daily stream: a movie about faith, yet without sanctimony

2011’s Machine Gun Preacher is on Hulu and Prime in the US, Sky Store in the UK

Jan 29

I missed a couple of Daily Streams — sorry about that! I’m still trying to find the right groove for these…

In honor of the release of Plane in the UK this past Friday (it’s also playing in the US), I invite you to check out one of my favorite Gerard Butler performances, in a movie that has gone somewhat under the radar: 2011’s Machine Gun Preacher. This is the based-on-fact tale of Sam Childers, who found Jesus, went straight after a life of crime and violence, and headed to Uganda and Sudan to build orphanages for and kick some ass on behalf of orphans of the civil war, including child soldiers.

Butler is hugely engaging as Childers, a tough guy surprised to find he cares, and there’s a fantastic supporting performance by the always great Michael Shannon. And I really love that this is a film about religious faith that doesn’t presume the viewer shares that faith; as an atheist, I appreciate the lack of sanctimony.

US: stream on Hulu and Prime; rent/buy on Prime and Apple TV

UK: rent/buy on Sky Store

When you rent or purchase a film through my Prime and Apple links, I get a small affiliate fee that helps support my work. Please use them if you can! (Affiliate fees do not increase your cost.)

Like this? Want me to keep it up? Show your support by becoming a paid subscriber (if you aren’t already):

Please feel free to share this with anyone you think might enjoy it. Thank you!

find lots more movies to stream at Flick Filosopher

You control which emails from me you receive in your Substack account settings. Go to My Subscriptions > Flick Filosopher > Edit > Email notifications, then uncheck whichever bits you don’t want to receive by email. (No matter what email settings you choose, you can always read stuff at the Flick Filosopher Substack site or in the Substack app.)

follow me…

check out…

Substack for my fiction