Well here it is 2:27 AM (Monday, October 4, 2010). I went to bed at 8 PM and for whatever reason I awoke at 1 AM. After seeing a “Christian” review on the film The Social Network I decided to look up a review on Inception. Sadly the review was well terrible and I naturally don’t agree with it considering I loved the Christopher Nolan film that came out this summer.
Not sure if this movie review thing will be a common thing with me or not. At any rate I’m just going to give my thoughts on the film called Inception. Don’t expect it to be an in-depth review but just take it for what it is.
There are two passions in my life right now: Christianity and movies. Might seem like a rather strange thing or perhaps not. Now when I say “Christianity” I am not really talking about the “Religion.” The “Religion” of Christianity has had its good moments and its very bad moments…which range from the Protestant Reformation to the Crusades and various Inquisitions.
I’m a Southern Baptist Christian myself, in fact I might even call myself Reformed/Calvinist theology speaking. In truth my knowledge on the subject of Calvinism and Arminianism is quite limited. This is due in large part to me becoming jaded to the “popular” debate between Arminianism and Calvinism. I’m slowly learning more and more about the debate and which each side “believes.”
At any rate this particular note is not about my religious/spiritual/theological journey as a believer in Jesus Christ…it is a movie review. Of course now that I am writing this it is becoming less and less a movie review but instead some sort of reflection on things.
So what do I think of the film Inception. In a word I have to say “master piece.” I have seen written reviews and videos on YouTube of this film and some people get the film while others simply don’t.
A common website destination for me is the website known as CARM (Christian Apologetic Resource Ministries. (website link: http://carm.org/, and the forum link is: http://forums.carm.org , and I go under the screen name NPX on the forum)
I mostly post on the forums and chat in the chat room for Christian fellowship and witnessing/ministry opportunities. Well I mention the website because the owner and founder Matt Slick wrote a review on the film…he pretty much thought it was boring and unoriginal. As you might have guessed I disagree with him greatly. In truth he is not that good at reviewing movies…his day job and true passion is Christian apologetics…he should stick with that lol. At any rate he is entitled to his opinion and it is after all only his subjective opinion on a film…So I’m not going to hold it against him for giving what I believe is a bad review.
For those who don’t know Christopher Nolan is the famed director of The Dark Knight and he and his brother Jonathan Nolan often collaborate on films. One of my favorite previous Christopher Nolan films has to be Memento (2000). Like Inception this particular film deals with the mind…but in a totally different way and different aspect.
Inception deals with the dream world and takes place in a world where people can enter others dreams and steal ideas. In the case of Inception the main protagonist is hired to implant an idea…which he calls “Inception.” For some the film is hard to follow considering the film goes all over the place…in three increasingly deeper dream states that present even more challenges and dangers. Since I’m one who analyzes pretty much everything I watch I had no problem following the film.
Like I often do before going to see a film in theaters, I did my research on Inception. It just so happens that one day I came across a Facebook update that pointed me to a website called “Cinemagogue.” The owner of the website/blog is a Christian pastor named James Harleman who pastors a church in Lake City Seattle. For more extensive information on this person and his website just visit the link given here:
http://cinemagogue.com/
And click on the helpful links at the top part of the website.
Considering I know that movies and TV pretty much push the world view of the director and/or writers of the screen play such a website as Mr. Harleman’s greatly appeals to me. This rather educated individual not only reviews movies but looks at them from a biblical stand point. In other words he marries Christian theology and film. In this day and age such a marriage is a good thing. As Mr. Harleman points out the movie theater is the modern “place of worship” for many. It is a place where modern culture is often explored. Well since Christians need to engage the culture, not hide away from it, I believe it is great that a pastor has a website devoted to exploring movies from a Christian perspective.
Going back to Inception the only other thing I can say is please check this movie out…and pay attention. You may or may not agree it is a “master piece” let alone “the best film of 2010” but I am pretty sure it will say something to you…get you thinking.
One reviewer on YouTube said Inception is better then The Dark Knight, not sure if I agree with that. Though I am starting to think that. The bottom line is I loved Inception and will definitely get me a DVD copy of the film. Christopher Nolan is quickly becoming one of my favorite current directors and considering his track record it is easy for some to see why.
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