I recently had the privilege to pre-screen the movie Overcomer which comes out in theaters today.
Overcomer tells a story that illustrate how life can change overnight. One of the main characters is an high school basketball coach and he sees the big potential that the team has for the upcoming year. However, some unexpected events will turn the dream into a series of challenges that many people through the town will have to face in the days and weeks to come. At some point, he is asked to fill-in for as coach for a sport that he doesn't know or understand. This is were he will meet a student who is also struggling through her own journey in life.
I won't tell you much more than that because I truly believe that this movie is worth watching. Not only would the story touch you in many ways (bring some tissues with you) but you will also appreciate the transformation in the lives of many characters in this movie.
The Kendrick's brothers have produced numerous faith movies through the years (Flywheel in 2003, Facing the Giants in 2006, Fireproof in 2008, Courageous in 2011, and War Room in 2015). One comment I have told my husband after viewing Overcomer was that you can see the quality of their movies has become better through the years.
When we watched this movie our family was short of a few people as some were at camp and another were helping a family member. We have enjoyed the movie and its synopsis. I cried - I admit it. I was touched for various reasons throughout the movie. It made me realize that I am also an overcomer in many ways - particularly this year when some challenges have shown up in my life and I had to go through them in order to become the person God has in mind for me. Sometimes when life is challenging you need to face it and be willing to get help too.
This movie is perfect for the whole family - young and old. It is inspiring in many ways and will leave you filled with hope and will challenge you to ponder on this question: "What do you allow to define you?"
The movie will be playing at numerous theaters throughout Canada. To get a full list of the theaters, please go to the Overcomer Canadian website.
In Ottawa the movie will be showing at the following theaters:
Landmark Cinemas 24 Kanata
ScotianBank Theater Ottawa in Gloucester
Check out the trailer before heading to the theater. It will give you an idea of what to expect.
A great story with a biblical message, All Saints is an encouragement and challenge to believe boldly, love unconditionally and give selflessly. The film is based on the inspiring true story of salesman–turned–pastor Michael Spurlock (John Corbett), the tiny church he was ordered to shut down, and a group of refugees from Southeast Asia. Together, they risked everything to plant seeds for a future that might just save them all. Also starring Cara Buono and Barry Corbin. Look for it in theaters this fall!
Our Thoughts
We recently had the privilege to preview the upcoming movie All Saints via an online connection. One evening we sat down with our children in order to watch the movie. We enjoy watching movies based on true story and if you are like us I think you will like All Saints.
The story is about a man who has left the world of sales to become a pastor. He and his family move in a tiny church – All Saints – but the goal of his superiors is to sell the land before moving him to another church. However, through certain encounters, he decides to turn the land of the church into a farm in order to save it. However, circumstances will put road blocks on his way and challenges will make things hard for him to do so. I will not go into details on what happens in the movie but I thought it was interesting to see how the church came together in order to create this farm.
Though John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) is amazing in his role of Rev. Michael Spurlock, I think my favorite character was Forrest played by Barry Corbin. Not only his comments brought laughter but his whole personality is present throughout the movie.
One thing we had found while watching this movie is that there are times when the flow of the movie slows down quite a bit and it seems as though it drags. But then something happen and the flow goes back to normal. I find that a lot of faith based movie are like this and it is a bit disappointing. It would be great if all faith based movies would have a consistency on the story line and that down part could be sped up a bit.
Nevertheless this is a great family movie to watch. It presents how a church can be welcoming to refugees and how you can find solutions to ordeals where you least expect them to be.
Numerous resources are available for All Saints on the website including a discussion guide.
All Saints Opening Theatres (August 25th & advance showings August 24th). It would make a great date night movie for adults, a great time at the movie for families, as well as a great church event if you want to organize a movie night for your congregation. Below you will find where in Canada the movie will be showed. This list was updated on August 15th. I have highlighted in red where the movie will be shown in my area.
Alberta Scotiabank Theatre Chinook 16 + IMAX Calgary Landmark 16 Country Hills Calgary South Edmonton Commons 16 North Edmonton 14 Cinemas Galaxy 11 Red Deer
British Columbia Cineplex Cinemas Abbotsford & VIP Cineplex Cinemas Langley + IMAX Silvercity Coquitlam
Nova Scotia Scotiabank Theatre Halifax + IMAX
PEI Cineplex Cinemas Charlottetown
Disclaimer: The link to the movie has been provided courtesy of Sony Canada and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
A hard-driving journalist, Lee Strobel (Mike Vogel) was exactly where he expected to be at work: on top. His award-winning investigative reporting recently earned him a promotion to legal editor at the Chicago Tribune. But things weren’t going nearly as well at home where his wife Leslie’s (Erika Christensen) newfound faith in Christ went against everything Lee believed—or didn’t believe—as an avowed atheist.
Utilizing his journalistic and legal training, Lee begins a quest to debunk the claims of Christianity in order to save his crumbling marriage. Chasing down the biggest story of his career, Lee comes face-to-face with unexpected results that could change everything he knows to be true.
Our Thoughts
Last night we had the privilege to watch The Case for Christ as a family. My husband and I were no stranger to the story because we had read the book when it first came out many years ago. For those of you who do not know the story behind the movie let me tell you that it is an incredible investigating journey as an attempt to discredit Jesus Christ on many aspects of his life, death and resurrection. This investigation is triggered by the fact that his wife becomes a Christian at some point in time. Through the process, the reporter discover that the claims of Christianity are solid and his faith moves from atheist to believer. He himself realizes that Jesus Christ is true and real.
The movie highlights the main ideas find in the book (I still think the book contains many more interesting results of his investigation and is worth reading!). The movie portrays the 1980s very well with décor as well as the clothes, hairdos and so many more details that were well thought of in the movie. As for the storyline itself, I find that it was a very good representation of what we have read in the book.
We also found that the movie was really well made in a sense that there was no dragging scenes or pauses throughout the story. Sometimes we find that faith based movies possess some scenes that just take a long time to be finished. This is not happening in The Case for Christ. There was a good flow in the storyline and sometimes you would see flashback from the past when the main character pondered on his relationship with his wife before she became a Christian.
Our whole family, 2 adults and 4 kids ages 9, 11, 13 and 16, enjoyed the movie. As parents we find that it is essential to expose our kids to true-life stories and The Case for Christ is a great example of how a person who “investigate” can become a Christian. The movie is absolutely family friendly I find. Be aware that there will be scene where the main character, Lee Strobel, will go to bars to drink as well as come back home drunk. Nevertheless, I find this movie to be a great movie to watch as a family and trigger discussion for days or weeks to come. My plan now is to schedule the reading of the youth edition of the books that Lee Strobel wrote – Case for Christ, Case for Faith and Case for a Creator – as part of their homeschool assignments this year. They are all in age to be able to understand the concepts presented in the books.
I would highly recommend The Case for Christ for family movie night to anyone. It can also be a tool for a discussion with your teens and/or non-believer friends. I know that a movie guide is available for purchase in order to trigger the discussion after watching the movie.
The Case for Christ came out on DVD, Blu-ray, and for digital download on August 15th, and is available at amazon.ca and amazon.com.
DVD
Blu-Ray
Official Movie Guide
Disclaimer: The link to the movie has been provided courtesy of Mongrel Media and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
I recently had the opportunity of pre-screening a new family movie night feature titled CHANGE OF PLANS via an online link. This movie will premiere on FOX on Saturday January 8th 2011 at 7pm CST!
This studio behind this movie works to reach and encourage families to show their support for better family TV. In this 21st century often you have movie that are not geared toward family time because of the violence,profanity and other such things. Unfortunately, many parents don’t care about it and would let their kids watch them.
WHAT IS FAMILY NIGHT MOVIE?
Walmart and P&G have partnered to create the Family Moments initiative to help moms and families better connect with each other. Family Movie Night is a part of that movement to provide meaningful entertainment for the entire family.
During Family Movie Night, you can be confident that the programming on their screens will be fun and action-packed, without the worry of having to dive for the remote to change the channel when inappropriate ads or other content comes on. Soundtracks for the films also feature top producers and artists. The day after airing,a special 2-disc DVD/CD bonus pack will be available for purchase exclusively through Walmart.
By providing this block of time, Walmart and P&G are striving to reconnect families across the country that are bombarded by busy schedules and the lack of programming that's appealing to everyone. Tune in and see what the buzz is about.
CHANGE OF PLANS SYNOPSIS
Up to this point, Sally Danville's life has played out just as she hoped it would. A beautiful and free-spirited musician, she and her fighter-pilot husband, Jason, live life on the go, free of domestic responsibilities. But with a single phone call from Child & Family Services case worker, Dorothy (Phylicia Rashad, The Cosby Show), she learns that things don't always go according to plan. Sally (Brooke White, American Idol) is met with the news that her best friend from college has died in a tragic accident on a Peace Corps mission and has named Sally the legal guardian of her four kids - 3 of them adopted from third-world countries. Now Sally and Jason (Joe Flanigan, Stargate Atlantis) must quickly learn to parent this instant family and help the kids deal with the culture clash of life in America. The story is both humorous and heartwarming, revealing how fulfilling life can be when you look beyond your own and invest in the lives of others.
MY THOUGHTS
First I must tell my readers that I had to watch this movie via an online connection and unfortunately I had some issues with it. We have realized the past few months that whenever more people are on the internet in our area, somehow it slows down our connection. After trying numerous times on our PVR without success (the image would froze within seconds but the sounds was perfect…) I decided to try it on my laptop and it was working.
I decided to watch Change of Plans on early morning during the Christmas holidays. This movie is a good family movie and will bring you the reality of adopting children who have lost their parents.
Problem is the couple approached to adopt these children have plans of their own with career and travel. But they agreed to take them for a period of time. While caring for these children, they realize that they want to care for them permanently. Various events and situations will stretch their new parenting skills.
I’ve found that there was a few awkward moments in the movie. When Sally and Jason first meet the kids, it doesn’t seem natural to me. But I guess in a similar situation, I don’t know how I would react either. Another thing that bugs me if that the older sister would talk to her siblings in the language of Uganda to tell them to behave when they arrive in the house. Fortunately, translation is provided on the screen but I can just sense how Sally and Jason might feel when this happens.
There are also touching moments in the movie. These moments brought tears in my eyes as I watched them. My favourite ones would be the scene when Sally is putting the youngest child to bed and tell her a story of her mom before bedtime. They other moments that touched me more were when Jordan, the older sister, would remember her parents and what she would do with them.
I was stunned by the different happening between the integration of the kids in the primary school versus the high school. I should have known that it would be different but still seeing it on screen was an eye opener.
Jordan feels responsible for her younger siblings and she is a strong young lady. She even stands up ask to say grace at the table which is fantastic. But she also has a tendency to want to keep control on how the kids should behave. At one point Sally stood up and took the control. Sally has doubts about her skills of being a parent but throughout the movie she demonstrates over and over again that she does have the parenting gene as she calls it.
The movie will also demonstrate how to deal with responsibility and opportunities. Sometimes when opportunities knock at your door, you have to consider what is good for the family. And Sally and Jason will be faced with such decisions.
In the end, the family goes through another event which could devastate them or unite them.
I enjoyed seeing Change of Plans and I would not hesitate to let my own kids ages 3, 5, 6 3/4 and 9 1/2 watch it if we had cable. I hope that one day this movie will come out on DVD so that they can watch a good family movie.
Visit Family Movie Night website for more information of the movies released for a special night with your family or go on their Facebook page.
If you want to see more of the movie before the release of the movie, check out the following trailer.
Mark down the date (January 8th) on your 2011 calendar and prepare some popcorn. It is a very touching movie and it is good for the whole family!
Disclaimer: Thanks to Propeller for granting me access to the online pre-view of the movie for review purpose. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.
I recently had the privilege to pre-screen the movie Overcomer which comes out in theaters today.
