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POST PUBLISHED INFebruary, 2012

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Cinema In Focus - THE VOW - 3 Stars

February 29th, 201203:19 PM ET

By Denny Wayman

The question of how fate and faith impact us is the story behind the story of "The Vow." Based on an autobiographical book by Kim and Krickett Carpenter with this same title, the film changes the core message of the book from one of Christian faith to one of fateful "moments of impact." The underlying tragedy that occurs is told in both, when a hea...
What Christians Can Learn From Act of Valor

February 24th, 201209:13 PM ET

By Marc Newman

The Bible is a war manual. You don't have to read very far before you discover that there are, as Chuck Colson once noted, "kingdoms in conflict." The spiritual life is referred to as a battle, and (as descriptions of Armageddon clarify) Jesus is not just Lord of your life, He is a Lord of War. Of course, the weapons with which this spiritual war i...
Tyler Perry's Good Deeds Will Not Go Unpunished

February 24th, 201206:27 AM ET

By Marc Newman

I have been a longstanding fan of Tyler Perry films since Diary of a Mad Black Woman. And I am no Madea purist. I also thought that non-Madea films such as Daddy's Little Girls and The Family that Preys were also heart-felt and thought provoking. Perry is proof that filmmakers who believe that African-American actors are limited in their ...
Cinema in Focus - PINA - 3 Stars

February 23rd, 201212:48 PM ET

By Denny Wayman

Nominated for Best Documentary at the 2012 Academy Awards, "Pina" is not like most documentaries. Created by Wim Wenders, who was also nominated for "Buena Vista Social Club," this film is short on information but full of the choreography of Pina Bausch. A creative dancer who allowed, and even required, her dancers to identify their deepest longing...
Cinema in Focus - SAFE HOUSE - 3 Stars

February 22nd, 201201:59 PM ET

By Denny Wayman

Americans are often conflicted over their loyalties to their country, wanting to wave the flag bravely with our troops, while at the same time questioning the motives of some in our government. Right from the start, our Founding Fathers built into the Constitution a series of checks and balances that were meant to protect us from ourselves. This wa...
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance Burns Out

February 18th, 201201:28 AM ET

By Marc Newman

In Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Nicholas Cage returns as Johnny Blaze, the man who once made a deal with the devil to save his father's life, and became the devil's bounty hunter. In the original Ghost Rider film, when he is in the presence of evil, Blaze turns into the Ghost Rider, a flaming skeleton in riding leathers who eats the souls...
Cinema in Focus - RED TAILS - 3 Stars

February 10th, 201209:47 PM ET

By Denny Wayman

Racial equality continues to be a struggle in the United States. But what helps us make progress is the proven recognition that all humans are created equal and racial inequity is unfounded. One such moment occurred during WWII when the 1925 Army War College report claiming that "Blacks are mentally interior to the white man, by nature subservient....
Cinema in Focus - MAN ON A LEDGE - 3 Stars

February 10th, 201209:44 PM ET

By Denny Wayman

Joining together several genres of action films, from a fugitive trying to prove his innocence, to a police negotiator realizing the truth, to a mission impossible manipulation, Asger Leth's "Man on a Ledge" is an engaging tale. We not only care about the people involved on both sides of the negotiation but we have a clear sense of why evil is dest...
The Church at Sundance

February 03rd, 201203:41 AM ET

By Marc Newman

The whole idea behind edgy, independent film is that by prying themselves from the commercial grip of major studios, filmmakers finally have the freedom to tell the truth. Sometimes this works. Last year's The Redemption of General Butt Naked and Higher Ground were intense explorations of spiritual life. Both films were challenging in dif...