DreamTinder

This documentary gives us a peek inside the American evangelical movement that has infiltrated the highest levels of politics, and that is now openly trying to bring about Armageddon in order to speed up the second coming of Christ.

American evangelists have very little in common with most Christians around the world, who read the Bible stories allegorically and value meekness, kindness, tolerance, and humility when it comes to understanding God's will. By contrast, the American evangelists not only read the Bible literally, they also believe that Jesus was preaching war, and that America will play a central role in a violent cosmic conflict between good and evil.

You'd think that a democracy as powerful as the USA would base its domestic and foreign policies on democratic ideals. Apparently, it now bases many policies on interpretations of Bible verses. In this film we see a nation building a 'Christian army' in preparation for 'the final conflict,' a holy war where Jesus himself is supposed to act as Commander in Chief. Even American-made weapons now have Bible verses on them. The enemies named in the documentary include "the homosexual movement", the transgenders, the pro-choicers, and "anyone who hasn't accepted Jesus as their savior".

The ultimate goal? To win the holy war and establish a powerful theocracy led by Christ himself. Yeah, this is a real-life Gilead in the making, and it's going to be just as anti-democratic, if these people get what they want. Only heterosexual fundamentalist Christians are welcome in their new world order.

This version of Christianity is based on modern interpretations of the New Testament, and is perpetuated by a group of powerful mega-church preachers who - among other things - currently run Bible study sessions in the White House and tell churchgoers across America who to vote for. According to this documentary, some presidential candidates actually turn to one of those preachers for advice, and they call him 'The King Maker'. Apparently he's the one who decided Trump had to be elected a second term in order for a biblical prophecy to come true. That's why they got violent when he lost in 2020; this wasn't just any election - God himself needed him to win.

It sounds like a dystopian nightmare, but apparently it's real life now. While only about 30 percent of American voters are evangelical Christians, the fundamentalist teachings of this movement have taken hold of US politics. This documentary paints a bleak and frightening picture of contemporary America that's in the process of losing its democratic foundation.

Fascinating story with many layers, intelligently told. It deals with many heavy topics - conformity, dysfunction, motherhood, rebellion, class, race, sexuality, and privilege - but never in a preachy way. The viewers are always free to decide for themselves who's right and who's wrong in any given storyline, and it's often hard to decide. I changed my standpoint several time over the eight episodes, as more layers were revealed. I love that kind of complexity in a movie or series. The show definitely takes you on a rollercoaster ride of conflicting emotions.

The only character that I found impossibly difficult to sympathize with was Mia (Kerry Washington), which made me wonder if either the casting or the direction was off. I feel like the way the character Mia is written makes her really likeable, but the Mia we get on screen has such a terrible attitude and demeanor that she doesn't deserve any of the help she is offered. Heavy baggage or not, you can still be polite and smile once in a while.

Most actors did a great job, though. Even the young ones.

This series made me want to read the book it's based on, which says something about the quality of the storytelling.

This is exactly my kind of film, so I went into The Brutalist with high expectations. I was genuinely excited to finally see it, but what a colossal disappointment. I know it's not a popular opinion, but I think time will show how incredibly overrated this film is, when ten years from now everyone will ask themselves why it was even considered a good movie, let alone a great one.

It starts off promising enough, but it quickly spirals into a directionless mess. The film is overloaded with heavy themes, seemingly to compensate for its lack of coherent structure, yet it never digs deep into any of them. It's so desperate to feel profound that it forgets to be engaging or even remotely entertaining. What we're left with is a flimsy narrative propped up by random bouts of trauma porn, masquerading as something meaningful.

At a grueling 3 hours and 34 minutes, the movie feels like a test of endurance, daring you to care even for a second. I had to force myself to sit through it, enduring some of the most gratuitous and awkward sex scenes I've ever seen, alongside dialogue that clings to false profundity like a lifeline.

If it were based on a true story, there might have been at least some emotional anchor, but since it's entirely fictional, I'm left wondering what the point of it all is-other than obvious Oscar bait.

That said, there are two redeeming qualities: Alessandro Nivola's sensitive performance, and the solid cinematography.