Courageous

Posted on January 16, 2012 at 8:00 am

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some violence and drug content
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drugs, drug dealing
Violence/ Scariness:	Some violence, teen killed in an accident, shoot-out
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	September 30, 2011
Date Released to DVD:	January 16, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B0062NAVXA

Courageous is the story of men who confront danger every day as law officers but who discover that it is a bigger challenge to be good fathers and family men.

Sherwood Pictures, the faith-based film production company behind “Facing the Giants” and “Fireproof,” gets closer with each film to matching its skill to its vision. “Courageous,” written by brothers Stephen (co-producer) and Alex (co-star and director) Kendrick. It is the story of four cops in Albany, Georgia. At work, they work to stop a drug smuggling ring. But the sheriff reminds them that drugs can appear appealing to people who are vulnerable because they do not have the support and attention of their fathers. It is their task as crime-fighters and as men, he explains, to be involved as fathers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9qd1xw7uvg

Adam Mitchell (Alex Kendrick) adores his daughter but has a hard time connecting to his son. And he is too often “too busy” to be there for both of them. Nathan Heyes (Ken Bevel) loves his children and moved them away from the city to keep them away from bad influences. But his son is intrigued by a new friend with a flashy car and his strict rules have made his teenage daughter pull away from him. He is adopted and never knew his own biological father. Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes) is divorced and shares custody of his son with his ex-wife. He makes up for their limited time and his own hurt about his parents divorce by acting more like a pal than a dad. And David Thomson (Ben Davies) has never acknowledged or supported his daughter by an ex-girlfriend. He left when she refused to have an abortion. The men befriend Javier Martinez (Robert Amaya), an immigrant who is having a difficult time providing for his family.

When Mitchell’s family suffers a devastating loss, Heyes’ adoptive father brings the men together for a formal ceremony to commit to a “Resolution” to honor God in every aspect of their family lives and then they bring it to their church, calling on other fathers to join them. When one of them makes a terrible mistake that separates him from his son, the fellowship of his brother officers helps him accept responsibility and seek forgiveness. The men also take on father duties for teenage boys who need their guidance.

The sincerity of this series of films and their willingness to present flawed characters in a spirit of understanding, compassion, and forgiveness make up for some predictability and inconsistency in experience in acting and filmmaking. It is a tribute to their vision and dedication that their movies have found such enthusiastic support and I look forward to seeing what they do next.

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Joyful Noise

Posted on January 12, 2012 at 7:00 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for language including a sexual reference
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Tense family confrontations, bullies, brief fight, gun, sad deaths
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters including disabled character
Date Released to Theaters:	January 13, 2012
Date Released to DVD:	April 30, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B007HHWJSA

Joyful indeed — this movie is pure cinematic sunshine, guaranteed to brighten the heart and gladden the spirit. Super-divas Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah play rival gospel choir leaders in an inspiring and heart-warming story filled with love, laughter, music, and praise.

G.G. (Parton) is still mourning the loss of her husband Bernard (Kris Kristofferson) when she receives another blow. She expected to take over his duties as choir leader but the church council picks Vi Rose (Queen Latifah) and her more traditional approach instead. Vi Rose’s husband is in the military and out of contact. She has to take on extra work to support Olivia and her son Walter (Dexter Darden), who has Asperger’s syndrome that makes social interaction difficult. She is devoted to the choir, a source of stability and connection for her. She wants it to be competitive but it is more important to her that it be clear that the focus is on the music as worship, not performance. When they get a chance at the national title — and a budding romance between G.G.’s grandson Randy (Broadway star Jeremy Jordan) and Vi Rose’s daughter Olivia (Keke Palmer of Akeelah and the Bee) — G.G. and Vi Rose will have to find a way to work together harmoniously. And that, after all, is what a choir is about.

Writer/director Todd Graff demonstrated in the underrated Camp and Bandslam that he understands teenagers as characters and works well with them as performers. His sincere and sympathetic appreciation for their stage of life is a pleasure to experience. Graff also understands the passion of those who love to perform before a live audience and the challenges they face. As an experienced theater nerd himself he knows how to stage musical numbers. And he is remarkably adept at managing a lot of characters and story lines gracefully, giving each element of the story its own dignity and spirit and sensitively evoking a touching sense of a small-town Georgia community hit hard by the economic upheavals of the past five years. I would have excised a not-very-comic sub-plot about one choir member’s difficulty finding a date after a man dies following their first night together. But the rest is skillfully blended with some sharp dialog. “You’re so country you’ve been married three times and have the same in-laws,” one character teases another. “Your train of thought makes all local stops,” says another.

Queen Latifah gives her best performance to date because Vi Rose is the most complex character she has played to date, giving her a chance to show her confidence, her humor, and her warmth. She shines in a terrific speech about what incandescent beauty really means and sings a moving “Fix Me, Jesus.”

Parton makes a welcome return to feature films after nearly two decades in a role as tailor-made for her as her fitted choir robes. G.G. is flashy and outspoken. But she, too, is trying to hold on in difficult times. She is estranged from her daughter and trying to care for her grandson. In a scene of piercing sweetness, she remembers her life with her husband in a tender duet that gently evolves into a trio.

Jordan and Palmer are enormously appealing, with a quiet chemistry that lights up the screen.

Parton’s three tuneful new songs are mixed with raise-the-roof adaptations of gospelized classics Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and Michael Jackson’s “The Man in the Mirror.” On stage and off, Graff shows us the characters’ kindness and sense of connection even when they frustrate each other and it feels very genuine. There is a lot of heart in the musical numbers that deepens our pleasure in seeing the characters find what the harmony they are looking for.

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We Bought a Zoo

Posted on December 22, 2011 at 6:07 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for language and some thematic elements
Profanity:	Some mild crude language, s-word
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Some drinking
Violence/ Scariness:	Sad offscreen deaths of parent and animal, some mild peril
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	December 23, 2011
Date Released to DVD:	April 2, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B004LWZW9W

This is a good, old-fashioned family movie grounded in Matt Damon’s best-ever performance, inspired by the real-life story of a young widower who, without knowing a lot about animals or running a business, impulsively decided to buy a zoo.

Benjamin Mee (Damon) is a reporter still mourning the loss of his wife. His young daughter Rosie (the very gifted and almost impossibly adorable Maggie Elizabeth Jones) is sad. His teenage son Dylan (Colin Ford) is angry and sad. When Mee’s editor tries to reassign him, Mee realizes that the family needs something completely different. And there is not much as different as a zoo. At first Dylan is even angrier. He has already lost his mother and now he has lost everything else that is familiar to him. And the zoo, which has been closed down will be very expensive to get into operating condition. It makes no sense, as Mee’s practical brother (Thomas Hayden Church) keeps reminding him. But after so much loss, Mee needs to feel that he can help something come alive.

The animals are cared for by Scarlett Johansson, looking sensational without make-up, as Kelly the zookeeper. Mee survived a lot of dangerous situations as a journalist, covering dictators and hurricanes, but now he must be a participant, not an observer, and people, animals, and his family are depending on him. Fortunately, he is handy with tools and has a fix-it frame of mind. Unfortunately, that does not work with teenagers. But Dylan is befriended by Kelly’s niece, played by Elle Fanning, who shows herself already a masterful actor by creating a distinctly different character from her equally sensitive performance earlier this year in “Super 8.”

This could easily have been sit-com-ish or corny — there is a persnickety inspector who has to sign off on the zoo before it can open and a group of quirky but lovable staffers, a mostly-humorous search for an escaped animal, and a discreet but sad farewell to one of the big cats. But director Cameron Crowe (“Jerry Maguire”), who co-wrote the script with “The Devil Wore Prada’s” Aline Brosh McKenna, makes it work with the help of a superb soundtrack by Jónsi. And Damon’s performance centers the story with such presence and commitment that even viewers who pride themselves in being impervious to the charms of animals and children will find themselves melting.

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Interview: Nancy Stafford of ‘Christmas with a Capital C’

Posted on December 15, 2011 at 8:00 am

The beautiful and talented Nancy Stafford (“Matlock”) stars in the heartwarming Christmas with a Capital C, now available on DVD. She spoke to me about the movie and about the way her faith leads her to projects that share her message of faith and God’s love for each of us.

Tell me about the character you play in this movie.

I love this movie and I love my character! I play the heart and soul of the film, all due to the fabulous work of Andrea Gyertson Nasfell, who wrote the movie. I play the wife of the mayor of a small town in Alaska, played by Ted McGinley. We’re the kind of town where everyone gathers together at Christmas big time and we have a tradition of putting the nativity scene in the city park. And then a long-time childhood friend comes back to town and challenges us with a legal battle to remove the religious display from city property and gets an injunction, the town is split. Some people think we ought to make it more inclusive and get rid of the name “Christmas” but others say “we can’t let these folks to roll all over us.” My character is the one who brings some reason and some heart. She says instead of being combative and argue our way into agreement, why don’t we put our feet to faith and allow our actions instead of argument be the thing that is louder? Why can’t we be Jesus with skin on and do what Jesus said He had come to do, to be Emmanuel, the God with us, and be the heart and soul and mind of Christ for the people around us. The whole city launches a Christmas with a Capital C campaign of acts of kindness and service. We give away hot chocolate and wash people’s windows and do things for the homeless and those who have a little less. It changes the heart of the Grinch character but it also changes the whole town. I love the film because it makes the world recognize how ridiculous it is to try to take Christ out of Christmas but it is also a message to the church. It’s not to say we should not stand up for truth and righteousness but it is to say that our positive actions, our loving response to the people around us, even those who don’t agree with us, that changes people’s hearts.

Your character really tells people to start with themselves and that will change people more than arguing with them.

I got to say the best speeches in the film!

Tell me about your “Grinch” character.

Daniel Baldwin, one of the bad Baldwin boys. He’s a lovely guy, but plays a hardened character who grew up in the town but has gone off and seen the world and has had some unfortunate run-ins with Christians who have turned him off big-time. I can relate to that. I grew up in the church myself but when I went to college and didn’t have to go to church I chose not to. I had some issues with what I saw as hypocrisy in the church. So I get it! I was a prodigal for 15 years before I darkened the door of a church again. So I know there are a lot of people who don’t have a problem with Jesus but they have a problem with the church. So this guy comes back and he is hurt and disappointed and he does not want to participate or have it in his face. But he is a hurting and broken man. He has some vulnerability. So in the story when our daughter gives him cookies and it’s such a literal picture of her peeking in the window and seeing what was really happening in his house, like peeking into his soul and seeing that he is destitute on the inside.

Is it important to you that the projects you work on reflect your faith?

Yes, it is terribly important to me. I have been blessed to do two faith-based projects. For a lot of years I did not want to do them. I have been lucky enough to have some success in secular marketplace and only in the past few years I have seen Christian films that can hold up in the marketplace of films, that are looking better and better. But even though I have done secular work my faith has still been the driving force on what I choose to do. It dictates everything I do in life. I am not going to do anything that is counter with a Kingdom value. Over the years, as a result, I’ve worked less and less, but God is gracious and won’t let me leave the business. Part of it is the projects I turn down and part is just the roles for women over 50 in Hollywood. But I am speaking a lot and doing conferences and retreats and writing books and ministering to women, so my world is more spread out.

Do you have a favorite Bible verse?

There are so many! But I love Isaiah 61. They are life verses for me. They resonate to my heart and have been transforming for me. When the old prophet Isaiah is telling of Jesus coming, the pre-incarnate Christ talking through this prophet saying. “I’ve come to preach the good news, bind up the broken-hearted…oil of gladness instead of despair.” The great exchange we get when we have a life in Christ continues to touch me.

I’d love to hear about your new book.

I love this book! It’s called The Wonder of His Love: A Journey to the Heart of God. It’s a 30-day devotional that invites the reader to dive into the heart of God and discover 30 aspects of His love we might not always see or understand. Each one is on 30 different ways that God loves us. It’s really personal but people really seem to respond to it. I love women and I minister to women and my first book was for women but this one is for everyone, men and women, not a chick book. I write what I need. When I started writing Beauty by the Book: Seeing Yourself as God Sees You it was because I desperately needed to be reminded of who I am in Christ. I needed to assured and reminded of my value and my true worth, not based on what I look like or what I have or how I perform but on how He says about me me. The same thing with this book. I needed in my own life to be reminded of God’s actual, unshaking, immeasurable love for me. As I pored over scripture, I just saw it flying off the page. I started writing down a list of the aspects, the qualities of God’s love, His nature. I thought, if I need this, maybe someone else needs encouragement. When I’m walking through shadow times and in heartache or pain or disappointment, when it seems He cannot see me, when I can’t see His love at all, it is steadfast and always there.

The Greening of Whitney Brown

Posted on November 22, 2011 at 12:03 pm

B-

Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for brief mild language
Profanity:	Brief mild language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	November 23, 2011
Amazon.com ASIN:	B005TTEG0M

A middle schooler who thinks she has it all figured out finds herself tossed from 1 percent-ville to 99-percent-land in a cute new film in limited release called “The Greening of Whitney Brown.” Sammi Hanratty plays the title character, a spoiled prep school princess who is elected school president on a platform that is all about throwing the biggest, best, and most expensive party. But then her father loses his job when his company goes bankrupt and her parents (Aiden Quinn and Brooke Shields) take her to a place in the country that is all they have left. Everything is old and broken, there’s a horse that follows her around like Mary’s little sheep, she gets no cell phone reception, and everything she thought she knew about what makes someone popular turns out not to apply in her new school.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zeklp2nRXe4

Whitney has to start over more than once, especially after it turns out that the friend she trusted to watch out for her at her old school is more competitive and less loyal than she thought. As Whitney’s parents begin to figure out a path to a new career out in the country, Whitney begins to understand that things she once thought were important don’t matter and things she once dismissed without a thought are where the real value lies.