The Return of the Review!

Folk - Hello and welcome back to “E.T.'s Film Review!” Those of you who read my review last year know the general process of things, but here’s a review for those who are new to this Lenten effort and discipline.

I'll be reviewing motion pictures for the 40-Day season of Lent. My reviews will incorporate elements of critical review (directing, editing, sound design, scoring, etc.) and biblical review. For the latter I will attempt to study and review the film through the words and admonitions of the Bible. This year I am making a concerted effort to include pertinent verses from the Bible in each review that will illuminate spiritual tones and themes within the film at hand. I’ll also try to limit my reviews to 1,000 words; I realize and confess that I tend to get carried away and end up wasting paragraphs with useless trivia.

In keeping with the many "God In The Movies" projects which have become so popular with contemporary theologians and entertainment aficionados I'll give fair treatment to both the technical and spiritual aspects of film review. The "Reel Revelation", however, will be the main focus and my goal. Thus I encourage you to visit daily and read these reviews that you might discover Biblical truths in some of the movies you may have seen many times before. Watching a film multiple times can cause us to develop "lazy eyes" (to go along with our "lazy ears",) and miss important lessons in the movies we love. This 40-Day Review is an attempt to invigorate your love of film and the Word of God.

I won't be posting a schedule of the films I'll be reviewing; I'll simply go down the list of the ones that were selected at random by my Facebook friends. Although I'll be able to look ahead and prepare in advance we'll be reviewing with one another in real-time. This year I’ve decided not to review episodes from television series. I am excited, however, at the very broad and yet gracefully balanced selection we have for this Lenten season. A new element to the reviews this year is the “Content to Caution” segment. I’ll soon put up a post explaining that feature.

I will endeavor to post each review in a timely manner. More often than not the reviews won't be available until late afternoon/evening. The first review will be on Wednesday, February 17th (Ash Wednesday). Like last year I will not be posting reviews on Sundays.

I encourage you to sign-up with Blogger (a free and easy process) and comment on my reviews. Do you agree, disagree? Have you learned something new that has encouraged or challenged your faith? Do you want to add something of your own? You're welcome to do so!

I welcome you to this Review and pray you’ll enjoy my words and the Word of God as it comes to us through the unique, beguiling, challenging, and wonderful medium of film and motion picture. – E.T.