As the awards ceremonies wind down and the statues that Hollyweird worships are given out, it’s time for a little reality check. The “grand finale” of major film awards will again be broadcast on ABC and Hulu on March 15th.

The awards show you’d rather not watch or even hear about— like the Scientific and Technical Awards will happen later in April.

I sort of admire the faith-centered movie critics who can absorb content found in the many decadent and degrading films of our day. How DO these folk manage to do their jobs to warn us while keeping to the Scripture,

“Abstain from every form of evil [withdraw and keep away from it]?” (1 Thessalonians 5:22, Amplified Bible)

Ted Baehr and his group at MovieGuide are a good example. If Rhonda and I are questioning whether to go see a theatre release, we will often look at MovieGuide’s review and guidelines on offensive material. As time progresses we find fewer and fewer releases to be appropriate.

Take for example the big winner of nominations for this film year. That would be the appropriately titled, Sinners. This vampire epic led all films with 16 nominations setting a record for the most in Oscar history. The previous record was 14—set by All About Eve, Titanic, and La La Land.

And, yes, Best Picture was one of those nominations.

We have not seen the movie Sinners. But should we? If it’s a “best picture,” it must be worth viewing, eh? I select this one because it has an Illinois connection.

So we checked our MovieGuide resource. Here’s what it said,

“SINNERS turns out to be a bloody vampire movie about two black brothers in rural Mississippi in 1932 who, after earning lots of money working for Al Capone in Chicago, find their new juke joint invaded by three white vampires singing Irish folk ballads who are trying to snag the soul of their cousin, a blues player with a great future.”

Now there’s a catchy plot. Seems we just can’t get enough vampire flicks these days. I’m so tempted to say that “Dracula was the last vampire film you could really sink your teeth into”—but I won’t.

Another “bite” size review comment on Sinners from Movieguide added,

“SINNERS is a metaphorical, racist horror movie claiming that white people always steal black folk music, with lots of strong foul language, bloody violence, and two sex scenes.”

Oh—and theatre-goers are confronted with at least 82 obscenities including at least 25 “f” words. Yes, friends, this is a movie your small group may want to avoid.

Time, space, and common sense will keep me from digressing into the other films up for awards. However, I would point you to a rather “interesting” article in the Christianity.com website titled, “Moral Lessons Christians Can Take Away from 2025’s Top Ten Movies.” And, yes, Sinners is included. The article is compiled by contributing writer Peyton Garland.

The list is actually Time Magazine’s top ten 2025 films. Sinners is number seven on the list. After an admiring note about the film’s star Michael B. Jordan, Garland admits,

“It’s hard to ignore the moral decline of a film with this title.”

What’s the moral lesson? States Garland,

“We can’t shy away from the undeniable violence that history has made clear. That would do no one justice. But the grossly sexual elements pull away from the unfortunate sides of reality that should take priority and make the script a realistic depiction of a dark, sad time in history.” 

You should probably read Peyton Garland’s article on these “top 10” films. Several will show up in the Oscars ceremony. Some will win. Perhaps big.

I wonder how, in the development of a Christian mind, great writers like C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, and Francis Schaeffer would review such films? Would Fyodor Dostoyevsky consider these scripted works worthy of our time?

Moreover, would Jesus encourage us to watch Sinners and the like to get a “balanced worldview?” Not happening. So why DO we give time to these works? It demands discernment.

Maybe Jonathan Edwards pegged it best in his sermon: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. 

Fortunately, our God also specializes in much needed forgiveness.