Marc Newman | Flicks & Faith

Dr. Marc T. Newman, president of MovieMinistry.com, helps Christians use film to reach others with the Gospel. He also teaches in the School of Communication and the Arts at Regent University.

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...
Dolphin Tale -- Review

September 22nd, 201107:18 PM ET

By Marc Newman

If you are like me, movies that star children and animals are not normally on your "must see" list. Be sure to make an exception for Dolphin Tale – an inspiring, empowering story about damaged lives and how love, family, and a very inventive prosthetics designer bring healing and hope. Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) is a boy who is experienc...
Dolphin Tale and Rethinking Dominion

September 22nd, 201106:11 PM ET

By Marc Newman

There are all kind of theories floating around about what life must have been like between Adam and Eve and the animals in the pre-fall Garden of Eden, but I wonder if it looked quite a bit like what I saw at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium last week. This impressive facility is the real-world setting of the film Dolphin Tale, which opens on Friday,...
Charlton Heston Presents The Bible – Sort of

March 29th, 201101:28 PM ET

By Marc Newman

Charlton Heston is the actor, perhaps more than any other, who is associated with the great Biblical dramas from the Golden Age of Hollywood. As Moses, he led the children of Israel through the parted waters of the Red Sea and received the Ten Commandments from the finger of God. He baptized Jesus as John the Baptist in The Greatest Story Ever Told...
“God is dead” – Paul; “Paul is dead” – Box Office

March 21st, 201102:06 PM ET

By Marc Newman

What is it with British filmmakers and attacking God? Eighteen months ago, Ricky Gervais took an interesting premise in The Invention of Lying – he creates a world where people compulsively tell the truth -- and uses it to ridicule the Christian faith. The "theology" (and I use the word loosely) that Gervais brings to the screen could be de...
More Theological Questions than Answers in The Adjustment Bureau – Just as it Should Be

March 04th, 201103:04 PM ET

By Marc Newman

The Adjustment Bureau does precisely what good cinema is designed to do: raise questions without providing answers. I know that some people like to go to the movies to get their expectations satisfied. It is the only way to account for some interminable romantic comedies and, frankly, most of what is called "Christian cinema." But this is not ...
Getting Lost at Sundance

January 28th, 201112:57 PM ET

By Marc Newman

Two days in to week two at Sundance and I am detecting a theme, at least in the films that I selected to see at this, the nations premiere independent film festival: we are lost. I am sure that there are plenty of feel-good films here in Park City, but for some reason, I have not seen them. Over the span of 48 hours I have watched as filmmakers sh...
Faith, Doubt, and Demonic Possession in The Rite

January 27th, 201105:48 PM ET

By Marc Newman

"I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence. That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us by the High Command. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves." Screwtape, in The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis Somebody down belo...
Fear, Temptation, and the Narrow Passage in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

December 09th, 201006:38 PM ET

By Marc Newman

Breathtakingly beautiful, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is another in a series of thought-provoking adaptations of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. For book purists, there will always be the shock of seeing changes to a beloved storyline (for me, the second viewing is always better than the first because I can now watch the film on its...
Aslan, Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed: Liam Neeson and the Narnia Press Controversy

December 07th, 201011:55 PM ET

By Marc Newman

If all I knew about The Voyage of the DawnTreader came from the general press conference I attended after theRoyal Premiere in London last week,I would come to a pretty startling conclusion: Aslan is like Christ, but couldjust as easily be like Buddha or Mohammed. Some outlets – from London’sThe Daily Mail to The Catholic NewsAgency&...