As Good As It Gets

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I saw this movie around 1980ish when I was 18. Yeah it gave me a lot to think about, which is the whole point.For all of the people saying that kids shouldn't watch this, I have to wonder why this is so bad and so many of the other horrible things in the media are okay? If you're not a believer I totally get it, but if you're a Christian, this is what the bible says will happen.Sure, the acting isn't the greatest, but I love movies like this. They weren't really meant to be blockbuster hits, their intent is to get the gospel message across to people. As Christians, this is the purpose.There are also a couple of sequels: "A Distant Thunder" is also one of my favorites.

A Thief in the Night is basically the ur-Left Behind, an evangelical propaganda film from the 1970s that set the stage for most Christian end of the world stories since then. Its influence is actually amazing, given how bad it is.The film fails on multiple levels, from pacing to acting. First and foremost, after a brief intro sequence involving the rapture, the film spends thirty to forty minutes looking at the protagonist's relationship with her evangelical husband and friends. If you came to this film looking for apocalyptic action, you're going to be bored for the first half.Furthermore, these characters are just impossible to care about. They only exist to spout either platitudes or straw man arguments.

I was raised in a "very Christian" household since birth. I was saved before I saw this movie and the rest of the series and was forced to watch it in a youth group at my church. This movie was highly disturbing. I saw it when I was about 12 years old and literally had nightmares about it for years. I used to lay awake in bed and listen for the sounds of my mom's footsteps upstairs. If I didn't hear her footsteps, I would sneak upstairs to make sure she hadn't been raptured. I used to pray so hard every night for salvation because I was terrified of Jesus forgetting me. This is definitely not something I will show to my kids until they are much older, if at all. It took me years to shake the fear that this movie gave me.

The reason why people say that this movie scared them is because it did!! That means the movie purpose was felt by a few who did see it. When I first saw this Movie it scared me and made me think about life and religion. This is not a blood and gore scary type movie, but the kind that you would think that it may be possible for things to happen the way the movie was written. Of course non believers will say its only a sci-fi movie. Truth is, this movie is a must have for your thriller collection, even if it does have a religious view. If you are a fan of classic thrillers (Omen..etc) this is one of them and its a must have. I never saw the sequel (Distant Thunder), but I believe it picks up where this movie ends.