Movie Review - My Sister's Keeper

I have managed to get emotional since I had a son and stepped into recovery. I am unsure of which of these two events caused me to get a heart, or if it was a combination of both of them. The short story is that now I care, now I cry, now I allow myself to feel. Generally this translates into a tear here or there during a movie. After all, I am a movie guy. I love movies, even ones that have no redeemable value. This movie was quite different.

I just watched a movie that ripped my heart out, from start to finish. It was one of the most emotional movies that I have ever seen. It tugged at my heart as both a parent and a care giver. It touched on some important ethical concerns that in some cases need to be addressed. I was amazed at the dark nature of the movie, but it is about a young girl who is diagnosed with Leukemia. Enough said.

The movie consists of a family of five. There are three children, oldest child is son Jesse. Then there are the two daughters, Kate is the middle child with Leukemia and Anna is the youngest. Anna was genetically engineered by her parents to be a perfect donor for her sister Kate. She has been a donor for her sister her entire life. There are a lot of flashbacks and montages through out the movie that point to how Jesse was ignored and Anna's feelings and the pain she endured were never taken into account by either of her parents.

Anna has gone to an attorney to get medically emancipated so that her parents can no longer harvest her body against her will. They have taken a lot from her over the years, and this time Kate needs a kidney. It is interesting to see the love that is still shown by Anna to her sister and the love that she receives in return from Kate. Her mother, who is an attorney, is willing to take the case to court. How dare her daughter not want to give her kidney to save her sister's life.

Through the court case we see the interactions that the family has had with each other and how Kate's Leukemia has caused them to grow closer together. We also see the pain that Kate has gone through in relationships and in her disease. There is a boy who also had cancer that she had a romance with that is replayed through flash sequences.

The movie has raw emotions that are laid out before us by some pretty superb acting. The plot continues along as the case is taken to court and the initial shock of Anna's announcement continues to ripple through the family. There is humor that is interspersed through out the movie, and it flowed well.

I do not want to give away that much of the movie, I guess that this review is simply to tell you that it ripped my heart out. It will probably have the same effect on you. It was a tear jerker, and there was a good story to go with it. It shows how some parents will do anything for their children, and often the child's own concerns and best interests are not taken into consideration.

Sometimes we as parents do what is best for us, and what we perceive is best for our kids. I grew up with kids who hated playing football (or basketball, baseball, cheerleading). They practiced all year long and went to camps for the sport from elementary school all the way through high school, and hated every minute of it. They only played it to make their parents happy. When they tried to talk to their parents about not playing, they were never listened to and taken seriously. That cannot be!

I guess that what stood out to me most in this movie was my responsibility as a parent. I have a responsibility to look out for the best interests of all of my children. I should never put one before the other, and I should always make sure that what they are doing is something that they want to do. It should not be for me or because of what I think is important.

 There will always be things our children want to do that they cannot, that is a no-brainer. What I am saying is that we should listen to our kids and not live out our fantasies through them. This movie made me think of the children that are never given a choice, but instead expected to do what their parents want without taking what they want into consideration. It is also a scary look at the ethical dilemmas that we could theoretically face thanks to our advances in technology.

All in all, I give this movie an A-. There are definitely some lapses in the story that is told, but Abigail Breslin and Sophia Vassalieva are exceptional as Anna and Kate respectively. Alec Baldwin is great as the attorney hired and Joan Cusack does well as the judge. Jason Patric is believable as a dad torn between supporting his children and backing up his wife. Finally, Cameron Diaz plays the mother bent on saving her daughter's live no matter what very well. There was some offensive language, some underage misbehavior, alcohol and some graphic hospital and health related scenes.

Movie Review - Grace Card

I watched the movie Grace Card last night. It was a movie with a strong Christian theme, that of grace and forgiveness. My only problem with it was that it could have had better acting. That said, the story was great and the message was amazing.

The movie begins with Mac, who is washing his car and trying to encourage his son to ride his bike without training wheels while his wife and an infant look on. In an instant, he loses his son in a tragic accident as the result of an African-American drug dealer running from the police. Then we flash forward 18 years, and you see Mac as a police officer. He is a man who is haunted by his past. The loss of his son and blaming himself for it are displayed through anger, frustration and racism. His foundation has been shaken and his faith is lost.

He and his son do not get along. He and his wife are on the verge of a divorce. To top it all off, he gets assigned an African-American partner who just got promoted who has a happy family life and pastors his own church. It could not be any worse. His newly assigned partner, Sam, is able to pick up on Mac's animosity and prejudice. This in turn makes him question himself, especially after he gives a sermon about it that is not well received.

That is where I will stop telling about the movie so that I do not spoil it for you. What I will say is that grace plays a prominent part in the movie. I guess that the title gives that away! It is a story of how us giving to others the grace that was so undeservedly and graciously given to us allows us to engage in positive relationships with people that hate us and to overcome hate.

The story gets to the hardest part of our faith. We are told that we are to love our enemies. Matthew 5:43-48 states, 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

We are also told that we are to forgive others. In Matthew Chapter 18, Jesus says that we are to forgive  not 7 times, but 7 x 70  times. That means that our forgiveness comes not from our limitations, but by grace. I am not able to forgive easily. When I was younger I would hold grudges to the point of not remembering why I did not like somebody. I just did not like them. I would tell people that, "If you hurt me, I could forgive but never forget. If you hurt one of my friends, I could forget but never forgive." I took pride in that statement! How sad is that. I walked around angry, hurt and bitter.

That is what not forgiving somebody does. It is said that holding a resentment is like drinking poison to kill somebody else. You only hurt yourself. As Christians we are asked to show others the unconditional grace that has been shown to us. Brandon Heath in his song "I'm Not Who I Was" says, "The thing I find most amazing, in amazing grace. Is the chance to give it out, maybe that's what love is all about." How true that is.

Giving other's grace is liberating! I am no longer trapped by rage. Resentments and grudges cause a lot of anxiety and a ton of energy. It is actually healthy for us physiologically and psychologically to forgive others. It is also Biblically mandated, and the hardest part of our commission to fulfill.

Do you remember the 5 Amish girls who were shot dead in Pennsylvania in 2006? The day after the shooting the parents of the dead girls, in fact the whole Amish community that suffered the loss, came forward and embraced the family of the shooter. They told the family that they forgave him. Over half of those in attendance at the shooter's funeral were Amish. They gave a portion of the money that came from around the world to the widow and child of the shooter.

People thought that the Amish were insane at the time. They did not understand how anyone could forgive that kind of act. Do you want to know how they did it? It was simply good Christian behavior. The Amish have this "grace thing" right. It is sad that so many were surprised to see people forgiving like the Amish did in this situation. It shows that as Christians we have a long way to go to overcome the bad reputation that we have gotten. We need to take notes from both the Amish and this movie. We need to incorporate  grace into our daily lives.

Instead of being a Sunday Christian, we are to be Christians 24/7. One of my favorite things said in the movie was that Church is only the locker room. It is where we hear the pep talk. Monday - Saturday is game time. Most Christians have it backwards. Sunday is not the day to act as a Christian. It is the day to learn how to act the rest of the week. We want to rest on the laurels of faith, but that will never be enough.

I will end this blog with the words of James, as he reminds us that faith is not enough (even the demons have faith in who Christ is and that there is only one God) in James 2:17-24,

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

Movie Review - Soul Surfer

This is the first movie that I am reviewing, but after seeing the movie I just cannot imagine not recommending people to go and see it. My reviews may not get that far into being a narrative of the movie.  Instead, what you will get is a brief overview of the movie along with the Christian undertones (in this case there are not undertones, it is a movie about Christians) and whether or not I feel that it is fit for children.

For starters, all that I can say is WOW!! Soul Surfer is an amazing movie. I was crying 15 minutes into this movie and do not think that I stopped crying through out the rest of it. There is a lot of anguish and emotion in this movie that is portrayed realistically and due to that I was affected by it. Just to clarify, I often cry at movies. Not nearly as often or as long as I did in this one, though.

The casting in Soul Surfer is superb. It includes AnnaSophia Robb(also in Race to Witch Mountain and Bridge to Terabithia) as Bethany Hamilton, Dennis Quaid as her father and Helen Hunt as her mother. It also has Kevin Sorbo (he is Hercules in multiple movies and the series), who plays her best friend's dad who probably saved Beth's life with quick thinking after the shark attack. Jack Nicholson's daughter, Lorraine plays her best friend. Jeremy Sumpter, who plays J.D. McCoy in Friday Night Lights (probably my favorite TV series ever) plays her best friend's brother. It also stars Carrie Underwood as her youth pastor.

The movie is about Bethany Hamilton, a surfer who got her arm bitten off by a shark when she was 13. She wrote a book about the incident and how it changed her life that was entitled Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. It is this book and interviews done with those involved with her and her family that the movie is based off of.

If you cannot tell, I loved the movie. There are several scriptures quoted in the film (Jeremiah 29:11 and Philippians 4:13). It was also nice to see worship music featured prominently in a movie. There is a song by Francesca Battistelli as well as music by Britt Nicole and Mat Kearney. It also starts off with a church service that is right on the beach, and the hymn that the congregation is singing is "Blessed be Your Name."

I do not want to give away the movie, so I will not discuss what happens other than to say that it shows a families struggles with their faith, their immaturity and what is important in their lives after Bethany loses her arm. It also shows how the media attacks those who suffer trauma. They circled her and her family and it was probably just as traumatic as the shark attack itself. I feel that it is an accurate portrayal of the media, which is sad......

I have read several reviews from Christian blogs and have been disappointed in them, to say the least. This is a Hollywood movie about a young Christian girl and her family. There is a focus on the secular, but there is more about the faith than you see in most movies and anyone with the ability to add 1+1 can see that it is Christianity that she is talking about when she says that "If you have faith, anything is possible." Could there have been more? Of course, and there could have been less. From what I have read, the Hamilton family actually insisted that parts of the movie remain that the studio wanted to remove in order to make the movie "less" Christian. I applaud the family in staying true to their faith.

Now, to address the critics. Yes, there are a lot of bathing suits shown in this movie. It is about a girl from Hawaii who is a surfer. I am sorry if it accurately depicts the beach and what you will see. I see sports bras at the gym and bikinis at the pool as well as the beach. I would never stop going to the gym or going swimming and floating due to that, nor would I suggest that you not see this movie based on that. Could it give someone impure thoughts? To be honest, what couldn't give someone impure thoughts.

I have also heard complaints that it "only has two scriptures quoted in it." That is two more scriptures than I hear in most movies. Prayer plays a prominent part in this movie, as does church and mission trips. The movie also shows the realistic struggle that a young teen-ager chasing a professional sporting career could encounter. I was glad to see the movie show the organization World Vision when Bethany goes on a mission to Thailand after the Tsunami.

Personally, I think that there are some really good teaching points that could be positively used by parents in this movie. When there are struggles, it can be discussed. If you disagree with the parenting choices shown in the movie, than discuss that with your children. What could be better than using the movie to discuss Christianity with your children? Both what it gets right and what you would do differently.

 The movie is not at all preachy, but instead shows how faith played a huge part in Bethany's being able to stay positive and prosper in the face of adversity. She gradually grows and begins to see that there is more to life than surfing. She also discovers how God can use tragedies, which she nods to at the end of the movie. When asked by a reporter if she could go back to the day of the attack and redo it, would she surf she tells the reporter no, "I can embrace more people with one arm than I ever could with two."

In closing, this movie shows many positive things: it portays a very close and protective family, prominently plays Christian performers music throughout, shows a young woman who suffers incredible tragedy and yet remains grounded/positive/selfless, transitions to a deeper committment to Christ, has a mother who questions her daughter's focus on surfing, shows Bethany winning over a competitor who is mean to her by remaining kind and encourages those who have physical disabilities to pursue their dreams. I enjoyed this movie and I would highly recommend it.