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Machine Gun Preacher

How…I mean, seriously, HOW, could you not want to see a movie called Machine Gun Preacher? I’d be incredulous if you said you weren’t at least curious. The movie could go in so many directions, and the one that it actually is, you may not be able to guess. It could be about a sociopath who preaches the world of G-d Jules Winfield-style before blowing people apart with a machine gun. It could be about an actual clergyman who uses a machine gun while giving sermons during mass to help instill fear in his congregation. The truth is – according to IMDb – Machine Gun Preacher is the story off Sam Childers, a reformed drug-dealing biker who finds G-d and becomes a crusader for Sudanese youth who have been forced into become soldiers. Blam! That’s not the blam blam of the machine gun you hear – that’s the sound of you hitting the floor in shock over the surprising subject of Machine Gun Preacher.

What’s that? Sounds too “preachy” for you? Maybe not when you learn that titular machine-gun-toting preacher will be played by perpetual smarmy badass Gerard Butler. Say what you will about the guy, but I wouldn’t want to mess with him (regardless of whether he were wielding a machine gun).

Forster might be the right guy for this type of movie – that is, action with a conscience. He’s made thoughtful and personal movies, and now he’s had a try at action and maybe those machine-gun-blasting moments will be a little crisper than in Quantum. I don’t anticipate anything whimsical a la Stranger Than Fiction or Finding Neverland, but then, there are few unifiers running through the veins of Forster’s work. And while Forster doesn’t have cart blanche given his most recent effort, I remain optimistic. He’s earned at least that much.

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