Free Republic

In the late 1800s, Horace and Daeida Wilcox, decided to create a nice, quaint Christian community in southern California. It would serve no booze, and it would even give free land to churches (at least Protestant ones), so that righteousness could be proclaimed.By 1903, the bustling little city had enough voters---166 men---to officially incorporate. It was called Hollywood. Meanwhile, movies were first being created over on the east coast. For example, there were films made in New York City. But a pioneer motion picture maker, D. W. Griffith, found the Los Angeles area as the ideal place to make movies. What...

"Let There Be Light" is a fabulous movie that has taken the box office by storm and by surprise, opening in a modest 373 theaters and exploding to more than 650 in just its second week. Congratulations to director Kevin Sorbo and co-writer Sam Sorbo (also the lead actors in the film), co-writer Dan Gordon, and executive producer Sean Hannity. Kudos for giving moviegoers a charming alternative to the standard fare offered in theaters today. Conservative Christians have learned constructive lessons in their struggle to contribute to the modern media and Hollywood culture, which routinely mocks and impugns their values...

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...

One of the lead actors in the hit Christian film "God's Not Dead" recently shared his opinion on why Hollywood tends to make relatively few Christian-themed films. Kevin Sorbo, an actor who played the skeptical professor in the blockbuster film, recently talked with Peter Heck on his radio program about "God's Not Dead" and Hollywood movies. Observing the huge success of "God's Not Dead," Heck noted that there "is a market" for Christian films and asked Sorbo when he thinks Hollywood will "get it." "I don't think it's an 'us vs. them' sort of mentality. But I live in this...

Editor's note: A version of this article first appeared at thecatholicthing.org I recently bought the book “Heaven is for Real” and saw the movie. That was unusual for me. I don’t typically do the books and movies everyone else is doing, especially the touchy-feely spiritual ones. Maybe it’s the snob in me, or, really, I just don’t like to do what the culture is doing. But this time, I made an exception. The story is about the near-death experience of a four-year-old named Colton Burpo, a pastor’s son from Nebraska. I’ll say up front that I didn’t care much for...

Culture Challenge of the Week: Movies "Selling" Sex to Children Can you name the last five movies your teenage son or daughter has watched with friends? How strong was the sexual content in those movies? And does it really matter? New research suggests that it does. The study, conducted by Dr. Ross O'Hara and soon to be published in the journal Psychological Science, found that promiscuity on-screen promotes promiscuity in real life. "Adolescents who are exposed to more sexual content in movies start having sex at younger ages, have more sexual partners," and engage in riskier sexual activities says Dr....

Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, David Thomson, and Shane Fuller are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark. When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency...

Domestic Total as of Oct. 1, 2008: $8,013,936 Distributor: Samuel Goldwyn Release Date: September 26, 2008 Genre: Drama Running Time: 2 hrs. 2 min. MPAA Rating: PG Production Budget: $500,000

"We didn't make this movie to make money. We want people to walk out of the theater and desire a closer walk with God." Three years ago, the folks at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, believed God wanted them to make a movie. Now, says a report in the Washington Post, the low budget film funded by church donations, Facing the Giants, is playing at more than 400 theaters around the country. According to the report, the movie -- whose female lead is a homemaker and male lead is an associate pastor, both with no acting experience-- has...