Protraph
Lack of good storyline.
Spidersecu
Don't Believe the Hype
Konterr
Brilliant and touching
Cody
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
beorhouse
I know there is a book. I own it, but haven't read it. But it is rarely fair to hold a film adaptation up to its original book. First of all, this film was directed by none other than Steve Taylor--one of the foremost Christian apophatic thinkers alive today, and always seemingly in a war with fundamentalist cataphatic theologians much as was Symeon the New Theologian during his era. Secondly, with all of the schlock film that appears which carries the label "Christian," this film, in my estimation, is the first to not be afraid to show the world as it really is, college as it really is, and the Liberal world of the Pacific Northwest as it really is. The acting is excellent, the humor and wit are funny and well-placed (and paced), and if you look closely, these are seasoned semi-famous stars, not Christian college thespian wannabe's. If you like the post-postmodern viewpoint, and hated Saved! on one end and God's Not Dead 1,2, and 3 on the other, then this film was made for you.
fisher-n-jacob
As a fan of Don's book and a Christian I won't lie that I was very excited to see what this movie had to offer. As a filmmaker though I was skeptical and even a bit upset to see that one of my favorite books was going to be made into a "Christian movie". (most of which I think don't deserve to even be called movies much less art). I was pleasantly surprised. Blue Like Jazz doesn't deserve the rather discouraging term of a "Christian movie". It is in fact a film that is on the level of any other independent of its stature. The writing was very good and realistic though not perfect by any means I am happy to say that I think the screenplay matches up with any average indie in the same budget range. The acting was very skillful and well done I was more than happy with almost every characters performance within the film. A pleasant surprise for many independents. Perhaps my favorite thing is that this movie is actually art. Its not a Christian movie trying to be an actual movie that has a terrible sermon like ending with 1- dimensional characters and horrible stereotypes (though the film is guilty of a bit of that) It's a real movie. This movie is something that I think almost any viewer could watch no matter their religious views and feel like they've seen a real story that they can get something out of. A great movie to watch that just happens to deal with spirituality and a young mans struggle to decide for himself what he believes in life. I think this film accurately portrays a certain experience we all go through in life. Having our ideas challenged and having to face the facts and decide from there. This film is perfect by no means but i'm happy to say that I think it is a great piece of art that just so happens to have some people who believe in the teachings of Jesus involved in it.
lagudafuad
Blue Like Jazz comes out strong, you start and you feel, "this is going to be great", but then it carries on, on weak acting by some of the cast and a very weak script that makes you want to get up and walk away, the movie message is good and it does preach commitment to Christ.The movie message can be easily related to, as a Christian I know of times (when I was new in the faith) that I concealed my identity of being a Christian just to blend in, the movie's message rides on that; it rides on a Christian trying to be part of the world, forgetting that we are but on a pilgrimage in this world and heaven is our final destination.Based on a book of the same name written by Donald Miller, it (the book) is a semi-autobiographical work, and on the cover the book is subtitled "Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality," I happen not to have ready the book, but from the movie I believe it is named such because of the protagonist father's love for Jazz, and the fact that he was the person that pointed the protagonist in the direction where doubt looms.The book and movie plot follows the life of Don, a nineteen-year-old sophomore at a Texas junior college. Don moves to Pacific Northwest, where he learns that being a Christian makes you an outcast, so in order to escape his Biblical background and Biblical way of life, Don does everything possible to make sure he is part of the cool kids, even denying his faith.Before watching I did a little research to know what I am getting in to, some people say the movie is a Christian movie, the director claims that it is not, just a regular movie with religious undertones. I have seen the movie and I wonder how people didn't see it in the same view as the director. Also the movie actually came to being from the contributions put together by fans of the book (and more) from the Kickstarter website. The names of the contributors can be seen at the end of the movie, in the credits.In conclusion, the movie message is great as I said before, but the implementation is just canny the director is trying to cover up a Christian film with a lot of worldly additions just to make the movie look secular. He added controversial things like cursing and homosexuality, knowing that many have different views concerning such. This movie could have been better, but since I have not read the book, I can't ascertain that the story in the movie has strayed from the original, but I can ascertain this though I didn't like this film.www.lagsreviews.com
Nick Kjeld
The story of how Blue Like Jazz became a movie is quite a unique one. After being put on hold due to a "lack of funds" fans of the story created a campaign to raise $125,000 in order to complete the film. Smashing their goal they raised over $345,000! This is how I found out about the movie, a news story on the record breaking success of their crowd-funding campaign. The story they tell is an extremely thought provoking one without being overtly religious in message. Sure it is a main theme of the film, but they work it into the movie in a great way. The story telling is great and the cinematography is great as well. Amazing what they can accomplish for a film that was saved by the fans! This film is a great story, both in the way it came to be, and in the actual film. I could watch this film quite a few times and not tire of it.