Christians and Pop Culture responds of Movieguide.org challenge

First a quick podcast update: due to other commitments, the podcast this week won't be recorded until sometime on Saturday, so look for it to be posted sometime on Sunday, by Monday morning at the latest.

Christ and Pop Culture has been doing a series this week responding to a challenge from a Movieguide.org editor who called them out on criticising Movieguide's awful list of best "faith and values" movies of 2007.

So far, they had an article about the question of Christians listening to secular film critics, the true meaning of Philippians 4:8 in regards to art, and, most recently, what makes a film "good." All of these are brief, interesting reads, even if they do bring up some points I disagree with(I didn't find any problems in Transformers that related to my Christian faith).

Since we won't have a podcast tomorrow I'll try to write up an original article of our own attacking Movieguide.org and pointing out their hypocrisy. I suppose what makes me the most upset about Movieguide's list is that it only lists a single explicitly Christian film(Amazing Grace) on their top ten list, and ignores the entire rest of the Christian film industry in favor of picking Hollywood films, thereby engaging in exactly the kind of secular focus that they attack Hollywood for having. More tomorrow.

(Christ and Pop Culture)

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Christianity Today's Top 10 Redeeming Movies of 2007

As we continue our weeklong feature on the top movies of 2007, we now have something more in line with the stated function of the blog and podcast.  

Christianity Today's critics have already picked their top 10 movies of 2007, but some of those are movies that they picked because they are artistically great.  Many of them are challenging for people of faith, depicting great evil and great trials for the few righteous characters.  

These movies, on the other hand, one and all are films that lift up the soul and expose the beauty and sublimity of the human experience.  Movies that celebrate God's love and redemption, even they don't always spell it out in those words.  I've seen only 4 of these films, so I can't tell you without a doubt that the other's are among my favorites, but I do think that these particular critics have a great insight and I would trust their recommendation.  All of these films are films that a Christian can watch without any worry about their soul being troubled or being exposed to anything offensive.  The only films on the list that might raise a flag for families are The Diving Bell and the Butterfly(brief nudity) and The Kite Runner(a non-graphic depiction of rape).

Christianity Today's Top 10 Redeeming Movies of 2007:

1.  Into Great Silence

2.  Lars the the Real Girl

3.  Juno

4.  Amazing Grace(listen to our review!)

5.  Bella

6.  Into the Wild

7.  The Kite Runner

8.  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

9.  Ratatouille

10.  Freedom Writers

(CT Movies)

Part 1 of our Feature(CT Movies Top 10 of 2007)

Part 2(The Kindlings Muse on the Theology of the Best Picture Nominees Save This Page

The Kindlings Muse presents the Theology of the Best Picture Nominees

The Kindlings Muse, one of the absolute best podcasts on the net, presents its annual discussion of the theology of the best picture nominees.

In our week-long series on Christian best movie lists, this is perhaps the least representative of the kind of movies we review on this podcast/blog. For obvious reasons, even the best Christian films aren't going to be nominated for Best Picture by the Academy Awards anytime soon. Or ever.

But I did see most of the films that are nominated for best picture, and I thought all of them were excellent. I especially liked Juno and There Will Be Blood, and I didn't really care much for Atonement. I can tell you without a doubt that all of the nominated films are worth watching if you like movies. If you're looking for good movies safe for Christian audiences, then tune in to the next episode of the podcast for a special feature on that.

This podcast also has a great discussion on the purpose of art, and how explicitly Christian art is failing in contemporary times. It all boils down to weather or not you think that art should raise important questions, or if it should simply tell you what you already know.


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2007 Christianity Today Critic's Choice Awards

You might recall that we talked about the bizarrely awarded "Christian Oscars," on our last episode.  A quick recap, for those just tuning in; the 16th Annual Faith and Values Gala, sponsered by the self-described Christian Film & Television Commission, gave out their awards February 12.  Ted Baehr, the founder of the subscription-only website movieguide.org and of the similarly titled Movieguide magazine, hosted the event.  Their list was more than a bit questionable, both in terms of quality(Spider-Man 3?) and in terms of Christian values(Live Free or Die Hard?)

So, in the spirit of this, and in celebration of the Academy Awards last night, this week I'm going to post a couple of much better examinations of movies from a Christian perspective.  

For starters, lets go with one of the best Christian movie resources on the Internet, Christianity Today Movies.  They recently had their critics' top 10 of 2007, and all of their choices are top notch.  

1.  Juno

2.  There Will Be Blood

3.  Atonement

4.  Lars and the Real Girl

5.  Ratoutille

6.  No Country for Old Men

7.  Hairspray

8.  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

9.  Zodiac

10.  Into Great Silence

They also list among their runners up some of my favorite movies of 2007, including Gone Baby Gone, Paprika and Sweeney Todd:  The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

If you click through to their page, you can find links to their reviews for all of these films, in which, alongside the film's artistic merits, you'll find the reasons that a Christian film viewer might be interested in such films.  More reasoning that what you'll find justifying the mysterious choices from Movieguide.

(Christianity Today Movies)

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2007 Christianity Today Critic's Choice Awards

You might recall that we talked about the bizarrely awarded "Christian Oscars," on our last episode.  A quick recap, for those just tuning in; the 16th Annual Faith and Values Gala, sponsered by the self-described Christian Film & Television Commission, gave out their awards February 12.  Ted Baehr, the founder of the subscription-only website movieguide.org and of the similarly titled Movieguide magazine, hosted the event.  Their list was more than a bit questionable, both in terms of quality(Spider-Man 3?) and in terms of Christian values(Live Free or Die Hard?)

So, in the spirit of this, and in celebration of the Academy Awards last night, this week I'm going to post a couple of much better examinations of movies from a Christian perspective.  

For starters, lets go with one of the best Christian movie resources on the Internet, Christianity Today Movies.  They recently had their critics' top 10 of 2007, and all of their choices are top notch.  

1.  Juno

2.  There Will Be Blood

3.  Atonement

4.  Lars and the Real Girl

5.  Ratoutille

6.  No Country for Old Men

7.  Hairspray

8.  The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

9.  Zodiac

10.  Into Great Silence

They also list among their runners up some of my favorite movies of 2007, including Gone Baby Gone, Paprika and Sweeney Todd:  The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

If you click through to their page, you can find links to their reviews for all of these films, in which, alongside the film's artistic merits, you'll find the reasons that a Christian film viewer might be interested in such films.  More reasoning that what you'll find justifying the mysterious choices from Movieguide.

(Christianity Today Movies)

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Measure of a Man

The independant Christian film world is really just taking off left and right! Just today I heard about a cool project being produced by Dallas Christian Filmmakers. It is titled Measure of a Man and is a doucmentary about a man who was born with no limbs who preaches the gospel. It sounds like a very cool and inspiring documentary project, and I hope that they do well with it. Stephanie Carrillo, the director of the film, writes about it on her blog, which is where I heard of it.

On a related note, the Dallas Christian Filmmakers, an association of film-minded Christians banding together to produce films, is a great idea. They have a DVD available of a short film entitled The Call of Courage on their website. It looks like it could be entertaining; a Civil War drama featuring some good looking Civil War re-enactors participating. It is a bit pricey for the length($12 for 20 some odd minutes), but I might take the plunge and buy it anyway. If we're going to review bad, low budget movies, I'd rather put my money towards those that are produced by people who love to make films and have something they want to say than send another $15 to Hollywood for some insulting attempt at getting Christians money.

(Downpour Productions)

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Jesus, The Spirit of God: UPDATE 1

Remember Jesus, The Spirit of God, the Islamic Jesus movie out of Iran?  Well, ABC News has a story on it that has an interesting tidbit I haven't seen elsewhere.  Apparently the film has two endings, one that follows the Koran's account of Jesus, and another that follows the Bible's.  

This makes the film much more interesting, and I want to see it even more.  I think it is a fascinating thing to see a non-Christian film about the life of Christ, and I'd like to see how it compares to the Gospel accounts.  The multiple endings truly fascinate me.

(ABC News via BigHominid)

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Episode Twenty-Three - The Heartwood Dagger

Episode Twenty-Three is up.

In this episode we review The Heartwood Dagger. Written & directed by Dustin Ledden, starring Dan Bell, Rick Ramirez, Aaron Ledden, Mike Yitri, Norma Dalen. Don't ask me who played who, since I can't find any real info on the title other than its festival entry page at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.

This film didn't even have an IMDB page until I made one for it. Heck, I only found IMDB entries for a couple of the handful of people I know who worked on this film.

The story is about a dagger that has been passed down from father to son since Pilgrim(literally) times. Now Robert Fuller has realized that he failed his son and his mistakes are being passed onto the relationship between his son and grandson. He tries to show them the symbolism behind the dagger and mend their family relationships. But a mysterious stranger threatens to steal the heart of the grandson...

Show Notes:

The Filmweavers website.

Peter Chattaway's interview with Cindy Bond, producer of The Ten Commandments and the upcoming Noah: A New Beginning. Cindy Bond is also the president and COO of Promenade Pictures, the studio behind those films.

The Christian Post reports on the so-called Christian Oscars, the Annual Faith & Values Awards, selected by the Christian Film & Television Commission and hosted by Ted Baehr, founder of Movieguide.org.

***

Golden Calf
Stranglehold (Don)

I don't have one this week, been too busy with school/work(Jon).

***

Outro:




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T.L. Higley writes Shadow of the Colossus

One of the best video games I ever played was Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2. It was an epic game of adventure and heroism, a battle between the small, weak hero and 16 of the most awe-inspiring creatures ever created. It may have been short, but it was a completely involving experience, invoking wonder, terror and sadness in its brief time. It is unlike any other video game I have ever played, and ranks right up there with reading the Lord of the Rings in terms of great experiences in my life. I'll never forget it.

So, you can imagine my excitement when I saw that TitleTrakk Book's had an article about a new book entitled Shadow of Colossus. I immediately clicked through the link to see why a Christian book site would be talking about a cool book like that. As soon as I got there, I realized it wasn't what I was hoping for. This is not an epic poem that re-tells the great quest of The Wanderer and Argo. This is a Christian romance novel, the first in a series based around the Seven Wonders of the World I gather.

Not the worst idea for historical romance, although I do wonder how they will weave a Christian romance around the Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus wonder. But you have to give T.L. Higley credit for stealing a great title.

Just don't tell Sony.

(TitleTrakk Books)

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Germane Productions' Project : Dialtone

Germane Productions is an independant Christian film company that is currently shooting a film called Project: Dialtone.

According to their official site, the story is as follows:
"What do a mysterious phone, a missing lawyer and an abandoned warehouse have in common?
They all help tell a story about Greg Pleasant, a lawyer who’s held back from leading the dynamic life Christ wants him to live because he fears man’s opinion of him more than God’s.

Greg loses the control he believes he has over his life, when an odd client tells him about an old phone that calls 2 days back into the past. Greg’s journey, along with some good advice from an unlikely source, help him die to his former self and transform his life into an exciting walk with God that is unhindered by the fear of man and this world."

Sounds interesting. I sure think that Christian sci-fi needs something besides post-rapture wish-fulfillment fantasies(don't you want to be Mad Max, but on God's side?), so this is a welcome change.

The reason I found this is because they are raising money for their film directly on their site. A bit unusual, but independent films need financing from somewhere. They've raised $600 so far, so they're doing pretty well.

(Germane Productions)

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Sherwood Baptist Church on the 700 Club

It's a bit short, but the profile on Sherwood Baptist Church on the 700 Club is interesting. I would have liked to have seen more of the Sunday activities at the Church, since I know that they do a lot more than just make movies. Still, it is interesting. Save This Page

Sherwood Baptist Church on TV!

Breaking news!  Sherwood Baptist Church, the filmmaking church behind Flywheel , Facing the Giants and the upcoming Fireproof, will be profiled on the 700 Club today!  12 noon PST, 1 PM MST, 2 PM CST, 3 PM EST.  You can watch online at TBN.ORG, and I'll try to have a clip of it up tomorrow or something.  

See the church behind the films! (Albany Herald) Save This Page

Karen Kingsbury's Gideon's Gift & Like Dandelion Dust

There is a new interview with Karen Kingsbury up, and while she doesn't talk much about the forthcoming movies based on her books, she does talk about her new novel.

There are two Kingsbury movies coming out soon, Like Dandelion Dust with Mira Sorvino and Gideon's Gift with Christian Slater.

Kingsbury sound like an interesting person, based on the interview, and I hope that translates into interesting movies, assuming that her books are also interesting.

She defiantly seems more interesting than author Nikki Arana, who's Windos of Sonoma is also being made into a movie. I think I mentioned Arana on the podcast a while back, she's the author who said she simply looks at books and magazines that are published and tries to write like that since it's what is selling.

(The Columbian)

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John-A-Thon

So... Jon asked me to make a post about'John-A-Thon', some sort of email spamming dealy to spread God's word. But I can't make heads or tails of it, or what the point is.

Here's the press release: The following is from the JOHN eNewsletter:

A Word from Bruce Marchiano

We give praise to Jesus as we move into a new year - glory to his name!

If I may begin by praying a blessing over you and yours … May every moment of this new year be filled with God’s favor, leadership, protection. May he be that constant voice over your shoulder whispering, “This is the way you should go.” May his faithfulness be so evident that it takes you to your knees in awe. May his grace and mercies be beyond abundant, supplying your every need, carrying you through every storm. May his righteousness shine like the dawn in you and through you - and may this year be a year of worshipping … him. Glory to the name of Jesus!

I am excited to begin the year with JOHN-a-thon. The name was coined and the concept introduced by two of our most faithful supporters, T.J & Wanda Harmon. They wanted to “blitz” their family and friends with emails requesting their support of John, and asking them to send the request on to everyone they knew. It thrills me because this is exactly what I felt was God’s plan - everyday believers stepping out in their own creative ways for the purpose of bringing Jesus to the screen.

The idea was so “of God” we decided to open it up to everyone, and so it is my great pleasure to announce our first John-a-thon, and invite you with all my heart to join us for this event. Already folks are signing up to join T.J. and Wanda. And it’s such a simple thing - compose a simple email expressing your own heart to see John come to the screen, humbly asking people to join you in giving, and to send on your email to their friends and families so that excitement about John will spread far and wide across the body of Christ. In this way and step by step, John comes closer to fulfillment - unto the salvation of precious souls. Glory to Jesus!

So I humbly ask you to consider taking part in John-a-thon. If even those of us who receive this newsletter each take the time and join together so many people will be reached! Details follow below. We are on our way! Thank you! Glory to the name of Jesus!

Bruce M

***

Ok... so, essentially, for the next 24 hours, you can donate money to make a film about John. If you're interested, you can donate here. Also, Jon has offered to donate 100% of our profits for the show, beyond expenses. So when the cash windfall comes in the next 24 hours, he's there for you.


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The Case for Christ: The Movie

John Armstrong has reviewed the recently released The Case for ChristrThe Movie on DVD.  He gives it high marks as a film and as a DVD, which has several interesting sounding extra features.

It sounds like a fairly boring documentary, but I hope that they managed to get some of the more engaging parts of the book translated well to the screen.  

I read this book years ago, and, if they simply video the interviews from that are described in the book, it would be an effective, if dry, movie.  Good christian documentaries need to learn from the bad ones, which cover up their poor research and lack of "facts" with flashy effects and dramatic music.

(John H. Armstrong blog)



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The Making of Love's Abiding Joy

Here's something we don't see too much: Behind the Scenes footage of Christian film! Ok, I kid, because some films like Facing the Giants and Jonah had a plethora of behind the scenes features. But many, such as The Last Sin Eater, have almost nothing. And speaking of Micahel Landon Jr., that's what we're seeing today. Bill Reinhardt, the sound mixer on the Love's Abiding Joy series of films, has posted a home video from the set of Love's Abiding Joy over on LiveVideo.com It's standard on set footage, but interesting since we've seen almost nothing come out of these sets before. NOTE TO CHRISTIAN FILMMAKERS: This is the sort of thing that should be on your DVD! I find it funny that from my own experiences on movie sets, you have the same types of people show up in just about every movie shoot. Click here if the embeded video doesn't work.

"LOVE'S ABIDING JOY" behind the scenes

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Noah's Ark: The New Beginning

Remeber that awful looking(literally) CGI movie of Th Ten Commandments that came out a few months back? We wrote about it here on the site, and maybe we'll review it now that it's out on DVD, or will be as of Tuesday.

Well, as we talked about on the last show, Promenade Pictures, the producers of the film, are sticking to their commitment to do their 12-part "Epic Stories of the Bible" series and are well underway on their next feature, Noah's Ark: A New Beginning.

Anyway, I though I'd kick off the week with a bit about the movie, even though I mentiond some of this on the show.

The interesting news is that this film has an even better cast than The Ten Commandments, albiet a strange one. Elliot Gould and Ben Kingsley return as God and the Narrator, respectively, but Michael Keaton plays Noah, and Jason Mewes and Jason Lee play Noah's sons Ham and Japeth. Patrick Muldoon rounds out Noah's sons as Shem. Also rounding out the cast are Rob Schneider, Marcia Gay Harden, Nicollette Sheridan and Eliza Dushku.

So, 3 of the stars of Jay and Silent Bob Strike back are starring in a kids Bible movie? With Rob Schneider? It seems that this one might have a lot more humor than the last one, and it does seem rather appropos that Jason Mewes play the pervert Ham.

Hopefully, the writers cribbed liberally from Jonathan Goldstein's epically funny take on Noah.

Writing that good could redeem almost any bad CGI.

(Christian News Wire & IMDB)

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Episode Twenty-Two - Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie

We are back with another great episode, this time talking about Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie. The sequel, VeggieTales: The Pirates who Don't do Anything just came out in theatres, so now you can see what we thought of the first installment.

SHOW NOTES:
The true, mostly complete story of what happened to Big Idea, which went bankrupt and out of business less than one year after Jonah's release.

Literally, one of the worst songs I've ever heard in my entire life. The VeggieTales theme song, as re-imagined by Rebecca St. James.



Intro:


Outro:

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