AFA Staff
AFA Journal staff reviews movies, books and other resources
September 2011 – Who is Simon Miller?
Procter & Gamble/Walmart’s latest Family Night Movie aired August 6 on NBC. It is another victory for clean and creative family films made for television. Who is Simon Miller? proves that creative writers and producers can give us exciting car chases, foot chases through busy streets and heart-stopping near-tragedies without the gory display of mangled bodies or blood and gore that the typical Hollywood adventure film boasts.
This one is a thriller packed with intrigue. When Simon disappears, his wife and their two teenagers break into his desk where they discover multiple passports with various aliases. They take off around the globe in search of the man who they’ve discovered is living a double life, or a triple life, or more.
It’s a bonafide, edge-of-your-seat nail-biter that tackles the issues of trust, forgiveness, truth and fear in the Miller family, and it demonstrates at the same time how the challenge and fear of the unknown can pull a family together.
Review by Randall Murphree
Theo: Teaching Children God’s Word
Based on the fact that adults and children alike love cartoons, Whitestone Media presents Theo: Teaching Children God’s Word, a quality, animated DVD series. Theo is a sweet spirited, grandfatherly theologian and student of God’s Word who speaks directly to the viewer as he teaches short biblical lessons. The first lesson, “Saving Faith,” is a clear presentation of the gospel with an invitation to receive Christ at its conclusion. It is followed by episodes on obedience, forgiveness and the good news.
Theo lives in a quaint English village, and there is a sense of calm even in the more active scenes. Each four- to eight-minute episode begins with Theo singing a classic hymn while doing his chores. Theo has two little mice as his companions, Belfry and Luther, who offer comedic illustrations to each lesson.
Children will pick up a lot of truth by watching Theo on their own, but if parents watch with them, there will be great opportunity for teaching and discussion. Theo will be at home in any children’s Sunday school class, Christian school or homeschool. The first DVD with four lessons will be available September 13.
Theo creator Michael Joens produced and directed the animation segments for the award-winning McGee and Me series and Adventures in Odyssey for Focus on the Family.
Learn more about Theo and a teaching curriculum that is available at www.theopresents.com.
Review by Debbie Fischer
October Baby
Hannah Lawson, the title character in this coming-of-age drama, suffers from severe asthma. As her health problems escalate, she discovers a shocking secret her parents had kept from her since her birth: she is adopted. The 19-year-old college freshman feels as if her entire life is a lie.
Conflict arises between her parents as to how much and precisely how to fill in the gaps of Hannah’s story. Dad thinks she doesn’t need all the details, but Mom is convinced she’s strong enough to handle it.
Unfortunately, they don’t act quickly enough. Against their wishes, Hannah joins Jason, her best friend since childhood, his girlfriend and a few quirky friends on a road trip. She finds the nurse who delivered her and is shocked again with revelations about circumstances surrounding her birth.
October Baby is a gripping story, and it handles numerous issues superbly – forgiveness, life issues, over-protective parents and other relationship challenges.
Credits include some noteworthy names: Chris Sligh (American Idol, 2007) and John Schneider star; brothers Jonathan and Andrew Erwin (Sherwood Pictures) produced and directed; and Dave Johnson (Sue Thomas FBEye, Doc) is executive producer.
Review by Randall Murphree
Time Collectors
A riveting story line drives this first production from Son Films. Time Collectors: Return of the Giants, a mystery/adventure, is an ambitious undertaking for 17-year-old director Caleb Johnson, but he and his producer father Jeff should be pleased with their effort.
The main story focuses on Brad and his family inheritance after his grandfather Sam dies leaving a mysterious caveat in his will: To inherit $1.9 million, a family member must move from their Indiana home and live for a year in Sam’s old house in Paducah, Texas, population 1,300. It’s not a place the college-aged Brad would choose to waste a year, but for almost two million bucks, he decides to give it a shot. He soon meets Sam’s Texas friends and learns more than he’d ever known about his granddad’s career as an archaeologist.
Among Sam’s friends is Maria, a young woman who is serious about her Christian faith. She helps Brad uncover a secret Sam left hidden, and he soon discovers that two men are following him, evidently also in search of Sam’s secret.
The various threads of the story are brought together cleverly, and the main characters (though not professional actors) are engaging. Add a few creative plot twists, and it earns good marks
There are some production weaknesses: occasional jumpy camera work and the audio is sometimes difficult to understand. But it still merits praise for being family-friendly and for having its roots in Christian faith.
Churches may show it for a love offering at end of the movie and for sharing information about where and how to purchase. And the church keeps a tithe from proceeds. Learn more at www.timecollectorsmovie.com
or 812-521-7665.
Review by Randall Murphree
Courageous
The fourth release from Sherwood Pictures, the movie-making ministry of Albany, Georgia’s Sherwood Church, Courageous is a hard-hitting gut-wrenching, heart-challenging story of what it means – or what it should mean – to be a father.
Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes and their law enforcement buddies are confident, maybe a little cocky, as long as they’re on the streets.
But they’re not prepared for the challenge of going home to be a dad at the end of the day.
Collectively, their lives are riddled with family failures – unwed fatherhood, drug abuse, tuned-out dads, divorce, children of divorce, a father’s abandonment and more.
Finally, after a family tragedy, Adam determines to be a better father to his teenage son, whom he has long ignored.
It’s a cop movie, but Sherwood Pictures delivers the exciting crash scenes and shoot-outs without stooping to the level of gratuitous gore.
The story’s strongest thread comes in the person of Javier, a Latino handyman who becomes friends with the cops. Javier is a man of strong Christian faith, but has his own challenges in providing for his family.
As a whole, the film is intense, but it offers a lot of comic relief, most of it through Javier.
Courageous will be in theaters September 30. (See related story here.)
Review by Randall Murphree
