You Can Trust the Easter Story!
March 28, 2013

By Tom Snyder, Ph.D. This Easter Sunday, the History Channel will air the last part of its blockbuster miniseries, THE BIBLE. The final episode will tell the story of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection from the Four Gospels in the New Testament and the story of the Apostle Paul’s deliverance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles from the Book of Acts. The question arises, however: Can you trust what the Bible says about the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Passover, Good Friday and Easter stories in the Bible? In the opening to the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Luke in the New Testament, the Greek physician Luke, a close friend of the Apostle Paul, writes, “I myself have ca...

How Much Time on Your Screen?
March 20, 2013

Americans Spend 8-1/2 Hours per Day on Screens American adults average more than eight and one-half hours per day in front of screens, including TVs, computers, cell phones, video game consoles, and other devices. So says the 2009 “Video Consumer Mapping” study conducted by the Center for Media Design at Ball State University and Sequent Partners for the Council for Research Excellence funded by Nielsen. More than five hours per day were spent in front of TV screens, the study reports. Also, adults averaged 142 minutes a day in front of computer monitors, 20 minutes per day engaged with mobile devices, and 6.5 minutes a day on video game consoles. Furthermore, people age 45-54 averaged the most hours of screen time: just ov...

Violent Video Games
March 19, 2013

Violent Video Games:  More Playing Time Equals More Aggression A 2012 study led by researchers at Ohio State University “provides the first experimental evidence that the negative effects of playing violent video games can accumulate over time.” Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at OSU, co-authored the study with experts in France and Germany. Other studies have shown that a single session of playing violent video games increases short-term aggression, but this is the first one to show longer-term effects, Bushman said. Researchers found that people who played violent video games for three straight days showed increased aggressive behavior. Their expectations that others would behave aggressively a...

Bad News for LORD OF THE RINGS Fans
March 16, 2013

Bad news for “Lord of the Rings” fans. Originally, the third and final installment in Peter Jackson’s “Hobbit” trilogy was set for a summer release of July 18, 2014. However MGM and New Line recently announced the release would be pushed back to Dec.17, 2014. Although no explanation was given for the move, some speculate the release of Fox's X-Men: Days Of Future Past during the same time would have given the film more competition. “The Hobbit” recently passed the billion-dollar mark thanks to a successful opening in China. The second film, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is still expected to arrive Dec. 13, 2013....

Walden, P&G, Walmart and Hallmark All Get Together
March 15, 2013

  Movieguide had the opportunity to speak with the co-founder of Walden Media, Michael Flaherty on their new venture into television. Walden has paired with Walmart and P&G to create family movies for the Hallmark Channel. Flaherty says, "There is a great need for good family content on TV which families can put on and not worry that their children are being influenced negatively. It’s exciting for me to have this new pipeline in place. Hopefully we will be able to continue to increase the numbers of films and grow the number of hours that we are on television." While he now is a studio mogul, Flaherty started out as a teacher. He switched careers, however, after he “saw the enormous influence entertainment has on kids...

ARGO Incites Iran
March 13, 2013

By Natalie Fertig, Contributing Writer Entertainment critic and former lawyer, Dr. Ted Baehr, spoke out against Iran's decision to pursue legal action against the movie ARGO. The movie, which took home the Oscar for “Best Picture” in February and is directed by Ben Affleck, is based on the escape of six Americans from Iran during the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979. The Associated Press reports that Iranian officials are planning to sue Hollywood over ARGO because they feel the movie gives an “unrealistic portrayal” of their country. In the story, Hollywood and the CIA team up to sneak the hostages out of Iran disguised as a team that is scouting locations for a science fiction movie. “They have no legitimate legal...

The Most Popular Music in America?
March 13, 2013

The Most Popular Music in America? So Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, or Bruce Springsteen are the most popular singer/songwriters in America, right? Wrong!!!! According to CNN, Billboard recently reported that Katy Perry’s songs were played 1.4 million times on the radio in 2012, making her one of the most popular music artists. However, Christian Copyright Licensing (CCL) has calculated that Christian songwriter Chris Tomlin’s songs were played (and sung) 3.12 million times in American churches! Also, CCL estimates 60 million people in the United States know Tomlin’s songs. That’s almost nine million more people than went to see THE HUNGER GAMES last year in theaters in 2012 in the U.S. and Canada. Tomlin’s latest stu...

IRON MAN 3 Is Coming
March 12, 2013

IRON MAN 3 Trailer Tony Stark is back having recently saved the world last summer with his friends THE AVENGERS.  Check out the new trailer and read the Movieguide® reviews of the first two movies.  And then check back for the IRON MAN 3 review closer to date of release May 3rd! Read the IRON MAN review. Read the IRON MAN 2 review. Read the review of the Movieguide(R) Award winner, THE AVENGERS....

Behind the Scenes - OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL
March 08, 2013

Re-Visiting the Land of Oz By Carl Kozlowski, Contributing Writer MOVIEGUIDE® got a chance to attend the press conference for Disney’s new take on L. Frank Baum’s the Land of Oz, OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL. Attending were director Sam Raimi and actors James Franco, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, and Zach Braff. Q:  Michelle, you’ve been known for your work in indies and this is your first blockbuster. How was the experience of doing the CG visual effects and working with a big-budget filmmaker like Sam Raimi? MICHELLE WILLIAMS:  Well, I knew the moment that I met Sam that it wasn’t really going to be that different from other experiences that I’ve had because he’s first of all a consummate family man and his ...

SEARS HEARS AMERICA AND SIDES WITH JESUS
March 07, 2013

Shopping Beheamoth Pulls Ads from “Saturday Night Live”  Due to Outcry over “Djesus Unchained” Sketch. by Movieguide® Staff Sears has made a huge stance for Christian values, pulling their online ads running with the popular live sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live.” According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sears removed the ads due to feedback from customers seeing their ads associated with Christopher Waltz’s “Djesus Unchained” sketch on sites such as Hulu and NBC.com. This sketch, which aired on February 16, was met with a great deal of backlash from the Christian community. Christoph Waltz played a man-killing “Jesus,” armed with machine guns and slaughtering people in the streets. “When Muhammad is...