The latest Christian film to become a box office hit, COURAGEOUS, has soared to the top of the U.S. DVD charts.

It reached No. 4 in the U.S. box office when it released in cinemas last September and beat "Ides of March," "Abduction" and "Moneyball" to claim the No. 1 spot on the DVD charts when it released in the format last week.

COURAGEOUS tells the story of four law enforcement officers who have the confidence to face the worst crimes on the streets, yet face a struggle in the home that none of them feel prepared for: fatherhood.

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COURAGEOUS, the hit fatherhood film that packed theaters and touched lives across the country last fall, launched retail sales nationwide Jan. 17 and debuted as the top-selling DVD in the country, surpassing major Hollywood hits, including some Oscar® nominees, like THE DESCENDANTS and THE IDES OF MARCH.

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From the acclaimed speaker and pastor Louie Giglio comes the new Passion Talk Series DVD release Symphony (I Lift My Hands). Continuing in the tradition of the inspiring talks “How Great is our God” and “Indescribable”, in Symphony (I Lift My Hands) Giglio takes viewers from the ends of the universe to the depths of the seas and shows how all of creation is united in their praise of the Creator. And yet God, who spoke the vast universe into being and cast stars into the far reaches of space, is intimately involved in our lives and will carry us through our darkest nights. As seen by over 200,000 people on the sold-out And If Our God Is For Us Tour with Chris Tomlin.

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Finding Beauty in Beasts

By Mary Ahlman

On a normal Sundance day, cinephiles wander from the heavy dramas, delightful comedies, to moving documentaries. But this year, one of most sought after tickets was for a genre-bending fantastical film by young first-time director Behn Zeitlin.  Beasts of the Southern Wild shines brightly as an entrancing film set in a futuristic semi-flooded bayou call “the bathtub” as the community fights to stay free and independent, even as the waters rise around them. In this bathtub, a tiny little girl named Hushpuppy learns survival from her father Wink

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The Prodigal Father
FATHER'S CHAIR delves into a hard lesson on family values

By Dana Sleger

When a child goes missing, a parent experiences a range of emotions fueled by love and despair to be reunited with their son or daughter. It’s a nightmare no family wants to experience, but if this unfortunate occurrence strikes home, the strength of unity among family members can offer hope in search of answers about the unknown. However, in the case of parents who are on the brink of divorce, the emotional stakes can pose a different scenario, especially when a father is faced with a harsh reality that his career has taken precedence before the importance of his family.

In the film, Father’s Chair, director Luciano Moura takes viewers on a cathartic journey of a father desperate to find his 15-year-old son, who has mysteriously disappeared. Although the family relationships are in shambles from years of neglect, Theo and Branca set their issues aside and unite to find their only child, Pedro. Without hesitation, Theo leaves his upscale lifestyle and medical practice in Brazil to travel the country in search of clues. Bound by love, but wracked with guilt over the lack of fatherly presence in his son’s life, his search forces Theo to confront his own parental issues and face the dichotomy of the father he has regretfully become versus the devoted father he longs to be. 

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By Luke Smeenk

Countless films depict the descent into an uncontrollable addiction and its consequences, but few aptly convey the challenging ascent to sobriety.  Most movies gloss over the complex and strenuous path to recovery and away from addiction.  In short, they inappropriately convey the message that it is easy and permanent once someone manages to triumph over his dependence; however, this is far from the truth.  In reality, the road to sobriety is more like a life-long journey that involves significant lifestyle changes.  Fortunately, the film Smashed, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, portrays this demanding endeavor with honesty.

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Father Knows or at Least Tries Best 

By J.C. South

The typical Hollywood depiction of fathers is extremely negative. If fathers are even present in film, they are portrayed like buffoons, jerks, drunks, or adulterers. In a surprising new representation, Mark Webber’s film The End of Love – which screened at the Sundance Film Festival – displays a genuine realistic love between a father and his son. While the father is far from a perfect man, his role as the loving, caring father is his primary concern. This true and gritty portrayal is even more special because the lead actors of the film are father and son in real life. 

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By Gorman Woodfin

When was the last time you hung out with some gangster hip-hop artists whose language was so vile--it would make a seasoned sailor blush?

Upon first viewing, many in the faith community might shy away from the hard-hitting hip-hop culture film, Filly Brown. This independent movie has several scenes of intense emotion and violence.  Maria Jose ‘Majo’ Tonorio is an aspiring Hispanic rapper (a.k.a. Filly Brown) and poet who is caught up in a life-and-death struggle in the dark underworld of hip-hop culture. Majo violently beats another rapper senseless in revenge for taking advantage of and striking her younger sister.  Later in the film, that rapper nearly kills Majo’s boyfriend and ultimately kidnaps Majo. The hip-hop culture scenes are also filled with expletives and coarse language that many with a Christian worldview might find offensive.    

But Phillipians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.” (NIV)”  Many in the Christian community focus on the latter part of this scripture, conveniently ignoring, or severely limiting the command to think on “whatever is true.” Sometimes, what is true is not necessarily lovely.

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By Chris Yogerst

Supernatural thrillers appear to be the gift that keeps giving. With the continued success of the Paranormal Activity franchise it’s safe to assume that these gifts will keep coming. The problem with such films is that they all focus on belief in supernatural activity, primarily dangerous ghosts, and spend little to no time acknowledging the flip side - the skeptics. One of the buzzing films here at Sundance, Red Lights, attempts to give us another perspective by sparking a discussion about our faith. 

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HELLO I MUST BE GOING: Looking At Relationships From the Inside Out

By Michelle Groover

Sometimes it’s simpler to allow others to define who we are.
In the end, though, we must ultimately choose to accept ourselves – and others – for who we are rather than who they think we should be.

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