Focus on the Family Movie Reviews

[DennisD]

Posted this in another thread but probably should just start a new one, not sure if you all know about this place but might be something you would find useful, I recommend bookmarking it.

http://www.pluggedin.com/movies.aspx

[John81]

Yes, this is a good resource. I don't always agree with their ratings but they do a good job of reviewing the movies so we can make our own mind up.

[Jerry]

Unfortunately, they are not separated. If something is commonly accepted in Christendom (such as magic - C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, etc.), then they will endorse it as well. Other times, they show the evil in a movie, then still say it is worthwhile to watch that movie! - Perhaps just not with your children present (if a movie is morally wrong for children, then it is wrong for adults too!).

It is a good site to get a general gauge on content, such as swearing, suggestiveness or sex scenes, and similar things.

[John81]

Unfortunately, they are not separated. If something is commonly accepted in Christendom (such as magic - C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, etc.), then they will endorse it as well. Other times, they show the evil in a movie, then still say it is worthwhile to watch that movie! - Perhaps just not with your children present (if a movie is morally wrong for children, then it is wrong for adults too!).

It is a good site to get a general gauge on content, such as swearing, suggestiveness or sex scenes, and similar things.

True. This is what I was speaking to. Their review gives enough information that one can make up their own mind about a movie without having to rely upon their very often wrong rating of a movie.

I sometimes hear their movie reviews on Christian radio stations and sometimes while I'm listening to the review I'm thinking how low a rating the movie will receive only to hear them give the movie a good or better rating based upon unbiblical reasoning. Sad.

[DennisD]

All good points but I don't think there is a better review standard out there for Christians. If you know of one please post. Like a couple of you said, best to make your own judgement but this site has really helped me out concerning specific movies I thought would be ok for my children but had scantily clad women. It might not be the end all, be all but as far as I can tell it is the best place for a Christian to go and see a review on a movie before jumping into it blind. I don't much care for the parts of the website where it tells you about how the hero acts and saves the day. The things I care about is where it tells us about the violence, sexuality, bad language and the Lord's name in vain.

[brosmith]

ChildCare Action Project (CAP): Christian Analysis of American Culture - http://www.capalert.com/

[holster]

Personally.. I don't go to movies. Can't remember the last time I went. I feel too uncomfortable in a theater watching a movie.

[edf203]

Unfortunately, they are not separated. If something is commonly accepted in Christendom (such as magic - C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, etc.), then they will endorse it as well. Other times, they show the evil in a movie, then still say it is worthwhile to watch that movie! - Perhaps just not with your children present (if a movie is morally wrong for children, then it is wrong for adults too!).

It is a good site to get a general gauge on content, such as swearing, suggestiveness or sex scenes, and similar things.

Some movies (like To Save a Life) have content in them that I would not show to a young child, but it is something that every teen should see. It deals with certain subjects that could not be addressed as powerfully any other way. There is a difference between discretion and legalism.

PS: In CS Lewis's books (I assume you mean the Chronicles of Narnia), the word magic is used two different ways. One is to describe what we call magic, which is witchcraft. This "magic" is usually practiced by the evil characters in the book, and is always portrayed as evil. The word "magic" is also used to describe any supernatural act, whether by God (represented by Aslan or the Emperor Over the Sea) or by evil. Aslan uses the term, "deep magic" to refer to the foundational laws written by God to determine how the universe will work. This has nothing to do with sorcery; CS Lewis uses the term "magic" rather loosely in the Narnia books, and this should never be confused with the conventional meaning of magic found in Harry Potter books.

[BlessedChristianlady8]

I prefer capalerts or Christiananswers.com spotlight ones