Rust, an inspirational film starring Golden Globe nominee Corbin Bernsen, was a nice surprise. A little fed up with many of the plot-poor movies of late, I found myself browsing the shelves at Blockbuster not even hoping to find anything worth watching, when I stumbled into this title.

Rust Movie Theme

Rust tells the story of James Moore, a former pastor going through a midlife crisis of faith. Unable to come to terms with his doubts, he returns to his hometown seeking answers he hopes to find at the old church where he initially felt his calling as a child.

Upon his return, James finds the place quite changed, and he learns of a local family who perished in a fire apparently set by Travis, his childhood friend and local loon. James goes to visit Travis in jail, and while he is a little surprised about his friend’s implication, he can’t but accept the man’s own rendition of what happened the fatal night of the fire.

A few days later, a disturbed local youth takes his life, and the town mourns the loss while collectively shaking its head at what could have motivated the young man to go through with such an unthinkable act. James continues to visit Travis in jail, and time after time, he becomes more and more convinced of the man’s innocence, even if Travis himself accepts his fate as it is; his memorable words at some point: “My mother is fine; I am fine. It’s all according to God’s plan – He creates the plan, we only have to play our part.”

Mindless of Travis’s acceptance of whatever plan may be at play, James begins to dig deeper to find out what truly happened. Friendship and an unquenchable thirst for justice set him on a path of discovery sometimes at odds with the will of the rest of the town, only too glad to have someone to blame for the deaths. The plot continues to evolve in a crescendo of events interesting enough to stand out, yet average enough to be credible.

The film makes many excellent points. One of them is James’s growing awareness of each person being connected to everyone else.

Rust Movie Trailer

Rust is one of those rare movies with a story so compelling that it stands out on its own, without need of explosions or foul language to capture one’s attention. Rust is heartwarming and profound; definitely a movie that can be enjoyed by the whole family, and one filled with powerful lessons that will likely stick with the viewer for a long time to come.

Flowers of the Son is an emotionally gripping, real-life look at the struggle to stand for Jesus in Israel. Only one-tenth of one percent of Israeli Jews know Jesus – the rest don’t even know his name.

Flowers of the Son movie trailer is given right below.

Israel is home to some seven and a half million people. But to billions others, it is a stray and distant thought—the very mention of which often evokes images of terrorism, religious conflict, and concrete rubble. But from amid the sounds of conflict, one group of missionaries hears the cry for peace and salvation.

Flowers of the Son documents the experiences of the volunteers participating in “Behold Your God,” a four week evangelistic outreach that spans twelve geographic regions of Israel. Through pamphlets, banners, skits, musical performances, phone calls, and door-to-door visits, these missionaries engage both young and old, religious and irreligious in conversation about the Messiah, Y’shua.

Directed, written, and produced by Emmy award-winners Herb and Amy Kossover, Flowers of the Son packs quite the punch in a short, 30 minute time slot. Despite its slightly cloying, Hallmark card introduction, this half hour is not filled with typical evangelistic fare—there are no heartrending accounts of injured orphans and puppies, no sickening musical number. It is the truthful, occasionally gruesome story of what these missionaries face on a daily basis.

If you want to buy the DVD for $10, goto the movie store page

It is made apparent that whether serving on the front lines or behind the scenes, these campaign workers have the unity of an army and the resilience of soldiers. Despite their uniform of brightly colored t-shirts, they are of different genders and nationalities with unique gifts and testimonies. But just like the campaign itself, this film is a collaboration. The voices of all types of missionaries are heard through narrative, interviews, and both live and reenacted footage.

But the cries of opposition are also heard, loud and clear. Instances of verbal abuse and physical assault permeate the film, providing a realistic picture of the spiritual war that is taking place in the streets of Israel. Fortunately, there is hope amid the horror. Serving as the dessert of this cinematic meal, two inspiring accounts of religious seekers leave a lasting taste of promise.

Whether showing moments of the ugliness of human nature or the beauty of salvation, the audience will be captured by the stunning cinematography, enjoyable soundtrack (including the sounds of New Light Ruins), and vivid storytelling. Flowers of the Son inspires those around the world to look past the crumbling cement and to see the life that is bursting up through the cracks.

The Mysterious Islands – Movie Review

A Testimony to God’s Hand in Creation – A recently released documentary challenges Charles Darwin on “Ground Zero” of evolution: the Galapagos Islands. Led by Vision Forum founder Doug Phillips, the expedition covers the territory and animals Darwin visited and studied nearly 200 years ago, but comes to a very different conclusion.

Majestically filmed by award-winning Jon and Andy Erwin of Erwin Brothers Motion Pictures, the 90-minute documentary is told through the eyes of 16-year old Joshua Phillips, exploring with his father the world Charles Darwin wrote about.

The Mysterious Islands feature a lavish display of exotic animals in their native habitat including 150-year-old tortoises, flightless Cormorants, Blue Footed Boobies, and an albino whale shark, all seemingly without a normal fear of man. The tour guide related that he hadn’t seen such a rich display of animal life in 25 years.

“It’s the defining issue at the defining moment,” explained producer Doug Phillips, who planned the expedition in 2009 because of two key anniversary dates that occurred during the year — the 200th anniversary of Darwin’s birth on February 12 and 150th anniversary of the original publication of his Origin of Species on November 24. “I said ‘we’ve got to go to ground zero.’ We’ve got to go to basically the Jerusalem of the evolutionary worldview.”

Mediated Design

Instead of evolution, the documentary posits the idea of “Mediated Design,” that animals were created with genetic potential to adapt for survival. Where Darwin believed species developed from one animal into a different type, Mediated Design says that animals were created with the genetic potential to change. A salt-spitting iguana, remarkably similar to those in South America, developed it’s salt spitting potential when there was little food on land and the lizards had to feed in the sea and eliminate the salt from their bodies.

The Mysterious Islands is told through the eyes of 16-year-old Joshua Phillips on an adventure with his father. “The ideas and the vision of one generation will help shape the next, for good, or for evil. It was true in Darwin’s day, and it will be in mine as well,” Joshua says.

His father, Doug Phillips ends with, “We need to take our children to the field. We must take them to where the battle rages. The compromises of past generations have left a painful legacy for them to overcome, but by God’s grace they will overcome.”

The Mysterious Islands - Movie Trailer