God is Surely Alive: A Movie Review of "God's Not Dead"

"My God's not dead; He's surely alive; He's living on the inside; Roaring like a Lion." The quote is a line from the Christian song God's Not Dead (Like a Lion). For Christians, it is evident that our Lord is completely alive (more so than us!), and He is guiding history and the future. Yet there are billions worldwide that reject and speak against the belief in any supernatural being. 

The film God's Not Dead mainly depicts a freshman college student who is instructed by his professor to defend his stance on God's existence. Although it gained much criticism from the secular community (which is hardly surprising), the film had a great box office success with over $8 million during its opening weekend.

The movie includes Shane Harper as college student Josh Wheaton, Kevin Sorbo as Prof. Jeffery Raddison, and Trisha LaFache as journalist Amy Ryan.

SUMMARY

   God's Not Dead opens with wordless introductions to the various characters of the film, playing actor Shane Harper's song Hold You Up in the background. This gives the audience an overall, general feel of the characters.

   The film really starts to get going when college freshman Josh Wheaton goes to get signed-up. After he tells one of the college workers that he is taking Professor Raddison's philosophy class, the worker notices Josh's cross necklace. He says that Josh might want to consider switching classes, bearing in mind that Raddison's class would be like the"Roman Colosseum" for Josh (with "people cheering for [his] death."). However, Josh sticks with the current class.

   Josh sits down for the first session of Raddison's philosophy class and discovers why exactly he was being warned. The professor hands out blank pieces of paper and tells them to sign their names and write the statement "God is dead." Everyone does it. That is, everyone except Josh Wheaton. 

   So atheist Professor Raddison and Josh come up with a challenge. Josh will be given three twenty-minute sessions in which to present his case for a true and living God. After some thought and consulting a local pastor, Josh takes up the challenge, against the wishes of his parents and girlfriend. His reasons are that he wants to be a witness to his fellow students and to stand up for God. He uses C.S. Lewis' excellent quote, "Only a real risk tests the reality of a belief."

   After this, several more characters enter the picture. Mark is a shrewd, selfish businessman. His sister Mina, a Christian, is in a relationship with the atheist Prof. Raddison. Mark and Mina's mother suffers from dementia, who gives a surprisingly clear refutation to her son's arguments concerning his life and hers. 

   Also included is Mark's girlfriend Amy who is a humanist, liberal reporter/blogger. She interviews Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korrie Robertson, attempting to hurt their reputation as hunters. Later, she makes a discovery about herself that brings her to a stressful collapse.

   There is also Ayisha, a young Muslim woman who has secretly converted to Christianity. The final side characters are Rev. Dave and his missionary friend Rev. Jude, who are trying to visit Disney World. 

   Eventually, Josh learns of Jeffery Raddison's troubled childhood, which led him to a hatred of Christianity. The third session of Josh's defense of God is turned into a heated debate with the professor. 

   The film ends with the Newsboys dedicating their song God's Not Dead (Like a Lion) to Josh.

   A final message before the credits encourages viewers to text the words "God's not dead" to everyone they know.

CONTENT

   For a film rated PG, there are several tense and somewhat violent moments. An ill woman breaks down in screams and sobs after fully realizing the reality of her approaching death. There are several verbal fights, including screaming, mostly between Prof. Raddison and Josh. Also, a young woman is smacked twice by her father and forced from their apartment building. Closer to the end, a person is hit by a car and we briefly see some blood.

   There is no language in the film and only a kiss or two between an unmarried couple.

   While God's Not Dead is one of the best Christian films I have seen in a while, there were some flaws in the religious aspect. Certainly, the Christian message was strong and undoubtedly will come off that way to audiences. However, there are a few flaws in the arguments, as well as little biblical evidence during Josh's sessions. He relies somewhat heavily on evidence from theists, rather than born-again Christians. Also, towards the end of the film, a dying man is told that he can "accept Jesus." The saving grace from Jesus Christ is something He gives us, not something we earn ourselves. Though we humans have free will, Christ chooses us, not the other way around. 

   Also, really every non-Christian character is portrayed in a negative light: the cruel businessman, an abusive Muslim, an embittered atheist professor, a despairing humanist reporter, etc. I know many secular people who are kind and have good morals (on a human level). Are they saved by Christ? No. Are they cruel and abusive? No. Are there non-believers like that? Certainly, yes. I think the point of portraying secularists the way they did was to further show the hopeless reality of a life without God, once everything is boiled down. People without the LORD are always empty, though they can easily cover it up and ignore their emptiness. 

   And yet there is a lot of good in the movie. For one thing, the main focus of the film is one Christian's risk when defending God before a class full of skeptics. There are also some good arguments that can be used in favor of an intelligent Creator, though most of them are not straight from Scriptures.

   As can be expected, the secular society really smashed this film with their criticism and bad reviews. As I said earlier, this is not surprising. One secular review said that God's Not Dead was actually a disaster of a film. Many others have said that it is full of hateful, Christian propaganda. We can expect these lies from a world that is embittered toward God. Matthew 10:22 tells us, "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved." Josh Wheaton is a good example of this verse. He is persecuted by his professor because of his stand for Christ, but God promises to bless the believer who is faithful to Him. 

   However, secular reporter Steve Pulaski from Influx Magazine said, "God's Not Dead has issues, many of them easy to spot and heavily distracting. However, it's surprisingly effective in terms of message, acting, and insight, which are three fields Christian cinema seems to struggle with the most." [1] If you would like to read a review from a secular viewpoint, I would suggest this one. It was given a "C+" rating and has a somewhat fair review of the film.

   The acting, however, displayed some of the finest talents in Christian film. The acting of Kevin Sorbo and Trisha LaFache were particularly excellent. Next time a secular acquaintance tells you Christian films have terrible acting, simply give them God's Not Dead as a good example. The film included the talents of two veteran television actors: Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Andromeda) and Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman).

   With some admittedly visible flaws, as well as both emotional and physical violence, God's Not Dead is not a perfect movie. To be honest, no movie is! It may not even be one you want younger children to see. Yet it is a wonderful film and one of the few Christian films that has done as well as it did. It is obviously a much better choice than many of today's films, and it is one that has a rarely positive message.

   I thoroughly enjoyed God's Not Dead, and I pray it can be used as a way to gain a witnessing opportunity for the broken and the lost souls of this troubled world.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 113 minutes

Rating: PG (for thematic material, brief violence and an accident scene)

Director: Harold Cronk

Producers: Michael Scott, Russel Wolfe, Anna Zielinski

Music: Will Musser (score)
Year of release: 2014
Primary audience: Pre-teens, teens, adults

[1] "God's Not Dead." Influx Magazine (www.influxmagazine.com).

 http://influxmagazine.com/gods-not-dead/ Retrieved October 11, 2014.

The Boy Who Became a King: A Movie Review of "The Sword in the Stone"

Most everyone knows of England's mythical hero King Arthur, his wife Queen Gwynevere, and the Knights of the Round Table. But how did Arthur become the great and legendary king everyone knows him as? Disney's classic animated film The Sword in the Stone retells T.H. White's book about the boyhood of Arthur.

The Sword in the Stone received an Academy Award nomination for George Brun's musical score. The songs were done by the very duo behind the award-winning songs of Mary Poppins. The film stars the voices of Rickie Sorensen; Richard Reitherman; and Robert Reitherman as Arthur (nicknamed "Wart"), Karl Swenson as Merlin the magician, and Junius Matthews as Merlin's pet owl Archimedes.

SUMMARY

   The movie opens with England's king dying, without an heir of any kind to leave behind. However, a magical sword appears in an anvil, which bears an inscription that says whoever removes the sword is the rightful king of England. And yet no one can remove it. The legendary sword is forgotten and Great Britain enters into the Dark Ages.

   A long time later, a young orphan named Arthur is living with a grumpy retired knight named Sir Ector, and his bully son Kay. One day, while assisting Kay on a hunt, Arthur (or Wart, as everybody has named him) causes an accident, and Kay misses his targeted deer. The arrow from Kay's bow went into a dark forest and Wart is forced to go after it.

   While looking for the arrow, Arthur stumbles upon a little old cottage. Inside, he meets the powerful magician Merlin and his talking owl Archimedes. Merlin tells Arthur he is prepared to become the boy's tutor. Arthur is interested but reluctant. Merlin and Archimedes then accompany Arthur back to Sir Ector's dilapidated castle.

   Later, Sir Pellinore, a friend of Ector's, comes to the castle bearing wonderful news. The winner of the New Year's Day jousting tournament is to become king of England. Ector decides to get Kay into rigorous training for the tournament, making Arthur Kay's squire.

   In order to begin teaching Arthur, Merlin uses magic to continue Arthur's chores while they leave the castle. Afterwards, they have amazing adventures as they are transformed into fish, squirrels, and birds. Arthur is taught about wit, wisdom, love, and courage during the lessons. 

   During one lesson, Arthur as a bird finds himself trapped in the cottage of Mim, a witch of dark magic. Coming to the rescue, Merlin and Mim engage in a battle of wits. Each of them turns into some sort of creature in order to gain the upper hand over the other. Merlin reigns triumphant even with treachery and lies from Mim, as he infects her health as a bacteria. This further enforces his lesson of cunning for Arthur.

   Finally, the day of the great tournament comes. But Arthur forgot Kay's sword in the tavern at which they were staying. Arthur searches for another sword and finds one in an overgrown churchyard. He pulls the sword from an anvil, as light shines down on him from an undefinable source. 

   When he takes the sword to Kay, Ector takes a look and realizes what sword it is. Arthur leads a large group of people back to the churchyard, and he places to sword back into the anvil. Many men attempt to pull it out, but none can. Finally, Sir Pellinore gives Arthur a chance to prove himself. 

   The boy removes the sword from the stone and is declared as king of England. He begins his reign using the lessons taught by his wise tutor Merlin.

CONTENT

   Since The Sword in the Stone is a Disney cartoon, the violence is rather minimal. There are some sword fights and jousting, but the most injuries anyone suffers are a bruised head or a fall from their horse. Mim tries to harm Merlin during their duel, using dangerous animals as ways to destroy the wizard. She might also come across as frightening to younger children when she turns herself into different creatures.

   Aside from some minor name-calling (such as "Wart"), there is no foul language in the movie.

   There is a scene when Mim turns herself into a beautiful woman and Arthur is amazed by her appearance. Also, while squirrels, Arthur and Merlin run into a pair of female squirrels. During this, Merlin sings the song The Most Befuddling Thing, which is all about love and romantic feelings. While the song is relatively harmless, parents might not want their children getting their views of romance from Disney. However, this could be a good place to discuss the world's definition of love versus a biblical one.

   Since Merlin is a wizard and Mim is a witch, both obviously use magic. Merlin declares his magic as good and helpful, while Mim openly brags that hers is dark magic. Either way, sorcery of some kind or another is heavily involved in the film. There are no real-life spells used, but Merlin uses several magical chants throughout the film. Parents will have to judge whether or not they believe this is appropriate for their kids.

   While the songs aren't Disney's best, there are a few that are enjoyable. These include Higitus Figitus, That's What Makes the World Go Round, and Mad Madam Mim. The songs, as I stated above, are from the same two brothers who penned the music for Mary Poppins.

   Sword in the Stone is definitely not my favorite Disney film, though it did have the personal touch of Walt Disney himself. I do find it interesting and pretty good. It is a relatively clean film, unlike many so-called "family" movies of today. Depending on your personal decisions about magical content, this is a great movie for kids and families.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 79 minutes

Rating: G

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Producer: Walt Disney

Music: George Bruns (score), Richard & Robert Sherman (songs)

Year of release: 1963
Primary audience: Kids, family

The Heritage of All Mankind: A Movie Review of "The Monuments Men"

In 1943, World War II is in full swing in Europe as the Allied armies are forcing the Axis powers to retreat further towards Germany. However, precious artistic works of mankind are being destroyed in the midst of heavy fire. A single Lieutenant devises a plan to create a small band men to go in and rescue works of art before the Nazis can steal them.

The Monuments Men boasts a huge cast, including several famous names. The film stars stars George Clooney (as Lt. Frank Stokes), Matt Damon (as Lt. James Granger), John Goodman (as Sgt. Walter Garfield), Bill Murray (as Sgt. Richard Campbell), Hugh Bonneville (as Lt. Donald Jeffries) Jean Dujardin (as Lt. Jean-Claude Clermont), Bob Balaban (Pvt. Preston Savitz), and Cate Blanchett (as Claire Simone).

SUMMARY

   America has been in World War II for just under a year now and the Allies are finally driving the Germans back into their own territory. But Lieutenant Frank Stokes tells the President that victory will not mean as much if precious works of art are destroyed in the war, whether by weapons or thieves. 

   Stokes is given permission to create a new group of seven man named the "Monuments Men." These men are historians, art experts, and museum curators, not specially trained soldiers. Yet they are given command and head to Europe to lead the hunt for artwork stolen by Nazis.

   Unfortunately, the officers of the U.S. Army refuse to change their battle strategies for the sake of protecting art. The Monuments Men split up to cover better ground: Stokes sticks with the U.S. Army; Lt. Jeffries leads a rescue mission for a Belgian cathedral; Lt. Granger seeks out French art historian Claire Simone; Sgt. Campbell and Private Savitz hunt down a Van Eyck altarpiece; and Sgt. Garfield and Lt. Clermont go off in search of other pieces of art.

   Eventually, the team gets back together, minus a few men lost in combat. They begin locating secret hordes of art within castles, mines, and other places. However, time is running out as they learn that the Nazis are blowing up their stolen art collections. To make matters worse, the Russians are also attempting to steal as much artwork as they can.

   In the climax of the movie, the team must enter a mine and rescue as much artwork as possible before the Russians get there. 

CONTENT

   As this is a war film, there is a good amount of violent content. Two main characters die: one is shot, and we see blood staining his uniform; the other is shot and died a little while later, with some blood in the scene. There are many other wounds sustained in the film, some containing blood. Also, while not depicted, the Holocaust is mentioned. A man mentions that his grandfather was sent to a concentration camp, and a Nazi officer says he should be thanked for his work in the Holocaust. In connection with this, a barrel full of gold teeth is found.

   The inappropriate language in the film is moderately heavy, including seven uses of s***, as well as several uses of d***, God's name, and h***. Christ's name is also used around a half-dozen times.

   In Paris, Claire Simone attempts to lure Granger into an adulterous relationship against his wife. But, in a good moral twist, Granger resists, yet still continues historical research with her. Besides this, there are some nude sculptures as well as nudity in artwork, but none of these artworks are focused on in particular. 

   Also, there is some smoking throughout the film, as well as some brief scenes including alcohol.

   Aside from some foul language, The Monuments Men is an enjoyable movie, I think. There is plenty of action and drama, but also some spattering of comedy (mostly from Bill Murray). The movie is not likely for everyone, but I believe most might enjoy it. 

   The acting was superb, especially with the performances of George Clooney, Hugh Bonneville, and Cate Blanchett. Also, the musical score by Alexandre Desplat was really great and fit perfectly with the film.

   Those who have read the historical book upon which the movie is based will notice the change in names and even the number of the Monuments Men. I am not entirely sure why certain things such as names were altered, but it could have something to do with the descendants of the real soldiers involved.

   There are some good points made about the importance of art to civilization. Our international history is vital to our future, I believe, and The Monuments Men displays this. Yet there is still some argument in the film of whether the art is worth human lives.

   The Monuments Men is certainly not for the whole family, but some pre-teens might possibly enjoy parts of it. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 118 minutes

Rating: PG-13 (for some images of war violence and historical smoking)

Director: George Clooney 

Producers: George Clooney, Grant Heslov

Music: Alexandre Desplat

Year of release: 2014
Primary audience: Teens, adults

Words Are Life: A Movie Review of "The Book Thief"

The late 1930's bring great changes to Germany. The Nazi party is fully in control and their plans for world domination are about to be put into effect. Yet in the midst of this upheaval, one young girl quietly lives her life. The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel Meminger, the title character, as she is taken into a foster home, steals books, and befriends a Jew.
The movie stars Sophie Nélisse as Liesel Meminger, Geoffrey Rush as her foster parent Hans Hubermann, and Emily Watson as his wife Rosa.

SUMMARY

   The Book Thief opens with a voice narrating the beginning of Liesel's story. She is on a train with her mother and ill brother. The train makes an unscheduled (yet necessary) stop, during which Liesel finds a book dropped in the snow. She picks it up and hides it in her coat. 

   Eventually, Liesel is taken to a foster home (we are not told why her mother is sending her, but it is implied that she might have been a Communist). Rosa Hubermann, her new foster mother, displays her rough personality. Her prodding does not get Liesel to budge from the car. After Rosa gives up, Hans goes to the car and invites Liesel outside, calling her "Your Majesty." That does the trick. Liesel begins to learn how to live with the Hubermanns, though Rosa is convinced Liesel is a mute, as she will not speak. On her first night, Hans shows acts of kindness to her, and a special bond begins to form between the two.

   On the first day of school, Liesel is accompanied by Rudy Steiner. However, things are worse at school than at home. Liesel cannot write and signs her name with "X"s. Later, she is taunted by fellow classmates, and a fight breaks out. Through this, Liesel finds a second true friend in Rudy.

   After school, Hans tells Liesel that he is not a very good reader, and they can help each other. They start by using the book Liesel stole while the train was stopped. Hans soon sets up a blackboard in the basement, where Liesel can keep track of every new word she learns. Liesel Meminger becomes quite the reading aficionado.

   As time goes on, Liesel becomes part of the Hitler Youth and (at a Nazi book burning) is forced into throwing books into a massive bonfire. However, after the crowd leaves, "the book thief" manages to find a book that escaped the fiery fate.

   Eventually, the movie reaches the historic event known as Kristallnacht (or "the Night of Broken Glass"), a night of great violence and persecution towards Germany's Jewish population. Max Vanderburg, a Jew, is able to escape the massacre. He flees to the Hubermanns' home, as Hans was a friend of Max's father. The Hubermanns hide Max in their basement, and he befriends Liesel, as they both love books and words. 

   The Hubermanns, Liesel, and Max undergo struggles and a final, climatic disaster. 

CONTENT

   While The Book Thief has a lot of dialogue, there are some tense scenes. Within the first few minutes, a small child dies, and blood comes from his nostrils. Liesel also fights the school bully, but the worst is a skinned knee. However, there are several wartime bombings and one scene in which an army truck explodes violently. Also, the Kristallnacht scene depicts some violent persecution of the Jews. Toward the end of the film, the audience is shown the dead bodies of several people. One scene also includes a crowd of weary people being prodded and hurried along by Nazi soldiers (the victims are clearly Jewish). 

   There is one use of h*** and a few uses of G*d. Hans also utters two phrases: "God in heaven" and "Christ on a cross..."

   The Book Thief is refreshingly clean from sexual content, besides a small bit of flirting from Rudy to Liesel. 

   The story is narrated by Death personified. He is not said to be God, Satan, or a specific spiritual individual. The movie is, sadly, void of any reference to a living God and where the characters find refuge during the Nazi trouble. Without God, they turn to books; even good books are passive, though, and are no substitute for our Lord. 

   With that aside, however, the film brings out some great things about the use of words. Max tells Liesel "words are life," which is true in a certain sense; our earthly lives can change based on what we say to someone or write on paper. Another quote from Max is when he asks Liesel, "If your eyes could speak, what would they say?" As Christians, how can we translate what we see into our spiritual lives? 

   Also, as a John Williams fan, I do have to add that his music expands the emotions felt in this movie, and I found some songs being reminiscent of his music from Schindler's List.

   The Book Thief may not be an amazing film, but it is a very good one; it is one that brings out good points about the power of words. Sophie Nélisse and Geoffrey Rush shine marvelously as Liesel and Hans (Emily Watson was rather good, as well). The movie is obviously not a choice for the entire family, but it is one from which even adults can benefit. 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 131 minutes

Rating: PG-13 (for some violence and intense depiction of thematic material)

Director: Brian Percival

Producers: Karen Rosenfelt, Ken Blancato

Music: John Williams

Year of release: 2013

Primary audience: Pre-teens, teens, adults

Movietown News

   Family-in-Mind has a new movie blog: Movietown News (affectionately named for the newsreel from the opening scenes of Disney/Pixar's Up). In the future posts, expect to find movie news, commentary, and even some comedy posts! You can find it here.

Survival of the "Weakest": A Book Review of "The Pianist"

In September 1939, World War II began with Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland. Upon reaching Warsaw, the Nazis set up a ghetto for the Jews, and things appeared alright at first, perhaps just a little tense. Yet things escalated, and the true purpose of Germany was revealed: all Jews were to be killed.

The Pianist is a memoir by Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish Jew. In his book, Szpilman recalls his time in the Jewish ghetto of Warsaw as he struggled to survive and hide from Nazi soldiers. It was published following the war, but because the Soviet Union disapproved, it was banned. It was not until the late 1990's that it was republished in German and English. It was later adapted into a film version, though Szpilman passed away before the movie was completed.

SUMMARY

   The Pianist's author is also the main character (as this is an autobiographical memoir), Wladyslaw Szpilman in the 1930's, at both Berlin, Germany, and Warsaw, Poland. When the Nazis rose to power, Szpilman returned to Poland in 1933.

   He begins working for the Polish Radio until Germany invades in the fall of 1939. The station goes off air as he plays one of Chopin's Nocturnes. Not long after, Warsaw surrenders to Germany. The Nazis put up notices for the Poles: they will be cared for by Germany. There is even a special section for Jews! This is a relief for many Jews, though some still suspected treachery.

   It doesn't take long for the true intentions of the Nazis to be made clear. Raids occur all over Warsaw, in which Jews are abused. A little later, Jews are required to hand in property and valuables to the German state; Jewish families are permitted to own only a small portion of money, regardless of the family's size.

   The Szpilmans did not go along with their enemies and instead hid their money and valuables in strategic places around their home. But by the time 1940 came around, a section of Warsaw had been blocked with walls, and rumors circulated that this was to be the ghetto for Jews. 

   Still, Szpilman and his family were fortunate enough to already be living within the ghetto walls; they would not have to evacuate and be subject to Nazi abuse...yet.

   The ghetto quickly became a terrible place to live: full of fear, unsanitary, under the watchful eye of Nazis. However, the worst was yet to come, but Wladyslaw would (quite miraculously) survive the horrors of occupation under the Third Reich. 

CONTENT

   As a memoir of the Nazi Holocaust, The Pianist has much strong violence, some of it told in detail. It includes (but is not limited to) shootings, beatings, verbal insults, and mass murder. In one part, an elderly Jew cannot move because he is paralyzed from the waist down. Nazi soldiers take the chair in which he sits and throw him out the window, where the man hangs in a tree. There is another scene in which Jews are instructed to lie on the ground; a Nazi commander then calmly walks down the row, shooting each Jew. 

   There are occasional uses of G*d and only once is d*** used. 

   I recall no sexual content, for which I was glad. However, this was a non-fictional book, and there were not many places where such things would fit.

   The Pianist is a good story of one man's survival of brutal tyranny and death. Christians who read the memoir will clearly see God's hand in this man's life, whether he recognized it or not. 

   Szpilman's memoir delves into the human psychology of a wartime Polish Jew. There are many rewarding scenes in the book, but this book will likely leave you with a sick feeling of those who did not make it out of the ghetto alive. And this is right, as human lives are created by God. As Scripture tells us, man is made in the likeness of God, our Creator. 

   Yet this book also proves that not all Germans of the time were like the Nazis, as Winston Churchill led Great Britain to believe. Even some of the soldiers were compassionate, as one sees in the memoir. 

   I would say this book is targeted mainly for adults. I am not suggesting that teens should not read this book (as I did), but no one, even adults, should read this book lightly. The Pianist is a remarkable account of German invasion and the war years in Warsaw, but it is also a grave story of man's depravity without God, when he is left to himself.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Number of pages: 224

Author of book: Wladyslaw Szpilman

Published in: 1946 (under the name Death of a City), 1998 (German/English editions), 2002 (movie tie-in edition)

Primary audience: Adults

The Ideal Leader: A Movie Review of "Captain Phillips"

On April 8, 2009, a small group of Somali pirates hijacked a cargo ship, the Maersk Alabama. The ship's captain was kidnapped and taken aboard a life boat with the pirates; the U.S. Navy came to make an attempt at a rescue mission for Captain Richard Phillips. In 2013, a movie inspired/based on Richard's biographical book was released.

The film's cast included Tom Hanks as Capt. Richard Phillips, Barkhad Abdi as pirate leader Abduwali Muse, and Michael Chernus as first officer Shane Murphy.

SUMMARY

   Captain Phillips wastes no time getting to the beginning of the story. Captain Richard Phillips is placed in charge of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama. They are to go past the Somalian coast and around the Horn of Africa. With that, the ship sets off for its fateful (and historic) voyage.

   Phillips is confident they can avoid problems with pirates, yet the crew has no weapons at all. The Alabama is unarmed. Still, Phillips makes sure that the crew runs drills to be prepared in the event of a pirate attack.

   Eventually, two small boats carrying pirates give chase to the Alabama. Phillips tricks one boat into turning around by making it appear that he is calling the military by radio. The other ship is not nearly well-equipped enough to chase the cargo ship, and thus turns aside.

   All is not well, though; the pirates improve their ship with new parts. One ship, now equipped with two engines, makes another attempt at catching the Alabama. This time, the pirates finally succeed, and they board the cargo ship.

   Phillips and the officers are held hostage in the control room. The lead pirate, Abduwali Muse, makes it clear that he is now the new captain. He informs Phillips that he is no longer captain of the Alabama.

   Captain Phillips tries to stall for time. He attempts to keep a cautious relationship with the pirates. The band of pirates eventually takes the money from the ship's safe and board the lifeboat. However, they take Phillips with them, and now the Navy races to rescue the kidnapped sailor.

CONTENT

   Throughout the film, guns are fired many times. Rarely, though, do we see someone shot. Most of the film's violence is made up of tense situations. The pirates are constantly pointing guns at the Alabama's crew. There is one scene where a gun is held to a man's head, and a pirate nearly kills him. Also, toward the end, a group of people are shot, and the Captain is covered in blood. 

   As far as profanity, there is sadly quite a usage of foul language. A** is used once and s*** is used a few times. H*** is used a couple of times, as well as several uses of d*** and God's name. Unfortunately, there is also one or two brief uses of Jesus' name (completely unnecessary).

   There is no sexual content of any kind.

   Captain Phillips is a great thriller movie and a rather intense one. While there are not many deaths, the threat of guns is ever-constant. With the unfortunate amount of profanities, anyone who views this movie will want to be on guard. This is definitely not a film for the entire family, but still a good film, nonetheless, save for the language. Yet Captain Phillips is portrayed as a sacrificial leader who is willing to put his own life in danger before those of his crew (as Christ Himself laid down His life for all mankind). With some good lessons to take from Captain Phillips, moviegoers will still want to be cautious of some violence and the swear words.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Length: 134 minutes

Rating: PG-13 (for sustained intense sequences of menace, some violence with bloody images, and for substance use)

Director: Paul Greengrass

Producers: Michael De Luca, Dana Brunetti, Scott Rudin, Kevin Spacey

Music: Henry Jackman

Year of release: 2013
Primary audience: Teens, adults