In an editorial bashing conservatives, U.S. Marines, and businessmen on Jan. 19, the Los Angeles Times admits that James Cameron’s “Avatar” has a radical leftist agenda. But, either out of disingenuousness, deception, or stupidity, they then contend, what does it matter?

“We’ll stipulate,” the Editorial Board of the Times wrote, “that ‘Avatar’ promotes a liberal worldview. The question is, why does anyone care?”

The editorial goes on to say, “People are smart enough to separate fictional morality tales from reality.”

If it doesn’t matter what people communicate, then the L.A. Times should stop writing editorials and endorsing candidates, every student should be allowed to read the Bible aloud in class, Christian business men and women should be able to use Bible references in their product serial numbers, and “Triumph of the Will” by Adolf Hitler’s favorite filmmaker should be lauded along with “Birth of a Nation.” (more…)

There is a common misconception in our popular culture that sex, violence, and obscenity usually sell, but nearly eighty years of experience and research prove that this is not true.

For example, for nearly 30 years, when Hollywood was run according to the Motion Picture Code of Decency, enforced by the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Film Office, the movie industry saw an unprecedented economic boom. That fiscal prosperity only began to wane when Christian churches pulled away from Hollywood in the 1960s and movies reached increasingly new levels of immorality featuring more and more graphic sex, violence, and obscene language.

Toward the end of this Golden Age of Hollywood, the movie industry was selling 9.43 tickets per person in the United States and Canada, but now sells only about 4.1 tickets per person.

Also, nearly two decades of research by Movieguide, a non-profit family guide to movies and entertainment supported by Christian donors and general subscriptions, shows that family friendly movies with no graphic sex, violence, and obscene language earn more than two to six times as much money at the box office, on average, as movies with such graphic content. (more…)

This past weekend, over 12 million people voted with their entertainment dollars to see “The Twilight Saga: New Moon.” Several million were no doubt church-going teenagers and young adults..” Several million were no doubt church-going teenagers and young adults.

“New Moon” is a spiritually confused, dangerous work.

On the one hand, it metaphorically asks the question, “How can I overcome my sinful nature and save my soul?” Thus, the “good” vampires in the movie are constantly trying to overcome their lust for human blood, often succeeding but sometimes failing. On the other hand, the movie’s heroine decides she wants to risk the possibility of losing her soul by becoming a vampire so that she can be with the vampire she loves.

Jesus Christ is very clear about the real spiritual dangers in this second message when He asks His disciples in Mark 8:36, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (more…)

We debated whether to rank “The Messenger” as “abhorrent,” but there are some lightly positive things about it. The more we thought about this movie after seeing it, however, the more the bad content in it stood out and annoyed us. 

Basically, the movie is about a sergeant wounded in the Iraq War who gets assigned to notify the next of kin of recently killed soldiers. Staff Sgt. Will Montgomery, played by Ben Foster in a star-making performance, is assigned to fellow officer Tony Stone, played by Woody Harrelson (also excellent), a recovering alcoholic who has never really seen action. Cynically, with a touch of sarcastic humor, Tony tries to show Will the ins and outs of performing this onerous duty. Even so, both are surprised by some of the reactions they get. One father angrily spits at Will when Will gives him the news about his son’s death.  (more…)

“The Twilight Saga:  New Moon” is the second of four vampire stories by Stephenie Meyers, a Mormon. It continues the love story between Edward and Bella, two unique teenagers. Bella spirals down into a deep hole of depression when the vampire she loves leaves her, in an effort to protect her. She finds herself picking up the pieces of her broken heart with her best friend, who happens to be a werewolf.

Picking up where the first movie left off, “New Moon” opens with Bella (played by Kristen Stewart), having recovered from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, starting her senior year of high school and celebrating her 18th birthday with Edward Cullen, a vampire who refuses to attack humans, and his family. After an ill-fated accident resulting in Bella’s blood being spilled at the Cullen residence, which is almost too much for certain members of the family, Edward (played by Robert Pattinson) decides to leave Forks. He believes he is protecting Bella from the dangers of the vampire world by doing so. He asks her to promise him not to do anything reckless. (more…)

“WWII In HD” is an excellent 10-hour, five part series narrated by Gary Sinise of “Forrest Gump” and “CSI: New York. “  Three episodes air tonight on the History Channel.

The series shows the war through the eyes of 12 Americans who fought in the war or contributed to it in some way. Using diaries, journals, and new interviews, it follows these Americans as their personal journeys intersect with one another throughout the war effort. Hollywood actors, including LL Cool J of  “NCIS: Los Angeles,” Rob Lowe, Amy Smart, Jason Ritter, and Steve Zahn, portray the young voices of the Americans. The original Americans include a war reporter, an Army nurse, a young African American from Toledo who became a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, a second-generation Japanese American, and a Jewish immigrant from Austria who wound up in the Pacific Theater. (more…)

When it comes to celebrating Christmas, actor Jim Carrey says he prefers the “Christian” traditions he and many other people in America grew up on as children.

“I’d hate to miss Christmas,” he added.

Carrey, who gives a remarkable performance in A Christmas Carol, the new brilliant masterpiece of the beloved novel by Charles Dickens from Disney and Writer/Director Bob Zemeckis, spoke about the movie at a recent press conference Movieguide attended in Los Angeles.

At the conference, Carrey also noted that he loves redemptive stories like A Christmas Carol.

“Everyone loves a good transformational story,” Carrey said. “You know, somebody who sees the light, who finally finds out what’s important in life. And, this is one of the greatest ones ever written. It’s just a beautiful story of redemption.” (more…)

The first episode of the new science fiction television series “V” is a wake up call to those looking for salvation in the wrong places. We cannot predict where the series will go, but the opening episode features a young pastor, who plays a lead role in opposing the rush to consider some benevolent looking aliens to be the saviors of mankind.

The aliens are called “visitors,” shortened to “Vs,” thus the title of the program. They appear over major cities in large hovering spaceships that project messages in the local language. More than just the classic we-come-in-peace message, the messages say, “We’re here to help you.”

The opening episode makes it very clear, however, that they are not here to help. It turns out the Vs have planted many of their kind, who look human, prior to their dramatic arrival in spaceships. The alien plants have done their best to foul up life on earth in order to encourage a hunger for “change” (salvation). The Chicago Tribune draws a parallel to the Obama administration but, while many believe President Obama was not born in the United States, it’s unlikely he was born on another planet. Even so, it’s interesting that the evil aliens offer “universal health care” to all people. Thus, the first episode clearly seems to be saying that President Obama’s health care proposals, now making their way through the U.S. Congress, are a false hope that will lead to tyranny and slavery. (more…)

If only he would use his talent for goodness instead of evil!

The bumbling fictional spy Maxwell Smart often used this phrase to describe some of the super-villains he faced on the TV spy show “Get Smart” in the 1960s. The same statement may be applied to Michael Moore, the filmmaking darling of the Left who has made another polemical documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story.” This time, Moore calls for the replacement of America’s capitalist system with a socialist system, including, of course, pro-communist proposals to share all wealth or profits equally.

A talented filmmaker (see our full review here where we list most of the major problems with Moore’s new subversive, Marxist diatribe promoting his radical utopian nightmare), Moore begins his latest movie by comparing the United States to the Ancient Roman Empire, where, according to his sometimes pompous and condescending narration, society became divided between the super rich and the super poor (clearly an exaggeration). He then discusses the post-war economic boom in the United States in the 1950s and early 60s. (more…)

A new three-year study of the Top 25 movies released in 2006-2008 earning the most money overseas shows that international moviegoers prefer clean movies with strong or very strong Christian, moral and/or redemptive content and values.

This study is significant because it matches our annual study of the Top 25 Movies at the Box Office in America and Canada and the top home video sales annually, and because Hollywood now makes more money overseas than it does in the United States. (more…)

How much of the box office of “Angels & Demons” will end up in the Democrat campaigns? If it makes money, it could be a lot. 

Tom Hanks, the star of “Angels & Demons”, endorsed Barack Obama, claiming he represents a “seismic shift” in our political and social fabric. He said an Obama victory will “redefine our republic” (see his YouTube video here).

He backed this endorsement with $29,800 in contributions (see here). He also gave to the campaigns of Al Franken ($14,600), one of the most deceitful public figures in the United States; Henry Waxman ($500); Barbara Boxer ($500); Patrick Kennedy ($250); and, Ethan Berkowitz ($250), all Democrats. He also contributed $12,300 to the Franken Recount Fund! In addition to his political contributions, Tom gave $50,000 (the maximum) to President Obama’s Inauguration Fund.

Ron Howard, the famous director of “Angels & Demons,” was equally smitten by Barack Obama. (more…)

Once again, Movieguide® Magazine’s Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry shows that moviegoers prefer movies with no explicit sex, nudity and foul language. This was especially clear in 2008. Movies with no foul language, sex and nudity averaged significantly more money at the theatrical box office in America and Canada than movies with some or a lot of such vulgarity, sex or nudity.

Movieguide®’s analysis of the top movies released in 2008 also showed that moviegoers rejected movies with extreme forms of substance abuse. Movieguide® also measured miscellaneous amounts of immorality, such as lying, stealing, blackmail, extortion, greed, envy, jealousy. Movies with no miscellaneous immorality made nearly six times more money than movies with extensive or extreme amounts of miscellaneous immorality. (more…)

The Academy Award members painted themselves as a bunch of Commie rats last night, when they applauded madly during Communist sympathizer Sean Penn’s gleeful greeting to them after winning an award for portraying an assassinated homosexual leader, “You Commie, homo-loving sons of guns!”
In the past, Penn has expressed support for Hugo Chavez, the Neo-Marxist dictator of Venezuela, and Communist dictator Fidel Castro of Cuba.

What Sean Penn and other Communist sympathizers in Hollywood refuse to recognize (at least publicly) is that American moviegoers usually reject movies that unabashedly promote a Communist or socialist viewpoint. (more…)