Boys' Bible Study

Subscribe today for access to our full catalog of bonus episodes, including 2+ new episodes every month! $5 pledge gets you bonus episodes and $20 enters you in our monthly handmade DVD mailing program "Bootleg Bible Study"!   http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Perhaps the best of the 1990s films fixated on pop Christian themes (that we affectionately call "angelslop" or, if more appropriate: "devilslop"), THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE is a wildly entertaining film that despite being firmly secular, manages to hit a ton of tropes we associate with the Christian film genre. Keanu Reeves stars as Kevin Lomax, a small town defense lawyer with an impressive undefeated winning streak. He's scouted by Al Pacino as John Milton, the head of an acclaimed New York City law firm, who wants to change Lomax's life by adding him to the roster. Eagle-eared viewers may recognize the name John Milton as a reference to the author of legendary Bible fanfiction Paradise Lost. This might be your first indication that Pacino's character is the devil himself, that Reeves's character is about to make a Faustian bargain, and that the legal system is about to be used as an allegory for Christian morality. This is the most 1990s trope imaginable, an era when filmmakers were obsessed with elevating the mundane by showing it as a backdrop between the battle between angels and demons. Another distinctly 1990s decadence is needing the movie to be "smart, sexy, funny" — when THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE does rarely jump the shark into groan-inducing campiness, it's when the film attempts to flatter the viewer's sense of sophistication. However it's still a welcome nostalgic departure from mainstream movies nowadays that openly market themselves as slop from a trough for the lowest bidder. But it's the smart writing and impressive production design that makes THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE's heavy handed tropes and conservative morality feel delightfully predictable instead of tediously formulaic. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy

This sequel to what is now regarded as one of the most beloved Christian films of all time (THE BUTTERCREAM GANG) misses the mark by messing with the original formula. Released only one year after the original, THE BUTTERCREAM GANG: SECRET OF TREASURE MOUNTAIN feels like a completely different series by focusing on a GOONIES-style adventure subplot instead of the friendship between the ButterCreamers. The original idea of the ButterCream Gang is that they were a group of neighborhood boys who do good deeds; the new generation now admits girls (woke much?) and seems to have forgotten entirely about helping the community, save for a lemonade stand fundraiser here and there. Several original cast members returned for round two, yet SECRET OF TREASURE MOUNTAIN picks a new boy named Eldon and introduces conflict based on his insecurity over not being seen as a "hero" among the band of do-gooders. Fortunately for Eldon, an opportunity to gain some much-needed recognition arrives when he stumbles upon an old document, written in Spanish, that appears to be a treasure map on what is now the property of beloved neighborhood figure Mr. Graff. Conveniently, a Spanish archeologist named Dr. Almodovar has recently come to town and can help the children follow the map to a mysterious treasure they hope will raise the funds to save Mr. Graff's property. Little do Eldon and the ButterCreamers know that Dr. Almodovar is actually a descendant of a Spanish conquistador, seen in a flashback at the beginning of the film, attempting to find hidden gold cursed by monks. This is the first Christian movie we've ever watched attributing to monks the ability to put curses on things, but sure enough, Eldon follows the trail to a mysterious local monastery. Can Eldon's pure heart outsmart the conniving Dr. Almodovar and put the gold to good use, preventing Eldon from falling to the curse that has harmed everyone else who tried to snatch it? SECRET OF TREASURE MOUNTAIN has the bones to be an entertaining family film, but its haphazardly paced writing strips away the real story of friendship that made the original BUTTERCREAM GANG become firmly entrenched in millennial Christian nostalgia. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Subscribe to our Twitch for livestreams: http://twitch.tv/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy