Paul, Apostle of Christ

PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST is a film about Paul of Tarsus. His Jewish name is Saul, and he persecuted the Christian church. The New Testament book Acts illustrates Saul experiencing a conversion. Later on the island of Cyprus he is called Paul. Paul is author of 13 out of 27 books in the New Testament.

The film chronicles Paul's (played by James Faulkner) later years in a Roman prison during Emperor Nero's reign. Paul is seen as a threat to the Roman Empire and will be executed. This is a very dark time for Christians, and many, such as Aquilla (John Lynch) and his wife Priscilla (Joanne Whalley), lived in hiding out of fear of being burned like candles. Writer and director Andrew Hyatt captures this extremely well, as most of the movie is dark with very little light. Hyatt's direction is excellent and the cast is phenomenal.

Saint Luke, a physician, is played by Jim Caviezel (who many will recognize as the actor who portrays Jesus in THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST). Luke risks his life going inside Mamertine Prison to visit Paul. Christians view Paul as a highly respected apostle who is wise, and Luke writes his words, which later become the book of Acts. Paul's jailer, Mauritius (Olivier Martinez), is the one other person he communicates with, as Mauritius struggles to understand how Paul has such a powerful effect on so many people.

PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST is a relevant movie, because not only does it remind the audience that "where sin abounds, grace abounds more," the filmmakers dedicate it to Christians who are currently being persecuted in various parts of the world. PAUL, APOSTLE OF CHRIST is currently playing in theatres. The official Web site is http://www.paulmovie.com/site/.

Samson

SAMSON is an action drama film. It is based on the man Samson who is mentioned in the book of Judges in the Old Testament of the Bible. Samson is known for his strength. In the movie he expresses God gives him great strength as long as he does not drink wine, touch a dead body, or cut his hair. The great strength allows him to battle an entire Philistine army and kill a lion with his bare hands.

Samson (played by Taylor James) is called by God to lead his people. They rely on his strength when dealing with cruel treatment from the Philistines. Billy Zane plays King Balek, who orders his son Rallah (played by Jackson Rathbone) to kill Samson, but Rallah wants to keep Samson alive so he can discover why Samson is so strong. As a result, Rallah pays a woman named Delilah (played by Caitlin Leahy) to ask Samson about the source of his strength so that he can obtain it. Samson is faithful to God (that is his real strength) and hesitates, but eventually tells Delilah. His decision to share with Delilah changes everything.

SAMSON is currently playing in theatres. The official Web site is https://samsonmovie.pureflix.com/.

The Bible

THE BIBLE miniseries currently on the History Channel is an excellent adaptation of the Bible. In the past filmmakers have focused on one book of the Bible. But executive producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett have endeavored to adapt the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

THE BIBLE shows all the drama, conflict, romance, and redemption of the Bible in its proper time period. However, it is filmed for a present day audience. For example, the special effects for the parting of the Red Sea could not have been filmed as magnificently as it was if this miniseries had been produced before the technology used to create it.

Watching THE BIBLE miniseries is similar to reading the book, THE STORY. THE STORY is the Bible as one continuing story of God and His people. THE STORY is written in the New International Version (NIV), condensed into 31 chapters, so it can be read like a novel.