Hey, everyone! I'm so sorry to have taken so long to write this, but... life. Adulthood. Work. Yada yada excuses excuses.
HERE WE GO!
The final, long-awaited chapter of my first Kendrick Brothers series!
What I'd like to do is kind of a dual-experience entry. I'll first describe being in it (something I didn't do much of in the Priscilla Shirer post), and then watching it. Sounds reasonable, chronologically, right?
I would say the first time I heard about this movie, it was under the working title, "Movie 5." Appropriate. And I learned from their website that they were looking for actors and crew members. I've enjoyed acting from the get-go, and to be working for and/or with the Kendrick Brothers?! Yeah, I was interested! So I applied. I was not called. Bummer.
Fast forward some time (probably months), and my parents decided to visit Fire Church, which is where Dr. Michael Brown, a radio personality, attends and preaches. We all went, and there in the bulletin was an announcement that they were looking for extras for a few scenes. I've enjoyed acting since I was a kid, I've been in a student film, and to be an extra in a Kendrick Brothers's feature film without having to travel a million miles?! Yeah, I was interested! So I applied. I was contacted, and invited to the set. YES!!!!!!
When I got to the location, I was put into one room. About a thousand thoughts flooded through my mind. Will I be able to meet the stars? Will I be able to meet the Kendrick Brothers? Will I look like an idiot? What if I mess up? What if my parents don't see me? Is anybody else I know here? There were others before I met this awesome family that I talked to a lot. I talked to a bunch of other people, as well. After talking and calming myself down internally, We got called out to go into our first scene. What was really fun was that I got to be in a high-five line for Stephen Kendrick. What really made it fun was that I and two youths from the family I was talking about before were called to the front pew in the church scene.
Yikes.
Adrenaline level is over 9000. Whatever that means.
So now, there's no question as to whether or not I'll be seen. Now the biggest challenge was not looking directly into the humongous camera not too far from me.
The rest of the scenes went well, and I learned quite a bit about how much time was put into about 5 minutes of screen time. You can read the rest on the Priscilla Shirer blog. But I can honestly say that I left with an experience I would have otherwise thought impossible to live.
When I first learned that the movie would premiere in over a year.... I nearly fainted. No way did I want to wait that long. But I did wait. And I counted. Especially toward the last several weeks. My grandparents went to the opening night, but I ended up going the afternoon after with my parents (in my white dress and TKO).
It was a really, really good movie, in my opinion! It didn't quite point out the Gospel message as they did in their other four movies, but this one seemed more directed toward Christians (could SOMEbody please tell half of these professional movie critics??!!!) who are lukewarm in their faith. It certainly sniped me in the eyes.
The purpose of this movie seems perfectly clear: prayer is more than just a ritual. It's a way to speak with the Creator of the known (and unknown) universe.
Here's the thing, and I came to a re-realization from watching a Passion 2007(?) video: GOD KEEPS ALL OF EVERYTHING IN PERFECT WORKING ORDER. He can handle ANYTHING I can ask of Him. I need to talk to God more often, considering I don't have all of my act together! Not to mention, a God who is powerful enough to create all of this out of nothing AND keep it all together is powerful enough to drive the devil's forces out of your life, seeing as how he truly your biggest enemy. Don't believe me? Read the Bible. Not a "Bible" person? Then read The Screwtape Letters.
Seriously, in today's day and age, prayer may seem like "all we can do," but that's really minimizing the power in the act of prayer. Yeah, we can ask, but look at who we're asking! I'm speaking from experience, calling out, crying out, speaking out to God -- and actually listening to and acting upon His responses (they're not always audible, like in the Bible days) -- will do more in your life than just make you feel better. It will help you grow in God and make you want to do more for him.
NO, I DON'T MEAN IN A CULTIC, SHEEP-LIKE, KOOL-AID GUZZLING WAY.
Look, ever been in love? Ever really want to be somebody? Ever have an obsessive phase? No shame in admitting. Been there, done that. You want to do everything you can to be as close to that person/place/thing as possible. It happens. You spend time, energy and resources on those things, which is cool in moderation. What about with God? The media may portray Him to be an intolerant tyrant who is anti-fun and anti-liberty...
...but He's got some of the greatest liberties that can ever be offered. Don't believe me? Read for yourself.
T.J. Stallings made a comeback into the Kendrick Brothers' filmworks as Tony Jordan, a man who does whatever he can to make his way in the world and to make him happy, and Priscilla Shirer is introduced to the film world as Tony's wife Elizabeth, who is doing all she can to keep the family from falling apart, despite the fact that she is in a lukewarm state of Christianity.
As I mentioned before, the movie states the need of prayer and displays the power of prayer. It also has distinct elements that you can find in any movie. Comedy, drama, tug-at-your-heart moments, times that make you go "huh?" and a phenomenal finish.
Okay, a first grader could've written this better than I did just now, but I hate giving away most of the movie! You're just gonna have to watch it to find out what happens. And if you're watching and not a Christian... please keep an open mind. This is a film made by two Christians who made a movie to speak to Christians. Do not expect it to be the usual "summer blockbuster" or "Stephen Spielberg-esque" film that you would normally see in theatres.
Now, I've told you about being in War Room, and about the movie itself, now the fun part: seeing myself in the movie! I've seen myself in YouTube videos and in a student film, as I've said before. But seeing myself on the big screen... wow. It was AWESOME!!!! Even before I saw the film, my parents were telling me that friends of ours saw me in it, not to mention friends of mine telling me that they saw me. :) It was truly an honor (and it was rather surreal) to see myself as a part of a great project. I ended up seeing myself in three parts, but two of them were more "Where's Waldo?" incidences. I am clearly visible in the other part.
Again, you gotta watch the movie. I'm not totally giving away where I'm located.
Thanks again so much for reading this! I'm sorry that it took so long to get to this point, but let's just say that the past month-plus was crazy busy with the power of prayer to God at work. ;) Hopefully, I'll get back on working on these things more often.
Also, I know that there are a ton of links to different sites. None of them put me up to this. I am just a blogger.
And my apologies to Blimey Cow. They are an amazing group of people, and the picture (above) was the first thing that came to mind. You should totally watch them, if you don't already.
What is your favorite movie? Or at least top 5? Do you have a favorite Christian movie?
Actually, I'll sorta join in on the last one. I shall list the first 5 Kendrick Brothers' movies in order based on favorites! ...KB movies are my fave among the "Christian Film" genre, anyway.
- Courageous - Excellent way to make 5 protagonists work in one movie, plus it's amazing in appearance and storyline!
- Flywheel - This would probably be #1 if it didn't "look" like the first movie. Plus, it's hard to contend with a 5-protagonist plot. I would consider this to be the most Evangelical of all the films, with parts of the movie that can cut right to the heart.
- War Room - Don't get me wrong, I love the movie, and I'm not downplaying it because I was in it and didn't want to show favoritism. For one thing, I think this movie could have still been Evangelical in nature, plus, Flywheel just had a stronger plot, in my opinion.
- Facing the Giants - I was kind of underwhelmed by the movie itself, considering the amount of praise it got. To be fair, this was the second movie they made, and the first where production value went way up. It did drive home the point of the message across, but it does still kind of seem like a Christian version of "Remember the Titans." I like football, but I'm not very crazy about it.
- Fireproof - Erm.... this was... eh. It wasn't the WORST movie I've ever seen, and I wouldn't mind recommending this to people with an interest in marriage, as it does teach about true love, but... looking at some of the other movies on this list, I think you can understand why I list this last.
Ciao!
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