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Congratulations to Sandra Bullock for her well deserved Oscar as Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her portrayal of a wealthy Southern white Christian housewife who raises a homeless black kid in The Blind Side is one of the best that I have ever seen. <<Read the rest on my Main page>>

Here’s a link to my review of the movie below: The Blind Side               *Top

Theater release: January 15, 2010 by Warner Bros. Pictures; Directed by: The Hughes Brothers; Runtime: 1 hour 58 minutes; Cast: Denzel Washington (Eli), Gary Oldman (Carnegie), Mila Kunis (Solara), Ray Stevenson (Redridge), Jennifer Beals (Claudia), Michael Gambon (George).

A post-apocalyptic tale that immediately reminds one of the old Mad Max flicks, the violence in particular. The story line plays out very similar to other movies in that genre except Eli (played by Denzel Washington) is on a mission from God.

America is a desert wasteland and it has been 30 years since a world war destroyed civilization. It’s every man and woman for themselves in this stark world of burned out buildings and crumbling highways. Food and water are scarce and it is surprising what is considered valuable. Cannibalism is a problem, violence is the norm, and only the strong survive. A great world to live in.

Eli is traveling to the west coast where he believes that a voice from God told him to go and deliver his treasure- a book.  Turns out that the Book is a King James version of the Bible with one more wrinkle I won’t mention. It is supposed to be the last Bible in existence. The Bibles were all burned after the world war for some reason never fully explained.

Meanwhile, a town warlord –Carnegie (played by Gary Oldman) has roving armed bands attacking travelers looking for a Bible. He hopes to use it to control people better and expand his empire. The battle begins when Eli shows up in his town with a copy.

Eli makes it out of town and Carnegie and his goons pursue him. Also a young woman, Solara, ends up as his companion and helps him to his destination.

Lots of twists and turns in the story but Eli does complete his mission but Carnegie does get his hands on a copy of the Bible but one he cannot use as his little empire begins to fall apart.

At the end, the Bible is published again and takes its place on a library shelf right next to a Koran.

Many Christians might like this movie in spite of all of the violence. I did. I found it rather inspiring to see Eli make the best of bad situations and continue to pray and read the Bible. Is Eli a sort of prophet? Yes, in an Old Testament way and one who dishes out judgment in the process. He seems to have supernatural power at times in overcoming his enemies on the road. Way more than good luck or military training could ever account for.

Yes, I even believed that Eli did hear from God and was on a mission from God. In fact I had the feeling that he had actually been blind at one time but received sight to carry out his long journey. I swear at the last when his mission was done he looked like he was blind once more.            *Top

Review by Dana Chaffin

On January 22, 2010 To Save a Life is opening in theaters nationwide.  This exciting Christian based film confronts many teen issues.  New Song Pictures gives viewers a touching story that will certainly change the way they see people.  The story is inspiring and the way it deals with the issues the characters face is remarkable.

To Save a Life is the story of a teenage boy, Jake (Randy Wayne), who must make the choice to do what is popular or what is right.  In the past he made the choice to be popular and it cost him a friend, literally.  Now he will not let that happen again.  Jake must also decide what he believes as far as God.  A youth pastor, Chris (Joshua Weigel), comes into Jake’s path and he has a very unique, but effective way of dealing with the teens. Jake’s faith is tested by many difficulties, but the final outcome is inspirational.

To Save a Life discusses difficult topics such as suicide, cutting, divorce, teen pregnancy, dating, partying, drinking/drugs, depression, abortion, adultery and more.  Although it is very tastefully handled, parents and leaders should know.  This is a very moving film that will help adults to understand what our teens are facing and teens to see what their actions towards others could be saying.

    To Save a Life is a powerful movie.  It is a great film for any teen, parent, youth group, etc.  I do want to warn there are some topics that might be too mature for younger kids; however most teens are aware of these issues.  Please check out the official website www.tosavealifemovie.com to find a theater near you and for resources.  Today many teens are faced with issues and situations similar to those discussed in the movie and this film may be just what is needed, to save a life.               *Top

I hear a lot of my Christian friends talking about what a great movie ‘Avatar’ is. However, I won’t be seeing it anytime soon even though I’m an avid Sci-Fi fan and would no doubt love the movie.  …

Why? Because of what James Cameron might do with all that money in the future. Remember the documentary hoax –”The Tomb of Jesus”? Bought, paid for, and produced by Cameron.

<<Read the rest of what I have to say about it on my main page>>            *Top

Theater release: November 20, 2009 by Warner Bros.; Directed by: John Lee Hancock; Runtime: 2 hours 6 minutes; Cast: Sandra Bullock (Leigh Ann Tuohy), Quinton Aaron (Michael Oher), Tim McGraw (Sean Tuohy), Jae Head (S.J. Tuohy), Lily Collins (Collins Tuohy), Kathy Bates (Miss Sue)

A tremendous ‘feel-good’ movie that highlights the acting talents of Sandra Bullock. Bullock plays a wealthy white Christian housewife ( Leigh Ann Tuohy) who takes on the onerous task of raising a homeless black kid- Michael Oher.

She helps him to overcome his learning deficiencies and encourages him to participate in sports. He eventually becomes a football star that ends up being heavily recruited by college coaches and later on to the NFL.

There are twists and turns along the way but Mrs. Tuohy and her family are up to the task and make a home for a young man who has never really had one. The process also seems to be good for the Tuohy family and gives them purpose and actually ends up drawing the whole family closer together.

There were also several interesting scenes where Leigh Ann had it out with some of her ‘socialite’ lunch friends who questioned the advisability of giving a home to a big black kid from the wrong side of town.

I was actually taken back by Sandra Bullock’s performance. I’m used to seeing her in comedy roles and in this movie I actually forgot that she was ‘Sandra Bullock’. She really excels In her role as Leigh Ann Tuohy and should be up for some awards, though the Hollywood crowd who vote on that stuff are usually not up for redeeming ‘feel-good’ roles and movies.

This is not only a touching movie but also a true one to boot. For once a Christian family is not typecast as a bunch of hayseed bigots like Hollywood usually tends to do nor are the Tuohys presented as some kind of idealized family like many Christian films seem to be guilty of. These are real people and the film presents them as such warts and all but also their natural goodness.

The title of the film was really apropos because I ended up being ‘blind-sided’ by the movie. It was far better on many different levels than I ever expected it to be even though I had read a number of lovely reviews on the film. It stands as a movie not to be missed—either in the theaters or later on DVD.          *Top

On Wednesday I wrote about how in this weeks story lines the writers of NCIS and particularly NCIS LA had turned the Major Hasan FT. Hood story on its ear. In rehashing over the NCIS episode -“Faith” (12/15) -in particular,  I realize that I had missed an obvious Muslim tradition within the story that was even more offensively reversed by the writers—forced reconversion or death.

In this episode an American military family was shown to be guilty of trying to force their Muslim convert son/brother to drop Islam. In the end it turned out to be his own brother who had killed the Muslim officer because he had ‘dishonored’ the family with his conversion to Islam and his refusal to recant.

I totally missed the irony of this story line.   <<Read the rest on the Main AFTF blog>>

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Last night on NCIS and NCIS LA, the TV series writers turned the Ft. Hood story of Muslim Major Hasan on its ear. Obviously they were figuring that all of us bigoted Americans were over due for a needed lesson in ‘political correctness’ when it comes to Islam.

After all, Muslims are the new favorite PC protected class in America and all the ‘propaganda’ that seems to run counter to that dictum in real life must be challenged in the fictitious world of Hollywood.  <<Read the rest on the AFTF Main page>>            *Top

Review by Dana Chaffin

Fountain of Youth is the debut Christian short film from Light in the Dark, Inc.  The film is only 12 minutes long, but the story is timeless.  Light in the Dark, Inc. is a unique production company with high standards and a promising future.

Fountain of Youth is the story of a young man struggling with being in a rut.  When he hears tale of a “fountain of youth” he is intrigued.  He talks with an elderly man that tells him where the fountain can be found.  He and a young female friend set off on a journey to find the fountain.  What they find is inspiring.  The cast, although debuting in this film, is talented. Much thought was put into every scene.

     Light in the Dark, Inc. was started in 2003 by Allen Carrescia.  It is run by Allen and his brother Reid.  Allen graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston.  Reid is currently at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. They are presently working on other short films with a feature film in the near future.

Fountain of Youth is an inspirational film that will touch many of lives.  The simplicity will draw viewers in to the story.  The cast does a great job of keeping your attention.  The film is available for only $5 (free shipping) at www.lightinthedark.com.

Genre: Animated, Comedy; Theater release: November 20, 2009 by TriStar/Sony Pictures; Directed by: Jorge Blanco; Runtime: 1 hour 31 minutes; Cast: Justin Long (Lem), Dwayne Johnson (Captain Charles T. Baker), Seann William Scott (Skiff), Jessica Biel (Neera), Gary Oldman (General Grawl), John Cleese (Professor Kipple).

An alien from space lands on the planet and the folks respond fear, the military searches for the intruder, and the scientists want to study it. Meanwhile, the alien makes friends with the kids who try to help him get back home.

You have seen this scenario a dozen times before in E.T. and a bunch of assorted Sci Fi and Disney movies. Nothing really new here except the alien is an American astronaut from Earth.

My grandson loved it but I had trouble staying awake. Too many clichés to keep me interested. Besides Planet 51 and their culture was far too similar to planet Earth and the town featured in the film reminded me of ToonTown at Disneyland and the cars looked just like what we use to have in 50’s when I was kid.              *Top