The Fault in Our Stars

You don't get to choose if you get hurt in this world...but you do have some say in who hurts you”, a quote from the popular book by John Green.  Another transition of a book to screen and a great one at that! Hazel Grace, played by Shailene Woodley is a 16 year old girl with terminal cancer.  She attends a support group and meets 18 year old Augustus Waters, played by Ansel Elgort.  It’s their story of love and death in their crazy world of trying to live through their cancers. There is a lot of story to be told in this movie as Hazel and Gus try to live normal lives in spite of their illness even going to Amsterdam in search of an author that has changed Hazel’s life. This movie is much more than death or cancer – it’s a story about life.  How we deal with people that we love and how we deal with death.  Their journey all comes to a close when Augustus wants to hear his eulogies before he dies.  Hazel and his best friend come together and share their love for their friend and in that instant – they tell each other how they are going to be remembered and why.  In a world of people – they will remember each other.  For me, this movie must’ve hit the right chord because I would watch it again, same as Heaven is for Real, because they both speak volumes about our lives.   I opened this blog with a quote from the book and I may be getting a little personal here, but I believe the statement to be true.  When we lose a loved one, we should feel honored to have loved them.  We chose to love them and even in their death, we are still the luckiest person to have been their friend.

Heaven is for Real

Heaven is for Real” was a #1 book on the New York Times Bestseller list. It’s the true story of a family who was given a glimpse into Heaven through their son Colton.  Greg Kinnear plays Todd Burpo, Colton’s dad and a preacher of a small church in Nebraska.  Colton, played by the adorable actor, Connor Corum, gets very sick and needs emergency surgery.  As his parents call the church for prayers for their son, Colton has an incredible journey as he is being operated on.  It is only later, that Colton starts telling his family the things he saw and heard in Heaven.  The family has to decide whether Colton’s visions are real or made up. Did his son really see angels? Did he talk to Jesus? And did he really see his grandfather?  The town’s people are divided over the issue and the church must decide if they’re going to stand with the Burpo family and Colton’s incredible stories or release him from his duties.  I really liked this movie!  I had read the book but found the movie to be more powerful and inspiring than the book.  To me, I enjoyed the journey that this movie took me on.  The sweet face of Colton as he talked about Heaven just made me feel happy about what I believe in.  It’s an inspirational film the whole family can watch together. 

Mom’s Night Out

This was a fun movie for the whole family!  Almost any mom can relate to this theme, a night out with the girls and NO KIDS!  It was silly fun to watch the comical misadventures of Allyson as she tried so hard to have a normal night out.  But between her crazy sister-in-law, her husband and his “anti-kids” best friend, her pastor’s wife issues with her teen daughter, a missing baby and a biker dude, (played by Trace Adkins)  . . . the night didn’t turn out as she had planned.  No mother is perfect nor do we have a perfect life.  This movie reflects the insecurities of moms and their constant battle for survival among the fittest but it does so in a light hearted manner and with inspirational insight that gives moms, a chance to reflect on the values and the importance of being a mom

God’s Not Dead


There are a lot of inspirational films out but for me, this is one of the better ones I have seen in awhile.  I really liked most everything about it - the story, the actors and the music.  The premise is a freshman college student by the name of Josh, (played by Shane Harper), takes a philosophy class.  The philosophy teacher, (played by Kevin Sorbo), has only 1 “rule” in his classroom - to talk strictly about philosophy and rule out any hogwash about a “God”.  To do so, he insists that his students write on a piece of paper that “God is Dead”.   Josh is unable to do so because he is a Christian and believes that God does exist.  The professor, being an atheist, allows Josh two weeks to present his side of why there is a God to the students   At the end of two week, the class will decide if Josh is right and passes or if he failed and flunks the class.   I thought the actually story line of the debate was very interesting to watch.  I think the movie could’ve focused more on the issue between the two main characters instead of adding side stories in.  The side stories were intended to bring home the main theme of the movie and at times it took away from the main premise of the movie.  But even with that said, if you’re looking for an inspirational film to lift your spirit, to give you something to think about, or enjoy some great music by The Newsboys and other artist you might give this a try. 

Draft Day

In this movie, Kevin Costner plays Sonny Weaver, the Cleveland Browns general manager that has an opportunity to turn the team around if he can make the right decisions and choices in the NFL Draft.  The story takes you through the 24 hour period leading up to the draft and how he is being pulled in every direction - by the players wanting drafted, the head coach, the team owner, the media, his family, the fans, and just about everyone else you could imagine.  Ultimately, he’s the one with the final decision, and he has to do what he feels is “right” for everyone, including himself.  I’ve never given much thought to what’s really going on behind the scenes of the NFL Draft, but I was completely drawn into this movie!  It reminded me a lot of the movie Moneyball that has the same themes, just with football this time instead of baseball – and I loved that one.  Plus, you can’t go wrong with Kevin Costner in a sports film!

Blended

I was surprised by this one.  You never know what you’re going to get with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore – especially when they’re in the same movie.  I’ll admit, I wasn’t expecting much.  After watching the first half, it didn’t seem very good, but if you hang in there for the whole movie, it gets much, much better!  After a horrible first date and deciding they never wanted to see each other again, Jim and Lauren’s families end up together at a resort in Africa.  It almost felt like a “reverse Brady Bunch” – Jim was raising girls that needed a mom in their lives and Lauren had boys that needed a dad in theirs.  No matter how much they all resisted, the kids (and parents) were all benefitting from having each other around.  This movie did have silly, ridiculous parts to it, but it was also touching and emotional in parts, too – more than I ever would have imagined.  I’m glad I watched it!