Giveaway: Little Angels DVDs

Posted on June 2, 2012 at 8:30 am

I am delighted to have five copies of Little Angels: Animals, the latest in Roma Downey’s DVD series for preschoolers, to give away to my readers.

The DVDs are designed to help teach children their ABC’s, 123’s, and also introduce them to bible stories. Roma Downey who starred in the hugely successful television show “Touched By An Angel” believes that introducing children to the Bible is one of the most important things parents can do for their children.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrtzsWannD0

Families will enjoy these gentle lessons and I look forward to sharing them with five lucky winners. To enter, send me an email at moviemom@moviemom.com with Angels in the subject line and tell me how old your child or grandchild is. Don’t forget your address! (US addresses only). I’ll pick a winner on June 6. Thanks and good luck!

Related Tags:

Early Readers Preschoolers

How “Blue Like Jazz” Inspires the Audience

Posted on April 20, 2012 at 6:25 pm

If you see the film, be sure to share your story.

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Understanding Media and Pop Culture

Rebecca Cusey Responds to Christian Complaints About Movies

Posted on January 23, 2012 at 3:00 pm

My friend Rebecca Cusey has a very thoughtful piece on the outstanding Patheos website titled, “Christians and Movies: Recognizing the Danger Within, Not Without.” She writes:

In Matthew 15:10, Jesus states, “It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.” In the passage, He taking religious people to task about their rigid dietary rules, but I think the words apply more broadly. It applies to all makers of dairy products, as Monty Python would say.

We must each do the hard work of recognizing our own weaknesses. For some, it may be that sexual content does indeed feed a weakness within. Others may revel in the dark side of violence or evilly enjoy gruesome scenes. For many women, the danger is a false depiction of romance, as in ‘Titanic,’ which feeds the selfish dissatisfaction in our hearts with our spouses and families.

It’s not only entertainment media, but all aspects of consumer culture that can light the warning lights in the dashboard of our hearts….We give media too much credit for having power over us, and let ourselves off the hook in the process. It’s much easier to blame media for our strayings and discontentments than to recognize they come from within.

I appreciate this point of view and her emphasis on the importance of taking responsibility for ourselves, our actions, and our responses to what we see. On one hand, we must acknowledge that we are influenced by media and culture. A multi-billion dollar industry is devoted to using the latest and most sophisticated techniques of psychological conditioning to get us to buy things (Cusey acknowledges that she is as or even more likely to be led into temptation by a catalog as a movie). The artistic and commercial focus behind any movie or television show is on engaging our emotions and directing our thinking. And part of responsible, mature behavior is protecting our minds and spirits from toxic influences as we protect our bodies from harmful substances. But Cusey is right that too often religion-based fears about media fixate on the wrong questions.

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Understanding Media and Pop Culture

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.

(more…)

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.