Movie Review Submission Form • Christian Spotlight™

This form is ONLY for use by approved “Movie Review Team Members” who have received an official ASSIGNMENT for the film from our Editor. This is NOT the form for submitting general VIEWER COMMENTS AND OPINIONS about a film. For that, please use the VIEWER COMMENTS FORM.

ERRORS: “The film WAS good, and Julie’s performance WAS wonderful.”

CORRECT: “IS”—not “was” (the film exists in the present)

Why? Although your personal viewing is past, today’s movies continue to EXIST PERPETUALLY IN THE PRESENT. When you refer to events recorded in the film, use PRESENT tense—unless there is logical need for exception. If you discuss how you reacted or what you did after a showing, then PAST tense is appropriate.

Try to be succinct. Don’t wear out your readers (and yourself) by writing far more content than is really necessary. It is a fact of our busy times, that people have short attention spans and are easily overwhelmed. In general, the LONGER you make your review, the fewer readers you will have. People will dropout before the end.

Be courteous and avoid “spoilers,” unless it is clearly necessary. Then mark them for readers, leaving the choice with them, i.e.,

***SPOILER*** and then Luke discovers that Darth Vader is his father ***END SPOILER***

STORY

At least two paragraphs of plot summary with a few interesting details. BUT don’t rehash or give-away the whole storyline.

MORALITY ISSUES

Mention any content that may offend some, regardless of whether or not it offended you. It is all too easy to become jaded and numb to worldliness and sin.

You are NOT writing for people who are all just like you and your friends. Your audience here is diverse—coming from many differing nations and cultures. Yes, they are all just people, and equally need truth and light. But, readers have VARIED MATURITY LEVELS and greater or lesser levels of innocence or tolerance.

Be wise about differing SENSITIVITIES to issues, due to people’s particular life experiences, traumas, fears, purity, etc. Take special care about violence, profane use of our Lord’s name, nudity, temptations of the eye, vulgarity, sexuality, sensuality, holiness, purity, worldly attitudes and behavior, criminal behavior, murder, torture, suicide, drugs, and alcohol.

Take care in what you say and recommend. There is no escaping the fact that your review will be seen by many as representative of Christians and Christianity. This is CHRISTIAN Answers and Christian Spotlight.

SPIRITUAL ISSUES

See: EXAMPLES

A great many people are clueless or deceived about many important life issues. Turn your readers’ attention to issues more important than just entertainment. You’ve got their attention; don’t fail to use it. Plant the seeds of the Gospel, accurate biblical knowledge and godly wisdom.

Lovingingly expose souls to God’s Word—“it shall not return…void.”

Point out content or behavior that contradicts or enhances understanding of God’s commands and desires for all people.

YOUR OPINION
Summarize the facts and your feelings as a true follower of Christ about this movie. Humbly provide your “bottom line” summary. Generally AVOID RECOMMENDING that people watch a film. Recommendation is a serious responsibility on your part, and God will hold you and us responsible if it causes people to stumble. Don’t recommend unless a film is truly worthy and unlikely to cause anyone to stumble or be misled.

misuse of God’s names, spiritual words or phrases
“holy-sh*t” profanes holiness

“Jesus” or “Christ” = Heavy

“Sh*t” and various sexual words are vulgarity, NOT profanity.

F-word = Heavy

includes partial nudity of either gender

Do NOT score from any WORLDLY viewpoint. This score must be based only on what a true, sensitive, Bible-believing follower of Christ would (or should) say in evaluating ALL of the film’s content.

Rate RELATIVE TO ITS GENRE (based on other films in its genre, and not outside of its genre)

For what age level is this film MAINLY BEST SUITED? Is it a kids’ film? Teen film?

required if we have not already discovered and published the length

First time reviewers, please supply the following required information.

My age:
My faith:	Follower of Jesus Christ Not a follower of Jesus Christ
Street address:
City:
State/Province:
Zip/Postal Code:
Nation:
My Web URL (if any):
Education:
Degrees (if any, none necessary):
Christian background & affiliations:

	Your Review Form content last updated: July 8, 2022
Your Name
E-mail address where Editor may reliably contact you for any needed clarifications
Film Title
Are you making one of these VERY COMMON ERRORS? Incorrect verb tense ERRORS: “The film WAS good, and Julie’s performance WAS wonderful.” CORRECT: “IS”—not “was” (the film exists in the present) Why? Although your personal viewing is past, today’s movies continue to EXIST PERPETUALLY IN THE PRESENT. When you refer to events recorded in the film, use PRESENT tense—unless there is logical need for exception. If you discuss how you reacted or what you did after a showing, then PAST tense is appropriate. Overly long Try to be succinct. Don’t wear out your readers (and yourself) by writing far more content than is really necessary. It is a fact of our busy times, that people have short attention spans and are easily overwhelmed. In general, the LONGER you make your review, the fewer readers you will have. People will dropout before the end. Spoilers Be courteous and avoid “spoilers,” unless it is clearly necessary. Then mark them for readers, leaving the choice with them, i.e., *SPOILER* and then Luke discovers that Darth Vader is his father *END SPOILER* Content to include in your review STORY At least two paragraphs of plot summary with a few interesting details. BUT don’t rehash or give-away the whole storyline. MORALITY ISSUES Mention any content that may offend some, regardless of whether or not it offended you. It is all too easy to become jaded and numb to worldliness and sin. You are NOT writing for people who are all just like you and your friends. Your audience here is diverse—coming from many differing nations and cultures. Yes, they are all just people, and equally need truth and light. But, readers have VARIED MATURITY LEVELS and greater or lesser levels of innocence or tolerance. Be wise about differing SENSITIVITIES to issues, due to people’s particular life experiences, traumas, fears, purity, etc. Take special care about violence, profane use of our Lord’s name, nudity, temptations of the eye, vulgarity, sexuality, sensuality, holiness, purity, worldly attitudes and behavior, criminal behavior, murder, torture, suicide, drugs, and alcohol. Take care in what you say and recommend. There is no escaping the fact that your review will be seen by many as representative of Christians and Christianity. This is CHRISTIAN Answers and Christian Spotlight. SPIRITUAL ISSUES See: EXAMPLES A great many people are clueless or deceived about many important life issues. Turn your readers’ attention to issues more important than just entertainment. You’ve got their attention; don’t fail to use it. Plant the seeds of the Gospel, accurate biblical knowledge and godly wisdom. Lovingingly expose souls to God’s Word—“it shall not return…void.” Point out content or behavior that contradicts or enhances understanding of God’s commands and desires for all people. Examples of spiritual issues humility vs. pridefulness fear not forgiveness vs. revenge self-sacrifice selfishness / narcissism true biblical love vs. lust God’s command to be loving and merciful servants/slaves of Christ vs. carelessly hurting others for personal gratification or gain the beauty of pure and faithful godly marriage vs. misuse of God’s gift of sex spending our lives on good, God approved things vs. fleeting and foolish things of little or no value living in sure knowledge and fully reasonable faith and hope vs. living in fear light vs. darkness being on a sure path to eternal suffering vs. a wondrous eternal life winning spiritual battles vs. succumbing to the devils’ desires and traps standing firm against evil thankfulness vs. ingratitude patience …etc. —The possibilities and opportunities are almost endless. YOUR OPINION Summarize the facts and your feelings as a true follower of Christ about this movie. Humbly provide your “bottom line” summary. Generally AVOID RECOMMENDING that people watch a film. Recommendation is a serious responsibility on your part, and God will hold you and us responsible if it causes people to stumble. Don’t recommend unless a film is truly worthy and unlikely to cause anyone to stumble or be misled.	Text of your review
IMPORTANT: The following scores must be based on unjaded observation, common sense and accuracy —NOT based on personal standards or feelings (which may vary widely) —NOT based on comparison to other films —NEVER based on how the film feels to you, relative to what you are accustomed to viewing… or tolerating… or tuning out. These scores are not supposed to be about you at all, but rather the simple facts about this film on each issue.
Violence?
Profane language? misuse of God’s names, spiritual words or phrases “holy-sh*t” profanes holiness “Jesus” or “Christ” = Heavy
Vulgar or crude language? “Sh*t” and various sexual words are vulgarity, NOT profanity. F-word = Heavy
Nudity? includes partial nudity of either gender
Sex? fornication, adultery, sexual lust, lasciviousness, lewdness, perversion
Drugs/Alcohol?
Occult?
Wokeism?
Moral Rating Do NOT score from any WORLDLY viewpoint. This score must be based only on what a true, sensitive, Bible-believing follower of Christ would (or should) say in evaluating ALL of the film’s content.	Extremely Offensive Very Offensive Offensive Average = somewhat offensive Almost all Hollywood films are AT LEAST somewhat offensive to a sensitive, discerning follower of Christ. At the very least, they ignore the reality and identity of God, mankind’s wicked condition, the destination to which unsaved sinners are doomed, and the great relevance (and accuracy) of God’s Word to personal and world problems. Better than Average = only slightly objectionable Good good morals, clean and NOTHING offensive to God, AND the film is seriously likely to produce truly GOOD FRUIT, from God’s perspective Very Good more actively good message films, but that do not fully qualify for the excellent level Excellent! —CAREFUL: Christian Spotlight’s definition of “Excellent!” is stringent… NOTE: When a reviewer scores any SECULAR film as “Excellent,” the Editor will either assume they have accidentally marked the wrong box, or that their current level of Biblical knowledge and Christian discernment is inadequate to this task. Understand that even many Christian-produced films fail to qualify for this high score. Shares the Word of God, not just human wisdom Totally Biblically and theologically ACCURATE, with no known inconsistencies Filled with TRUTH—no apparent factual errors, no misrepresentation, no misleading, no deceit, not doubtful Promotes nothing remotely sinful, wrong or dangerous The film is not merely inoffensive, nice or has some good things about it. Excellent means it is ACTIVELY good and righteous, and purposely promotes proper respect for God and His Word—and supplies accurate information about them. No wrong attitudes or motives appparent or suspected on the part of the film’s writers and producers No Godly concerns about what the film says or implies—or what it could produce in some viewers’ minds and hearts It actively promotes what Jesus Christ wants us to say and do. It is clearly working, not for just some “good cause,” but for the only real and true Kingdom of God—not some other purpose or counterfeit.
Moviemaking Quality Rate RELATIVE TO ITS GENRE (based on other films in its genre, and not outside of its genre)	Totally ignore moral issues Rate based on technical & artistic quality, writing skill, directing, acting, photography, music, effects, costumes, annoyances, and pleasures Our Moviemaking Quality ratings are GENRE SENSITIVE. The rating of a romantic comedy should be based on comparison to others in that genre. The same is true for family, animation, horror, action/adventure, etc. Rate documentaries compared to other documentaries, not to the entertainment value and moviemaking quality of an action/adventure feature film. CAUTION: As kind, loving Christians, many of our reviewers tend to be overly generous to the filmmakers with this score. However, we need ACCURATE, not generous. If virtually every film you review is scored ABOVE average, you either are somehow confused about what the word AVERAGE actually means—or you are greatly blessed to be only reviewing the true cream of the crop. What about faith-based or message-based films? Christian films need to be compared to peers in their own genre—apples with apples, and not apples with oranges. They should be rated in comparison to other films of that genre for the following reasons: BUDGETS—In Hollywood, a $1-million budget is considered very LOW budget. In Christian filmmaking, that is considered a pretty high budget. Christians struggle with a 100 or 1,000 times less assets to work with. Often, directors have to work with people who have little or no acting experience. We feel it is unfair to expect that a movie made on a low budget be held to the same standard as Hollywood productions made with the world’s best, most trained and experienced directors, writers, actors, editors, cinematographers, composers, musicians, etc.—and with the months of actor and design prep and practice and reshoots that huge budgets allow. It is virtually impossible for a $100-thousand film (or even $1-million) to supply equal moviemaking quality to that of a film made with a 100x to 1,000x greater budget. UNAVAILABILITY—Even if Christians had multi-millions to offer, almost all highly talented people and companies in the Hollywood industry refuse to work with them, due to worldview differences—and especially because they believe their careers would be ruined by merely cooperating. INHERENT CONSTRAINTS—No matter what the budget or available talent assets, it is probably not possible to produce a message-based film that can entertain on the same level as an action/adventure thriller that is not constrained to spend ANY time on messages or accurate biblical teaching.
PRIMARY suitable audience For what age level is this film MAINLY BEST SUITED? Is it a kids’ film? Teen film?	Family Kids Preteens Teens Young-Adults Adults
Length of movie required if we have not already discovered and published the length

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Your Review

Content to include in your review

STORY

MORALITY ISSUES

SPIRITUAL ISSUES

Examples of spiritual issues

Text of your review