King's Faith [DVD Review & Giveaway]

*This giveaway is now closed. Kristy Love be looking for an e-mail: you won! Thank you to all who participated. Giveaways don't happen without entrants :)*

Well, I'm wetting my toes: I've never reviewed a movie before. I'll also go ahead and tell you I generally do not view "Christian" movies; almost every movie in our home, whether rented or purchased, is a main stream, Hollywood production. That being said, I knew that I couldn't compare this movie to anything mainstream; this is a small budget film.  I also have only seen one small budget film I'm aware of and it was ages ago. So what you will get is purely my thoughts on the movie itself. (Also, I'd like you to know any "commercial" info in this review is not required of me for my review; I chose to relay it to you in order to help you consider enterting the giveaway and/or purchasing the film.)

Let me start with the info on the back of the case:

About KING'S FAITH
Eighteen foster homes. Nine arrests. One life-changing moment.
After Brendan King's life spiraled to rock bottom, the teen found hope in a new relationship with Christ while serving time in a juvenile penetentiary. Recently released from prison, Brendan finds solace in the foster home of a couple struggling with suppressed grief.
As the city-bred teen enrolls at a suburban high school, he finds support from a group of believers. Yet the bonds of his old way of life - and the gang that wants to know where he hid their stash on a long-ago night - are strong. In his darkest moment, Brendan found faith. Now he must decide if it's worth the price to hold on to it.
KING'S FAITH is produced by DiBella and Faith Street Film Partners LLC, a Rochester, NY-based collective of filmmakers, churches, investors, and supporters.

Let me first say adoption and fostering both always pull at my heart strings. Though I'm not completely active in helping with either at this time, I'm always asking, praying, hoping to be more heavily involved in ministries with such. I think, at this time, it comes more from me than from Ben, but he is not opposed to the idea of either and we sometimes dream of actually doing one or the other, though we both definitely enjoy helping however we can in our current circumstances with both. Thus, when I received the e-mail to review this, I knew I wanted to see what kind of story was woven in this film.

I was, however, a little skeptical of what the acting would be like. The only other "Christian" film I've ever seen left much to be desired when it came to the acting. However, King's Faith had decent acting. Again, it's no Hollywood film, but I felt I could genuinely connect with the characters and felt as though they portrayed their parts well. How they spoke their lines, the expressions they used, the interactions with other characters, even the non-speaking parts really brought you in to a story. Needless to say, I was impressed.

I enjoyed watching it as it is a pretty mellow movie with a few mildly intense scenes scattered throughout. It is rated PG-13 for violence, drug content, and thematic events; I wouldn't show this to a young child, but a pre-teen would possibly enjoy it and I think it is laced with a ton of great conversational bits for those of you with older children. Though every kid is different, and there may possibly be a pre-teen who shouldn't watch this, I personally believe I would love to sit with my kids to watch this and discuss it when they are older.

It is full of so many great themes, opening doors for discussion on topics such as grace, forgiveness, how our choices affect us, testing of faith. Here is one quote which stuck with me and is a big theme throughout: "If you stand firm in your faith, anything is possible." But one of the reasons I love this quote is because Brendan's life doesn't become easy simply by him choosing faith before he was released from the penitentiary. And the life of the couple who fosters him isn't a cake walk either.

For those of you familiar with these movies, it was described to me as a cross between "Fireproof" and "To Save a Life". Though I'm not familiar with either of those movies, I heard great reviews on "Fireproof". I will personally say I'm not sure I will frequently watch "King's Faith" but I know it will not sit on my DVD shelf and simply collect dust. (Let me be honest, I have very few "go to" movies which I watch on a regular basis. So the fact it will not collect dust, like some movies I own, is a testament to the fact this movie is worth watching, in my opinion.)

And in order to keep from completely giving the movie away, I'll wrap up the review there. Now, on to the giveaway (YAY!):

I have one copy of KING'S FAITH to give away. The giveaway is open to US residents with a physical address (no P.O. boxes, sorry!) age 18 and up. It begins today, Tuesday, November 5, at 12 am CST, and will close on Sunday, November 16, at 12 am CST. The only mandatory entry for the giveaway is to leave a blog comment; I would love if you'd answer this question: What are your thoughts on discussing drug use with pre-teens and teens? The winner will be randomly selected via Rafflecopter. They will be announced in an addendum at the top of this post, as well as on the Rafflecopter form, within 48 hours of the giveaway's close. I will also contact them via e-mail. (Please ensure you use a valid, working e-mail address to enter with on the Rafflecopter form.) The winner will have 48 hours to contact me via e-mail at mylifestidbits@gmail.com to claim their prize. I will need the winners full name and physical  address to forward to giveaway sponsor so they can mail the winner their prize. For any other information regarding giveaways hosted on my blog, please visit the official giveaway page.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."