Good Family Entertainment ....

As a christian , I do make decisions concerning what I watch , listen to all the time. This does not  mean that anything with objectionable material is off the list. If I watch a war movie that portrays war honestly and the real struggles the soldiers went through , I will expect violence and perhaps some harsh language . Same for a drama , fantasy,sci-fi or whatever genre I watch. I do not like gratuitous violence and try to stay away from overt sexual scenes . But if a movie portrays life as it is lived out , it can be gritty and unpleasant.
  Now some believers look for and will only watch those family friendly films labeled Christian. Now I do not have anything against  these movies per se but in general they play out very cliched and when you watch them , you ask , who reacts like that. Read the Bible and watch real drama unfold. See the saints of old , fail , commit grievous sin . In fact I would argue that much of the Old Testament if turned into a realistic movie would be NC-17. Think about how you would film Joshua conquering , David taking Bathsheba etc...What of the New Testament . The life of Paul would make for some intense drama . As for the how Jesus is depicted , even with its problems the Passion of the Christ was the only one to graphically show how brutal Jesus suffered with the beatings,the whippings and the crucifixion. If real life is going to be shown honestly , it has to be with all its warts and scars.

My point is its all about context. What is the movie trying to say about the world that we live in . I always look for the big picture . Does the movie speak of redemption , forgiveness, truth . We must watch movies with a discerning eye . No question there are films that Christians should stay away . However just because a movie plays up a Christian message means its worth seeing , nor is it above critical review.

Take one of my all time favorite Westerns , Tombstone. It is a story of loyalty,friendship,forgiveness, redemption,justice . It plays out like a biblical epic. Its not for the faint of heart but its dialogue plays like real life. So yes , discern and make wise judgments but just because a film has a few elements that may be questionable , sometimes when we can enjoy the narrative that speaks to a bigger picture .