E! Says No to Celebrity Sleaze
October 16, 2012

In an interesting though not totally surprising turn of events, the Cable-TV channel E! Entertainment has decided to display a more sophisticated range of television shows. Instead of simply focusing on rather scandalous film and television celebrities, producers of E! Entertainment says they’ve now chosen to show “squeaky-clean” celebrities with more normal lives. The change began a year ago when Comcast Corp., the owner of the network, bought out NBCUniversal and enlisted its “turnaround specialist” to redesign E! and make it more profitable. The channel was already profiting much for Comcast and brought in $300 million last year, but the management recently found that stories on Christian football star Tim Tebow and fait...

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID
October 16, 2012

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: DOGS DAYS opens next week and is the third installment of the WIMPY KID movie franchise.  Check out the reviews of the first two below. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID READ THE REVIEW  DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: RODERICK RULES READ THE REVIEW ...

Wealthy Filmmaker Says Socialism Should Replace Capitalism
October 16, 2012

Joss Whedon, the wealthy director behind the recent smash hit MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, recently said socialism should replace capitalism. “We are watching capitalism destroy itself right now,” adding that America is transforming into a Tsarist Russia, and “creating a country of serfs,” making it difficult for the average person to succeed. Yet, Whedon’s solution seems to be to implement more government programs, control and interference. The multimillionaire went on to state how he wishes to “champion the working class” and give voice to the helpless. However, while attempting to distance himself from both systems, the solutions he advocated clearly fall in line with the overall socialist plan. These statem...

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
October 16, 2012

August 3 TOTAL RECALL (2012) A re-make of the 1990 Schwartenegger action movie finds Colin Farrell as the man who is a unknowing spy with an implanted fake memory. Check back closer to release for the full review. You can read the review of the original TOTAL RECALL   HERE   DIARY OF WIMPY KID: DOG DAYS The gang is back and they are trying to figure out a daunting question: What to do all summer?  This is the 3rd installment of the movie franchise (though it’s based on book 4 of the book series). Check back closer to release for the full review. You can read the review of the original DIARY OF  A WIMPY KID   HERE. You can read the review of the sequel DIARY OF A...

DreamWorks Acquires Classics
October 16, 2012

DreamWorks Animation recently declared its purchase of Classic Media, a company of many classic cartoons and live-action features. DreamWorks paid $155 million for the purchase and is quite confident that the addition will add to its own repertoire. The CEO of DreamWorks animation, Jeffrey Katzenberg, stated: "Classic Media brings a large and diverse collection of characters and branded assets that is extremely complementary to DreamWorks Animation's franchise business." This “large and diverse collection” includes hits such as “Rocky & Bullwinkle,” “The Lone Ranger,” “Casper the Friendly Ghost,” and “George of the Jungle,” in addition to holiday classics such as “Frosty the Snowman,” “Rudolph t...

MOVIEGUIDE(r): Faith in Action
October 16, 2012

By Peter Moorman Christians everywhere are praying for revival within the movie industry, and for right reason. Hollywood shapes the culture that shapes the minds of our children, but in addition to prayer we need to take action. James 2:14-17 says, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? …Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” MOVIEGUIDE(r) is the “work” coupled with the faith of believing Christians across America and across the world. MOVIEGUIDE(r) started in 1985 when only 1 movie had positive Christian content. Now, after 25 years of faith, prayer and action, over 66% of movies have positive Christian content! ...

Open Letter from Dr. Ted Baehr
October 16, 2012

My heart goes out to the victims and families of victims of the recent killings in a Colorado Theater. I'm sure yours does too. This killing is referred to by many as senseless. It's not senseless. I've taught for years about the stages of cognitive development and the impact of violence in the media. This was predictable. More such horrors are predictable. My heart is heavy because I know these kinds of tragedies CAN be reduced by redeeming the media. I'm not doing enough. With your help we've made tremendous strides in seeing more Christian content in movies and well as less sex and less foul language, but violence has not declined like you and I would like to see. Now is the time to take a stand. Studio h...

News of Interest
October 16, 2012

Here's a summary of news items of note: ** Group Fights New Internet Domains for Porn Industry There is .org, .com, .edu, .gov, etc. and some may even remember .xxx. The .xxx domain was thought to have been created to relieve the .com world of porn sites. However, history shows that pornographers only created more domains under the .xxx domains rather than leaving the .com domains, according to Morality in Media (MIM). According to MIM, the “ICM Registry is applying to add .sex, .porn, and .adult to its list of porn-related suffixes in the expansion of the Internet’s generic top-level domains.” MIM and other Christian groups, including MOVIEGUIDE®, are fighting this new move because it increases Internet pornography...

Good Bad Girls, Bad Good Girls, and Why We Love Them
October 16, 2012

By Amy Swanson Gone are the days of Donna Reed. Mothers like June Cleaver and Carol Brady are indeed a thing of the past. Yes, these women who cooked and cleaned in pressed dresses and perfect make-up were an invention of fiction, but we liked them anyway. They represented something; the desire to do our very best. These women weren’t stupid. They weren’t confined by husband or society. They were free to choose, and they chose to care for their families. These were good women, but they are gone now. They’ve been replaced by a new ideal, a naughtier one, and whether we truly aspire to be this woman or not, we are hard pressed to find a movie that doesn’t have this new female stereotype in it. They are the femme fatale an...

Holy Confrontations, Batman! Preaching the Gospel at Comic-Con 2012
October 16, 2012

By Dr. Tom Snyder, Editor The best news at Comic-Con 2012 was that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being preached on the streets and even in the convention. MOVIEGUIDE® saw several groups of people preaching the Gospel outside the San Diego Convention Center. One man was carrying a cross near the trolley tracks across the street. A woman nearby passed out a great tract, titled “Proof,” proving the existence of God and showing that belief in the miracles and the resurrection of Jesus Christ makes sense. Yet, by far the biggest Christian group preaching the Gospel outside the convention was the Holy Bible Team from the Bible Distribution Club in Cerritos, Calif., run by James Broman and his brother, John. MOVIEGIUIDE® has a...