Left me with tears in my eyes, and utterly convinced..."Heaven is for Real"
$34,000,000
That's the amount of money people have spent at the Box Office, to date, showing that they love the movie Heaven is for Real.
And I am now one of them!
Read on for my review of the movie.
about the movie....
Based on the #1 New York Times best-selling book of the same name, HEAVEN IS FOR REAL brings to the screen the true story of a small-town father who must find the courage and conviction to share his son's extraordinary, life-changing experience with the world. The film stars Academy Award® nominee and Emmy® award winning actor Greg Kinnear as Todd Burpo and co-stars Kelly Reilly as Sonja Burpo, the real-life couple whose son Colton (newcomer Connor Corum) claims to have visited Heaven during a near death experience. Colton recounts the details of his amazing journey with childlike innocence and speaks matter-of-factly about things that happened before his birth ... things he couldn't possibly know. Todd and his family are then challenged to examine the meaning from this remarkable event.
my review....
My wife and I went and viewed the movie "Heaven is For Real" tonight, and we left having shed tears, having smiled, laughed, and utterly convinced that indeed heaven exists and awaits us one glorious day! I greatly enjoyed the film from start to finish, from the moving screenplay to the incredible acting by Connor Corum (who played Colton) and indeed those who played his parents and sister and the supporting cast. Now, there are a few moments in the movie where it feels like you are watching a made-for-t.v. movie. But there are so many other scenes where I was swept away by the beautiful cinematography. The wonderful score and powerful acting truly moved me to tears - and I certainly wasn't the only one in the theater wiping my eyes!
I have read both the adult version of "Heaven is For Real", and also the children's version, and so I am very familiar with the Burpo's story. I thought the film did a fantastic job at representing what they experienced, and I love that it portrays their lives with such humanness. Viewers are offered a glimpse into the doubts that Colton's parents struggled with, and the movie is all the more powerful for acknowledging that it would be difficult for even the most ardent believers to trust that what their son is telling them actually happened to him. By the end of the movie, viewers will be offered a choice - to believe that what happened to Colton is possible, or doubt that Jesus gave Colton the gift that he did. I know that I believe God is completely amazing enough to give a child a glimpse into eternity - and the result is that millions around the world have been offered hope from reading the book and now watching the movie. We are reminded that the earthly struggles and trials we endure are not the end of things. Rather, heaven awaits - a heaven we cannot even comprehend for the joy it will bring us! I loved that the movie so clearly focuses on Jesus, that he will forgive any and all wrongs when we but ask, and that he died for us all (and was given the "markers" Colton references in his hands and his feet). This movie will leave people talking, and whether they disagree or agree with what they see, they will be great conversations!
All in all, the movie "Heaven is For Real" offers the best we could hope for in an evening out at the movies - a well-done movie that will not only entertain you, but leave you deep in thought about what really matters in life. Now that's a winner in my books!
(My thanks to Sony Pictures and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the complementary movie passes allowing me to view this film and write this unbiased review).
I have read both the adult version of "Heaven is For Real", and also the children's version, and so I am very familiar with the Burpo's story. I thought the film did a fantastic job at representing what they experienced, and I love that it portrays their lives with such humanness. Viewers are offered a glimpse into the doubts that Colton's parents struggled with, and the movie is all the more powerful for acknowledging that it would be difficult for even the most ardent believers to trust that what their son is telling them actually happened to him. By the end of the movie, viewers will be offered a choice - to believe that what happened to Colton is possible, or doubt that Jesus gave Colton the gift that he did. I know that I believe God is completely amazing enough to give a child a glimpse into eternity - and the result is that millions around the world have been offered hope from reading the book and now watching the movie. We are reminded that the earthly struggles and trials we endure are not the end of things. Rather, heaven awaits - a heaven we cannot even comprehend for the joy it will bring us! I loved that the movie so clearly focuses on Jesus, that he will forgive any and all wrongs when we but ask, and that he died for us all (and was given the "markers" Colton references in his hands and his feet). This movie will leave people talking, and whether they disagree or agree with what they see, they will be great conversations!
All in all, the movie "Heaven is For Real" offers the best we could hope for in an evening out at the movies - a well-done movie that will not only entertain you, but leave you deep in thought about what really matters in life. Now that's a winner in my books!
(My thanks to Sony Pictures and HarperCollins Christian Publishing for the complementary movie passes allowing me to view this film and write this unbiased review).
***
And be sure to check out my review of the Children's version of "Heaven is for Real" - my kids absolutely love the book: http://christianfictionaddiction.blogspot.ca/2011/10/book-review-heaven-is-for-real-for-kids.html
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