NEW: WATCH THE INVENTORS FOR FREE!

WATCH THE INVENTORS FOR FREE HERE ON TUBI OR ON YOUR SMART TV.

TRAILER:

Inventors (2024 · 1 hr 16 min)

Animation · Comedy

During an invention competition, a bullheaded teen learns that when he only cares about winning, he risks losing more than just the contest.

Starring: Eric Close, Stephen Tobolowsky, Tony Todd, Angelique Chase

Directed by: Chip Lane

REVIEW: GOD'S NOT DEAD 3 - HIS LOVE CONQUERS ALL

In an age where an increasing number of young people under 30 are now starting to walk away from the One True Faith, it is fitting that those of us with a large megaphone, speak up with solutions. This is precisely, one of the major takeaways from the brand new movie (released March 30, 2018) - GOD'S NOT DEAD 3 - A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS. 

In a sense, one of the major solutions reminds us that the old must become new again. That particular solution is Love and a great message coming out of this new movie by David AR White and his Pure Flix production company. We live in times of extreme hatred, bullying, permanent division and upside down morals. GND 3 attempts to address some of this division, in light of everything else, with the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and some strong human emotions from both sides of the conflict, in the movie.

At the end of GND 2, released in 2016, the scene was set for this sequel at the end of the credits. David White, as Pastor Dave, was taken away in cuffs because he refused to submit his sermons for review by an oppressive city hall. At the time, this issue was heavy in the air with the overreach of the former Houston Texas Mayor, in real life, who had subpoenaed the sermons of five Houston preachers in 2014, over the pastors teaching directly from God's Word. This unconstitutional act backfired nationally, as it should.

However, GND 3 - heads off in a completely direction. The arrest of Pastor Dave brought up another issue, which while related to the freedom of religion and to preach the Bible, tested the limits of the so-called "separation of Church and State". Religious liberty is still a potent issue with atheists attempting to remove chaplains from NCAA football teams in recent years, in the Bible belt of all places. Here in this movie, the increasingly liberal and narrow thinking of an anti-God society led to the accidental burning down of a historic church on the "Hadleigh" college campus.

The secular staff, of this once Christian school, used that tragic occasion, which resulted in the death of a visiting African pastor, to kick the burnt out church (St. James) off campus for good. This, obviously, did not sit well, with Pastor Dave and his congregation or friends.  He decides to travel to Chicago in his Prius to seek legal help from his brother, Pearce, who is a social justice advocate. Pearce is not a believer even though both he and David grew up in the same home with dad as the pastor of St. James. Pearce is played by John Corbett, who just a year ago, had the lead role as the real-life Pastor Michael Spurlock, who became renowned for rescuing a Tennessee church, which he was assigned to close down. Corbett is one of the well-known star-studded cast of God's Not Dead 3. 

The amazing thing, from the casting point of view, was how all cast members appeared in sync with both the screenplay and the execution of their roles. Christian movies with controversial themes are difficult enough for an authentic Christian to bring off the role with believability. David White did this perfectly here. I have seen his movies from the early evangelical short films of over 20 years ago, up to now. This role was his best ever, as all the nice happy church days of God's Not Dead 1 and 2, disappeared with the reality of late 21st Century American attitudes towards church and God.


This movie is full of drama with a well-written screenplay, which was obviously keyed in on current real-life events, and how it affects both the Church and young people. One particular scene involves the coed lead Samantha Boscarino (Keaton) telling Pastor Dave off about the reason millennials are not interested in Faith (Christianity) anymore. While Keaton character has a point, this did not happen in a vacuum. The "NONES" - the increasing number of people who do not believe in God etc. - got that way because of school indoctrination, parents who did not raise them with the Bible and THEN a church which is still playing games, instead of reaching souls and making disciples of their members. 

All of us in strong ministries which focus on discipleship, prayer, and families should go see this movie.  It will also remind us in ministry, especially the pastors and church leaders among us, that the Church of Jesus Christ is NOT theirs to do as they/we please. It is God's and He will do as He pleases. It is also a good one to take an unsaved friend to, because those who doubt or walk away, need to come around to the Truth that is an old-fashioned concept like Love, is still answer. However, more importantly, this Love has only one Name - and His Name is Jesus! His Love is victorious over all.

MOVIE WEBSITE HERE
PURE FLIX WEBSITE HERE

LET THERE BE LIGHT....(NOT YOUR TYPICAL MOVIE REVIEW)

This is a review of a paying customer to a local AMC Theater. It is totally unsolicited, just like all reviews posted on this site. Thank you.
As mainstream Hollywood flounders under the weight of itself, the increasing abundance of some amazing Christian films is just astounding. Let There Be Light (LTBL) is one such film. While Pure Flix has become the "Warner Brothers" of Faith and Family big time movies and streaming services, LTBL is in independent movie produced by none other than the top U.S. Cable News Host - Sean Hannity of the Fox News Channel.

The official Let There Be Light website describes the movie thus, in part:
"....But even with all the fame and success, Sol is empty and distraught on the inside and his increasing reliance on alcohol to numb the pain is only making things worse. His New York party lifestyle has isolated him from his ex wife Katy and their two remaining sons.  Their unrelenting faith in God is something that Sol has actually grown to resent and he tells Katy that he just got sick and tired of her praying for his soul. Sol’s self-destructive habits eventually catch up to him and a serious car crash leaves him clinically dead for four minutes before he is finally resuscitated by some heroic first responders.  It’s a miracle that he’s still alive, but what really changes Sol’s outlook on life is what happens during those four minutes.  It’s a four word message that refuses to let him go despite his best efforts to deny it"...and those words are "LET THERE BE LIGHT".

Right off the bat, as the movie swings open, a big debate is going on between a polished, apparently mainstream evangelical Christian TV show guy and the celebrity atheist and superstar author Dr. Sol Harkins, played by "Hercules" - Kevin Sorbo. The debate happens in front of a huge lecture crowd which is actually representative of a lot of professing "Christians" these days. While the evangelical debates from familiar talking points, the accomplished celebrity author is able to not just passionately proseltyze as a pagan to the weak minds out there, but then go Elmer Gantry on them, with raw emotion. You see, even atheists know there is a God. Just ask Richard Dawkins, who once remarked "Oh my God...." when he forgot the full title of the book "Origins of the Species" by Darwin!

I have read other reviews of LTBL, by Biblical solid christian websites and blogs I always rely on for good discernment, and I could not disagree with them more. One of them is Patheos. This is NOT a cheesy Christian film. On the contrary, as anyone can see from the articles on this blog, I only promote the Bible and what it says - as far as life is concerned. I see the heresy out there and leave it to great people like Challies and Patheos or Dr. Al Mohler to talk about those things. My calling is to alert those who are open to it and what that scene, where the great Kevin Sorbo and his character shows is just how gullible and easily led into oblivion, the majority of people are. It was almost infuriating to watch our God being blasphemed by "Dr. Sol Harkins" (Sorbo) and people sit there and applaud him for doing so. These are some of the same people who will show up in a megachurch, the very next weekend and singalong with the latest Hillsong worship song, while sipping a caramel macchiato from the coffee shop in the church lobby. This is my first takeaway.

The movie DOES takes several turns from here on out as Sorbo's character embarks on a search for the meaning of those four words - LET THERE BE LIGHT. I see nothing hoaky or cheesy about it, just some good screenplay writing and as an evangelist and author myself - Gospel preaching. What some of our own evangelical critics of this movie may have forgotten is that the prime focus of a Christian and Faith-based movie is the Gospel. Using a former Italian 'wise guy' who spent 10 years in the joint and got saved when someone gives him a Gideon New Testament - his only companion for "three years in the hole" is genius. After all, the movie background is New York City and some of the best churches in NYC are in Brooklyn - the biggest being the Brooklyn Tabernacle, which covers every single nationality in the world. (Never mind the movie was filmed in Birmingham, Alabama! Lol).

Two hundred Gideon New Testaments 

like the one in the movie, handed out

at Inner City Trunk or Treat, 90 

minutes, to people who have never

had their bibles  - IN AMERICA! 

What Pastor "Vinny" does in his simple, funny and "goomba" - speak is to explain the Gospel of Salvation to an atheist better than some real preachers on TV and whom I know personally, who spent four years in seminary! He does that while having us laughing out loud.

I have been a Gideon Bible Society man for going on 23 years and have handed out 1000's and 1000's of Bibles to so many people as well as tens of thousands of tracts. I have had one man come looking for me at a Christian men's conference years ago, who said I gave him a gospel tract in front of a bar, during a parade once, and he didn't want to take it, but his wife did. These things have eternal consequences. As one who is hands on involved in evangelism no matter the neighborhood (from college campus to the inner city), there is something happening when the Word of God changes hands from me to a recipient. I just finished handing out 200 Orange New Testaments (student) to child and adult alike at an inner city "Trunk or Treat" Halloween replacement party for almost 400 people in a disadvantaged neighborhood. The hugs and love were icing on the cake. This was the second takeaway from LTBL - Pastor Vinny's Gideon bible from jail.

Kevin Sorbo and wife Samantha with real life son.
They all had a part in Let There Be Light.

My final takeaway, which actually had me teary-eyed, was Dr. Harkins' wife Katy (who is actually Kevin Sorbo's real-life wife, Samantha) and her explanation to her two (also real-life) sons as to why God chooses to answer prayers the way He does. Her two surviving sons were praying for her healing from a terminal disease and worried God was not listening to them. THIS is the sort of thing which each one of us as Christians and believers will ultimately face in life, as sure as we live and breathe. If we cannot explain it to someone else, or understand it ourselves, then there will be bitterness, doubt and even unbelief.

For me, this last portion of the Hannity-Sorbo creation was worth the entire endeavor - first, the risk of these great men taking a chance to make a movie like this and secondly, to have solid Bible based doctrine to apply to real life, and then write it into a screenplay like this. I think the misunderstanding of what a Christian movie, whether it is Let There Be Light or God's Not Dead (1 or 2) and some others is expectation.  Sure we want to be entertained and have high standards due to the production quality of mainstream Hollywood.  But a Christian movie is more than just watching Star Wars in IMAX and going "wow" for about 5-10 minutes afterwards. 

We expect something more life-enhancing, rich, solid and sound when we watch a Faith Based movie, whether is by Sorbo or David A.R. White or the Christiano Brothers. The good thing is - these men never disappoint and I for one, will continue to support these movies in the theaters. I have already started word of mouth among my own circle of friends of LBTL. Let's continue to do pass the word along, this holiday season!

Roll Tide

DAVID A.R, & ANDREA LOGAN WHITE - THE REEL DEAL/NEW AUTHORS

The first I ever heard of  David A.R. White, was from watching a series of movies I had bought at the now defunct Family Christian Bookstores, over a decade ago.  Second Glance (1992) showed a young David, who himself was not too long out of high school, in what was the first of a multitude of independent Christian films which are assuming higher prominence, in these last days.  It was not his first movie, but the first one which led me on a journey to build a library of these early movies produced by transplanted New Yorker Rich Christiano, his brother Dave and starring David A.R. White. I have spoken with Rich several times over the years, in the course of public showing of his movies, and understand his heart and passion for what began in this genre over two decades ago with the young David and others in this now established field of Christian film.

Fasting forward to White's powerful alliance with Michael Scott, Russell Wolfe and Elizabeth Travis, David formed PURE FLIX (2005) which took the message of the Gospel, Christianity and the Bible to various action movies like Jerusalem Countdown; The Mark 1 and 2; Sarah's Choice with Rebecca St. James and so many more, one will have to go to their website (here) to get the full list. Some of my absolute favorites, for which I purchased several licenses over the years to show at church were The Book of Daniel; Woodlawn; Do You Believe and what several of us consider the best movie on Evangelism we have seen - Encounter with Bruce Marchiano!

CLICK HERE FOR BOOK INFO

Of course, what really blew Pure Flix, the Whites and Kevin "Hercules" Sorbo into the stratosphere was God's Not Dead (GND)1! The award winning GND 1 was the highest grossing indie movie of 2014. It has not stopped as the world keeps giving storylines with God's Not Dead 3 due in the near future. However, while most people associate David A.R. White with Pure Flix and Christian movies, they may not be too aware of his first book - "BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HOLLYWOOD....Chasing Your God-given Dream" (2016). Click here to read the First Chapter and here for purchasing opportunities. Any successful person will tell you, there is no such thing as an "overnight success". What can happen though, is a Christian who is faithful in the hard things, the seemingly small but important things and who completely follows the God Who will break things open in His Timing. I read the book and enjoyed the funny narrative of this young man from a conservative Mennonite background, who never took his eyes off why God put him here. I heard him describe the book for a full interview on Chris Fabry's Moody Bible Radio show and it became obvious why he wrote it - to encourage somebody else to follow their calling God has put in their hearts. White says on his website "there is no one too common, too uneducated, too poor, too inexperienced, or too broken that he or she cannot be used by God". This is reason enough to get his book.

CLICK HERE
 FOR BOOK INFO

The family that writes together, makes a whole of impact together! Andrea Logan White is David's beloved wife and from the state of Illinois.  Her book was released less than two months ago (Sept. 2017) and is a stunning work called "PERFECTLY UNFINISHED: Finding Beauty in the Midst of Brokenness"

Two things I gleaned from reading Andrea's book. The first one is do not start it unless you intended to finish reading the entire book, because it is not what you think. The second thing is, once you have decided to read it, you cannot put it down. It will stun you, make you scratch your head and then you get to the incident where God reveals Himself to the hurting and lost Andrea, your concern turns to rejoicing as another soul is added to the Rolls of Heaven.

I was not planning to write a full article like this on this, the REAL (reel?) Power Couple of Hollywood and both their books, until I could not put down the second half of Andrea's book, in spite of an busy early morning coming up. All I had planned on doing was to leave reviews on Amazon.com, where I got both David's and Andrea's books.  But completing Andrea's books in one sitting opened my mind to this article. It is, as Rich Christiano's movie is called - "A Matter of Faith" 

In troubled times, the matter of Faith, with feet that walk righteously, requires us to do the following:
1. Praise God in the Storm. This is not just a Casting Crowns Song. It is the foundation of a lasting Faith.
2. Love God in the choppy seas of doubt, pain and suffering.
3. Obey God even if you think you have nothing left to give...because you do (have something left to give - YOU).
4. Say NO to temptation to shake your fist at God. Job's wife told Job to "curse God and die". Job refused because He knew the Character of God and that His Redeemer liveth.
5. Trust, follow and BELIEVE God in Christ, no matter the depression, doubt and despair. Trust Him completely, even there seems no earthly hope. Trust Him because Hope in God IS out of this world.
6. Praise God in the Storms. While weeping may endure for a night, joy cometh in the morning (Psalm 30:5) 

The portion of the book which describes Andrea's Walk with Christ as a wife and mother could describe the hidden trials and tribulations of many in today's high-stressed world. What was incredible to me was the previously unheard-of level of pain (physical and other) which one human can endure. I minister in men's ministry (for over 20 years); senior homes for about 14 years; street ministry etc. for over a decade, and have never come across such a warm, heart-felt, completely heart-breaking yet uplifting series of pages as I read in PERFECTLY UNFINISHED.

As I read about the Faith behind Andrea's pain, which led to her present perseverance, my mind immediately shifted to the words of the great Joni Eareckson Tada (a quadraplegic) who had this to say about living in constant physical pain and a horrid diagnosis. Joni said the following during an interview with Christianity Today (in part): "Even though it seems like a lot is being piled on, I keep thinking about 1 Peter 2:21: 'To these hardships you were called because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps.' Those steps most often lead Christians not to miraculous, divine interventions but directly into the fellowship of suffering".

Andrea Logan-White is not without her own movie portfolio! She was one of the leads in the hilarious "MOM's NIGHT OUT" and is currently in a weekly comedy series with her husband and several others, on the increasingly popular PURE FLIX Streaming service called "HITTING THE BREAKS".

PERFECTLY UNFINISHED is available here on Amazon.com.

GOD'S NOT DEAD 2 - A REVIEW FROM A MOVIEGOER

GOD'S NOT DEAD 3 STORY SET?
"...atheists can't take away the pain, but they sure take away the Hope"...thus says the character Walter Wesley, played by well-known Christian actor and singer Pat Boone to his daughter - Grace Wesley (expertly and powerfully portrayed by well-known TV actress Melissa Joan Hart). What followed is one of the most critical movies for the Body of Christ in 2016 America, if our fellow citizens are really paying attention.

God's Not Dead 2 (GND2) is a compilation of several actual court cases where the religious freedom of students (high school and college) and teachers were denied by an increasingly hostile anti-Christian God mindset. This mindset was coming for decades, from the days of Supreme Court Hugo Black, a former member of the Ku Klux Klan, who was part of the Warren Court in the 1960's which removed the Bible and Prayer from American schools. Black reintroduced the long dormant "separation of church and state" concept and set the stage for the eventual spiritual decline of the United States. Some of the actual cases listed in the movie credits were the backdrop for this warm yet deadly cold reality. The reality is the fine line which some Christians have to walk daily in a country that was founded on Religious Liberty for the Christian.

Now what is apparently coming in God's Not Dead 3 is just the natural progression of such extra-constitutional activism. It is recommended to movie-goers to sit through the entire roll of credits at the end of God's Not Dead 2 to see what is coming next. A minor subplot during GND2 involves the popular late US Senator/Actor Fred Dalton Thompson where a group of pastors are ordered by local government authorities to hand over all their sermons for the centralized authority to vet. This is a storyline based on what actually occurred in 2014 when the Mayor of Houston threatened Houston preachers to hand over their sermons or else….an action which resulted in a massive national outcry and backlash.  For those who are interested in a growing Christian movie culture fueled by current events, this is something to look forward to.

God's Not Dead 2 revolves around the story of an Arkansas high school teacher - Grace Wesley - who answers a seemingly innocuous question in her AP History Class about the heroes of non-violence (Gandhi and King) and the greatest non-violent hero in history - Jesus. Another student in the class immediately texted his atheist parents during the class that his history teacher was basically turning the class into "Sunday School". Grace Wesley, an immediately likeable single teacher, wonderfully portrayed by Melissa Joan Hart, a popular mainstream television actress (and Christian), is soon brought up before the school board. They demand an apology and more from her, which basically amounted to a tacit denial of her testimony of faith in Christ. Grace Wesley declines and decides to take her chances in court, with an apparent green public defender whose youth and penchant for not losing a case overrides his lack of Faith in Jesus Christ.

At stake in this case is Ms. Wesley's job and all that she has. This includes the small idyllic home where she cares for her aging father (Pat Boone). She stands to lose not just her job, teaching license and home, but the plaintiff's attorneys courtroom skills initially make mincemeat of Grace Wesley's young, under-dressed defender for most of the trial. This all changes at the end when Grace's attorney (Jesse Metcalfe of "Desperate Housewives") finally calls his client up to the witness stand as a hostile witness and ends up winning the case. He does so in some of the finest courtroom writing and hijinks written in any type of drama - Christian or secular! 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON BOOK

Two great real-life authors gave outstanding testimonies on the "witness stand". The great Lee Strobel, the former atheist legal reporter for the Chicago Tribune who set out to prove the bible wrong and ended up a Christian gave a sterling apologetic for the Faith...making, as it were, the "Case for Christ". Equally as impressive was the testimony of real life L.A. Detective & Christian apologetics author J. Warner Wallace whose book Cold Case Christianity (2013) is a cold hard look from another former atheist (Wallace) at the Gospels to see if the facts of Jesus' life and death hold up to scrutiny. What Wallace found led him not just to Faith in Christ, just like Strobel, but into active ministry for the Lord in missions and outreach.

In the final analysis, this Pure Flix masterpiece by David A.R. White and his team marks a significant direction for this long time Christian movie making company. The advance questionable reviews of the secular press attest to the success of the entire storyline, the screenplay, content and especially the inclusion and testimonies of the two former Atheists- Authors Strobel and Wallace. The mainstream secular velvet broadside, across the board, is proof that God's Not Dead 2 not only bowls a strike, but will also influence a lot of doubters who were formerly convinced that God did not exist. 

EXODUS FROM THE TRUTH? ...(A REVIEW OF LATEST MOVIE ON MOSES)

(Image courtesy Google Images)

The problems with modern Hollywood trying to make Bible movies to reach the majority interested in viewing Faith and Family movies are multifold. As with anything we do, we must believe in any product in order to have impact, authenticity and success.  Unlike the popular epics like the 1956 "TEN COMMANDMENTS" (Cecil B. DeMille) or even Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ of from a decade ago, the current crop of "bandwagon-on-the-Bible-movie" producers have basically two things in mind: money and agenda, rather than narrative.

Cecil B. DeMille and Gibson's made their blockbuster (in impact and financial succcess) movies for a reason - to tell some of the stories of the Ages, that have forever impacted humanity. A lot of their actors did not necessarily believe in God or the Bible. However, they understood accuracy and appreciated the intelligence of their audiences and demographics (mainly Christians here and around the world). DeMille himself would spend 2-3 years researching, for instance, the Bible BEFORE he got the script together to begin shooting film. The result was the biggest Bible movie ever produced.

The thinking behind two massive Bible-based super-flops out of Hollywood in 2014 is the opposite of the classic film-making of DeMille and the golden age of Hollywood! The first flop one was NOAH, starring Russell Crowe (an avowed atheist). These film makers took so much liberty with the truth and the Bible which both serious Christians and Jews are familiar with, that it was offensive to just about anyone with some bible knowledge.  Now comes Ridley Scott's EXODUS - Gods and Kings". While thinking about this new movie which was released on December 12, 2014, a series on the Great Flood of Noah's era, which NBC TV did over decade ago came to mind. The fiction in this one was so out there, that Saturday Night Live did a stinging parody skit on it, later on that same week which just about sent the NBC TV series into oblivion.

It is against this background we take a look at EXODUS - Gods and Kings (2014) starring Christian Bale (as Moses) and directed by Scott, and produced by FOX. 

While most of us refused to see NOAH, even on DVD due to its outrageous content, we had a little better hope for this latest version of the EXODUS from Egypt by the Israelites, led by the great Moses. Even when actor who played Moses- Christian Bale, Moses' character- and called him a sociopath and barbaric, I thought it may be worth watching to see if Hollywood learned from the mistakes of the Russell Crowe dark fictional version of Noah.  So how did they do? To wit....

THE ENTERTAINMENT:
The Real 3D version of it was technically a winner and it was the best part of the movie.   It was also the most authentic feature of the film as the viewer actually felt him/herself observing what Director Ridley Scott wanted to portray as his interpretation (A plus here).  One actually felt oneself sitting in Pharaoh Rameses’ military strategy session, or down in the quarry at Pithom or even the hair-raising chariot-around-the narrow cliff pursuit by the Egyptians of the departing millions led by Moses across the Red Sea. The visual of the formerly parted Red Sea was a powerful scene as the blue water crashed own on Rameses and of all people “Moishe” (Hebrew for Moses). 

Now we know these things did not happen. It is also telling that Ridley Scott and his production team did NOT show the Red Sea actually parting (to begin with) but showed the escaping Israelites wading through knee deep water. This is typical of people who do not believe in God, the God of the Bible or the Power of God. It is my contention that they really MEANT not to show the Parting of the Red Sea, because to do that will validate the Holy One. But in order to have some semblance of truth in their Exodus from the Truth, they had to show the sea returning to its level. Even with its success here, in the special effects department, I found myself cringing at what biblical outrage they will commit next. It is obvious that the people involved in this movie intended to disrespect and dismiss the God of the Bible, they profess to be filming.

THE ERROR:

Apart from the mostly accurate Passion of the Christ and the few errors of commission (and omission) in Mark Burnett/Roma Downey THE BIBLE record-setting History Channel series in the Spring of 2013, almost anything of historical worth made by mainstream liberal Hollywood lacks in biblical Truth. Their obsession with their agendas permeates every single piece of work they seem to put out, of late.

There were so many errors in "EXODUS", that it would be pointless to list them all. Since Hollywood has no respect for the Christians and Jews to whom they allegedly aimed this movie, they forget that we know the Scriptures and so do gazillions of people from the last 4000 years plus of recorded history! Some examples: God is not a 11 or 12 year old snarling wise guy of a young boy. Pharoah did not look like a linebacker for Rutgers or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The rivers running red with blood had nothing to do with vicious reptiles sent by a mean 12 year old God....and on and on. It was pointless to sit around and read the credits to see who the technical advisors  were to these guys. Either they did not advise accurately on the truth of the narrative or their input was ignored.

THE EFFECT: 
From word out of Hollywood, more Bible "epic" (failures?) are in the making. God alone knows what they will do to any remakes of the classic "Ben-Hur" and even a new one based on Pontius Pilate (starring Brad Pitt). While Ben-Hur was a tremendous extravaganza starring the incomparable Charlton Heston, it was still fiction. However, Pilate is well known as the man who executed the Lord Jesus on Cross, knowing He was an innocent man. The history of Pilate is available to anyone willing to do research. The Romans kept meticulous records. 

This kind of historical research which the greatest movie producer - Cecil B. DeMille - is known for, is not done these days. They are others listed on the horizon, however after these two debacles, where Exodus with Christian Bale took in less than $40 million in its first two weeks, after costing $185 million to make, they will be rethinking about releasing some of these future failures. In the meantime, expect more independent Christian-based Faith and Family films to score as big as GOD's NOT DEAD, the surprise hit of 2014....bigger than Noah was in America. The after-market on God's Not Dead was both huge, as well as under the Hollywood radar as hundreds of churches bought licenses to show the movie to their congregations across America. 

This is the grassroots that affect what mainstream Hollywood puts out and they know a Faith-based movie when they (we) see one. With better distribution and more mainline actors like Nicholas Cage (LEFT BEHIND); Lee Majors (Six Million Dollar Man) and the upcoming block buster in three months with Cybill Shepherd, PURE FLIX  will become established as the Christian movie company to be reckoned with. The dynamic Christiano Brothers (Rich and Dave) are also on the move with their relevant movies starring well known TV actors like Harry Anderson (Night Court) and Clarence Gilyard (Walker, Texas Ranger).

So in the final analysis, what is the effect of all of these unbiblical "Bible" epics (touted by Hollywood trade papers as the "Year of the Bible Movie")? The effect will be to make the smaller, more intentionally 100% Christian movie producers more established in the huge Heartland Market, where the little white wooden church on the corner still sits and where Aunt Bessie and Uncle Leroy got married and own the same King James Bible for the last 60 years. Hollywood can't make this one up.
Here is the upcoming movie from PURE FLIX, which is the follow-up to God's Not Dead, and is called "DO YOU BELIEVE":

THIRTY NINE OTHER THINGS GOD GIVES US WITH FREE GIFT OF SALVATION

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the

Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow (James 1:17)

There is no more perfect gift than the free gift of Salvation. If we have confessed our sins and turned to the One True God of Heaven. If we are rejuvenated in the inner man and are born again, having accepted the forgiveness provided freely for ALL humanity for ALL time on the Cross, we will send eternity in the Holy Presence of God the Father.

Another thing to think about this "Perfect Gift" is "Imputation". Romans 5:12-21 reminds us that we are born in the original sin of Adam and we have deserved judgment heavily in our debt column, which we cannot pay. The First Adam's sin is imputed to every single human who has lived since Creation and th Fall. But then comes the Cross of Christ, where the Savior of the Universe willingly gave up His Own Godly Life for you and I personally, and all mankind in general. This Cross is where the Second Adam took His pure and sinless righteousness and gave it to us for free to justify (make us right) in the Eyes of God, when we have become forgiven and born again. 

We know from 2 Corinthians 5:21 that "He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. But it gets even better...and for the following, we must be SO ETERNALLY GRATEFUL! Several years ago, a man names Lewis Sperry Chafer wrote an amazing piece on the incredible gifts God gives to each of His children whom He calls to His side. These 39 things are worthy of yours and my study and eternal gratitude, for which we will continue to praise into Eternity and beyond. As we go through these 39 things, let us remain amazed for the rest of our life, at the Manner of Love and Grace which has been credited (and imputed) to our eternal account, when we did not deserve 1% of it! This should make us humble and cause us to fall to our faces before Holy God, as we sing His Praises:

1. The believer resides in the eternal plan of God. (He shares the destiny of Christ) We are:

a. Foreknown: (Acts 2:23; Rom 8:29; 1Pe 1:2)

b. Elected: (Rom 8:33; Col 3:12; 1Th 1:4; Tit 1:1)

c. Predestined: (Rom 8:29-30; Eph 1:5; Eph 1:11; 1Pe 1:2)

d. Chosen: (Matt 22:14; 1Pe 2:4)

e. Called: (1Th 5:24)

2. The believer is reconciled (Removal of the barrier between man and God)

a. By God: (2Co 5:18-19; Col 1:20)

b. To God: (Rom 5:10; 2Co 5:20; Eph 2:14-17)

3. The believer is redeemed (Purchased from the slave market of sin): (Rom 3:24; Col 1:14; 1Pe 1:18)

4. The believer’s condemnation, (Eternal judgment in the Lake of fire) is removed: (John 3:18; John 5:24; Rom 8:1)

5. All sins are judged by the substitutionary Spiritual death of Christ on the cross: (Rom 4:25; Eph 1:7; 1Pe 2:24)

6. Every believer receives propitiation for sins (God satisfied with the work of His Son): (Rom 3:25-26; 1Jn 2:2; 1Jn 4:10)

7. The believer is dead to the old life, (The old sin nature) but alive to God (Retroactive positional Truth)

a. He is Crucified with Christ: (Rom 6:6; Gal 2:20)

b. Dead with Christ: (Rom 6:8; Col 3:3; 1Pe 2:24)

c. Buried with Christ: (Rom 6:4; Col 2:12)

d. Raised with Christ: (Rom 6:4; Col 3:1)

8. The believer is free from the Mosaic Law. He is

a. Dead: (Rom 7:4)

b. Delivered: (Rom 6:14; Rom 7:6; 2Co 3:6-11; Gal 3:25)

9. The believer is regenerated: (John 13:10; 1Co 6:11; Tit 3:5)

a. He is born again: (John 3:7; 1Pe 1:23)

b. A child of God: (Gal 3:26)

c. A son of God: (John 1:12; 2Co 6:18; 1Jn 3:2)

d. A new creation: (2Co 5:17;Gal 6:15; Eph 2:10)

10. The believer is adopted by God (Placed as adult sons because of positional Truth): (Rom 8:15; Rom 8:23; (Future) Eph 1:5).

11. The believer is made acceptable to God: (Eph 1:6; 1Pe 2:5)

a. He is made righteous: (Imputation) (Rom 3:22; 1Co 1:30; 2Co 5:21;Php 3:9)

b. Sanctified positionally: (1Co 1:30; 1Co 6:11)

c. Perfected forever: (Heb 10:14)

d. Qualified for inheritance: (Col 1:12)

12. The believer is justified (Declared righteous): (Rom 3:24; Rom 5:1;Rom 5:9; Rom 8:30; 1Co 6:11; Tit 3:7)

13. The believer receives the unique availability of Divine power: (2Pe 1:3)

14. The believer is guaranteed a heavenly citizenship based on reconciliation: (Luk 10:20; Eph 2:13; Eph 2:19; Php 3:20)

15. The believer is delivered from the kingdom of Satan: (Col 1:13; Col 2:15)

16. The believer is transferred into God’s kingdom: (Col 1:13)

17. The believer is now on a secure foundation: (1Co 3:11; 1Co 10:4; Eph 2:20)

18. Every believer is a gift from God the Father to Christ: (John 10:29; John 17:2; John 17:6; John 17:9; John 17:11-12; John 17:24)

19. The believer is delivered from the power of the sin nature: (Rom 2:29; Php 3:3; Col 2:11)

20. Every believer is appointed a priest unto God. We are:

a. A holy priesthood: (1Pe 2:5)

b. A royal priesthood: (1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6)

21. The believer receives eternal security: (Rom 8:32; Rom 8:38-39; Gal 3:26; 2Ti 2:13)

22. The believer is given access to God: (Rom 5:2; Eph 2:18; Heb 4:14; Heb 4:16; Heb 10:19-20)

23. Every believer is within the “much more” grace care of God: (Rom 5:9-10)

a. We are: Objects of His love: Eph 2:4; Eph 5:2;

b. Objects of His grace (1) For salvation: Eph 2:8-9; (2) For keeping: (Rom 5:2; 1Pe 1:5) (3) For service: (John 17:18; Eph 4:7) (4) For instruction: (Tit 2:12)

c. Objects of His power: (Eph 1:19; Php 2:13)

d. Objects of His faithfulness: (Php 1:6; Heb 13:5)

e. Objects of His peace: (John 14:27)

f. Objects of His consolation: (2Th 2:16)

g. Objects of His intercession: (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; Heb 9:24)

24. The believer is beneficiary of an inheritance as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ: (Rom 8:17; Eph 1:14; Eph 1:18; Col 3:24; Heb 9:15; (1Pe 1:4)

25. Every believer has a new position in Christ: (Eph 2:6)

a. We are partners with Christ in life: (Col 3:4)

b. Partners with Christ in service: (1Co 1:9) (1) Workers together with God: (1Co 3:9; 2Co 6:1) (2) Ministers of the New Covenant: (2Co 3:6) (3) Ambassadors: (2Co 5:20) (4) Living epistles: (2Co 3:3) (5) Ministers of God: (2Co 6:4)

26. Believers are recipients of eternal life: (John 3:15; John 10:28;John 20:31; 1Jn 5:11-12)

27. The believer is created a new Spiritual species: (2Co 5:17)

28. The believer is a light in the Lord (Part of the angelic conflict): (Eph 5:8; 1Th 5:4)

29. The believer is united with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are:

a. In God: (1Th 1:1; cf., “God in you,” Eph 4:6)

b. In Christ: (John 14:20; cf., “Christ in you,” Col 1:27) (1) A member in His Body: (1Co 12:13) (2) A branch in the Vine: (John 15:5) (3) A stone in the Building: (Eph 2:21-22; 1Pe 2:5) (4) A sheep in the Flock: (John 10:27-29) (5) A portion of His Bride: (Eph 5:25-27; Rev 19:6-8)

(6) A priest of the kingdom of priests: (1Pe 2:9) (7) A saint of the “new species:” (2Co 5:17) In the Holy Spirit: (Rom 8:9) “the Spirit in you.”

30. Every believer is the recipient of the ministries of the Holy Spirit. He is

a. Born of the Spirit: (John 3:36)

b. Baptized with the Spirit: (Acts 1:5; 1Co 12:13)

c. Indwelt by the Spirit: (John 7:39; Rom 5:5; Rom 8:9; 1Co 3:16; (1Co 6:19; Gal 4:6; 1Jn 3:24)

d. Sealed by the Spirit: (2Co 1:22; Eph 4:30)

e. Given Spiritual gifts: (1Co 12:11; 1Co 12:27-31; 1Co 13:1-2)

31. The believer is glorified: (Rom 8:30)

32. The believer is complete in Christ: (Col 2:10)

33. The believer is possessor of every Spiritual blessing granted in eternity past: (Eph 1:3)

34. The believer receives a human spirit (The basis for Operation Z, along with the Holy Spirit): (Rom 8:16; 1Co 2:12; 2Co 7:13; 1Th 5:23)

35. The believer has scar tissue removed from the soul: (Isa 43:25;Isa 44:22)

36. The believer is the recipient of efficacious grace: (Eph 1:13)

37. The believer is guaranteed a resurrection body forever: (John 11:25)

38. The believer is the beneficiary of unlimited atonement: (2Co 5:14-15; (2Co 5:19; 1Ti 2:6; 1Ti 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 2Pe 2:1; 1Jn 2:2)

39. The believer has equal privilege and equal opportunity under election and predestination.

BONUS....AND THIS IS A PERMANENT IRREVOCABLE GIFT:

40. The ten problem-solving devices are available to every believer. They are

a. Rebound: (1Jn 1:9)

b. Filling of the Holy Spirit: (Eph 5:18)

c. Faith-rest drill: (Heb 4:1; Heb 4:10-11)

d. Grace orientation: (Jas 4:6)

e. Doctrinal orientation: (Rom 12:2)

f. Personal sense of destiny: (Php 1:21)

g. Personal love for God: (Deut 6:5; 1Pe 1:8)

h. Impersonal love for all mankind: (Jas 2:8)

1. Sharing the happiness of God, +H: (John 15:11)

j. Occupation with Christ: (Eph 3:19)

Compiled by Lewis Sperry Chafer Revised by R. B. Thieme, Jr.