Weinzierl

Jewelers

Victoria’s Corner Bar.  Nightly Specials and Menus.  952-443-9944

Specialized assisted living for those

with memory challenges. 

Victoria.  952-908-2215

8 First Street in Waconia.  952-442-2885

942-443-2078

Funeral Home & Cremation Services

952-474-9595

Pediatric Rehabilitation Clinic.

Occupational Therapy.  Speech Therapy.

952-443-9888

Huber

City of Lakes & Parks  952-443-2363

“Trees Are Our Roots”

8099 Bavaria Rd * Victoria * 952-443-2990

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         "Son of God."  "God's Not Dead."  "Noah."  "Heaven is for Real."  All at the movie theaters in less than one month's time.   What's up?  Since when are God and His friends cool on the Big Screen?

***

         We went to see "Son of God" on Friday, March 21st, the first day of spring, not to mention our wedding anniversary.  The movie was outstanding.  Many of us know the story so well, you'd think it'd be boring to see it again.  But it's always new and it's not boring.

         "Son of God" wasn't just about the Passion of Christ, but about His life from birth to death and resurrection.  The story is told through the eyes of the Apostle John, who has become an old man.  I sort of expected to see John taking care of Mary at the end, since he was the lone apostle at the foot of the cross with Mary, but he was living alone in a cave, awaiting his own death. 

         It was a powerful movie, not just when Jesus was suffering, but when He was with people.  Authentic love is powerful. 

         I had seen parts of "The Bible" on the History Channel's mini-series and so the actors were familiar to me.  After seeing "Son of God," I hope to purchase the mini-series in its entirety.

         The man who played Jesus was Siogo Morgado, an actor from Lisbon, Portugal.  Was he perfect in the role?  I'd give him a 9.5 out of 10.  Who gets a 10 in my opinion?  Jim Caviezel in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," which came out a whole ten years ago already.

***

         We went to see "God's Not Dead" on Sunday, March 23rd.  It was excellent.  Better than I anticipated.  The audience in the theater was an audience of believers -- parents, grandparents, children, and teens who already knows that God's not dead.  At movie's end, the audience clapped in approval.  I never saw that happen before.  God made a three-point basket to win a tough game against an angry opponent.

         The movie is about an atheist college philosophy professor who tries to ensure his students are atheists.  But there is one young man in the class who stands up for God and is therefore subject to the wrath and ridicule of the professor.  The young man, Joshua Wheaton, loses his girlfriend, also, because of his strident stance in favor of God.  Josh is convicted by the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 10:33:  "Whoever denies me here on earth, I will also deny before My Father in heaven."

         It was fun to see the cameo appearance of our Christian friends from Duck Dynasty, Willie and Korie Robertson.  They made us laugh, of course, and so did a couple other characters.  I can't explain exactly why I needed a kleenex before the movie was over.  Witnessing such courage and strength of conviction for God is powerful.

***

         We went to see "Noah" on Friday, March 28th.  It was overwhelming to me and also unsettling.  I didn't like it.  I was so excited to see the movie, with all the advance hoopla having bombarded me at every turn.  But the movie was discordant and inconsistent.  It's like someone turned on an electric mixer and tried to stir my brains into pudding.

         For example, whoever wrote it forgot that at the beginning of the movie he had Noah and his family rescue a little girl who had survived a barbarian onslaught.  It was a righteous thing for a righteous man like Noah to do.  Noah was a protector of his family -- his wife and three sons -- and the little girl became part of his family; indeed, she grew up to become his daughter in law.

         But later in the movie, that same Noah strangely believes it to be his duty, and God's demand, to kill the twin baby daughters of that girl he had rescued.  Yes, his own grandchildren.  That turn of mind was inexplicably out of character for Noah and made no sense.  Was someone trying to echo the story of Abraham and Isaac?  Well, it didn't work.

         Also, later in the movie, Noah allowed the young girlfriend of another of his sons to be unnecessarily trampled to death when Noah could have easily saved her.  His son pleaded for her innocent life.  Leaving her to sure death was not righteous.  It was not the Noah who listened to God at the beginning of the movie.  Even a wicked man has a heart that hears the cries of his children.

         My problems with "Noah" the movie had nothing to do with the director's overuse of artistic liberties.  In the strange Rock People, who appeared early in "Noah" and seemed to have strayed from the set of "Lord of the Rings," I came to see them artistically as the Rock of Salvation, assisting Noah in building the ark.  I accepted them.

         But large inconsistencies in character development are unacceptable.  I was disappointed in "Noah."

***

         We'll go see "Heaven is For Real" soon after it opens on April 16th.  It's based on a true story and a book that I devoured some time ago.  What's up?  Well, surely you've noticed we're no longer in the Deep Freeze.

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From the Editor

Dedicated to the sunshine of truth,

the moonshine of meeting deadlines,

and the starshine of Victoria.

The Victoria GAZETTE

April 2014