The Islands

Just saw the film on Wednesday night.

.....looking solely at the film, it was done excellently. I dont know many of the details about the Hawaiian history, etc. but I got the sense that they were well researched and accurate. The acting even though in Hawaiian was outstanding. With regard to the way the film was shot and edited, again I think the editor did an excellent job. He used some special effects which I thought were really effective.

Surprisingly, I cried during this movie which doesn't happen that often. (Im a guy and the last time was Good Will Hunting when I was 14). It wasn't during a "religious" moment either. It was at a point that simply showed the love of a friend for another. It was done so well that it had that effect on me.

Because of people's biases and beliefs, you may hear conflicting things about this movie but as an objective viewer, no matter what you believe, its a good, powerful film. Glad my friends took me to see it.

The film is about JESUS. Ignore the haters.

This is the beauty of this movie. Every time I see it (and I have seen it a lot) it never fails that I see some subtle nuance that I have never seen before. Considering that the director would put that much meaning into what is basically a throw away moment (not the entire scene, but the Hawaii's queens portion in native Hawaiian) speaks bundles about the quality of the film. My wife and I watched this movie on our first date, and since that first time over 5 years ago, it has grown to be, in my mind, the greatest movie ever made.

Will not give away the most emotional scene of sacrifice but seeing is believing. This is a true historical story completely ignored by the Academy, Sundance, and secular film festivals. However so happy it had a theatrical release in over 30 cities from what I understand.

Technically you do not have to talk about this film, costumes, cuts, performances -everything perfect - with a special highlight for gorgeous Hawaii cinematography. This looks like a $30 million film and has a sweeping storyline. It deserves a Best Picture nod.

The inaccuracies I noticed were just the fire dancers which came a few years later down the road and the Captain's outfit which was more mid-1800's than early 1800's. But my friend got angry at my harping on this and said I should be so lucky to pick up a camera and shoot a movie myself which I can't so I abdicate on this. It is easy to criticize the work of another without realizing I could never even come close to this.

Also, it's not a documentary. It's a feature film. Overall, it was a very special film and I noticed many people outright weeping. I'm not religious at all, but I did reflect seriously on God after. I give this a solid 8 and it's definitely one of the best films of the year. Even better than 'The Irishman' believe it or not.

Without using all the old cliches, I would recommend this movie to anyone interested in a historical, faith-based, true, intriguing, and life-changing movie. Everything about this movie was stunning. I recommend seeing this movie with someone especially close to you. After the movie my Fiancée and I spent two hours talking and expanding on the film's story. This was truly an electrifying experience. I would venture to call this movie one of the best movies of all time. Sure, there are things that I would have liked to see done differently, but that is what makes a movie more enjoyable. The discussions following this film were wonderful. Please see it. Half of the movie is in the Hawaiian language. If the film were secular it would have been nominated for an Oscar.

Solid 8+

I'm not a Christian, but I still related well with this film after a special screening that my friend took me to. This island queen was so brave facing the majority opposition at the time and the filmmakers are so brave to make this film. Almost heroic.

There are many ignorant and uneducated people who can't get above their religion, culture or race and this is what this island queen did. As I said, I'm not a Christian, but bashing people who believe in Christ seems very fashionable today unfortunately.