The Passion of the Christ

It’s not the fact that I got sick to my stomach halfway through this movie and had to leave that leads me to not recommend it to others (although that might be a good enough reason for many to avoid it!). Rather, it is Mel Gibson’s artistic license that soured me. Perhaps it’s not fair for me to judge, having only seen half of the movie. But there are some really screwy things in the first half that didn’t make immediate sense to me, and I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t have even if I had stuck around. From Jesus’ bizarre encounter with a snake in the Garden of Gethsemane, to that weird baby-demon thing during the scourging scene — I’m left wondering if Gibson had access to some lost Gospel unknown to the rest of us. I guess I just can’t handle gory *and* weird. Pick one, Mel, but not both!