AFA Staff
AFA Journal staff reviews movies, books and other resources
September 2009 – DVD teaches kids creation
The Animal Kinds Sing and Learn Along with Buddy Davis, a 30-minute children’s film from Answers in Genesis, is great for a children’s church lesson or to teach children about creation at home. Buddy Davis is joined by children and personnel at the Creation Museum in Kentucky to show the brilliance of God in how He created many animals.
The first of four original songs, “The Greatest Variety You’ll Ever Find,” will have the child jumping and the adult’s knee bouncing. It incorporates many scene changes to keep a young child’s interest.
Viewers get a glimpse of the Creation Museum with its beautiful scenery and animatronic dinosaurs. The DVD ends with Buddy sharing the Gospel on a child’s level. His final song is, word for word, John 3:16-17. Not only is this a good way to teach children to memorize Scripture, it is also a great conversation starter with your kids or grandkids.
Teddy James
Urban gang goes west
Korina is a teenager in danger of being coerced into prostitution. Marcus is a gang member, and his little brother wants to be just like big brother. Rey, another gang member, is a master petty thief. These four are principal figures in Set Apart, a feature-length movie available on DVD September 22.
Inner-city pastor John Gunn persuades his brother Randy and sister-in-law Heidi to take the four at-risk kids to their ranch, where they learn about horses – and about the Gunns’ Christian faith. The Gunns live out their faith in a way that has real impact on the kids.
Along the way, the four, as well as the Gunns’ ranch hand, are threatened by gang members. Violent scenes do not include graphic blood or gore.
Randy and Heidi Gunn, who play themselves in the film, run GunnPoint Music and Ministries. John Schneider, Richard Roundtree and Jennifer O’Neill headline the cast.
Randall Murphree
Gold rush era offers short feature adventure
Click Clack Jack was a fictional railroad engineer in Potters Gap during the gold rush era on the American frontier. This 55-minute video of the same name, Click Clack Jack, uses the device of an engaging storyteller who relates Jack’s story to young students in short scenes that connect flashback sequences detailing the whole story.
Jack rescues an unconscious hobo, nurses him to health, forges a friendship and shares his Christian faith with him. Baron Snodgrass, the villain, bought up all the property in Potters Gap and announced plans to level the town – homes, churches and all – because he is convinced he will find gold under the town.
That sets the stage for the classic conflict between good and evil with several intriguing plot twists, including a hidden stash of gold.
It’s a family-friendly DVD with a strong Christian theme and is available online.
Randall Murphree
Youth and age meet in family film
The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry follows the relationship between the 75-year-old Jonathan Sperry and a group of 12-year-old boys in 1970. The boys’ lives are impacted by the Gospel through Sperry’s example and his teachings. Producer Rich Christiano is a name well known as a pioneer in Christian films.
As the boys’ lives are changed by Sperry’s influence, they in turn reach out to others, notably Mr. Barnes, an unfriendly and unpleasant neighbor played by Robert Guillaume, who starred in the 1980s sitcom Benson.
At press time, Christiano hoped to open September 18 on 500 theater screens nationwide. In many cases, theaters have been rented by churches as a community outreach.
Phil Newberry, student pastor at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee, said, “This is a must-use film for every believer to take their neighbors and friends to in hopes they may find Christ as a result.” For more info: www.SperryMovie.com.
Randall Murphree
The Stoning of Soraya M. CAUTION
From actor Jim Caviezel and Steve McEveety, producer of The Passion of the Christ, comes The Stoning of Soraya M., based on actual events related by a character named Zahra, the aunt of Soraya.
The story begins when a Paris-based journalist’s car breaks down in a village in Iran. Zahra makes a bold move and brings him to her house while the car is being repaired. She tells Soraya’s story of manipulation, deceit and evil. Soraya’s husband wants to be rid of her, and will stop at nothing to get his divorce. He wants to marry a 14-year-old girl.
This movie, now in theaters, is not intended to be family-friendly or entertaining. It was made to reveal the abuse many women go through in some cultures. It accomplishes its goal with a graphic scene in which Soraya’s father, husband, priest and sons take turns stoning her. The husband, upon confirming she is dead, walks away with a satisfied grin on his face.
Teddy James
