It's pretty obvious that the movie buzz throughout the Catholic blogosphere this week revolves around the release of Bella, a film which is not only winning awards at various festivals but apparently carries a pro-life friendly message as well. I've already mentioned previously Fr. V's glowing review of Bella over at Adam's Ale (I wonder if he got to see it again like he wanted?), but now others are beginning to chime in.
Nolan Reynolds from Rise Of The TOB shares Fr. V's high opinion of the film. "I like explosions and special effects, but I like it with a dose of meaning and a sound message. While Bella isn't the type of movie to warrant CGI or expert stunt men, it is a movie I fell in love with for its gripping story and brave theme."
Over at Arrival: The Parousian Weblog, Sarah Metzhasn't hasn't seen the movie yet, but just seems happy that the film even exists. "Whether we like it or not, movies are often more influential on people’s lives than literature is, and it is therefore time to step up and establish a current Catholic presence in the film industry."
The American Papist has a full page of Bella related goodness which not only links to his own favorable review of the film, but also to lots of non-blog sites addressing the movie and its issues.
If all this sounds a little over-hyped for your tastes, then you might prefer Barbara Nicolosi's opinion of the whole Bella-thing at Church Of The Masses. She admits she only saw the movie in rough-cut form a year ago, but isn't convinced the finished product will be any better. "I don't know what they were smoking at Toronto, but I suspect that the film was well-received there because of its occasionally charming images of a Latino family, but mainly because of the fact that Bella, regardless of what is being said about it, is ambiguous on the subject of abortion."
Now that the film is coming to screens outside of the festival circuit, I'm sure we'll be seeing more reviews popping up on Catholic blogs over the next few weeks. It's also going to be interesting to see if the producer's media blitz can garner the movie a wide release. Which brings me to this:
Apparently I'm averaging enough hits now that the viral marketers are beginning to think it's worthwhile to include me in their mailings. So, over the past two weeks I've received a couple of emails asking me to help promote small independent releases. One is Believers, a direct-to-dvd horror movie about a religious cult made by one of the Blair Witch guys. It's in the Netflix queue, so maybe I'll review it at some point. The other, as you may have guessed, is Bella. It's possible many of you out there may have received the same email, but just in case you didn't, here's the main body of it.
Nolan Reynolds from Rise Of The TOB shares Fr. V's high opinion of the film. "I like explosions and special effects, but I like it with a dose of meaning and a sound message. While Bella isn't the type of movie to warrant CGI or expert stunt men, it is a movie I fell in love with for its gripping story and brave theme."
Over at Arrival: The Parousian Weblog, Sarah Metzhasn't hasn't seen the movie yet, but just seems happy that the film even exists. "Whether we like it or not, movies are often more influential on people’s lives than literature is, and it is therefore time to step up and establish a current Catholic presence in the film industry."
The American Papist has a full page of Bella related goodness which not only links to his own favorable review of the film, but also to lots of non-blog sites addressing the movie and its issues.
If all this sounds a little over-hyped for your tastes, then you might prefer Barbara Nicolosi's opinion of the whole Bella-thing at Church Of The Masses. She admits she only saw the movie in rough-cut form a year ago, but isn't convinced the finished product will be any better. "I don't know what they were smoking at Toronto, but I suspect that the film was well-received there because of its occasionally charming images of a Latino family, but mainly because of the fact that Bella, regardless of what is being said about it, is ambiguous on the subject of abortion."
Now that the film is coming to screens outside of the festival circuit, I'm sure we'll be seeing more reviews popping up on Catholic blogs over the next few weeks. It's also going to be interesting to see if the producer's media blitz can garner the movie a wide release. Which brings me to this:
Apparently I'm averaging enough hits now that the viral marketers are beginning to think it's worthwhile to include me in their mailings. So, over the past two weeks I've received a couple of emails asking me to help promote small independent releases. One is Believers, a direct-to-dvd horror movie about a religious cult made by one of the Blair Witch guys. It's in the Netflix queue, so maybe I'll review it at some point. The other, as you may have guessed, is Bella. It's possible many of you out there may have received the same email, but just in case you didn't, here's the main body of it.
Hi, This is Eduardo (from Bella) and I want to ask you for your help with our release this week (Oct 26th).So there you go. Be sure to buy your hundred tickets before they're all gone. My own movie watching M. O. these days ensures I won't see this movie until it hits the rental shelves (I want my movie theaters back! Darn you, teenage girls with your cell phones! Darn you all to heck!) but at least I've done my small part to spread the Bella love.
Could you ask everyone you know if they could buy 100-1000 tickets for their friends, family, church, community on opening weekend to ensure Bella reaches and impacts as many people as possible?
Hundreds of people have been adopting theaters (buying all the tickets for one screening time) and giving them out to friends, groups or after church.
Your help can guarantee the success of opening weekend which will lead to a broader international release and hopefully more lives will be touched and transformed by Bella.
We really need your help – we really appreciate anything you can do.
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