In many Christian films Jesus is the answer to life’s problems and the latest film by Sherwood Baptist Church is no different to the genre. They exploded on the theater screens and surprised Hollywood with their 2006 hit Facing The Giants about a Christian high school football team who learns to succeed by giving God their very best both on and off the field. This time around they tackle the subject of marriage.

In Fireproof, Firefighter Caleb Colt (played by Kirk Cameron) and his wife Catherine of seven years are contemplating divorce. Caleb’s father gives him a book called “The Love Dare,” which challenges him to show love for his wife with his actions even when her actions don’t deserve it. Not quite ready to throw in the towel, Caleb takes on the forty-day challenge.
Some dares are easy (and should be intuitive) like fixing your wife breakfast, calling her at work to check-in, and sending her flowers. Some dares aren’t so easy, such as the dare to give up additions to anything drawing attention from your wife, which for Caleb is a battle with pornography. While most Christian films show a conversion moment of a character accepting Jesus as the climax and happy ending of the story, the conversion moment for Caleb comes early in the film, which allows the audience to see how his life and actions change as a result of Christ. In one powerful example, he takes out the computer, beats it to pieces with a bat, and leaves a note for his wife in its place that reads “I love you more” (than my addition to pornography). He also becomes slower to anger, a generous giver, and ultimately a better husband to Catherine.

Fireproof was written and directed by two pastors from Sherwood Baptist Church and stars an entire cast from its own church membership, excluding star Kirk Cameron who volunteered his time after being approached for the project in a chance encounter at the airport. Only a handful of experienced Hollywood workers served on the crew, with church volunteers helping with catering, lighting, grip work, etc. to help lower the budget.

This film is more entertaining than Kirk Cameron’s previous Christian project Left Behind. While that 2000 film cost nearly $17 million to make, Fireproof cost a mere $500,000 and is surprisingly a more engaging film with better production values. There are two action sequences in the film. One has firefighters moving a stuck car out of the way of an oncoming train and another has Caleb rescuing a young girl from a burning home. Both are portrayed with realism and intensity that surpasses the average Christian film standards. There is also a good deal of humor in the film, especially between the firefighters who come across as a mini-fraternity with similar joking around and pranks between each other that is fairly amusing.

It should provoke good conversation and will be an encouragement in today’s society for any couple striving to keep their vows…

While the film was made by Christians and will be embraced largely by Christians, it is a worthy piece of work for any married couple to see. The central characters manage to present a strong, conservative faith without coming across as crazy. Many of the marriage tips will benefit any couple, whether or not they believe the God element of the equation. Fireproof should provoke good conversation and will be an encouragement in today’s society for any couple striving to keep their vows to love their spouse “in good times and bad…till death do us part.”

Visit www.fireproofmymarriage.com for showtimes and marriage material.

High School Musical was spawned by producer Bill Borden who said “I wanted to make a musical that I could sit down and watch with my kids.” This creative phenomenon now lays claim to cable television’s highest-ever-rated telecast, the two highest-ever-rated Disney Channel movies, two multi-platinum soundtracks, a concert tour, an ice show, numerous awards and accolades, and a source of inspiration to teens worldwide. Now, it is an official theatrical release with High School Music 3: Senior Year.

Each new class year is a new start and Senior Year finds these characters facing typical teen issues about prom, finals, graduation and going away. Gabriella has always been ruled by her head, but now is being torn by her heart. She must make tough decisions regarding friends, family, relationships and school after being accepted to an early study program at Stanford that may require her to miss the school musical and prom. Troy must choose between attending the college basketball program his father always pushed for or playing ball at the school of his choice that also offers a theater major. The film finds balance being both a musical comedy that is grounded in some emotional reality. Troy and Gabriella vow to make every moment last as their lifelong college dreams put the future of their relationship in question.

The school year also introduces us to some new characters. Jimmie is a Sophomore on the basketball team who idolizes Troy, but is also a little too cocky. Tiara transfers to East High from England and agrees to be Sharpay’s personal assistant. She helps sort out her diva demands, but secretly, is just as conniving.

Some characters never change. Sharpay is still the diva that you love to hate. Sharpay’s the one who stirs the pot, but deep down – really, really, really, really, really deep down – she’s probably really sweet. Probably. She has some fun numbers in the musical including the song “I Want It All.” It contains a wink and homage to Gene Kelly, Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins, and Michael Kidd with large dance numbers that include a classic Radio City Music Hall kick line with 24 pink-haired kitty cat Rockettes. The whole number is seen through the eyes of this teenage girl who wants it all: fame, fortune, and more.

The movie explores friendship and camaraderie, the bond that’s been build between Troy and Chad and how it’s changing. It’s the joy in seeing a friend move on and do what he wants to do, and at the same time the sadness of losing a partner. One of the best dances in the film is a number called “The Boys Are Back.” This sequence is all about giving Troy and Chad a history. The number features the pair rolling a giant tire, sword fighting, break-dancing, teeter-tottering, and dancing on cars in a used car lot that includes flashbacks to their time there dancing on cars as a child.

Throughout the whole franchise a big lesson from the film is to break stereotypes. The power forward wants to be a pastry chef. The star basketball player wants to be a thespian. The message to children is to be whatever you want to be. Writer Peter Barsocchini shared that the character of Troy Bolton was inspired by his childhood friendship with future Pittsburgh Steeler football player Lynn Swan. “One day we were riding on the bus to a game and he said ‘You know, I’d really like to try ballet.’ Sometimes there is so much pressure on kids to be cool that it’s tough to do something different.” HSM3 manages to make East High the most homogenous, multiracial school in America that is promoting individual diversity.

The film features ten all-new songs penned by several of the hit songwriters from past HSM smash records that take maximum advantage of the big screen. HSM3 features bigger musical numbers with more difficult choreography and more dancers, more elaborate sets with more complicated lighting and sound, and more detailed and fabulous costumes. The fans will love it!

Bolt is an animated combination of the live-action Homeward Bound and Underdog movies with some Bowfinger elements as well. This dog was raised on a Hollywood television set by his person Penny (Miley Cyrus). The show’s director (played over-the-top by Inside The Actor Studio’s James Lipton) believes the cameras will capture more realism from Bolt if he believes his canine superpowers are real. The studio goes to great technical lengths to secretively convince Bolt that he really has a forceful super-bark, incredible strength, and laser bolts that shoot from his eyes.

Bolt must face harsh reality when he is accidentally shipped across the United States in a box. He quickly realizes that his superpowers are gone, something he explains away as being a side-effect of evil styrofoam peanuts. Anxious to get home to make sure his person Penny is safe, he listens to some humorous New York pigeons who direct Bolt to a local alley cat named Mittens, a jaded former housecat whom they claim knows the way to where Penny is being held captive, something he believes since cats are evil characters on his TV show. They both embark on a cross-country trip to Hollywood.

Experiencing hunger for his first time, Bolt learns how to beg for food at a mobile home park. It’s here that they meet Rhino, a pint-sized hamster who is an obsessed fan of Bolt’s TV show and believes in Bolt. The three of them overcome various obstacles on their journey back home, but for Bolt, the journey becomes one of self-discovery as he learns to accept reality and embrace what it means to be a real dog.

The voice work by John Travolta brought a tough, yet sweet quality to Bolt’s character. The rising superstar Miley Cyrus helped make Penny a believable girl. Both Travolta and Cyrus sing an inspired duet called “I Thought I Lost You.” The best breakout success story from this production is the voice work by long-time Disney animator Mark Walton, who lent his voice to the hamster Rhino early on in pre-production. He said “it was generally assumed that, at some point, they would choose a professional actor to record the final voice, but about a year went by, and my voice stayed in screening after screening.” Mark’s voice contained humongous energy for such a small hamster.

“Along with the humor, you have to have heart,” says John Lasseter, who oversaw Bolt as his first production in his new role of Executive Producer of Walt Disney Animation. This film nearly approaches the pedigree of the Pixar library with humor that flows out of the personalities of the characters that is funny to both children as well as adults alike. It also contains the emotional connection Pixar is known for. This dog feels pain, hunger, and loneliness for the first time and then manages to learn that you don’t need superpowers to be a hero and have purpose in life. This is the first Disney animated feature conceived for 3D and it makes appropriate uses of the medium. The film is a vast improvement in animation and storytelling for Disney Animation and a welcomed addition to the Disney canon.