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“When The Game Stands Tall” And My IMDB Formula For Films with Christian Content
Here’s how it works for me: I see Jim Caveizel promoting his new film, When The Game Stands Tall, on Raymond Arroyo’s show on EWTN; he’s so intense, so purposeful. I’m sold. I’m going to see it. I look it up on IMDB.com. It has a 6.9 (out of 10) rating. I add two points because I believe there is a league of people giving 1 (out of 10) ratings to any film with a positive Christian message. So I’m excited to take my wife to a 8.9 rated film. That’s a guaranteed winner.
I see the film. I am right. It deserves an 8.9 rating. Why do I have to do such math? Who are these people dragging down the ratings of positive films? That’s rhetorical. Of course we know who they are. Most negative reviews I read of the film don’t just pan it, they ask people not to see it. They want to destroy the kinds of messages these films bring and ruin their business. Well, I’m telling you the opposite: see this film. See it soon so the box office results will not hinder this kind of filmmaking in the future.
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well crap the trailer made me feel feelings.
It is precisely this sort of overt messaging that makes me want to not see a movie. If I know beforehand that it’s going to be a piece of propaganda for this or that viewpoint, it’s sort of like going to a magic show where you know how all of the tricks are done beforehand.
For instance, I would never see a movie like “God’s Not Dead” – not merely because of its sappy, solipsistic Christian overtones – but because I can predict before I enter the theater how the movie will end. Reading the reviews reinforced my opinions of its apparent ham-handedness.
For similar reasons I won’t see “Noah” – its obvious, leftist foolishness is on display for everybody to see.
At least if I’m going to watch what amounts to a polemic, I want to know that beforehand. I watched Bill Maher’s “Religulous” and Ben Stein’s “Expelled” understanding that neither one of them were going to be fair to the other side. While Maher was characteristically unpleasant, he at least had the sense to make a couple of amusing jokes, whereas Stein came across as a dour scold.
As I recall, Amazon had to change their product review system years ago because so many fanatics (both for and against) were rating entertainment products before the products were even released.
The numbers (or thumbs, or stars) don’t mean much on their own. What helps is reading why various people like or dislike a product.
It got 18% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 77% from the audience. These days I trust the audience more than the reviewers.
Sometimes, we just want a little red meat. Sometimes, we just want to see an attempt to make art that reinforces our world view (there’s not much of it). Is it solipsistic? Probably. But, I’d like to think we’re all given to that once in a while. There are a lot worse things that could happen and are happening than to be subjected to a little slanted art. I’ll see this movie because Escalante’s a stand up guy and I respect his opinion, because I want a little art that agrees with me, and because my dollars will send a small message that we need & want more of this.
If you want red meat just watch “The Passion of the Christ.” Plenty of meat there. Coincidentally, Jim Caveizel happened to be in that bit of over-the-top, explicit, torture pornography as well.
Maybe that’s a poor example however – I really never could decide if Passion was a good movie or not on its own merits. In the end, it seemed more like an attempt to provide evangelicals with catharsis than anything due to how grisly it is. Westerners are too steeped in that mythology to reach dispassionate conclusions about something that visceral.
Good movie or not, whoever came up with that title needs a vigorous smack with an oven mitt.
I live just a few miles from this school and have had the pleasure of attending many of their games and knowing many of the kids that have attended that school and played for that team. (My kid played with and against these kids from pee wee football through high school).
If the movie is half as good as the program and the environment Coach Bob Ladouceur has created there it will be well worth watching. They ran off an amazing undefeated string without emphasizing winning, but rather being good young men. The book was a good read (and a rather quick one).
You go girl.
I agree 100%
I saw the trailer and was mildly curious. But since I hate watching football, and had a horrible time coping with my adolescent son (especially after his father left us), I probably wouldn’t have gone to see it if not for this post.
It’s outstanding. Among other things, the acting actually catches the particular way young men are chaotic, grating, profound and beautiful practically all at once.
There really has to be something wrong with anyone who would turn people away from this movie. But the effort does seem to be succeeding. Except for one other couple, my husband and I sat alone watching it in a theater room in Westbrook, Connecticut .
I hope Andrew Klavan writes about it. Has Rush Limbaugh commented on it ? I hope he does.