation about it, because I
think they're really important
404
00:22:02,360 --> 00:22:04,640
films.
What do you guys have planned
405
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:09,560
for Easter bread?
Haley so Easter is not a federal
406
00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,840
holiday, which means it's.
Sunday.
407
00:22:14,080 --> 00:22:16,280
But like, you're right, they
don't even observe it on Monday
408
00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:17,480
or anything.
Yeah, yeah.
409
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,080
It's not.
It's not an observed federal
410
00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:22,800
holiday, which means that Haley
does not, you know, like it
411
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:25,440
doesn't fall into like a holiday
rotation where she only has to
412
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,280
work it every three or four
years.
413
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:33,480
So all that to say, my wife will
be working all weekend, my
414
00:22:33,480 --> 00:22:35,520
parents are coming down, I'm
preaching on Easter at our
415
00:22:35,520 --> 00:22:39,360
church, and we're just going to
hang out with the kids and have
416
00:22:39,360 --> 00:22:40,680
a good time.
There you go, man.
417
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,320
I watch you guys.
Kind of the same.
418
00:22:44,680 --> 00:22:48,560
My brother-in-law has a has a
big extended family that hosts
419
00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:52,400
Easter for like many
tangentially related families
420
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:55,240
every year, and they have a big
Easter egg hunt for kids in the
421
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:56,520
backyard.
Yeah, it's cool.
422
00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:58,840
There's probably going to be
like 50 people there, so we're
423
00:22:58,840 --> 00:23:02,680
going to go there on Easter.
I get to debut my my new pair of
424
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,640
K DS on on feet this Sunday at
church.
425
00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:10,400
They are like a very very light
green with a a pink sole.
426
00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,960
Your boys gonna look good.
Basketball shoes, yeah.
427
00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:15,520
I sure am, man.
To church.
428
00:23:15,520 --> 00:23:19,280
I'm gonna look great, dude.
Do you even respect your Lord
429
00:23:19,280 --> 00:23:22,120
and Savior Jesus Christ?
There's the judgmental attitude.
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00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:25,800
We've been trying to avoid
people hearing about our
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00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:29,000
Christian faith.
Put some dress shoes on, you
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00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:31,320
peasant.
All right.
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00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:33,800
Well, from us here at Film and
Whiskey and especially
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00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,360
Judgmental Brad, we want to say
Happy Easter, whether you
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00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:40,160
observe it or not, enjoy the
weekend.
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00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,800
Please check out some of these
movies that we recommended
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00:23:42,800 --> 00:23:45,520
today.
I think that more than a lot of
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00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:49,480
stuff that's coming out today,
they actually take the the idea
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00:23:49,480 --> 00:23:51,680
of faith, the struggle of faith
seriously.
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00:23:52,280 --> 00:23:54,680
And I'd love to hear from you
guys about which ones of these
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00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:57,200
films speak to you.
If you want to reach out to us,
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00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:01,120
you can find us on all of our
social medias Facebook, Twitter,
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00:24:01,320 --> 00:24:06,360
Instagram, TikTok or YouTube at
Film, Whiskey or.
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00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:07,800
You can reach out to us on
Discord.
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00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:11,240
We are on there every single day
talking to you guys, fans of the
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00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,840
Film and Whiskey Podcast.
So if you want to talk about
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00:24:13,840 --> 00:24:17,240
Easter Christian related films,
you can find a link to our
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00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:20,440
Discord at the end of every
single one of our show notes.
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00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,480
We'll be back on Tuesday with
another regularly scheduled
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00:24:23,480 --> 00:24:26,320
episode, but until then, I'm Bob
Book.
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00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,440
I'm Brad G.
And we'll see you next time.