Beliefnet’s Kris Rasmussen has a list of 10 positive Christian characters in recent films. I was pleased to see Amy Adams’ performance in Junebug included, though for me the most spiritually touching moment in the movie was when Alessandro Nivola, as her character’s highly secular brother-in-law surprises his new wife by getting up at a church dinner to sing a hymn. The list is an excellent one, including historical characters like Sophie Scholl and James J. Braddock and fictional characters like Spider-Man‘s Aunt May.

An online film festival called “One Nation, Many Voices” announced the winners of its competition for authentic, non-stereotyped portrayal of Muslim-American characters.

Adherents.com has an excellent spiritual guide to movies that includes the religious affiliations of the most influential film-makers and critics’ lists of the best Catholic and Jewish movies.

Beliefnet’s Crunchy Con asked readers to fess up — which “great” movies don’t work for you? Many certified classics show up on the list, from Citizen Kane to 2001 – A Space Odyssey. Unsurprisingly, nearly every movie dissed by one commenter was praised by another, even My Dinner with Andre.

This time, I have free DVDs for ages 2-5 for the first five readers who email me at moviemom@moviemom.com. You do not need to send your address until I let you know that you have won. As always, I love hearing from you about your families and the movies you enjoy together (or those you did not enjoy) and any questions or additional information I can provide.
Remember — send an email to moviemom@moviemom.com, if you want a DVD. Comments below are always welcome, but only those who send emails will be eligible.
And keep checking, as the next giveaway will be mystery and thriller DVDs for adults! Coming up after that will be a promotional item from the new Indiana Jones movie, so stay tuned.

This off-beat and uneven fairy tale has something in common with its heroine — an uncertain incongruity. That heroine is Penelope (Christina Ricci), an educated, wealthy young woman with a loving heart and the nose of a pig. More of a snout, actually. While it is actually kind of cute, Penelope’s prospective suitors are so horrified by it that one after the other they leap out of her mansion through the window, wanting to get away so fast they do not have time to take the stairs and leave by the door.
The pig nose is the result of a generation-spanning curse. Knowing that the curse can be broken if Penelope is loved and accepted by her equal, her parents (Richard E. Grant and Catherine O’Hara) keep her hidden away and parade dozens of suitable suitors in front of Penelope’s two-way mirror. If they can just keep her indoors until the curse is broken, they think she can have a normal life.
But being kept inside like a hothouse flower (the production design includes bell jars and a terrarium) is not normal. And so, as all captive princesses in fairy tales must, she runs away. And as all romantic comedy leading ladies must, she meets a prince with a secret (James McAvoy).

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Three cheers for the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. In a press release issued today, CCFC announced that “As a result of CCFC’s Federal Trade Commission complaint, Baby Einstein has completely redesigned its website and is no longer making educational claims about its DVDs and videos.”
I have been a long-time critic of DVDs for under-twos and am delighted that they can no longer be marketed as “educational.” Studies have shown that babies learn less from watching these DVDs than they do from spending the same amount of time observing the world around them. The FTC and Disney have acknowledged what parents have known for thousands of years — that babies learn best from interaction and observation.