Will Online Streaming Take Over?
January 23, 2013

By Evy Baehr, associate editor of MOVIEGUIDE® It’s the end of the year 2012 and companies are revealing their revenues. For Hulu it’s been a great year, about $700 million in revenue and over three million paying costumers for the Hulu Plus subscription. This is quite an interesting development, since streaming was in question when it first came about. The question was, will the studios support this? How will it make money? Will it be legal?  Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Now the business model is at a point that online streaming could completely take over the whole business, and frankly we wouldn’t be surprised. These revenue numbers reveal that Hulu is up by 65% from last year and has two times as many subscribers. Hulu is movi...

Give DJANGO an NC-17 Rating
January 23, 2013

Christian Group Demands Hollywood Ratings Board Give Quentin Tarantino’s New Western an NC-17 Rating Hollywood, Calif. – The Christian Film & Television Commission®, an advocacy group in Hollywood, is petitioning the Motion Picture Association of America to change the rating of the ultra-violent new western from Quentin Tarantino, DJANGO UNCHAINED, from R to NC-17. “This movie ends with two of the most violent scenes we’ve ever seen in more than 27 years of reviewing movies,” said founder and spokesman Dr. Ted Baehr. “As countless research studies and recent events in Connecticut have shown, some young boys and men like to imitate the violence they see in movies, TV, and video games.” The movie shows blood erup...

Little Kids – Big Choices
January 23, 2013

Little Kids – Big Choices  By Amy Swanson, Contributing Writer Recently, SESAME STREET, a much beloved children’s television show, aired a segment on the subject of divorce. The show has never shied away from tackling controversial subjects. In fact, when the show first aired in November of 1969, it was intentionally directed at minorities living in the inner city. The show was instantly popular and gained universal appeal. Many adults today count it as one of the first things that come to mind when they try to remember what childhood was like. So, when SESAME STREET tackles a subject relevant to our current culture and presents them in a child-friendly fashion, media wise people should take careful notice. In 1992, it was estimat...

Revisionist Hollywood History
January 23, 2013

Revisionist Hollywood History: NBC’s “George Washington” and Spielberg’s “Lincoln” By David Barton, Contributing Writer Recent years have seen a rekindling of national interest in America’s true history – a fact borne out by the New York Times bestseller list. Whether it is my own The Jefferson Lies, David McCullough’s John Adams and 1776, Glenn Beck’s Being George Washington, Newt Gingrich’s Valley Forge and Victory at Yorktown, or even modern language reprints of The Federalist Papers such as Original Argument, people are willing to pay money to learn what used to be taught in school. Hollywood is attempting to capitalize on this growing interest through efforts such as Stephen Spielberg’s “Lincoln” and N...

Who Murdered the Value of Life?
January 23, 2013

Who Murdered the Value of Life? By David Outten, Production Editor  The mass killings of 2012 are appalling.  In both Colorado and Connecticut, the killers were considered very smart. Neither was apparently motivated by politics, religion or race. Both played video games. Many games have the player go from room to room killing and killing and killing. Many boys and young men enjoy the thrill of mowing down person after person. In Norway, Anders Breivik trained with the video game CALL OF DUTY:  MODERN WARFARE before murdering 77 people. The value of pixels on a monitor is nothing. You can kill “people” all day long with games, but there’s an impact on the mind and the spirit. Some few people will fantasize about doing ...

Top 10 Fantasy Movies
January 23, 2013

In the wake of the release of THE HOBBIT:  AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, here is a list of MOVIEGUIDE®’s 10 favorite fantasy movies. Some of them are intended for older children or teenagers and adults.   10. THE LION KING Quality:  * * * * Acceptability:  +2   1994   A magnificent example of Disney animation, THE LION KING is an heroic tale of good versus evil which purposely embodies many Christian allegorical elements, according to producer Don Hahn, a committed Christian.       9. THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO Quality:  * * * * Acceptability:  +1 1985   Woody Allen’s 1985 fantasy, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, shows that God can speak through unbelievers. 8. TOY STORY TRILOGY Quality:  * * * * Accepta...

Return to God: Rejection of Faith & Values Leads to Social Mayhem and Murder
January 23, 2013

By Dr. Ted Baehr and Dr. Tom Snyder Our thoughts and prayers continue to go to the murder victims in Friday’s school shooting in Connecticut and their families. We pray heartily that God and His people will comfort and aid them during their mourning and recovery, and afterwards. In that light, we were greatly heartened by President Barack Obama’s references to God, prayer, and Scripture in the wake of this tragedy early Friday afternoon. Sufficient time has passed now, however, that it’s important to express some thoughts about how and why such reprehensible evil occurred and how to prevent it in the future. Many people have immediately jumped onto the issue of gun control, but two of the first questions we asked ourselves...

Stocking Stuffer Ideas
January 23, 2013

STOCKING STUFFERS! Movieguide(R) has Santa-worthy ideas of DVDs to stuff in the stockings! Movies are always a welcome gift.  But you want something your kids will love AND that you will feel good about as well.  These movies are sure to please. These are all some of our recent favorites.  Check them out! ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT ARTHUR CHRISTMAS MADAGASCAR 3: EUROPE'S MOST WANTED...

BRAVE NEW WORLD? Genetic Engineering and Human Dignity
January 23, 2013

    BRAVE NEW WORLD?  Genetic Engineering and Human Dignity   The Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, IIR-ICSA, and the Evangelical Philosophical Society co-sponsored ICSA VII. World Congress on: “Brave New World? Genetic Engineering & Human Dignity,” Hilton Pasadena, California, 3 August 2012. The fascinating topic attracted colleagues from U.S. and abroad for an all-day conference featuring lively presentations and discussions in interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspective via 4 thematic Panels: 1.”Making Man in Man’s Image?”: Khaldoun A. Sweis (Oxford Univ./Olive-Harvey College); Maruice Mangum (Texas Southern Univ.); Robert M. Anderson (Argosy Univ.-Hawaii). 2. Utopia: Science ...

Is Hollywood Poised to Slander George Washington?
January 23, 2013

By Jerry Newcombe, Contributing Writer  Ever since the 1970s, it seems many of our heroes are being toppled---especially by the media and entertainment industry. This happens whether or not such a toppling is deserved. We’re often scolded, “Don’t impose your morality on me,” with no thought given to the immorality they might impose on the rest of us. Now, it looks like Hollywood is ready to impose its immorality on a man who not only doesn’t deserve it, but is not here to defend himself. George Washington. They’re working on a TV series---with complete artistic license---showing the father of our country hopping in bed with his best friend’s wife. And Hollywood elites wonder why millions of tradition-minded Ameri...