Boys' Bible Study

Hank's Christmas Wish 2: The Nutcracker (2024)

Just when you thought you had meditated enough on the true meaning of Christmas, Santa's favorite aged former elf reminds you that you still have so much to learn. Hank returns in the sequel to the popular, at least to us, HANK'S CHRISTMAS WISH, directed by West Virginia film icon Jason Campbell, bringing back many of the familiar faces from the first film for another round of holiday magic. Remember Tippee and Toes, the elves? No? You don't? Well, too bad, because they're back. Bella has been recast and is largely absent, as she and her husband Kevin are away on a mission trip to Africa, but her brother Liam is still working in Hank's independently contracted toy workshop. Mayor Dean, played by actor and ICE agent Dean Cain, continues his agreeable stewardship of the town's Christmas festivities. Now openly known as a real elf and former custodian of Santa, Hank has more influence than before and uses it to push for a town production of The Nutcracker, choreographed by local dance teacher Heather. Mayor Dean quickly agrees, motivated by the fact that Heather is single and he is looking for love. The holiday peace is disrupted by Frosty, a Christmas comedian hired by the town council whose jealousy over The Nutcracker leads him to spread the common cold throughout the town. Frosty is revealed to be the son of Jack Frost, a former North Pole intern alienated by the elves, a grudge he still holds. It's a creative and contemporary take on familiar Christmas cultural tropes, and Jason Campbell succeeds at what seems to be his goal of making a family-friendly Christmas film that pays lip service to Jesus without hitting you over the head with religious themes, allowing you to relax and enjoy your hot cocoa. It's honestly refreshing that the film isn't so serious, though its greatest flaw may be its characterization of Frosty, who is a genuinely annoying screen presence largely because his entire thing is being the brunt of fat jokes. Lesson learned: never hire a Christmas comedian to do an elf's job! View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com [http://boysbiblestudy.com/] Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy [http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy] Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy [http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy [http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy [http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy]

Echo Rhyme (2016)

Is a heart transplant also a soul transplant? A real-life news story from 2008 concerns Sonny Graham, a heart transplant recipient who married his donor's wife and ultimately committed suicide in the exact same method as his donor. Likely inspired by this bizarre event is ECHO RHYME, a Christian thriller with far too many plot points, but mostly about a career criminal who receives a Christian's heart transplant and gets saved. ECHO RHYME is by director Caleb Johnson and his son and frequent writing collaborator Jeff Johnson, who also made 2 TO TANGLE, a film we absolutely love that is also about shared souls and tangled identity, in this case involving the lives of two identical twins separated at birth. The Johnsons have clearly built up their skill set for the ambitious ECHO RHYME, but in growing have bitten off more than they can chew with the film's concept. ECHO RHYME protagonist Frank is a gallery artist and jewel thief who practices martial arts, but when he does a hit on a devout Christian man on behalf of his jealous ex–business partner, he sets off a chain of events that leads to him inheriting the heart. Confused yet? It does not stop there, as the heart begins influencing his own Christian thought, inspiring a mission trip to Central America, where another rival gang targets him and he learns a secret that links every character in the movie in a bizarre web. It is too much to handle, and the first 20 minutes of the movie's exposition are impossible to parse on first watch. The artistic spirit of the genuinely talented Johnson family comes through in this enthusiastic feature, but ultimately ECHO RHYME would have been stronger with some serious editing. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com [http://boysbiblestudy.com/] Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy [http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy] Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy [http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy [http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy [http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy]

Loving the Bad Man (2010)

This shocking Christian film about the power of forgiveness at all costs will stun you with its gripping plot twists and the hilarious Stephen Baldwin reveal (in prison at the 30min mark, covered in drawn-on white supremacist tattoos). LOVING THE BAD MAN is by director, producer, and writer Péter Engart, an extremely competent filmmaker with a few features under his belt, each featuring a faith-based celebrity cameo. Stephen Baldwin is a recurring presence in this genre, and he is extremely entertaining here as "the ethical Nazi" who leads a white gang in prison. But the real star is Cree Kelly as Julie, a beautiful and humble Christian girl who missions to juvenile delinquents while working at a grocery store. When her car breaks down late at night outside a dive bar, she goes inside for help and is raped by Mike Connor, a mechanic with rage issues. Julie's rape becomes an unexpected miracle when she becomes pregnant and decides to keep the baby, much to her family's chagrin as they beg her to end the pregnancy. She then commits to the ultimate Christian project of "loving the bad man," taking her baby to the prison for daily visits with her rapist so he can be part of his son's life. Mike is bewildered and angry at first, but Julie's persistent kindness slowly brings him to Christ, although violent racial tensions between black, white, and latino gangs threaten his newfound inner peace. LOVING THE BAD MAN works because the actors give their performances total commitment. The film stays surprisingly believable despite a plot that would feel unrealistic to most viewers, including many Christians. It often reads like a male fantasy of how an ideal Christian woman should respond to tragedy, rather than a sympathetic portrait of a woman's strength. Its approach to race relations also has to be seen to be believed. Overall, LOVING THE BAD MAN is one of the most entertaining films we have ever watched for this podcast, thanks to its fascinating and deeply insensitive portrayals of some of the darkest corners of human behavior. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com [http://boysbiblestudy.com/] Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy [http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy] Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy [http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy [http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy [http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy]

Audience of One (2007)

"In 1994, at age 40, Pastor Richard Gazowsky saw his first movie. Later that year, he received a vision from God." So begins the saga of AUDIENCE OF ONE, a brilliant documentary that serves as a cultural Rosetta stone for our podcast, an intimate portrait of where faith in God meets faith in movies. It's both a monument to the power of belief and a sobering testimony of how unchecked pride can poison spiritual authority. Director Michael Jacobs was given deep access to Gazowsky, his family, and his church (Voice of Pentecost, San Francisco). The film opens as the congregation-turned-film crew prepares their first feature. Having felt "called" by God to make a movie, Gazowsky appoints himself director and enlists family, parishioners, and a few hired outsiders despite no one having experience. Their ambitious project, GRAVITY: THE SHADOW OF JOSEPH, reimagines the biblical story of Joseph as a futuristic, Star Wars-inspired epic to be shot in Italy. Funded through church offerings, the production quickly spirals. Gazowsky secures favors and finances he can't repay, including a $17,000-per-month studio he's eventually evicted from. His leadership is strikingly confident, and he makes quick decisions and commands authority, but many are disastrous. He insists the film be shot on 70mm at 60 frames per second, a technically absurd and prohibitively expensive choice. In Italy, the crew manages to film only two incomplete, soundless scenes before the production collapses. Yet Gazowsky remains undeterred. In the film's haunting conclusion, he preaches that his next plan is to create a company producing 47 films a year, alongside resorts, airlines, and a space program. Gazowsky's faith seems consumed by ambition, though his audacity occasionally borders on genius. Still, his willingness to endanger and exploit his congregation, including children on unsafe sets, feels reckless and cruel. AUDIENCE OF ONE is an extreme but eye-opening look at faith-based film, where the movie is a powerful totem that allows the filmmaker to create an idol to both himself and God. In a roundabout way, it is an inspiring tale of faith, art, and the creative spirit. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com [http://boysbiblestudy.com/] Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy [http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy] Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy [http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy [http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy [http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy]

Slaughter of the Innocents (1993)

Christian imagery and biblical references abound in this violent early 1990s crime thriller, tonally similar to THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS is a lesser-known entry in the 1990s serial killer canon. Instead of a theatrical run, it premiered on HBO in 1993, which may have contributed to its obscurity. That's unfortunate, because the movie takes creative risks and deserves to be reevaluated as a cult classic. The film stars Scott Glenn as FBI Special Agent Stephen Broderick, a family man whose crime scene experience makes him a natural choice to investigate the Provo Canyon Massacre, a brutal child murder committed by someone calling himself "God." A man awaits execution for the crime, but Broderick believes the real killer is still at large. His son Jesse, played by Jesse Cameron-Glickenhaus (the real-life son of director James Glickenhaus), is a precocious 10-year-old computer whiz whose tech skills help his dad link the massacre to a recent abduction in the same Utah area. Jesse's inclusion is one of the film's funniest choices—it's bizarre to see a cheerful 10-year-old browsing crime scene photos and discussing grisly details of child violence. For us at Boys' Bible Study, SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS stands out for its Christian imagery. The "God" killer, Mordecai Booth (Zitto Kazann), is consumed by a biblical obsession so intense he even steals two giraffes from a zoo to honor Noah's Ark. The title itself comes from the biblical story of King Herod slaughtering infants to prevent Jesus's rise. The final scene is so strange and powerful that we won't spoil it, but it perfectly captures what we love to see as a Christian film review podcast. Though this is a secular movie, it features two actors familiar from faith-based cinema: Kevin Sorbo as FBI agent John Willison and Michael D. Weatherred (of THE BUTTERCREAM GANG) in a small role. We love when secular films engage with biblical imagery, even when it borders on blasphemy. The aura Christian symbolism lends to a story—its power to evoke awe, fear, and moral imagination—shows religion's lasting influence on culture's darkest corners. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com [http://boysbiblestudy.com/] Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy [http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy] Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy [http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy [http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy] Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy [http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy]