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Ticket sales reached a new high over the extended Thanksgiving weekend—nearly a quarter billion dollars—but Christian critics were more impressed with art-house films You Can Count on Me and Dancer in the Dark, each playing on fewer than 100 theaters, than with the giant hits.

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How the Grinch Stole Christmas earned another $73.8 million over the Thanksgiving holiday, putting it on track to become the biggest money-maker of the year, but it also earned more sour reviews from Christian critics. Bob MacLean, guest reviewer for Christian Spotlight, complained that the movie Grinch, unlike the book's nasty fellow, is hilariously nasty. "It spends most of the movie insinuating that gross and rude behavior is fine as long as it's funny," he says. "This is the worst kind of lie to foist on children." Culture@Home's Sarah Barnett agrees that it's an unfaithful adaptation. "While the book is a subtle tale that gently raises the issue of materialism, The Grinch is a sledgehammer of a film. Brash and loud, it's worlds away from Dr Seuss's original in both tone and sentiment." World magazine elaborates: "Hollywood spent decades trying to get movie rights to The Grinch—and Dr. Seuss went to his grave refusing. Looking at this revision, it's easy to see why. ... It's too dark and unpleasant to raise any Yuletide cheer." Childcare Action Report can't imagine that families will gather and watch this one year after year. "There was a great deal of 'adult-level' humor, such as the Grinch ... holding a twig of mistletoe on his posterior, aiming it at the Whoville crowd and saying kiss it. I wonder now how many families will see that in their homes this Christmas?" For earlier reaction from Christian critics, including some positive reviews, read last week's Film Forum installment.

Unbreakable enjoyed a mammoth weekend of its own, pulling in $46 million over the five-day holiday, capitalizing on the enthusiastic following for M. Night Shyamalan's previous film, The Sixth Sense. Like its predecessor, Unbreakable stars an emotionally reserved Bruce Willis in a supernaturally tinged plot: After David Dunn (Willis) finds himself the only survivor of a train wreck, a mysterious stranger (Samuel L. Jackson) tries to persuade him that invincibility is only one of many powers he possesses. Christian critics said the film is bigger on flair than emotional punch—"thick with atmosphere and thin on plot development" is how J. Robert Parks of Phantom Tollbooth puts it. "While Shyamalan directs with an even stronger sense of control—his use of tilted camera shots, wide-angle lenses, and brooding atmosphere is fantastic—he's lost the emotional element that undergirded his [previous] film." Crosswalk.com's Michael Elliott was likewise conflicted, calling Shyamalan "one of the more inventive and original storytellers in film today" but finding that "his almost zombie-like style keeps us at arm's length, impatiently waiting for the next plot revelation." Looking Closer's Jeffrey Overstreet says Shyamalan seems a bit too impressed with his plot twists. "By the time the audience figures out what is going on, the movie wraps up abruptly and it's over, as though they still had another half an hour of story to go but ran out of money. ... The ending left me wanting another fifteen minutes of storytelling, to fill in the gaps and help us understand [characters'] motivations." Other critics praised the film just for raising important issues, even if it didn't do much with them. "The overall message of following one's God-given talents is a pretty good one," says Christian Spotlight guest reviewer Curtis D. Smith, "In a way, David is much like Moses, who was fearful of his gift for leadership and questioned God's judgment in asking him to escort the Israelites out of Egypt." Focus on the Family's Bob Smithouser says the film "makes itself easy to root for by featuring a dad who's a hero to his son and by promoting the idea that working through marital woes is the way to true healing." Also, Smithouser notes, "it's not as ominously creepy or theologically unsettling [as] The Sixth Sense. That's refreshing." Holly McClure of Crosswalk.com said it's refreshing to find a film that handles adult themes in a nonexploitative way. "Surprisingly, there are no graphic train wreck scenes or bloody violence," she says; the few violent scenes "aren't graphic, just intense." John Adair of Preview notes some objectionable language, but says "there's much more going on in this film than some foul language—the underlying themes are both thought-provoking and inspirational. ... Loyalty and self-sacrifice are present and there are discussions about or allusions to both hope and salvation. One character comments on how society needs something, or someone, to hope in."

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November (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44