Short Review: Sure its long, slow and boring - sometimes that works.


This is not only a period piece because it portrays athletes battling to win the 1924 Olympics, but also because this film would never be widely distributed today. This is a period piece about British runners with no sex, no violence, and has one of the strongest Christian characters in film history. Yeah, this isn’t going to come around to the multiplex again soon.

This is a first-class production from the ground up, and I have nothing negative to say against it...well...okay, it's very dry in spots...well...okay, it's dry in a number of spots. The portrayal of Eric Liddell is stirring to see particularly contrasted to how Christians are usually portrayed now. Liddell is shown to be a generous and careful man who keeps himself bound by his faith. When his allegiance to Christ is tested, he offers the only answer possible.


Chariots of Fire is a film I would suggest young Christian filmmakers look to for inspiration. This film maps out a textured character who is caught in the very common Christian trap of being caught serving yourself instead of serving God. We have a story that patiently shows our world in a clever metaphor for our faith without ever becoming overbearing in its message. Those making Christian films today can learn a great deal from this classic.


Related Reviews:
Film with positive portrayals of Christians
The Heart of Texas (2008)
The Hiding Place (1975)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Reel Views
eFilmCritics




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Labels: Ben Cross, Christianity, film, Ian Holm, John Gielgud, movie review, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, sports

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.



h/t Julie D. at Happy Catholic

Labels: Christian culture, Christianity, miscellaneous

This is the second part of my look at Christian cultural cave dwellers. Click here to read the first post, Does God Call For Us to Become Ned Flanders?

Some of this may be familiar if you've read my post from last week - I'm reposting this bit because the point is worth making IMHO.


When I am speaking with a Christian who recoils at the idea of watching movies, I will hear the usual complaints. They will condemn Hollywood for all of its transgressions. It is a place loaded with money grubbing whores who will sell our souls at a discount. Christians will often cite their reasons for not watching movies to be that they don’t want to sin, they don’t want to be tempted, they don’t want to become too comfortable with leisurely activities. One thing I rarely hear about is the world at large. More often than not, Christians tend to speak of cinema as individuals and not as a part of this world. We do not live in bubbles, although many Christians seem to want to have it that way. We live in this world. It is part of our job, while were are here, to help clean things up around here. Film can and will help in getting this work completed.

One aspect of hiding oneself from the box office, or neutering ones’ entertainment choices to items that never get more intellectual than children’s shows is that you are out of step with the rest of the world that surrounds you.

By the way, the verse you’re probably thinking of right now is Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Yeah, I know we’re supposed to keep our eyes on the prize and not the Oscars. Keep with me for a while more. If a Christian fails to remain connected to the culture in some fashion – I’ll say that again because it is important, in some fashion – they will not be able to speak the language of those around them. This is an entertainment based culture. For better or for worse (okay, just for worse) we engage each other by means of our entertainment. Today, people discuss television shows and movies the way other generations would speak of the weather. Many people can hold complete conversations using little more than movie quotes and references. Trust me, its possible, my brother-in-law is the king of doing this. If Christians turn away from the culture they lose the ability to fully understand what is going on around them. If we don’t know what is going on, if we don’t speak the language, how can we possibly expect to have effective missions?

In Acts 17:16-23, Paul preaches in Athens. What does he do? Athens is a cultural capital lost in a swamp of theological musings. At the time numerous idols are erected and worshipped. The place, while beautiful and vibrant is spiritual dead. Paul doesn’t meander in, see the pagans and then throw run away crying. What does he do? He enters Athens, investigates and comes to understand their arguments and thinking and the proceeds to change their hearts by speaking their cultural language.

Acts 17:16-23
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the Godfearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.
18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.

In this passage we see that Paul, being of strong faith, is able to engage in a non-Christian culture on its own terms. He works to understand and then moves to turn it towards Christ. What would have been the result if Paul would have simply took his blocks and went home like many Christians demand we do today?

I need to be explicit now. I am NOT saying Christians need to immerse themselves in crass culture. No, you do not have to see the Saw films, you do not need to sit down and watch a box set of Sex in the City. My point is that we need to carefully try to understand the wider culture. It is not sinful to consume material, which does not cause harm, to remain relevant in this culture. If your faith is strong, you can see opposing worldviews and not be swayed. Learn to read culture and you can actually see opposing worldviews and see ways to change them. Keep hiding and you abandon your post. If we continue down the path of avoidance at all costs we have abandoned the non-believers to the worst possible fates when it was within our power to help. I can’t think of any less Christian than that.

Labels: Christian culture, Christianity

Julie of Happy Catholic was kind enough to post some nice words, along with a link, to my recent rant against overly cautious Christians. One of her commenters, Elizabeth Anne of A Quiet Corner delivers the point quickly and directly - something I failed to do.

"I'm always baffled at people who get upset when their kids go off to college and suddenly fall for the worst of the facile left wing undergrad crap. They complain that they sent off perfect Christian children and the University was magically able to turn them into feminist, socialist, America-hating anarchists in one semester flat. It just makes me want to smack my forehead into my desk, repeatedly.

Why? Because the only way kids would fall for this crap is if *it's the first time they're hearing about it*. It would be like sending them to the congo without a malaria vaccine and being amazed when they come home with it. You don't inoculate kids against bad ideas by sheltering them from them. You inoculate them against bad ideas in the same way you inoculate them against a disease: by introducing them to it in a controlled setting. They're going to go into the world and be faced with a lot of kids their own age who are very enthusiastic about these things, and they need armament against it, and that armament requires a full understanding of the other side. "Protecting" them from the culture also means failing to teach them how to read it, how to see the subtle messages that are far more compelling that outright advertising because it *is* so subtle."

a) Thank you Julie for the link. You're the best.
b) Thank you Elizabeth Anne for saying it better.

Labels: Christian culture, Christianity, miscellaneous

Chucking opinions out online is like throwing feathers into the wind. You never know where they’re going to end up and which ones will float back your direction. Usually, I have traffic coming in from a variety of message boards that I have nothing to do with. People get chatting, someone does some Google fishing and comes up with one of my posts. They toss a link up and, more times than not, the commenters descend on my review like ravenous lions on a bleeding impala. This kind of thing is happening right now on at least three boards that I know about. As a rule, I will follow a link back to see what’s being said. 99.9999% of the time it's a gaggle of no-minds tossing around pedestrian moral arguments that make no sense if pressed. In one case, I’ve come up on a board I feel compelled to talk about here. These folks aren’t the usual troupe of hyperventilating dimwits trying to sound smarter than one another. Over at BaptistBoard.com, there’s a brief exchange about Christian film reviews sites. During the discussion one writer explains that her 13 year old son is bugging her to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Someone does a Google search and they find my review. To sum it up, I find it an enjoyable movie founded in one of the strongest scripts I’ve ever read (structurally speaking.) I have an issue with the film since it promotes reverse mortality, good = evil, evil = good. It isn’t obvious, but structurally, this is what the story does. It says breaking moral codes, being a pirate, is superior to keeping to duties and responsibilities. Read the full review for more on my point regarding the film. Why I’m talking about his here is the end of the comment string on the board. The person with the 13 year old says

“I don't guess we'll be watching it. Better safe than sorry.”

This is where I slap my palm to my forehead.

Previous generations confronted witchdoctors, satanists and all matter of philosophical creep. Us? We’re sent running by Johnny Depp in a handkerchief.

It is my opinions that many Christians have become far too scared of this big bad world to be of any use in saving it. Honestly, better safe than sorry over a Disney movie? Regarding a 13 year old? This teen will presumptively be leaving the home in less than five years and he/she is too fragile to handle Pirates of the Caribbean? I don’t necessarily mean to launch on this woman trying to look out for her family. It’s just that I see this all of the time - parents over protecting Christian kids to the point of hobbling their ability to cope with the world as it exists. My advice to her is simple, let the kid watch if they want and use this moment. Wisdom only works if its used and the social arguments made in the film can be a launching board to discuss not only the film's philosophy but also how even an innocent looking chunk of culture can influence our thinking. But, my beef isn’t really with this specific movie, but more about the cultural choice in general. American Christians have become wimpy. Unable to stand on our own. We pride ourselves in being outside of the modern culture when in truth we reek of it. The modern culture celebrates the big me. Everything is about me. Secularists mock Christ primarily because His presence demands they stop looking out for me. It is about Him not me and that's just too intrusive for most folk.

When I hear some Christian swooning in fear over movies or anything else in the culture, it warns we have become too interested about me. Over and over I hear Christians say that they never or rarely watch movies because they’re too concerned about being tempted, being led astray. Too often I see Christians talking about boycotting or protesting things they don’t like. This is all about the big me more than it is about God and we should be ashamed.

Obviously, it is important to keep tabs on one’s temptations and to do one’s best to not allow one’s weaknesses to run their lives. This, what should be a caution, has turned into a lifestyle for many Christians. It’s what I call "suburban Christianity". Having been weaned in American culture, the modern suburban Christian is completely consumed by the big me. This fear of being tempted is a self-serving racket meant to put the Christian in a strange victim role where they are constantly being taunted by the evil culture outside their door. The big bad world is nasty and scary and, golly, I’m so precious, so tender in the Lord’s eye, that poor little me can’t take the slightest breeze of discomfort. Again, before people start firing off comments, let me make this clear – I’m not talking about actual temptation (watching porn, torture porn horror movies, other salacious material) I’m talking someone who cowers under their pillow over Lord of the Rings because Gandalf casts spells.

This suburban Christianity is so focused on training Christians to cover their own theological butts that they can’t effectively speak to those outside the church walls. We are to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. (Matthew 28:19-20) How can we do this if we’re too frightened to take on our own DVD players?

I’m not saying you have to go out and watch the whole Saw series to be able to deliver the Word. What I am saying is that we have become too comfortable and too cautious – I’ll even go as far to say that we’ve gotten too lazy. It is easier to write off the world than to lend a hand in trying to save it. It is easier to avoid all temptation and all arguments against the faith than to confront them and hold them to the light of Christ. Allowing this avoidance culture corrupt the church is THE biggest reason we are in the cultural mess we’re in today. Sick of seeing porn on demand? Tired of living in a culture where news broadcasters can make “teabagging” jokes on air without fear of reprisal? Disgusted by the mockery of our Lord on prime time television? We have no one but ourselves to blame. The maintenance of this world falls to us, not someone else. When we turn our backs on the culture because it’s too icky and gosh I’m so sensitive – what do you expect will happen? Go find your Bible. Look up Acts 17:16-34. Did Paul shy away from the enemy? Did he turn from a fight? No. He went in, learned the culture and learned its language. He became like his hosts and turned them using their own arguments, their own ways. If Paul was with us today would he be too scared to view Pirates of the Caribbean? No. I believe he’d watch it to discuss its merits and its flaws. Then he’d use it to teach if he could find a way. Then again, Paul wasn’t so much into that whole me thing.

Here is the kicker, if you honestly believe the Bible, if you truly meant the words that passed your lips at your baptism then how can you turn your back on your fellow man for the sake of yourself? We are Christian. We believe that HE is the only way. When you turn your back on the culture, when you decide you’re too fragile or things are too corrupt for you to deal with, you are saying your comfort is more critical than the salvation of your fellow man. Scared of being tempted? Frightened of a trial of faith - then you pray and then get up off your behind and lean into the storm and persevere - then pray some more. Yes, we must protect ourselves but you can take it too far. You don’t wear a suit of armor to a football game. We must put aside this weak and pathetic crutch of being too important to do the hard work. We shouldn’t search out sinful behavior but we shouldn’t avoid it when it comes around. Confront it, call it by its name and understand it. Christians are meant to be out in the world, not hidden in their caves. After all, who is stronger in their faith? The man who protests outside the brothel or the Christian who walks inside and talks to the whores and tries to get them help?

Labels: Christianity, Christians, miscellaneous

Welcome to the relaunch of Good News Film Reviews. For those of you who have no idea who I am, my name is Scott Nehring. Previously, I ran a site named Nehring the Edge. On that site I cranked out over 1,300 movie reviews since 2005. Some were picked up by Reuters, USAToday, and a number of local news stations around the U.S. I also hosted the Carnival of Cinema for over a year. I had a pretty good run on that site but something was always missing from the posts.

Luckily, I had a devastating heart attack last September. How could this possibly be lucky? Well, for starters I survived - which is good for my family - bad for my neighbor who is going to have to continue to languish living next to a guy who steadfastly refuses to perform basic lawn care. This was also good because like most people who've done the mambo with the Grim Reaper, I have been forced to look at my life. Unfortunately for me, this was a little like shoving a dog's nose into the dank plop its left on the carpet.

I did an inventory of my life and I found that while I was doing great in many areas, some portions of my life were lacking...alright, they were downright pathetic. Like most people who have skipped through the tulips of the Valley of Death I also have been made more acutely aware of theological concerns. I'm not a deathbed convert since I'm proud to say I've been saved for a few years now. That said, it dawned on me that what was missing from my posts was God. My original concept for Nehring the Edge was to blend my Christian worldview with my knowledge of cinema. I drifted away from that. I decided that a redo was in order. Thus, this site.

I had begun this site prior to my heart attack as a personal sounding board as I worked on my book about how Christians can become more active in media tentatively titled What to Do After You've Done Nothing. Now, this is my permanent home. While some of my Christian brothers and sisters may find my tone and approach to be a tad sarcastic and those of you who are educated will be deeply annoyed by my liberal attitude toward grammar, I hope you will find something of use here.

What can you expect? I will review films, lots of films. I review what I see, when I see it. I will also provide you with links to movie trailers and will provide commentary on items I find interesting. I will also continue to host the Carnival of Cinema and will begin posting it in the coming weeks. If you have requests or questions you'd like for me to field send me an e-mail. I'd be happy to respond. For those filmmakers out there, send me your movies and I will have a look. Most importantly, I will come to my reviews with a Christian sensibility and hopefully honor God with my efforts.

Please note, I don't buy into the line of thinking that it is somehow more "Christian" to be nice all of the time. I mock and insult those who lead us astray or simply waste our precious time with bad movies. To answer the tagline question to this blog, "Is it is a sin for a moron to call an imbecile an idiot?" the answer is no - provided the imbecile in question is indeed acting like an idiot. The way I see things, God gave us senses of humor and it seems to be a terrible waste to not use them - as long as we mock the works of men and not God.

If all of this sounds good to you, then you've found a site to bookmark. If not, well, I hope you have a long fruitful life you humorless, uptight creature.

To give you an idea of some of my basic thoughts on Christianity and film, I have a number of posts from my original launch of this site here:



I hope you'll enjoy my work. Let the bad grammar commence.

Labels: Christian culture, Christianity, links