Friday, October 12, 2012

What You Should Watch Tonight: Machine Gun Preacher

I recently was scanning around on Netflix looking for something to watch, and discovered, to my delight, that Machine Gun Preacher (starring the dreamy Gerard Butler) is now available for instant streaming!

I've been wanting to see this since the first time it popped up as a recommendation for me on Amazon, but I wanted to watch it without it costing me $2.99 for the Amazon Streaming Rental, so I was super excited about it when it finally showed up on Netflix!

I have to say this one gets high scores - 9/10 or 4.5 out of 5 stars - maybe five out of six holly berries; I haven't really decided what my rating scale should be.

This is the incredibly touching story of a man who goes from being a seriously nasty drug-addled biker who almost kills a homeless man, to spending all of his time and money running an orphanage and rescuing children from the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army, which is headed by the infamous Joseph Kony; the group is guilty of some of the most horrific crimes against humanity I've ever read about).

The most incredible thing about this movie is that it's based on a real man: Sam Childers, and while it shows all of the incredible things he does for the children, it doesn't leave out his awful acts prior to finding his faith, and his calling.  I HIGHLY recommend you read his book (which the movie is based on) Another Man's War: The True Story of One Man's Battle to Save Children in the Sudan.

The one reason I can't recommend this movie for everyone is because it has plenty of foul language, drug/alcohol use, and graphic images of the people who are (STILL) being tortured by the LRA.  However, I don't believe the story would have been so strong without these aspects.  I'm afraid the language, drugs, war crimes might keep away some audiences, while the message of a man who finds religion might turn away others.  Neither of those kept me from watching, and it was really great.

In closing - if you have Netflix, and the kids aren't around - WATCH THIS MOVIE!!!!  

Don't have Netflix? Rent it on Amazon!



1 comment:

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