How to Write Movie Reviews for Christian Spotlight on Entertainment

For many years, I used a couple of different websites as resources before I would go see a movie in the theater. One of the websites I usually checked was Christian Spotlight on Entertainment: http://christiananswers.net/spotlight I enjoyed reading the author's review, and then also reading the viewer comments. By visiting this website prior to seeing the film, I was able to make a determination about the content of the movie. I could decide whether it was even worth my time or money to see the film, and also whether seeing it would be honoring to the Lord or not. As the years went on, I never really thought about the possibility of writing for the website myself. That is, until one day when I happened to stumble upon a link that basically said "Click here to review this film". Since the website is Christian, they are looking for Christian reviewers, so all you have to do is verify that you are of the Christian faith and that you have viewed the film in its entirety, and you can sign up to review it. I was beyond excited when I received an email in my inbox stating that I had been selected to review my first film for the website!

When I know I'm going to review a film I'm currently watching, I will usually have a pad of paper and pen ready to take notes about what I may want to include in my review later. This comes in handy for several reasons. 1) My memory is not as good as it used to be, and 2) ... What was I saying? Just kidding! But seriously, writing down my thoughts as I watch the film has proven to be so helpful! I also make a running tabulation of all the good/positive elements I see in the film, as well as all the bad/negative ones, especially as it pertains to our faith. If there is a lot of foul language, or otherwise disturbing content, I definitely make a note of that. Or, as another example, if prayer, a relationship with Jesus Christ, and going to church are portrayed as a positive things, and if family and friends are shown as important in a film, I would definitely count those things as great aspects that I like to see in movies. Those are just some examples of some uplifting themes (not necessarily all I look for).

The downside for writing these reviews, in my opinion, is that it is totally on a volunteer basis. On one hand, it's still fun to write the reviews just for the sake of doing it, and as a blessing to whoever happens to come to the website to read them. Simultaneously, I do have a husband and two children, plus myself to support, and while my husband is the primary breadwinner, I would love it so much if writing these reviews was a paid gig that could benefit my family financially! Unfortunately, that is not the case, but one can dream! Going back to the blessing about it all... it is wonderful to be able to write these reviews from time to time, because I know what it's like to be the person going to a Christian website to look for information on a particular film, and I want to be able to pay it forward and bless someone else with an informed review. Thinking about how much I truly enjoy writing these reviews makes me realize that I may have missed my calling -- perhaps I should have been a journalist! In any event, if you want to write your own reviews, by all means go to the website and sign up. If you have time on your hands and enjoy writing, and you also love the Lord, it might be a lot of fun for you.