Salutations, Introductions, & a Disclaimer

As a little girl, I loved movies.  I was never happier than when I was watching a Disney movie. As I grew older, my parents introduced me to Indiana Jones, the Sound of Music, Christmas Vacation, and other such classics.  Now, as a 16 year-old, I still love movies.  Why?  Because I've discovered that, when made correctly, a movie is so much more than just a movie.  Movies entertain us.  They make us cry and the next minute make us laugh.  They enlighten us and make us think deeply about murky issues.  They educate us and parody everything around us.  Most of all, movies inspire us. 

 

And that's one of the reasons that I started this blog.  Because, as a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe that changing the world can be done...with movies. 

 

I also believe that many fine, upstanding Christian movie critics are missing the point of movies.  It seems that most of their reviews these days are to the tune of "this movie has no depth beyond telling us that friendship is good, but it's rated G and so everybody should see it" or "this movie has an incredible message and is wonderfully made, but it has an f-word and so nobody should see it".

 

But that's not the point.

 

My other reason for this blog is to review movies for people who want to know what can be learned from a given film or how well-made it is.

 

This is where I should probably add a disclaimer:  I will not be reviewing movies based off of "adult" content.  I will be reviewing them based off of artistic merit and the overall message.  If you're a parent, older sibling, or babysitter looking for films to watch with children, I highly recommend Plugged In {by Focus on the Family}.  Do I necessarily like it when directors feel the need to have their actors cuss and engage in unbiblical behavior?  No.  Do I necessarily believe that should keep someone from watching and learning from a film?  No.  {I'll probably get some heat for that last answer...}  Now, obviously there comes a point when 175 f-words and nonstop gory violence becomes a problem.  I try and stay away from those movies.  But I will also say that, should I somehow watch a film where the content becomes a distraction, I will put that in my review.  It just won't be the main point of most of my reviews.

 

With all this said, I hope you'll take this journey with me as we explore the wonderful, scary {wonderfully scary?  Scarily wonderful?} world of the cinema.

 

Carpe diem!

~Elle