Here, in the long-awaited semi-finale to the enormously successful series of novels made into movies, our trusty trio of neophyte magicians, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) have graduated from Hogwarts School just in time for a resurgence in power of the evil Voldemort.
You would think that in this technological era, we wouldn’t have a mechanical disaster like a runaway train. But we did. And it wasn’t that long ago, in southern Pennsylvania.
“For Colored Girls” is Tyler Perry’s adaptation of the play “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enough.” Like good theater, it’s more about the character development, and the personality interplay, and this strong ensemble cast leaves some really strong impressions:
"Tamara Drewe” is one of those British relational comedies, where everyone is witty and clever, and seems to be doing the “Aw, shucks” routine with hands in pockets and shoes scratching the dirt and tongue planted firmly in cheek. You almost expect Hugh Grant to come shuffling onscreen with that ironic, crooked grin, shrugging and scuffling.
Jesus Wars: How Four Patriarchs, Three Queens, and Two Emperors Decided What Christians Would Believe for the Next 1,500 Years- by Philip Jenkins HarperOne, 2010. vii+317 pp. ISBN 978-0-06-176894-1
reviewed by Rebecca Harden Weaver
In A Brief Statement of Faith (Book of Confessions 10.2) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), we make an astonishing claim: “We trust in Jesus Christ, fully human, fully God.”
Against the Tide: Love in a Time of Petty Dreams and Persisting Enmities- by Miroslav Volf Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010.
reviewed by Henry G. Brinton
In 1969, feminist Carol Hanisch popularized the phrase “the personal is political.”
The Seven Pillars of Creation: The Bible, Science, and the Ecology of Wonder- by William P. Brown Oxford University Press, January, 2010. 352 pages, $29.95.
reviewed by D. Mark Davis
Bill Brown’s latest book strikes me as an invitation; specifically, an invitation to persons of Biblical faith and to persons devoted to science to communicate with one another as what he calls “cohorts of wonder.”
“Due Date” is the “road movie” that takes a lot of left turns. It’s one of those “Odd Couple” arrangements, where Robert Downey Jr., plays the uptight, wound-up, fussbudget, and Zach Galifianakis plays the free spirit — ditzy, discombobulated, disheveled and somehow they wind up in a car together, traveling across the country.
“Morning Glory” is the kind of “chick flick” that is relatively safe for guys: the males are still secondary, but not insignificant. And though not intended as any kind of parable about church --- religion is never even mentioned --- it feels like many of the same dynamics, anyway.
“Pure Country 2: The Gift” is pure cornpone. At times it’s so awkward it’s embarrassing; at other times it feels like a two-hour country music video. But at its core it’s heartfelt, family-friendly, and religious, which couldn’t be all bad.
“Hereafter” promises a glimpse into the afterlife, but is strangely devoid of any kind of reference to any religion, including Christianity. So don’t expect any faith statements of any kind, other than some amorphous sort of ill-defined assumption that is a lot closer to the Biblical Sheol than anything resembling the heaven of the New Testament.
by Derek Maul; Nashville: Upper Room Books, 2009. reviewed by Judith Fulp-Eickstead
Derek Maul, award-winning columnist for the Tampa Tribune, issues an invitation to anyone looking for a deeper level of commitment to Jesus Christ in a culture where “doing just enough to get by defines life for too many people and in too many contexts” (p. 17).
Woody Allen’s signature trademark is an ensemble of articulate, cosmopolitan urban adults who make a shipwreck of their lives by allowing themselves to be controlled by whatever passing passion looks irresistible.
