Courageous

I have to give my two cents about the movie DJ and I went to see on Friday night. It actually knocked Crash (a movie that came out when I was in college) out of the #1 place on my favorite movies list. It was that good. I really haven't stopped thinking about it since we saw it; it made such an impact on me which is somewhat interesting because it is really aimed at men/fathers. But I really found that the women in the movie had quite an impact as well, in supporting roles.

I mentioned on Friday that we would be seeing this movie and that I was excited to see it because the movies that these directors put out always have a good message. Well this one was no different. The message was relayed in a very believable way that I could apply to my own life quite easily. The scenarios that were important to the plot of the movie were not far-fetched at all and in fact, most people could probably relate to them. Yes, the acting wasn't always spot on which is why this movie won't be getting any Academy Awards any time soon, but for me, I was able to overlook the few times that the acting was amateurish. I was more interested in seeing if the message was believable. And it was.

The movie was full of action, from suspense to comedy to tear jerker moments, it really had it all. The sad parts were devastating (to the point that I wanted to go to a corner and just sob my eyes out). The humorous parts were hilarious, laugh out loud moments (for those that have seen it...Snake Kings!!). And the suspense had me tightening up in my seat (there's one fight scene that is incredibly intense. Of course, this is no Saving Private Ryan and I can't speak for the men out there -- there idea of suspense is going to be different, I know that, but I can't help but feel that this movie was put together very well so that men and women alike could enjoy it.

Most importantly, this movie plot was centered around God's plan. As a Christian, it is very hard to watch a movie these days without finding at least one thing that could have been removed from the movie to make it "cleaner", often it is so much more than one thing. Even Disney movies these days need to be cautiously guarded! So when a movie like this comes along that is completely enveloped with scripture-based lessons and dialogue, it is hard not to love. For me, it made the movie all the more emotional because I knew this was what God wanted people so badly to hear. His message. I feel like the directors of this movie (Stephen and Alex Kendrick, by the way since I have mentioned them so many times) have really listened to God's call in their lives and that is evident in the success that their movies are having. I'm really not sure what a non-believer would think of this movie because God really is part of this entire movie. He's not just written in here and there. It's all about Him. So it makes me wonder if the main reason I love this movie so much IS because I'm a Christian and I believe 100% what this movie's message is all about. I was hoping that friends of ours who aren't believers would go to the movie this weekend after we told them how much we loved it just so I could hear their take on the movie. It would have been interesting to hear what they liked and didn't like. For this reason alone, I would suggest to Christians out there to support this movie just so there continues to be more movies like this one produced.

So, I obviously recommend this movie to anyone although I think young couples, parents and single people will probably get the most out of the message itself. And if you do see it or have seen it, I would really like to hear how my reaction to the movie compares to yours. A small part of me wonders if my pregnant hormones have played a part in this emotional response (especially when I can't watch anything about a mistreated or endangered child, especially young children about Jayden's age, without crying immediately). Regardless this is a movie I could watch over and over and it's one of the few that I feel motivated to buy.