"I'm In Love With A Church Girl"; "The Counselor"

The film "I'm In Love With A Church Girl" is a tale of mercy, where bad choices and an intimate relationship are on a collision course towards redemption.  Many Christ-followers will be able to relate to the themes presented in the drama by Galley Molina, which is based upon events in his own life. The story follows an entertainer named Miles Montego, played by rapper Jeff "Ja Rule" Atkins (song "I'm Always on Time" featuring Ashanti), who seems to have it all: money, good looks, posh home and stylish car.  Montego's involvement in a high level drug trafficking ring has the federal Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) spying on him.  Meanwhile, Montego meets a beautiful woman named Venessa Leon, played by Adrienne Bailon (Disney channel's "The Cheetah Girls"), who is involved in her local church.  Montego is a man turned-off from church tradition because of his own past.  The chemistry they experience together leads one another to face who they really are and ultimately to face God. With approximately a $3 million budget, director Steve Race ("Latino Comedy Fiesta Series") delivers the linear plot with limited ability and depth. There is a lot of talent lacking in this film.  Like the main character who strives for perfection, this film desperately focuses on its own image and thus true substance is easily missed.  Yet also like the main character in this film who receives grace, the film is saved, saved by its own genre, where the message is more valued by the author's community than the quality of performance, and it works.

The film "The Counselor" is a tale of wrath, where bad choices and an intimate relationship are on a collision course towards destruction.  Novelist Cormac McCarthy, known most recently for writing the novel adapted into the 2007 film "No Country for Old Men", returns to the big-screen this time writing his first original screenplay. The story follows a lawyer who is referred to as 'The Counselor.'  Played by Michael Fassbender ("Prometheus", "X-Men: First Class"), 'The Counselor' is a man who seems to have it all: money, good looks, posh home and stylish car.  The lawyer's foolish decision to dabble in a high level drug trafficking deal lures him into harm's way with very dangerous people.  Laura, played by Penélope Cruz ("Vicky Christina Barcelona", "Vanilla Sky"), is the woman the lawyer asks to be his wife and she too is vulnerable to the consequences of his actions. With approximately a $25 million budget, director Ridley Scott ("Gladiator", "Thelma & Louise") portrays suspenseful and crafty dialogue between its star-studded cast with intermittent scenes of very graphic images of both sex and violence. There is a lot of talent wasted in this film.  Like the main character who strives for perfection, this film gets too greedy and thus true substance is taken for granted.  Scott directs a rather simple story with very fascinating subject material but keeps the characters at a distance.  It is almost as if Scott is directing a false intimacy.  The film subjects its audience to see offensive and brutal images, yet the film does not invite its audience to feel what the characters are feeling.