What to Watch This Holiday Season - MOVIEGUIDE® CHARISMA NEWS

A scene from 'The Star.' (Sony/YouTube)

What to Watch This Holiday Season

11/23/2017 MOVIEGUIDE®  CHARISMA NEWS

In the past, Hollywood used top release three or four Christmas movies during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays – movie's like "It's a Wonderful Life," "Miracle on 34th Street," "A Christmas Story," "Scrooge," The Muppets Christmas Carol," "Home Alone," and "The Santa Clause."

Sadly, in recent years, Hollywood movies featuring Christmas have been few and far between.

This year, however, things are looking up.

This Friday, Columbia Pictures and Sony will release one of the best Christmas movies of all time, a fun, charming animated comedy adventure about the birth of Jesus titled "The Star." And, next week, another great Christmas-themed movie opens, "The Man Who Invented Christmas," about how Charles Dickens codified England and America's iconic ideas about celebrating Christmas in "A Christmas Carol." Though rated PG-13, the recent comedy "Daddy's Home 2" also incorporates the celebration of Christmas in a major, positive way.

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"We hope this trend in making uplifting Christmas movies will continue," said Dr. Ted Baehr, founder and head of Movieguide®: The Family Guide to Movies and Entertainment and the Christian Film & Television Commission®.

"We should remember, however, that, as they say, 'Jesus is the Reason for the Season,'" Dr. Baehr added. "Just as people shouldn't be afraid of saying, 'Merry Christmas,' they should also not be afraid of talking about Jesus Christ and the salvation He brings during this glorious time of joy."

Author of "The Culture-Wise Family" and "How To Succeed in Hollywood (Without Losing Your Soul)," Dr. Baehr is chairman of the Christian Film & Television Commission® (CFTVC) and its family guide to movies and entertainment, Movieguide® (www.movieguide.org).

Now in their 32nd year, CFTVC and Movieguide® are the largest, longest-running international, non-profit ministry dedicated to "redeeming the values of the entertainment industry by influencing industry executives and by informing and equipping the public about the influence of the entertainment media."

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This Faith Filled Animation Is Perfect For Date Night! - MOVIEGUIDE DATE NIGHT NEWSLETTER - Movieguide

November 16, 2017 Date Night Pick: THE STAR (New In Theaters) THE STAR is a wonderful, hilarious, deeply reverential animated family movie centered on the birth of Jesus, but from the perspective of a lowly donkey named Bo. THE STAR is tremendous fun, with great moral, spiritual lessons along the way. It’s a must-see Christmas movie for every family... READ FULL REVIEW HERE › What Can Couples Take Away From The Movie? Like Bo, we may have a dream that we want fulfilled in a specific way, but more often than not, God will direct our steps to fulfill an even better dream. What Does The WORD Say?: “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”  - Proverbs 16:9 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” - Jeremiah 29:11 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6 Post Movie Discussion Questions: Mary and Joseph learn that following God's way is good, but not always easy. In what ways is this true in your own life? What does Bo have to give up in order to follow a better purpose? The Bible says that even creation itself will worship God, what is the significance of this? Movieguide® Date Night Edition CLICK HERE for previous Date Night Recommendations! Our telephone: 805-383-2000 Copyright (C)2014 Baehr All rights reserved.

'The Star': Animated Film Shares the Greatest Story Never Told - CBN News Efrem Graham

The Star

'The Star': Animated Film Shares the Greatest Story Never Told

11-17-2017

CBN News Efrem Graham

The holiday movie season begins this weekend with a unique twist on the story of Jesus' Birth. "The Star" is an animated film about the animals in The Nativity story. It hits theaters November 17. 

"It's the story we've heard so many times. And so, if it was going to be worth making a movie about this at all, we had to find a way to present it in a fresh way," said Timothy Reckart, animator of "The Star."

Reckart added, "It was so wonderful to be part of something of bringing a movie into existence that I didn't have as a kid."

Star-Studded Cast

TV icon Oprah Winfrey is a member of the star-studded cast along with other big names like Tyler Perry, Tracey Morgan, Mariah Carey and Patricia Heaton. Winfrey's voice can be heard in the film as Deborah the Camel. "Whoever thought to write this from the point of view of the animals, I think it's another approach that allows us another way in to be inspired by an ageless, timeless story," she said. 

Actress Gina Rodriguez plays the role of Mary and didn't have to look far to do research about her part. "I grew up with The Nativity story," said Rodriguez  

She continued, "I am very aware of the story. It is ingrained in me. I have seen some version of it every Christmas with my mother or my grandmother. The story was second nature, if you will." 

Gina Rodriguez: Pulling from Real Life to Play the Role of Mary

"Playing Mary was playing my mother. Playing my grandmother. Playing my sisters. These women that I see give of themselves every day. So, it was very easy to pull from my real life," added Rodriguez.

Rodriguez' role in "The Star," along with all of her work, is a tribute to her grandmother, a woman whose faith walk has been source of inspiration for the actress. "For my grandmother to be like the last standing matriarch of our family, the only grandparent I have left. It is my gift to her to kind of oversee all that we have done. And she has an opportunity to be with all of us."

Actor Zachary Levi didn't have as much to pull from for the role in "The Star." He plays Joseph. "The source material is pretty much all you have to work with. And even in the source material, there is not much to go on. It's a lot of bullet points," Levi joked. 

Acting Challenge: How to Bring Joseph to Life

He continued, "But that is kind of a fun license to create; it is not like it's a character like Paul where there is a bunch of source material on. And then everyone is going to have their two cents of who they think Paul really was. With Joseph, everyone is like I don't know. He's a guy. He was a carpenter. He was married to Mary. And the baby and the thing."

"We can all still identify with the human level of that frustration, that wrestling with God," added Levi.

"The Star" opens in theaters on November 17.

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