The faith journey is not for the faint of heart, especially in relationships. Walking in faith requires community and Biblical wisdom in marriage, parenting, and establishing lasting relationships with your extended family or friendship. In this article, I will share my thoughts on The Forge, a movie review.

The Difficult Reality Of Being A Christian Parent

The Forge shows the ups and downs of a single mom trying to launch her young adult son into the world. It also shows the importance of mentorship, friendship, prayer, and discipleship.

You will leave this movie wanting more for your life, faith, marriage, church, and community.

The beginning of The Forge tugged at this mama’s heart. As a mom of three young adults, I could relate to the dialogue. Cynthia Wright is a single mom to 19-year-old Isaiah Wright. In one of the beginning scenes, Cynthia is talking to Isaiah, and her frustration is palpable. I think we can all relate to this when it comes to dealing with the stage of launching your young adult into the world.

Having faith and parenting young adults is a whole new ballgame. I have never prayed more in my life and I have entered a new level of surrender in my walk with Jesus. The Forge portrays the struggle of being a Christian mother to a young adult so well. There is also a lot of guidance on what to do when you don’t know what to do in this highly complex season of life.

It is evident that being a Christian parent to a young adult requires:

1. Faith and trust that God has good plans for your child and your family.
2. Surrendering your will and control over the life of your child who has the same free will you have.
3. Lots of prayer and prayer support from those around you.

God Has Good Plans For You And Me

God is the perfect Father, and his plans might not be ours. In The Forge, Cynthia quickly learns that she doesn’t have to parent her son alone and calls on her prayer partners. Cynthia is surrounded by friends and believers who want what is best for her and her son.

Being surrounded by people who pray for and believe in the best for your family is a blessing.

The Forge shows the viewer that to be a good friend, you need to pray for your friends, believe in your friends, and bless your friends with your words. It is so easy to get lost in the pain of this world, your life, and what you don’t have. However, The Forge shows us the value of wanting more for your life.

Growing Up Is Hard To Do If You Don’t Have Someone To Invest In You

In The Forge, we can see how to make time for mentorship despite life’s demands.  Additionally, we see the fruit the investment of time into someone else’s life will bring—not only in the mentee’s life but also in the mentor’s life.

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. – John 15:16 (ESV)

As a Christian, your most extraordinary mission is to share the gospel and be fruitful. Every action you take, and word you speak will bear fruit. Understanding the seeds you are planting and the fruit you will bear from them is essential in determining your next steps in life.

In The Forge, Isaiah has difficulty growing up because he does not have a male role model to whom he can look up. However, as the story unfolds, we can see God working in his life and helping him become the man God created him to be. This is not done through one person or one prayer but through many prayers and many people planting seeds in his life that will bear good fruit.

Overcoming Excuses

The Forge is a movie with many lessons told in a two-hour time frame. One of the biggest lessons that stood out to me was to overcome the excuses in your life.

Overcome the excuses that are:

1. Holding you back from serving God with your whole heart.
2. Keeping you in a place that you don’t want to be.
3. Preventing you from finding the relationships that are good for you.
4. Building relationships and authentic community.
5. Investing in and serving other people.

Life is undoubtedly busy and difficult, and there are many obstacles and trials to overcome. But the key is to find the purpose in the journey. The Forge shows us Isaiah’s journey to overcoming his excuses. He makes the effort to get rid of all that is holding him back from God’s best for him.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. Everyone who watches The Forge will gain new insight and ideas on living a fruitful life and building an authentic community.

The story was relatable, although there were moments that seemed unrealistic. While I believe in the power of mentorship and the need for discipleship, the viewer needs to keep an open mind on how that may play out in real life. I loved the idea of everyone in The Forge getting a sword; however, I think we can all lower our expectations and realize discipleship can be done in a small group hosted by our church. However, I appreciate the symbolism and the honor the writers of The Forge gave to the beauty of being in an authentic community of believers.

Like most movies, The Forge had drama and action built into every scene, making some of the events unrelatable. However, that does not take away from the fact that discipleship is important and necessary and will help us all become who God created us to be. It is essential to believe in yourself and others. Overall, the story of The Forge encouraged my heart, which will determine the next steps in my faith walk.

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Bhavana in a still from ‘Hunt’
| Photo Credit: @GOODWILLENTERTAINMENTS/YouTube

Shaji Kailas’ brand of cinema has been a favourite for those cine-goers who celebrated the larger-than-life heroes taking centre stage with lengthy, pompous monologues, heavily choreographed action sequences and unwarranted camera angles and shots. But success has been long overdue for the director who has delivered some of the biggest blockbusters in Malayalam cinema.

After a series of misfires at the box office — despite KaduvaandKappa that celebrated alpha male heroes being declared hits — the director is back at the marquee with Hunt, headlined by Bhavana, with whom he is collaborating after the 2005 release, Chinthamani Kolacase.

Shaji has added supernatural horror to his oeuvre with the movie scripted by Nikhil Anand. Bhavana plays Dr Keerthi, a postgraduate student specialising in forensic medicine. A bold and outspoken individual, Keerthi is left with too much on her plate when the corpse of a woman (Aditi Ravi) is recovered from a river stuffed in a concrete-filled bin. Soon she starts feeling someone’s presence around her, forcing her to get involved in finding the identity of the woman and the circumstances that led to her murder.

For a change, the director has gone for a woman protagonist this time and there is enough meat in the initial scenes to keep the audience interested in the narrative, thanks to the pace of the scenes and the build-up to the situations.

Bhavana in a scene from ‘Hunt’
| Photo Credit:
@GOODWILLENTERTAINMENTS/YouTube

But that’s all you get; the script gradually loses grip and the viewers’ interest soon fizzles out. That too despite the introduction of a bevvy of characters and attempts to create an eerie ambience with a thumping soundscape. At no point does the viewer feel invested in the characters or the situations.

Bhavana does her part well, and so do the other actors — Chandunath, Anu Mohan, Suresh Kumar, Nandu, Ajmal Ameer, Rahul Madhav, Dain Davis etc. But there are no major takeaways from the film; be it in terms of scenes or performances. One gets less and less invested as the story progresses. The plot feels underwhelming, especially when the motive behind the woman’s disappearance is revealed.

With the inclusion of elements such as parapsychology, spirit and props to make it a horror thriller, the script could have had so many layers to give us a gripping narrative. That does not happen and even the attempts at creating an exciting climax fall flat. The film might be a one-time watch for those who prefer horror thrillers, but don’t expect it to blow your mind.

Hunt is currently running in theatres

Just when the $8.4-billion deal for David Ellison’s Skydance Media to buy Paramount Global was gliding toward the finish line, Shari Redstone’s roller-coaster sale took another sharp turn.

Seagram liquor company heir Edgar Bronfman Jr. this week persuaded Paramount’s independent board members to consider his rival bid for the Redstone family’s investment firm, National Amusements Inc., and a minority stake in Paramount. After spending weeks rounding up investors, Bronfman submitted his proposal late Monday — two days before the bidding window closed — and then sweetened the offer to $6 billion.

Now the stage is set for more jockeying until Paramount’s Sept. 5 deadline to decide who will win the beleaguered media company that owns CBS, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, MTV and the historic Melrose Avenue film studio.

“This has been a very strange process,” Charles Elson, founding director of the Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at University of Delaware, said Friday. “This company has provided more ‘theater’ than any other company I can think of. … It’s just remarkable that here we are.”

Paramount’s decision to extend the deadline for Bronfman did not sit well with the Skydance team.

Skydance’s lawyers sent a terse letter to Paramount’s special committee of independent directors Thursday, accusing them of violating the terms of Skydance’s agreement to buy National Amusements and Paramount, according to three people familiar with the letter who were not authorized to discuss it.

Bronfman’s bid isn’t expected to derail the Skydance deal, according to the knowledgeable people.

But there are risks to Paramount’s late-in-the-game flirtation with another suitor.

“It’s not cost-less to do this,” said Melissa A. Schilling, a management professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business. “It is creating conflict with Skydance and, should they prevail, they are going to come in angry. That’s not a great way to start a marriage.”

Representatives of Redstone, Paramount, Bronfman and Skydance declined to comment.

Bronfman is trying to thread a needle created by a provision in the Skydance agreement, approved in July. The deal established a 45-day “go shop” window for Paramount’s board to solicit offers “superior” to that of Skydance.

Several sources speculated that Paramount’s board’s willingness to entertain Bronfman’s proposal stems from Redstone’s desire to protect her family from costly shareholder lawsuits. The sales process already has sparked litigation, and the Paramount directors’ efforts to beat the bushes could help demonstrate that there weren’t viable bidders beyond Skydance, helping them defend against shareholder actions.

“This process could be designed to put a check mark in the due diligence box for shareholders, saying: ‘We looked out for you,’ ” Schilling said.

There could be other motivations.

The Skydance group has deep pockets, including tech titan Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle Corp., and RedBird Capital Media, a decade-old firm founded by former Goldman Sachs partner Gerry Cardinale.

Paramount may also be angling for additional concessions from the Skydance group, the knowledgeable people said.

But Skydance already has sweetened its offer for Paramount and NAI — twice.

There could be continued heartburn over the terms of the Skydance deal. The major issue, according to shareholders, is the all-stock nature of the transaction and the plan to fold David Ellison’s smaller Santa Monica Skydance studio into Paramount.

Skydance Media founder and CEO David Ellison.

(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

Some shareholders have grumbled over the $4.75-billion valuation of Skydance, alleging the entertainment firm isn’t worth nearly that much.

Skydance co-owns some of the Paramount studio’s biggest blockbusters, including “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Star Trek.” Ellison’s company also has been building an animation studio under John Lasseter, former Pixar creative executive.

Some investors complain that the deal undervalues the holdings of Paramount shareholders while overvaluing Skydance, further diluting the value of Paramount’s stock.

That’s a scenario that played out with the disastrous AOL-Time Warner merger a quarter of a century ago, Schilling said.

“One of the things the AOL-Time Warner deal taught us is that the company that is initiating the transaction may be overvalued,” Schilling said. “AOL’s stock was valued super high because that was at the peak of the internet bubble. And AOL was able to turn a bunch of unrealized capital gains into cold hard assets.”

Skydance won support of Paramount’s board, in large part, by carving out $4.5 billion to buy shares from Paramount investors, including nonvoting Class B shares at $15 a share.

Bronfman scrambled to identify funds — a proposed $1.7-billion set-aside — to offer Class B investors $16 a share.

Both bids would inject $1.5 billion into Paramount’s battered balance sheet, allowing the firm to pay down debt, when the deal closes. Federal regulators must weigh in, a process that’s expected to take about a year.

In addition, Bronfman said he would match Skydance’s proposal to buy out National Amusements for $2.4 billion. Once the firm’s debts of about $650 million are paid, the Redstone family would come away with $1.75 billion.

The late Sumner Redstone made sure the company, formerly known as Viacom, had two classes of stock, allowing his family to keep a tight grip. The Redstones, through National Amusements, own 77% of Paramount’s voting Class A shares.

But the bulk of the equity is held by nonvoting Class B shareholders — and that’s the problem, Elson said.

“The controlling shareholder can move on their own whim as opposed to doing what other shareholders would agree to,” Elson said.

Shari Redstone.

(Martina Albertazzi / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Go shop” provisions are infrequent during competitive auctions but are fairly common for the sale of financial firms or privately held companies, Schilling said.

Skydance has the ability to match the terms of Bronfman’s deal.

Most observers believe Bronfman has an uphill battle to wrest the deal away from the Ellisons.

“We simply cannot fathom why Bronfman (and components of his investor group) would be pursuing Paramount this aggressively unless the Redstones and members of the Paramount Special Committee wanted him to,” media analyst Richard Greenfield of Lightshed Partners wrote in a report earlier this week.

“Maybe the Redstones have had second thoughts about selling to Skydance/Ellison?” Greenfield wrote.