Movie About Women at a Religious Retreat Dressed in White
looking for answers
Okay, I liked it. I don't call myself a Christian. I was raised Catholic but I don't practice.
Just because someone isn't a Christian or a fundamentalist Christian or whatever else there is doesn't mean this is a bad film. If you're a spiritual person, much that is in this movie rings true.
I liked the performances from Sam Worthington, Octavia Spencer, and the rest of the cast.
A very touching story of a man in great pain looking for answers. And there are plenty of them around today.
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One Of The Better Christian Movies I've Come Across
I'm not really a huge fan of most "Christian" movies. I say that as a Christian and as a pastor. But for the most part I find them formulaic to the point of boring and usually badly (even horrendously) acted. And usually the more seriously they try to take themselves the worse they end up being. So I confess that I had very low expectations of "The Shack." I watched it because my wife wanted to watch it. She had read the book (I've not bothered with it either - for no particular reason) and wanted to see the film adaptation. Well, I watched it with her and I was pleasantly surprised. All in all, I thought this was a pretty well done movie and an interesting story.
First, I thought that Sam Worthington did a great job playing Mackenzie. Abused - and watching his mother be abused - by an alcoholic father as a child, Mackenzie grew up and managed to become a pretty good dad to his three children. Then tragedy strikes. On a camping trip his youngest daughter is kidnapped and murdered (and presumably raped - this was never said but was certainly implied.) Mackenzie and his family are devastated, of course. Mackenzie becomes depressed and angry. He had had a distant faith before all this happened, but it was destroyed by the events. Then one day he receives an invitation to go to the shack where his murdered daughter was taken by the kidnapper. Not knowing what - or who - to expect there, he goes, and begins a journey of discovery and healing when he finds himself in the company of God - the Holy Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all there.
It's an interesting portrayal of God. The Father (Papa, as God is known in Mackenzie's family) was played by Octavia Spencer. Apparently this was criticized by some who couldn't stand the idea of God being black. Or a woman. Or a black woman. Whatever. The point was that this was an image of God Mackenzie would be comfortable with. And God was very comfortable - admittedly almost too comfortable at times, although in the end Mackenzie is forced to confront some painful things before his healing can start. Certainly, though, it's a very "touchy, feely" portrayal of God that some might be uncomfortable with. I thought, though, that it provided an image of a very tender God who stands with his children and never abandons them - even though they sometimes feel abandoned. And it raises a lot of the difficult theological questions that all of us grapple with. The presence and the power of evil; God's role in evil; issues of judgement and forgiveness. They're all there. I wouldn't say that it's an entirely orthodox portrayal of God by any means. And, yes, to acknowledge one of the main theological criticisms the story received from a lot of Christian circles - it does have a universalist tinge to it for those who are offended by that theological viewpoint. (I would say that I'm not a universalist - because being a universalist is itself being judgemental - but I'm open to the possibility that God might be - so that didn't really bother me.) I did like the fact that the Father in one scene switches from a black woman to an older male for scenes where Mackenzie needed a real "father figure." I enjoyed the playfulness of Jesus (Avraham Aviv Alush) and the gentleness of Sarayu (the Holy Spirit.) It was really a very warm and comforting image of God.
It's not going to be to everyone's taste - and, being an overtly Christian, faith-based movie - it's going to push a lot of people to the extreme ends of the "loved it/hated it" spectrum. I'm not sure I got as far as loving it - but I did enjoy it very much. (8/10)
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For Religious and Spiritualistic Believers Only
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILER: When he was a thirteen year-old boy, Mack killed his abusive and alcoholic father with strychnine in his booze. Years later, Mack Phillips (Sam Worthington) is happily married with Nan (Radha Mitchell) and they have three children: Kate (Megan Charpentier), Josh (Gage Munroe) and the girl Missy Phillips (Amelie Eve). While camping with his family in a weekend, Missy is abducted and killed by the kidnapper, destroying Mack's life. One day, he receives a note from God that he calls Papa (Octavia Spencer) asking him to go to the shack where his daughter was killed. He meets Jesus (Avraham Aviv Alush), Sarayu (Sumire) and Sophia (Alice Braga) and he has an experience of discoveries and redemption.
"The Shack" is a film for religious and spiritualistic believers only. It is very hard for an atheist of non-religious (or Christian) person to accept the forgiveness that Mack is supposed to give to the killer of his beloved daughter. In addition, the film is politically correct, with God represented by a black woman, Jesus by an Israeli actor and the Holy Spirit by a Japanese actress. Therefore "The Shack" can only be recommended for very specific audiences; otherwise will be corny and boring. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): "A Cabana" ("The Shack")
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You Will Come Away From This One Thinking - And Feeling
This is a wonderful family film. Here's a tip for Hollywood. My friend and I go to a matinée pretty much every week. There are sometimes, at most, a dozen, sometimes a half dozen, people in the theater. For this one? The room was a good half full. Now tell me why Hollywood insists on producing nasty, foul, poorly-written and acted pieces of trash all the time? Really. Anyway, this one gives you so much to think about. There are several instances of symbolism in this picture that took my breath away, that brought me to tears. Well written, well-acted, this one is so worth seeing. I am anxious to see it again and trust me, that isn't often the case. I took away from that theater a new feeling and I've thought about several of the lines of dialogue many times since. The truth and the trust of this picture will stay with you. I know it did me. I am always surprised by Tim McGraw. The man can surely sing, but he can also act. He's a natural. Octavia Spencer seems to be in about every movie there is lately - well, not quite but still - however, there is a reason. She is wonderful. She brings her role to life every time. And she most certainly did in this one. Trust me, this is one you want to see. Take your family. Take your friends. Or go alone. Doesn't matter. Just see it.
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The Best Spiritual Movie I've Ever Seen
If you are spiritual, but not religious, see this movie. If you are religious, see this movie. If you have suffered a great tragedy or loss, and you are in pain, see this movie. If you have tried to make sense of spirituality and religion but could not, see this movie. It is full of wisdom and metaphor and not your standard religious dogma. It's the best spiritual movie I have yet to see.
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with it for the first hour
Mack Phillips (Sam Worthington) grew up under a drunken abusive father who hides his violence using religion. Mack is married to religious Nan (Radha Mitchell) with three kids. Willie (Tim McGraw) is his best friend. His religious doubts are pushed to the limits when his youngest Missy goes missing. A child killer is suspected and evidence leads to a rundown shack. Missy is assumed killed and his family is shattered. Then he gets a mysterious letter from papa inviting him to the shack. There he meets Papa (Octavia Spencer), Jesus, and Sarayu as well as others such as Sophia (Alice Braga) and Male Papa (Graham Greene).
I bought into most of the first hour as a kind of modified biblical Job story. While it's nothing special, it does seem like it's building up to something better and more poignant. Then the movie goes on for over another hour and it's a slough. We're stuck with sad sack Sam Worthington and the magical black character. It becomes a lot of religious psychobabble and melodramatic tea service. The story should climax to a poignant and enlightening resolution. Instead, it rambles on and on endlessly. Even walking on water leaves one bored to death. It might be filled with religious significance and debate but it's done in a terribly boring way. As an aside, I would change the name Mackenzie Phillips or just simply use Mack as Mack. It's a little odd to use Mackenzie Phillips. It's like using John Wayne but make no references to John Wayne.
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Not your typical Christian film
I am not a regular church goer, nor did I have high expectations for this film at all, and I do not cry in films, but this movie made me ball. Most Christian films fall flat and can be subjective, but this was different. I knew people who were fans of the book and highly anticipated the film, but seeing it is not a movie, it is an experience not to be missed. The values of forgiveness and true faith are challenged and as the viewer it was overwhelming. Better than any of the Oscar nominations this year.
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Mostly inaudible
Why do a lot of modern male actors have voices like they've been stabbed through the voice box ???. Speak up men !!!, so we can understand you, it's not cool to whisper !!!!.
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Beautiful, Profound, Moving
"The Shack" is a beautiful, profound, and moving film. I'm a lifelong movie fan and I always look at reviews before I go to see movies. Of course I went to Rotten Tomatoes and saw that "The Shack" had received uniformly bad reviews. There is something wrong with the critics who panned this movie. They probably have a problem with Christianity. I think if a similar film had been made in Iran, about Islam, with English subtitles, it would receive an Academy Award nomination. Don't let these bitter, twisted souls keep you from seeing "The Shack."
The plot is simple. Mack, (Sam Worthington), an American husband and father, suffers an unbearable loss. He and other family members sink into depression. One day, Mack receives an invitation to return to the shack, the site of the worst moment of Mack's life. He does return, and there he meets spiritual guides played by Octavia Spencer, Aviv Alush, Sumire Matsubara, Graham Greene, and Alice Braga (niece of Sonya Braga). Mack engages in conversation with these spiritual entities. He eventually returns to normal life with a changed outlook.
The film gets off to a rocky start. There is an unnecessary and amateurish voice-over narration by country music star Tim McGraw, who stars as Mack's friend. Otherwise, though, McGraw is excellent on screen, displaying an understated charisma and authenticity that are totally beyond the film's actual star, Sam Worthington. In fact I wish Tim McGraw had played Mack and Sam Worthington had played the best friend.
Too, there are many shifts in time in the opening scenes. There are flashbacks on top of flashbacks and a shocking crime that the movie never makes much use of. Once the movie gets started, about fifteen minutes in, it gets good.
Sam Worthington is okay as Mack. The thing is, his Australian accent is evident in virtually every word he speaks. Again, I wish the filmmakers had made McGraw the star.
Radha Mitchell is good looking but chilly as Mack's wife. She looks like a movie star, not like a wife, and that took away from the film for me.
The rest of the cast is excellent. Octavia Spencer is assigned to play an almost impossible part, and she handles it with great professionalism and depth. Aviv Alush is especially good. Moviegoers have waited a long time for a star like this to play this part, and he knocks it out of the park.
The production values are high. The scenery is lush. I was especially moved by how this family-friendly film handles the tragedy at the center of Mack's depression and alienation from God. The exact words are never used. Graphic images are never shown. Yet we know exactly what happened, and it breaks our hearts and causes us to ask the same questions that Mack asks.
Either you want to see a movie where an average man works out how to deal with unbearable tragedy or you don't. Me, I loved sitting there watching Mack wrestle with his pain and his faith. Many self- identified Christians hate this movie with a white hot hatred. Big name Christian leaders have denounced it as heretical. One man told me that seeing the movie would be the equivalent of shooting heroin.
It think these folks are wearing their shorts much too tight. The film is an allegory. Any thinking person who has been through pain has had the same questions as Mack, and anyone who has read the Bible or other spiritual literature has pondered the same potential answers. I sincerely doubt that any film-goer is going to leave the theater thinking that he or she has actually seen God on screen, or heard God's thoughts about human tragedy. Rather, like any good allegory, the film sets us on our own path of spiritual exploration. That's a very good thing.
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Advertisment gone to heaven
How religious are you? Well it might be helping or not in your enjoyment of the movie. It tries a lot of things and most are quite spiritual to say the least. So if you believe (no pun intended), it will probably reaffirm. If you don't ... I don't think this movie will be able to convince or convert you.
We're not talking realism here, we're talking believe. So if that sounds interesting or boring, go with your gut and either watch or skip it. You can make the right decision.
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The Shack
The Shack was a triumph. There was not one dull moment to the movie to the shack. If you loved the book then you will love the movie. It is one of those movies where you would wish would never end. This movie has sad moments funny moments and it has a little bit for everyone to enjoy. The shack is a movie that you don't have to be a Christian to enjoy you just have to think the movie looks good have to like the book then go see the movie that everyone will be talking about. It is a brilliant movie and a work of art on the big screen.
Parents this is a PG-13 rated movie that has a lot of adult and thematic the AMA, but besides that it is a movie for the whole family will enjoy. This film is one to remember for years and years you will love it
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Well-intended but clumsy and long-winded
Mack Phillips is happily married with three children. When a family tragedy shatters their carefree existence, Mack becomes bitter and depressed and the family starts to drift apart. Out of the blue he receives an invitation to return to where the tragedy took place, a deserted cabin known simply as The Shack. Thing is - the invitation is from God...
Well-intended but clumsy and long-winded. The aim was to portray the Christian message in a relatable way, especially how it pertains to tragedy and grief. However, it takes forever to get there, and does so in a folksy, licence-taking, sermonising sort of way.
Part of the problem is that the producers hedged their bets in terms of who their target audience was, trying to make it for Christian and non-Christian audiences alike and thus diluting the effect on both parties. Christians will probably find the movie overly simplistic and dumbed-down, and even inaccurate in some respects. Non-Christians, and movie-goers in general, will be put off by the overly long set-up before the important stuff, and then then how that is also drawn out. In addition, the message delivery is not too subtle, so the feeling that you're being lectured to may be off-putting to some too.
It's not all bad though. There are some good messages along the way and the end ties things together reasonably well. That would require watchers to make it to the end though...
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It Put Me To Sleep
Warning: Spoilers
For real.
45 minutes in and my lids went droopy. An hour was all I could take.
Forget the fact that I am a believer. I didn't enjoy this film not because it didn't frame my belief system appropriately (it did actually), I didn't like this film because it is just plain dumb. I can not accept or rate a film favorably just because it reflects my own beliefs. It actually has to be a well developed story.
It isn't.
You'll have more fun sitting in a broken lawn chair watching a tire burn in an open field.
My first problem was the folksy and assuming narration that takes place in the first 5-10 minutes. It was completely unnecessary and condescending and made me feel as if the director assumed we'd be too dumb to follow the plot.
Next was Sam Worthington's character 'Mack'. Worthington has been in some impressive big-budget flicks but he totally bombs here. The emotional range he exhibits barley moves the needle and he speaks virtually all his lines slightly above a gravely whisper.
I wanted to slap the guy just to get a reaction out of him. His 'strong silent type' portrayal bit wore me out fast.
A close third was the ridiculously clever dialog Mack has with his children and pals before the tragedy of his youngest daughter being taken. Nobody in real life talks like that, especially not children, and I always find it tremendously irritating. This type of script has never once helped me to suspend my dis-belief.
Octavia Spencer's portrayal of God or 'Papa' was the final straw. Papa always looks very pleased with herself and bemused by Mack's troubling questions and can only answer back in riddles or questions of her own with a big fat sickening smile.
That's when I said 'That's it' and walked out of the nearly abandoned theater (there were only two other customers) and into the early afternoon daylight.
Slow as a snail, dull, uneventful, and as I said before, just plain dumb.
The only people that are going to rate this film favorably are terrified of making God mad. Yeah, well He's had a load of me over the years and I'm still here.
You could never get me to watch this again.
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An incredibly touching story
This film tells the story of a man who loses his young daughter during a camping trip. He grieves for the loss of his daughter, and his process is eased by a trip to the heavenly shack.
Grief is a difficult process to deal with, especially after such a traumatic experience. The heavenly intervention is a beautiful process. The process of healing is universal, and it's beautifully portrayed in this film. Through various reflections and exercises, the beauty of life, forgiveness and the need to move on are conveyed.
It drove me to tears many times because it is very touching. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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The Shack is a genuine mess of a film
Sometimes you watch a movie that you can't quite fathom was made, The Shack is one of those such movies.
An adaptation of William P. Young's New York Times best-selling faith based book of the same name, Exam director Stuart Hazeldine has here crafted one of the most long-winded and misguided films of last year that will surely make its way onto many of the end of year worst of lists that have been jotted down for the 2017 film year.
As someone who read Young's book (virtually by chance, I promise), The Shack was always going to be a seriously hard proposition when it came to bringing it to life on the big screen but there was a possibility it could've been something quite special but that possibility is very quickly dashed in the very early stages of Hazeldine's effort in what's some uneven groundwork for a film that slowly (very very slowly) gets worse as the runtime edges on past the 2 hour mark.
Centred around Sam Worthington's grieving father Mackenzie Phillips, who is struggling to overcome the abduction and murder of his young daughter Missy, only to one day find himself invited to the "shack" where Missy was killed by Papa aka God.
From here on in Mack gets to enjoy a retreat with godly entities that teach him about life, love, forgiveness and various other life affirming scenarios and what we get is some very misguided melodrama and further evidence that Australian export Worthington needs these long-gestating Avatar sequels to arrive quick smart.
There's been a number of question marks following Worthington around in the wake of Avatar's success about just how competent of an actor he in fact is and for anyone that counts themselves as a doubter of Worthington's acting credentials, The Shack will likely be all the proof you need that the mumbling lead doesn't possess a great prowess of the big screen.
Literally whispering a majority of his dialogue, struggling to hide his native Australian tinged accent and generally doing the years worst sad/crying face, Worthington is horribly miscast as the tormented Mack, even if scenes of him running on water and wondering a field of souls to make peace with his alcoholic dad provide some of the funniest (even if unintentionally so) film moments of 2017.
Other notable actors like fellow Australian Radha Mitchell and country music star Tim McGraw don't fare much better in the film while Octavia Spencer's turn as the cooking/tea drinking Papa is equally as bad as Worthington's turn and the recognisable actress needs to work a lot harder should she wish to become something more than a regular and tiresome repeater of her career making The Help turn.
Final Say -
A sleep inducing exercise in big-scale faith based movie making, The Shack should never have seen the light of day and without Avatar, this would be a real career killer for Worthington, whose failed to prove he has what it takes to carry a film outside of James Cameron's 3-D alien landscape. If you can stay awake, The Shack is however one of those so bad its funny film's, making it a potentially great double bill with The Room.
1 vial of tears out of 5
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Divinely crafted
I never thought I will appreciate movie genres like this.Lately I have been watching sci-fi, suspense and romance themed movies. At first I have no plan of watching this movie, but my attention was caught when a friend of mine told me what was this all about. I must say, the movie was "divinely crafted". This was the first movie that really punched my ego and played my emotions. Some parts of the movie can rip your soul and enlighten you about the divinity of God, the nature of life, the circumstances that we do not understand. The story was beautifully and intricately written, absolutely.
If you watch the movie, you will really feel that God was there, in front of you, talking to you, loving you, giving you ideas that encompass human comprehension.
"Why does it have to happen?, why do we have to suffer?, If God does exist, why wont he show then?", these are questions common to us, surely you have asked these questions yourself.
If you are that person who questions the incomprehensible course of fate, circumstance and life, this movie is for you.
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Great to see an Awesome movie on the big screen!
I have to admit that I had no idea that Sam Worthington has the acting chops that he proved to have in this movie! I found the movie to be uplifting and inspirational and very earthy in dealing with some dark topics. It walked me through a path of forgiveness and grieving and how to get to the other side using my brain in a way that I don't think I processed before. This really is a very entertaining and fun way to show how to get there in a very compassionate way.
It's just a really good movie with a lot of really great messages. I'm going to go see it again. I hope everyone sees it at least once
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Always trying to be reasonable... but....
Where to start. I know, how about the end. I was so extremely happy when this ended. Never have I engaged in a flick that made me not just uncomfortable, but aggravated. To the core.
There is this little thing called storytelling. I don't care what kind of messages the movie, and I suppose the book, wanted to impart. The art of storytelling matters. This did not get past first base in this most basic function... how to tell a story. It was just one point nailed into your brain after the other. I may as well have just read a scientific journal or the periodic chart or the ingredients of a box of corn flakes and garnered the same bullet points.
I cannot even delve further into things like the acting, the production value, the... aw... fugetaboutit. That this failed on the most fundamental level of telling a story, it is senseless to examine anything else deeper. Absolutely dull as... well.. this will now be my new standard to when articulating the definition of empty, dull, gutless... a full expression of a vacuum.
To the writers, directors, those who fund things like this... stop. Pick another field. Storytelling is not something you understand, so stop before you try it again.
An absolute zero of a film.
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Ugh, just no!
Look, there's no denying, this is a very well made film and it does look absolutely beautiful on screen. I just didn't enjoy it.
'The Shack' is one big, shameless advertisement for Christianity. I'm usually very open-minded when it comes to religious films, but this was manipulative - expecting you to swallow all the garbage they fed you. All their (constant) explanations on how God is always good and "with you" becomes tedious and quite ridiculous, actually. Nothing here was believable, especially the God and Jesus characters. By now we have a stereotypical image of God and Jesus, and here we see God portrayed as a black woman and Jesus as a Muslim-looking man. We somehow believe God to be the image of a man, don't we?
I found the film quite boring and overlong. So, the explanation on why God takes innocent lives is supposed to give solace? I didn't believe any of it. Sam Worthington is a good actor and did his character justice. And he truly is mighty fine to look at. As for the film, I'm sorry, I definitely won't be watching it again. It was one-dimensional and might as well have been a marketing campaign for the Church...
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it was a religious bashing
Warning: Spoilers
The film started well, but something about it was instantly concerning. It was like a re- enactment from a TV crime show, and not actually telling a story, and unfortunately the beginning was the best part. The more you get into the film, you realize why this was the case. They were just setting you up for rant about religion, and how god is all knowing and blameless. It reminded me of all the poor suckers that got conned into a secret engagement with a friend, only to find out they were selling Amway products. That's how it felt, I was duped into thinking I was getting a movie, I wasn't, it was a ridiculous religious fantasy film, but it pretended to be about a father coming to grips with the loss of his kidnapped and murdered daughter.
There are too many flashbacks, to the point where you often can't remember when the last bump on the head actually goes back to. Sam Worthington as the father was very one dimensional, very sullen and melancholy throughout the entire film, right up until the very end where he experiences his religious awakening. His accent often changed from American to Australian quite regularly too I might add. The film covers ground from when he was a boy and treated badly by his father, then onto him as a father with his own kids. He takes them on a camping trip, when disaster strikes and one of his kids fall off the canoe and gets trapped underneath. While he is frantically trying to save one son, his daughter is abducted by a felon, apparently well known to local police. There isn't a lot of detail given about the actual specifics of the crime, it is pretty much brushed over. It is merely a tool to alert us as an audience that there are intense levels of sadness, confusion and life questioning situations to come.
Time passes, there's some confusing interactions with a neighbour, his own father. One day he borrows the neighbor's 4WD to go back to the 'Shack' where his little girl's clothes were originally located after the abduction. Things go weird here. He gets to the shack, or so we believe, and somehow gets knocked unconscious. But what we see is 'Mack' transported to another world where he meets several people that represent the likeness of god. The dialogue is all about him being angry at god about the loss of his child, but in the film, god never really satisfies the viewer with a shred of a decent answer, just merely shallow propositions you might hear from any experienced politician dodging the real issues. Not to mention the fact that the bible itself makes everyone blameless for almost anything once they ask for god's forgiveness, because god loves all, even the murderers. Mack is s'posed to learn to forgive, and we see Mack learning to forgive for the next hour, literally, it's painful to watch. He is even asked to choose between his own kids, just as god chooses, asking if he should send one to hell, and one to heaven, it makes little sense because his kids had done nothing wrong, unlike his daughters killer. God then questions whether Mack has the right to judge the killer, or maybe the killers father, or that father etc etc, the question being, how far back do you go? God is blameless among all this because it is evil doing this, it isn't god, and god can't choose what is right, and whether or not to intervene. There are no answers in this film, not even in a playfully interesting way, it's a frustrating dialogue to listen to for that long.
I'm not really a religious person, I don't mind the odd Christian feel good movie, I liked 'Highway To Heaven', but this was too much and badly done, was not very entertaining, and left me questioning why an actor from a great film like 'Avatar' would consider putting his hand up for this rubbish. Maybe things are real tight in Hollywood at the moment. I could go on about how crap this film was in many other areas, but I think you get the picture. Could do a lot of damage to Worthington's career, its showcased just how bland he can be.
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Religious justification for stinking at every moment.
Warning: Spoilers
This movie started pretty good... Then it forgot to keep doing so.
The acting is bad, painfully bad, not "sharknado" levels of bad, but it is not hilarious as in sharknado.
The plot is extremely lame: It is just retelling the bible and the churches justification of every moronic element in their system... even when they have been rebutted by a 4 years old in the first 10 minutes of the film. The movie just kills her and forgets about it. It also contradicts itself frequently... but hey! it is not like you will notice. But you will do. If you don't, the dialoge will tell you if you halfass listen.
The cinematography is actually excellent... and so is the photography. Too bad it was wasted in this braindead borefest for gullible people.
Boring.
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Religious movie
Warning: Spoilers
This movie is really for religious people I'd say.
It was really tough to watch and I have a hard time believing that someone would forgive someone who's murdered their child. I know that I definitely wouldn't!! It's very thought provoking and I see the message they're trying to get across to the audience, but I'm not sure I can get behind it sadly. Some scenes were so incredibly sad and brought me to tears. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, the scenery is beautiful for a start. But I won't be watching it again.
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Terrible storyline
Being a Christian myself, I was very eager to watch this movie. Sadly though after seeing it I think it is just terrible. Whoever wrote the script or the novel must be very liberal, because the movie portrays God as being very liberal. By the way I had no problems with God appearing as a woman in the movie.
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Uugh! I was hoodwinked!
If you start watching this movie thinking it's a dark and compelling murder mystery think again. It's NOT! The trailer and the plot summary are misleading.
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The Vidiot Reviews...
Warning: Spoilers
The Shack
God lets children die because he needs their souls to work the coal-mines in Heaven.
However, this drama maintains that Paradise adheres to all child labour laws.
Family man Mack (Sam Worthington) is destroyed when a serial killer abducts and murders his daughter while she is on a camping trip. In his grief Mack receives a mysterious letter telling him to come to a shack in the woods.
Assuming he's there to meet his daughter's kidnapper, Mack is shocked to discover three strangers (Octavia Spencer, Sumire, Avraham Aviv Alush) inside, waiting to teach him all about forgiving his enemies.
Well it no doubt has an interesting, albeit unrealistic, take on absolution, this melodramatic adaptation of the self-published Canadian best seller comes with some heavy proselytizing and hokey acting from both human and deity alike.
Moreover, if the Trinity only needs a shack, why does the Pope need a whole city?
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Source: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2872518/reviews
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