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Spouting off to an empty chair at the 2012 Republican National Convention, Clint Eastwood looked as if he were slipping into doddering dementia, but he’s shrewder and more focused than ever in his Iraq War picture American Sniper. It’s a cracker­jack piece of filmmaking, a declaration that he’s not yet ready to be classified as an Old Master, that he can out-Bigelow Kathryn Bigelow. Morally, though, he has regressed from the heights of Letters From Iwo Jima (2006). In more ways than one, the Iraq occupation is seen through the sight of a high-powered rifle. The movie is scandalously blinkered....

Before I came to dislike the movie “Selma,” I was deeply moved by it. Twice it brought me to tears. A crane shot of Martin Luther King Jr. leading thousands of demonstrators over the Edmund Pettus Bridge was one such moment, and so was the vicious attack on John Lewis — bravely, steadfastly walking into the beating he knew was coming. Today, Lewis is a member of Congress. Forever, he’ll be an American hero. Too bad, though, that the movie had to go Hollywood on Lyndon Baines Johnson, who, as if from the grave, has bellowed his protest. In its...

‘Unbroken’ and Billy Graham The movie and the book about Louis Zamperini’s life skimp on the pivotal role of a certain preacher. By Grant Wacker Jan. 1, 2015 Newspaper headlines agreed. Billy Graham —“heaven’s super salesman,” “the Lord’s top salesman”—knew how to close the deal. If he just read from a telephone book, one associate quipped, people would stand up and commit their lives to Christ. Louis Zamperini, who died July 2 at age 97, was a case in point. The Olympic distance runner and World War II hero is the subject of Laura Hillenbrand ’s acclaimed 2010 biography, “Unbroken,”...

First things first: the reviews and social media claims arguing that director Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken” somehow short shrifts the Christian faith or the Christianity of its subject are not just untrue, they are preposterous. This cinematic adaptation of the true story of Olympian and WWII Veteran Louis Zamperini has its flaws, but respect and reverence for the Zamperini’s Christian faith is not one of them. Quite the opposite. [...] “Unbroken” is the second devoutly Christian WWII film to enjoy a wide studio release in 2014. The first was “Fury,” an even better movie  starring Brad Pitt — Jolie’s husband.  “Fury” and...

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Clint Eastwood returns to form with “American Sniper,” his best directorial effort since his one-two shot hits “Mystic River” (2003) and “Million Dollar Baby.” (2004) Based on Navy SEAL Chris Kyle’s autobiography, “American Sniper” is an introspective – yet incredibly intense – look at Kyle (Bradley Cooper), the SEAL’s most lethal sniper, throughout his four tours of duty in Iraq. Kyle quickly became famous as America’s most deadly sniper, becoming a legend among fellow American soldiers as well as an infamous target by the Iraqi insurgents. Eastwood’s film shifts between the mutual manhunt between Kyle and a savage insurgent leader...

On Dec. 25, the unforgettable story about Louis Zamperini, an Olympian turned World War II prisoner of war hero, opens in theaters nationwide. As astoundingly resilient as Zamperini was, however, his real power was found in a fact underplayed in the movie; namely, he whose birth we celebrate Dec. 25 is the one responsible for restoring and transforming Zamperini's heart and life. First, let me say, few lives can compare with Zamperini's. He lived hard from a young age. He smoked cigarettes by the time he was 5, and his favorite pastime as a youth was stealing beer from bootleggers.Cops...

American Sniper- The MovieI've read the book and passed it on to others

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Adding creative insult to corporate injury in the wake of the massive hacking of Sony's computer files, the film that may have triggered the incident, The Interview, is an intensely sophomoric and rampantly uneven comic takedown of an easy but worrisomely unpredictable target, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. In the relatively sparse annals of irreverent major studio comedies that pissed off foreign nations, for big laughs this one doesn't rate anywhere near Borat or Team America: World Police; the latter prominently included the present North Korean boss man's father, Kim Jong-il, among its many targets. Given the unique cloud under...

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It is miles away from the Bible story. I hate that I just gave Hollyweird a reward of my hard earned money for producing this garbage. Please, please, learn from my mistake.

NATIONAL REVIEW ONLINE~ DECEMBER 13, 2014 4:00 AM What Exodus: Gods and Kings Gets Right Ridley Scott offers some fresh perspectives without straying unforgivably far from Biblical orthodoxy. By Josh CraddockJoel Edgerton (left) and Christian Bale in Exodus: Gods and KingsBringing familiar Bible stories to the silver screen is a risky enterprise. A director must avoid mere rehash of previous tellings (think Cecil B. DeMille’s opus The Ten Commandments) but without allowing artistic license to veer off into offensive parody. That’s a difficult task when some 3.8 billion people believe the source matter is sacred revelation from God himself. In...

When I was thirteen, I played a whole lot of Dungeons & Dragons.  I was even the Dungeon Master for a while.  I designed my own campaigns, with characters and towns mapped out.  Old school.  None of this video game online stuff.  Sitting around a table with a bunch of nerds in a basement, with the Dungeon Master guide, combat tables, and a jar of 6-, 12-, and 20-sided dice (don’t judge me, you did stuff you don't talk about, too). This is Exodus: Gods and Kings.I can imagine Ridley Scott and his writing team of Adam Cooper, Bill Collage, Jeffrey Caine,...

New York, NY -- You may have heard of World War Two hero Louie Zamperini, whose story is told beautifully in Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 New York Times bestseller, “Unbroken.” But, this Christmas, audiences will be able to watch his miraculous life unfold on screen. Director Angelina Jolie broke what some have called the ‘movie curse.’ After Zamperini’s life story was tossed around in Hollywood for years, Jolie finally committed to the project and what resulted is the two-hour heart wrenching epic, “Unbroken.” Zamperini’s daughter, Cynthia Garris, spoke with Townhall at a press junket in New York on Friday, sharing how her...

Thursday’s big announcement for the 24th James Bond movie — Spectre, to be directed by Skyfall’s Sam Mendes, and once again featuring Daniel Craig as the British super spy — sadly lacked details of the most important element of any Bond movie. No, not the Bond girl. The Bond theme. From Dr. No on, each Bond movie has had a distinctive theme that attempts to set the stage for what’s to come. At their best, the songs are as dramatic and exciting as the movies themselves, but… well, let’s just say that not every song is at its best and leave...

Held by popular demand, "Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas" is reaching 100 additional theaters this weekend, far exceeding its planned two-week run. The latest film from the "Unstoppable" star was originally planned for a limited release in 400 theaters, but support from fans has inspired continued plays of the Christmas film this season. "Saving Christmas" will enter its fourth running week starting this Friday, Dec. 5. Moreover, 100 new theaters will be showing the Cameron-starred film for the first time this weekend.

Now that the trailer for the seventh "Star Wars" movie is out, you can imagine the anticipation among the millions of fans of the film franchise. And why not? The six "Star Wars" films have been enormous successes: they have grossed over $2 billion domestically at the box office, spawned scores of books, comic books and merchandise (how many kids have their own light saber?) and made household names of characters like Darth Vader, Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. They've also been the worst thing ever for the science fiction genre.

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