I’ll never be a movie critic

The last two nights I watched movies I’d never heard of—Sex and the City (2008) and Uptown Girls (2003). I’d planned to blog about the fashions, actually.  But when I started researching them, I learned that Brittany Murphy who played the goofy nanny for Dakota Fanning’s character in Uptown Girls had died mysteriously in 2009. And also her father had mafia connections and that’s why she used her mother’s maiden name.  So I decided being a movie/fashion critic is harder than it looked. And I gave up.  It’s easier to try to figure out why anyone would vote for Joe Biden.

https://extratv.com/2019/12/20/brittany-murphy-a-look-back-at-her-mysterious-death-10-years-later/

Philomena the movie, HIV and Reagan

This week at Lakeside we have a foreign film series, but these are all in English and two are about international adoptions, Philomena (British) and Lion (Australian).  I’d seen Philomena starring Judi Dench years ago and had forgotten most of it, particularly the sub-plot about the journalist who had lost his career and was more or less forced into writing a “human interest” non-fiction story which later became the book and then the movie. That it’s anti-Catholic is probably no surprise—the Roman Catholic church may be the largest and oldest target for both religious issues and social issues. Atheists, agnostics, and Protestants can all find something to criticize.    It is not just a Christian church—it is the largest social service agency in the world, and has about 26 different branches under its name all over the world each with unique language and culture. In the end, it is Philomena (the woman) who understands forgiveness, not the nuns and certainly not the journalist/author.

But Philomena the movie is also anti-Republican and anti-President Reagan, and that’s par for the course for the Brits who think we should have been happy to remain under the Union Jack.   Philomena’s birth son was adopted by an affluent American couple and grows up to become a valuable member of both the Reagan and Bush I administrations. He dies of AIDS in 1995.  However, he was gay during a time when there was almost no hope for remission from HIV (and 30 years later—it was identified in 1981—there is still no vaccine or cure), so Reagan is blamed for not pushing the federal funding more vigorously in 1986.  That’s absurd.

The U.S. was emerging from the boomer, free-sex and legalized abortion movements of the 1960s and 1970s,  people were demanding privacy in all things sexual and personal, the gay lifestyle was increasingly being recognized for “loving and caring” relationships particularly in literature and the arts, healthy lifestyles and personal responsibility for health advocacy groups were growing.  On top of all that, in the medical field researchers and university faculty were practically assuring us that the era and threat of infectious diseases was over.  STDs were going to be held at bay not by responsible monogamous life styles, but with penicillin. I remember that from the medical journals I was handling in the library.  Infectious disease journals were gathering dust.

President Reagan was blamed for the “gay disease” charge about HIV-AIDS in this movie.  And yet if you read any CDC fact sheet today, virtually all new cases (83%) of HIV are among “men who have sex with men” and that includes bi-sexual men who then infect women.
The recommendations by the USPSTF on screening are in order of importance:

1) Male-to-male sex (every 3 to 6 months screened)
And any risky life style comes next.
2) injection drug use
3) anal intercourse without a condom
4) more than one partner whose HIV status is unknown
5) transactional sex (exchanging sex for drugs)
6) commercial sex trade (prostitution)

So you see, in many cases it is still behavior and personal responsibility, not the federal government, which is your best protection from any sexual disease from syphilis to gonorrhea to AIDS. Don’t get advice on serious health matters from a movie with a political agenda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG3QP8foCvg  Trailer

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2690288/
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/01/philomena_and_the_magical_sodomite_archetype.html
https://www.thebalance.com/who-funds-biomedical-research-2663193
https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2015/01/29/public-and-scientists-views-on-science-and-society/

STORY OF HOPE AND HEALING, UNBRIDLED OPENS IN SELECT CITIES JANUARY 18

UNBRIDLED will open on January 18, 2019. UNBRIDLED tells the powerful story of an abused girl who teams up with an abused horse on a journey of healing. A full list of January 18 opening cities is below; learn more at unbridledtickets.com. ABOUT THE FILM Sarah (Tea McKay) is a 16-year-old girl who is abused, emotionally abandoned and written off as just another hopeless causality of this world. Karen (Dey Young), her single mother struggling with alcoholism, looks the other way when her abusive boyfriend Roger (Eric Roberts) secretly involves Sarah in an illicit sex traffic ring. Meanwhile, Roger toys with Mitchell (TC Stallings), the detective assigned to his case, who is himself desperate to find the missing daughter he believes may be involved in the same abusive circumstances. Convinced she is beyond redemption and unworthy of love, Sarah is sent away from the house that defined her horrors when Roger is finally arrested. At Unbridled, an equine therapy academy where young women like her find hope and healing, Sarah meets Dreamer, a horse who has also suffered abuse and lost all trust in humans. Together, Sarah and Dreamer walk the difficult road to healing as Sarah gets her life back on track. But when Roger is released, he tracks her down at the academy and threatens to derail it all. In the face of every hardship and terrifying obstacle, Sarah finds redemption through the family she rebuilds around her, ultimately learning that love is the most powerful force on earth. Drama / 115 minutes / PG-13 / www.unbridledtickets.com         Cast: Eric Roberts, T.C. Stallings, Dey Young, Tea McKay, Director: John David Ware [member of our church] Screenplay by: Bonné Bartron Story by: Christy McGlothlin, Bonné Bartron Produced by: Christy McGlothlin Executive Producers: Gerald McGlothlin, Troy Buder OPENING THEATERS | January 18 Tucson, AZ — Galaxy Tucson | 100 S. Houghton Rd, Tucson Los Angeles — Galaxy Mission Grove | 121 E. Alessandro Rd, Riverside San Luis Obispo, CA — Galaxy Colony Square Atascadero | 6517 El Camino Real, Atascadero Colorado Springs, CO — ICON Colorado Springs | 1818 Spring Water Pl. Chicago — Emagine Frankfort 10 | 19965 La Grange Rd., Frankfort Detroit, MI — Emagine Royal Oak | 200 N. Main St, Royal Oak;      Emagine Hartland | 10495 Hartland Sq., Hartland St. Paul, MN — Emagine White Bear | 1180 County Rd. EE, White Bear Township Minneapolis — Emagine Lakeville 21 | 20653 Keokuk Ave., Lakeville;      Emagine Rogers | 13692 Rogers Dr., Rogers; Reno — Galaxy Victorian | 1250 Victorian Ave., Sparks Las Vegas — Galaxy Cannery | 2121 E. Craig Rd., North Las Vegas Austin — Galaxy Highland | 6700 Middle Fiskville Rd. San Angelo, TX — ICON San Angelo | 2020 N. Bryant Bl. Filmmaker John David Ware, producer Christy McGlothlin and select cast members are available for interviews; a screening link as well as press kit, images and poster, are available upon request. Contact Lisa Trifone (lisa@11thstreetlot.com or 317.362.5378) for materials, interview availability and screener access.  ABOUT CINESPOTS Founded in 2005, Cinespots is a Silicon Valley-based film-distributor that delivers content that allows exhibitors to serve their local communities. ABOUT MOVING VISIONS ENTERTAINMENT Founded by UNBRIDLED producer Christy McGlothlin & Gerald McGlothlin, Moving Visions Entertainment is committed to creating and distributing visually appealing, emotionally captivating and utterly unforgettable feature films with wholesome, uplifting messages. ###

This is what you get with socialism

“Eighty years ago (November 17, 1938) Stalin ended the Great Terror, citing “local excesses” that had come to his attention. It wasn’t until two decades later that the KGB tallied the victims of the sixteen-month reign of terror at 1,334,360. Half were shot, and the rest sentenced to the Gulag. The Gulag itself continued to grow during and after the Second World War. It reached its peak of 2.5 million prisoners shortly before Stalin’s death. Of these, one out of five were women.”

https://www.womenofthegulag.com/

“Many hoped the Bolshevik Revolution one hundred years ago would usher in a new era of gender and class equality. Following the revolution, Soviet Russia declared “International Women’s Day” an official holiday, and “Marxist feminists” romanticize communism to this day. Women of the Gulag, both a remarkable book and a documentary film, highlights the disparity between the Soviet Union’s alleged gender equality and the reality of life for women under communism.”

Yes, we hear about gender equity from our college students and leftists in business and government.

“Joseph Stalin was responsible for the deaths of over 20 million people. Yet today in America, teaching on the crimes of communism is so bad that almost one third of Millennials think President George W. Bush killed more people than this Marxist mass-murderer. Those who are familiar with the history of Stalin’s Soviet Union might recall the name of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and his iconic Gulag Archipelago. Fewer still know that the majority of those who experienced—and survived—the Gulag were women, and it is their experiences, their memories, that must be preserved and shared to ensure the next generation understands the consequences of Stalin’s failed collectivist policies and his horrific disregard for human life.”

https://womenofthegulag.com/media-press/

The anti-Catholic films of Harvey Weinstein

What would you say if someone had financed and encouraged nine films bashing Jews or Muslims or women? What if the films were about Catholics? Would that be OK? How much of your knowledge of the Catholic church has come from films?  Harvey Weinstein's anti-Catholic films:

*Priest (1995), a film that centers around homosexuality, celibacy and the priesthood. 

*The Butcher Boy (1998) is about a young boy who is molested by a priest in a reform school and is fascinated by delusional fantasies about a foul-mouthed Virgin Mary played by everyone’s favorite bigot, Sinéad O'Connor. Birds of a feather flock together. 

*Dogma (1999), a confusing pastiche of Catholic beliefs, pagan myths and atheist Black Legend slapped together about the end of the world in which a descendant of Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph who works in an abortion clinic. 

*40 Days and 40 Nights (2002) ridicules Catholics who remain celibate for Lent treating sacrifice and abstention as if it was feat of strength rather than a spiritual offering to God. 

*The Magdalene Sisters (2002) depicted lies about Irish nuns falsely portraying them as abusive toward young wayward women they had “enslaved” in their laundries. In reality, the Irish secular government, dumped these women with the nuns as their families had already disowned them. The nuns gave them food, board and spiritual guidance and showed them love saving these young women from having to prostitute themselves. 

*Bad Santa (2003) depicted a mall Santa who was a vulgar, drunken, suicidal, chain-smoking, sex-addicted thief. Some have drawn parallels between this mockery of this children’s icon and Weinstein himself. 

*Sin City (2005) which depicted a Catholic bishop who aides and abets a serial murderer and engages in cannibalism. 

*Black Christmas (2006) is a tiresome slasher film replete with gratuitous sex and foul language. Both Harvey and his brother Bob were remarkably hands-on with this film. 

*Philomena (2013) was another set of lies reminiscent of the Black Legend that insisted that “evil” nuns had kidnapped a woman’s child. Actually, Philomena Lee abandoned her out-of-wedlock son when she was a teenager. It was the actions of the nuns, who often run orphanages around the world and throughout the past two millennia, who gave the child to an American couple who adopted him. Weinstein lobbied the Academy in the hope of getting an Oscar for Philomena. Thankfully, he failed. . .  

Both anti-Catholicism and anti-Semitism should be condemned, without exception. Bigots, however, often condemn one while eagerly engaging in the other."

 When Weinstein received a Humanitarian award in 2015, he condemned anti-Semitism.

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/astagnaro/a-litany-of-harvey-weinsteins-catholic-bashing-films

http://www.vulture.com/2014/01/miramax-oscar-campaigns-harvey-weinstein-timeline.html

Do you (or anyone) understand the European Union?

This film is obviously biased--the producers want Britain to leave the EU.  But what is interesting is the bureaucracy it describes, created to be obscure, and how this fits into an idea of "We the People." I'm convinced that the Brits are subjects of a vast machine they didn't elect and can't get rid of.  Now maybe you think that's a good idea, because power without accountability is pretty much what we have, and we're not members.  The EU bureaucracy has 10,000 employees (if that's what they are called) who are paid more than the British Prime Minister--no idea how many total.  They have their own housing, shopping centers, entertainment, restaurants and art museums.  "Investing in your future."  Sounds familiar doesn't it, but to get back one pound, Brits have to pay about 2.5.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTMxfAkxfQ0

Looking through the comments, I thought this one was interesting. "I'm Polish and have lived in the UK for over 10 years now. So, from my personal perspective open borders were beneficial. However despite a chance that I might have to leave this beautiful country, I truly hope British people will overwhelmingly vote to be a sovereign nation once more. Come on Brits! You've got once in a lifetime opportunity to get your country back - don't mess this up!."

There's a lot in this movie that is a message for the United States about regulation and how it is faceless, unelected, (in the historical, post WWII part) and not beneficial for the people.

The documentary, Trapped.

"Four abortion providers received a standing ovation from an audience at the Sundance Film Festival this week after the group secretly attended the premiere of the pro-abortion documentary Trapped." Secretly? I'm surprised the blood on their hands didn't give them away.

Pregnant women are trapped; about 60% are forced into an abortion by peers, boyfriends, husbands and parents.  What are you going to do when threatened with rejection, loss of love, support and financial help, or loss of tuition money for college? It's tough raising a child even if you have an education and a good job.  Without a safety net, it's almost impossible. There is very little "choice" in the pro-choice movement.

 An article in The Daily Beast is headlined, “Coerced Abortions: A New Study Shows They’re Common.” The article is based largely on information from the Guttmacher Institute (a pro-abortion research center) but raises the topic of “reproductive coercion.” This is an interesting twist on the concept. Rather than looking at women who are coerced into having an abortion, it looks at women who are coerced or tricked first into getting pregnant, then also coerced into aborting the baby, identified as “reproductive control.”

 http://thefederalist.com/2015/09/18/how-many-women-are-pressured-into-abortions/

Islam: What the West Needs Know.

Documentary film

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY4p39jeAVI

Peaceful, moderate Muslims are not following the tenets of Islam.  Even violent Muslims think they are peaceful—Islam is dedicated to establishing the faith in the world, and is therefore peaceful, even if people have to be killed.  The “verse of the sword” makes all other verses null and void. Kill them when you see them, wherever you find them (Christians and Jews).

Abrogation  in the Koran means later verses counseling Holy War, such the Sword Verse abrogate earlier verses counseling tolerance and peace .  When Westerners quote the peaceful verses, they ignore that they have been replaced.

There is no assurance of heaven, unless one dies as a martyr during jihad. Islam does not forbid suicide—and they don’t see it that way since the intention is to kill others.

Jihad means struggle. There are 164 verses in the Koran and many in the Hadith on jihad

They know how to use our rights with full knowledge they will try to destroy those rights.

Signed Sealed Delivered—a terrific series on Hallmark

Last night I watched "Signed sealed delivered" on Hallmark Movie Channel and loved it. Great story, terrific ensemble cast, quirky humor, just enough suspense to qualify as a mystery, strong values. The breaking of a secret code included Bible verses, childhood memories, and a line from the national anthem. And all of the characters are conversant in the Bible! How cool is that? I'm definitely a fan. The producer and writer is a Christian (Touched by an Angel) and without being pushy or obvious, includes many statements of faith and complex relationships. One main character grew up in foster care, one in a dysfunctional family abandoned by his mother. The issue of bullying is also a sub-theme.  I assume there will be more back stories on the four characters who are postal detectives as I watch more (I think there have been 10 so far, and I watched 3 last night). The actors all seem to be Canadian. And very talented.

I thought the main male lead looked familiar but couldn’t place him.  He used to be on Ugly Betty.

I read that it was originally a weekly series on regular Hallmark, then became movie length and moved to the movie channel. Expanding to a movie length leaves a lot of long looks and pauses to fill the time, imo, plus room for hundreds of commercials, but still good stories.

Martha Williamson, producer and writer: “I was interviewed on "60 Minutes" once and the interviewer asked, "Are you trying to use the show to evangelize?" And I said that they didn't hire me to write a Christian TV show and I'm not a Christian writer, I'm a television writer and a producer who is a Christian. As a result, I cannot compromise what my faith is and my belief. I can't do that. I will say that if a believer's faith is strengthened or if an unbeliever finds their way to the thrown of God, that is one heck of a dividend. For me, that is such a wonderful confirmation that I'm doing what I have been called to do.”
Read more at http://www.christianpost.com/news/next-step-of-faith-for-touched-by-an-angel-producer-hallmark-movie-signed-sealed-delivered-for-christmas-interview-130080/#T0Z2BrY9XpbD8Gk4.99

Get the popcorn ready—winter’s coming

There's a good reason you don't see me review many films; I rarely go to a movie. However, an 8 hour flight across the ocean with a lot of movies on the back of the seat in front of mine gave me the opportunity to see recent releases. Right before touch down in Philadelphia I finished "Clouds of Sils Maria" (2014) with Juliette Binoche which went to DVD this July. Good, absorbing movie about relationships for your next movie night at home. Another one I recommend which I watched in flight is "Age of Adaline" (2015) with Blake Lively, about a woman who remains 29 years old for 80 years. Cast includes Harrison Ford and Ellen Burstyn.

While I was watching a rather elderly Ellen Burstyn (an outstanding actress), my husband next to me was watching her 40 years younger in “Alice doesn’t live here anymore.” (Later adapted for a TV series Alice.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UzSekc0LoQ Trailer for Adaline.

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/04/20/way-up-high  Review from New Yorker for Sils Maria, with the reviewer narcissistically giving us much more about what he knows than is necessary, but still fairly accurate.

The man who saved the world, documentary 2014

Last night on TVO (Ontario public TV) we watched a riveting and scary documentary, “The Man who saved the World.”  It was like a reality show with actors doing the flash backs to 1983. If you get a chance, it’s well worth your time.

From Wikipedia summary:  “For a few crucial moments on September 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov held the fate of the world in his hands.

When an alarm suddenly went off at Soviet nuclear early warning center Serpukhov-15, Stanislav was responsible for reacting to a report that five American nuclear missiles were heading toward the Soviet Union. Rather than retaliate, Stanislav followed his gut feeling and went against protocol, convincing the armed forces that it was a false alarm. His decision saved the world from a potential devastating nuclear holocaust.

Three decades later, this forgotten hero went on a spectacular journey to the United States, where he was finally acknowledged for his historic deed and found the strength to reconcile with his past. On his journey, he was greeted by Walter Cronkite as "The Man Who Saved the World" and met Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Matt Damon, and Ashton Kutcher.

Shot on location in the former Soviet Union and the United States, The Man Who Saved the World shines a light on nuclear disarmament. It shows how precarious our world has become in the nuclear age and how our own belief in humanity and each other is the hope that we must foster in order to survive and thrive.

Stanislav Petrov was born Sept. 9, 1939  in Odessa, Ukraine. With a skyrocketing military career bringing him to almost every corner of the former Soviet Union, Petrov ended up as lieutenant colonel of the Soviet Air Defense Forces at age 43. On Sept. 26, 1983, Petrov was the duty officer at the command center for the Oko nuclear early-warning system when the system reported five nuclear missiles being launched from the United States Petrov judged the report to be a false alarm, and his decision is credited with having prevented an erroneous retaliatory nuclear attack which could have wiped out millions of people, or even the planet.  Sort of scary to watch as we wait to see what will happen when Iran has the bomb in a few months. Will there be anyone with his courage and training and intelligence in Iran, the U.S. or Israel.

Capra’s America

Frank Capra was an immigrant--he rejected the theories of progressivism, communism and socialism popular in Europe. ". . . he did not understand America, as many Americans do today, in terms of personal categories of identity such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality. He understood America in terms of its political principles—the moral principles of America that can be shared by all who understand them and are willing to live up to them. . .

In his last and most personal tribute to his adopted country, Capra recalled his family’s arrival at Union Station in Los Angeles after their long journey across America in 1903. When they got off the train, his mother and father got on their knees and kissed the ground. Capra’s last words to his assembled audience were these: “For America, for just allowing me to live here, I kiss the ground.” Capra did not believe that he had a right to be a citizen of America. Rather he was grateful for the privilege of living in America."

https://imprimis.hillsdale.edu/frank-capras-america-and-ours/

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/05/03/books/it-wasn-t-such-a-wonderful-life.html

http://rougholboy.com/capra/

50 shades of grey--if you’re naked it’s sadomasochism, if you’re not naked, it’s just violence

Judith Reisman has written a number of studies and books on the damage that Alfred Kinsey’s sex research did to society. The  wide acceptance of Kinsey’s claims, she contends, has contributed to a degradation in morality, teaching sex in schools and the expansion of pornography. She traces the mommy porn of 50 shades back to him.

http://www.wnd.com/2015/02/kinsey-blamed-for-50-shades-mommy-porn/

She accuses Kinsey of child sexual assaults in his “research.”

“One of the main things would be for us have a congressional investigation of Kinsey, to see where people were so completely lied to, how this began,” she said.

There have been previous, unsuccessful attempts at such investigations, she said.

The Kinsey Institute at Indiana University is getting millions of tax dollars, she said, at minimum $21 million in recent years.”

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/30/entertainment/la-et-kinsey-films-20101230

Gershon Legman, the original compiler for Kinsey's pornography collection, revealed that

Kinsey's not-very-secret intention was to "respectabilize" homosexuality and certain sexual perversions ... He did not hesitate to extrapolate his utterly inadequate and inconclusive samplings to the whole population of the United States, not to say the world ... This is pure propaganda, and is ridiculously far from the mathematical or statistical science pretended.[5]

http://www.ewtn.com/library/PROLENC/ENCYC116.HTM

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/776356/posts

http://www.whale.to/b/reisman3.html

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/19/nih-funds-study-men-dont-like-use-condoms/

American Jesus

Today I'm previewing a DVD, "American Jesus, " which shows the response of many Christian groups to the culture--from rodeo pastors, to surfers, to bikers, former porn stars, reaction to materialism, yoga, snake handlers and athletes. Some I knew about, but most I didn't. There’s no mention of gay churches, or mainline churches that raise funds for “social justice” causes, or those who pray to mother/father gods. 

It's pretty good and fair with just straight filming of many groups allowing them to explain why the traditional organized church doesn't work for them--up to about 50 minutes in, and then Franky Schaeffer (son of L'abri founder) takes over the narration. And since he's moved from right wing evangelical, pro-lifer, over to the dark side, it takes a hard left turn--anti-Bush, anti-Israel and pro-Obama. Says he doesn't trust the Bible, and his Christianity isn't based on the Bible (no shock there). The film morphs to a PBS interpretation of Christianity.

The culture, particularly the media, love nothing more than a famous turn coat--unless the celebrity/author/movie star are left wing humanists and have moved right. It's almost as if a curtain was pulled back and you see the point of the film when Schaeffer begins. It is, however, very well done and eerily convincing. The literature says "street date May 13, 2014, price $19.98. I have no idea if this means theaters or store. But don't be fooled. It is what it is.

The Gosnell documentary getting close to goal

Kermit Gosnell was convicted of the murder of several live and viable babies at his clinic. It is thought that over a 40 year killing spree he murdered thousands of infants. Kermit Gosnell is currently serving several life sentences.

His case became controversial after the trial received almost no media coverage - and sparked allegations of a media coverup because the case shone a spotlight on abortion.

Producer Ann McElhinney said the record breaking success of the Gosnell Movie was a testament to the thousands of small donors who wanted the truth to be told.

"We have a huge number of small contributors giving to make sure the truth is not censored," she said.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/gosnell-movie#home

http://www.toomanyaborted.com/gosnell/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/04/15/the-gosnell-case-heres-what-you-need-to-know/

The Book Thief

Yesterday my neighbor and I went to see the early bird show of The Book Thief for the bargain price of $1.25.  The reviews had been lukewarm, but a friend had recommended it and Joan hadn’t seen a movie in a long time—about 10 years.

As we walked down the dark hall to the theater (something like 12  theaters) we saw a man on the floor by the door, and my first thought was he was fixing something, then we both realized he had fallen and couldn’t get up—he was quite heavy. So Joan took one arm  and I took the other, and by using the wall we got him up.  He insisted he was ok, so we went in. Before the movie started I could see him in his seat, because if I didn’t see him I was going to go back out. As we left the theater when the film was over we stopped by his seat and asked if he was OK.  He and his wife both thanked us.

It is not a happy story, but has tender moments and some humor to break the tension. Based on a best seller by the same title, it takes place between 1938 and 1945 in Nazi Germany.  Liesel, played by the beautiful and talented Sophie Nelisse, is taken from her mother, a Communist, and given to a German couple as a foster/adopted child.  Her brother died on the trip to the children’s new family and she keeps his photograph and the memory of her mother. Her new parents, Hans and Rosa,  are played very effectively by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson.  The boy next door, Rudy (Nico Liersch) becomes her friend and protector.  Liesel does not know how to read although she is an adolescent, but has one book which she and her Poppa work through until she understands the words. He begins a huge dictionary for her on the walls of the basement. Hans has an accordion with which he entertains the little family which belonged to a friend who saved his life in WWI, and that man’s son, Max, comes to the house to find safety.  He is a Jew.  Hans, Rosa and Liesel hide him in the basement and nurse him to health.  Max and Liesel become friends and he makes a book for her. . . a diary.  Meanwhile Liesel is befriended by the wife of the wealthy Buergmeister who has a huge library whose son died in WWI.

And that’s all I’ll say about this movie, except it is about love, hope, courage,  family, forgiveness, redemption, friendship, and of course, the love of books.  Many moral and spiritual values, but not in an overtly religious sense. We liked it a lot.

Weatherman sings about our winter (Let it Go)

 

The actual song from the movie Frozen

Michael Landon, Jr., Christian production company

I was watching Home and Family on the Hallmark channel while riding my exercycle and Lori Loughlin was the guest and she mentioned Michael Landon, Jr. and his production company (Christian) so I Googled it and found this: "Landon is currently working on several films. Gown of Spanish Lace, a story inspired by a Janette Oke novel which is in development at MPower, Deep in the Heart, based on a true story of unimaginable forgiveness, and Rise, which he is developing with author, Kelly Monroe Kullberg (Finding God at Harvard). . " Kelly Monroe Kullberg is a member of our church. Serendipity is such fun on the internet.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/februaryweb-only/michaellandonjr.html

Christianity Today: How have your father's failures (affair when Michael Jr. was 15 and left the family) on that front affected you as a husband and a dad?

Landon: I think the main thing is remembering the pain I went through. Otherwise I think people would be divorcing left and right. I am extremely protective of my marriage, and I create boundaries for myself with other women that won't allow any of that side to ever happen. We're going on 18 years of marriage, and I've been faithful to my wife. I see my three children and know that the last thing I'd ever want to do to them is be unfaithful to my wife, not only for her sake, but for their sake, for my sake and for my testimony. I refuse to ruin my testimony. So it's a combination of all those things—honoring God and wanting to run the rest of this race as best as I possibly can.

His mother’s manicurist led him and his mother to Christ. after the devastation of his parents’ divorce.

Hollywood hypocrisy

Ohio State University and the Annenberg Public Policy Center surveyed gun violence in top-grossing movies, finding that the frequency of gun violence had more than tripled in PG-13 films since 1985. The PG-13 rating was introduced in 1984.

Gun violence in PG-13 movies has rivaled the frequency of gun violence in R-rated movies since 2009, and actually surpassed it in 2012, according to the study. (CS Monitor, Nov. 12).

Not only does this mean the rating system is meaningless, but that Hollywood celebrities and entertainment investors are total hypocrites about gun control and the 2nd amendment because they are trafficking in guns and directing it to children and teaching them how to use guns and resolve conflicts. http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/moviegunviolence.htm

Will Obama now give back PAC money from donor who insulted Islam in a film?

Bill Maher made a film that mocked Christianity and Islam. Bill Maher also contributed $1 million to a pro-Obama super PAC. Will Obama now give it back since the administration is blaming a youtube video that's been out for months for violence on 9/11?

Maher's film "Religulous" grossed over $13 million after having a production budget of $2.5 million. As of 2012, it's 15th among the highest grossing documentaries in the US and was the highest grossing documentary of 2008. [Wikipedia] "He takes shots at the three major monotheistic religions, Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Religulous also mocks the more bizarre elements of Scientology and Mormonism. Eastern religions like Buddhism and Hinduism get a free pass." [Purple state of mind]

A Jew ridiculing Islam? That would have provoked a riot, if that's what this mess in the Middle East  is about.  But there’s always free speech for the Democrat. Just not for others.