Torn by Jud Wilhite

Too often we get cliched phrases when talking about suffering and "where is God?" questions. Jud Wilhite has written a book that deals with this question in an easy-to-comprehend fashion.

Instead of asking the "Whys", Whilhite says a better question to ask in the midst of hurt is Who? Who is worthy of our trust in these troubles?

I typically roll my eyes when I hear Christians talking about doubts and how people "just have to have faith" that God is in control. You've probably heard that overused phrase, "Let go and let God"? It's those kind of lines that make my skin crawl.

Wilhite goes beyond pat answers and gives us a pastoral look into the question while providing practical ways to desire joys, defeat anger and survive through the broken aspects of our lives.

By using biblical examples as well as real-life situations, you'll gain a fresh perspective and a positive outlook the next time your life feels like a broken record.

I was pleasantly surprised with Torn. It wasn't like any other Christian-help book that I've read.

It's actually useful.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing.

Letters to a Young Pastor by Calvin Miller

Coming from a pastor of twenty-five years, you'd think Calvin Miller would have plenty to share with the new generation of pastors.

This book is stocked full of his anecdotes and insights of what it takes to be a minister, the sort of people you will come in contact with, how to interact with them and what he believes to be wrong with Christianity and its leaders.

You will not be missing any of Miller's sarcasm as these letters are full of it. I'm talking every single letter has the sarcasm included. At times this is confusing because I wasn't sure if he was trying to be serious about a complaint or just making light of it.

For example, he thrashes the megachurch pastors pretty hard. He claims megachurch pastors don't read books unless they deal with church growth.

Then he rips into Christians who don't end their prayers with "in Jesus' Name". As if saying those three words invokes some supernatural authority. (You'd have to understand what it means to do something "in the name of Christ" - it's along the same lines as taking God's name in vain)

He states that Rick Warren's prayer at President Obama's inauguration seemed to give Jesus the right to, "the nation of faith He forged at a terrible price."

See, I'm not sure if he's doing the whole tongue-in-cheek act there or if he is serious.

All in all, this book is a fun read for new preachers. It'll provide some fun insight and humorous stories from a seasoned minister.

I could have done with less sarcasm.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by David C Cook Publishing.

Super 8

There is no doubt that this movie was made in honor of Steven Spielberg.

J.J. Abrams and his co-horts say it in so many ways during their commentary and throughout the featurettes.

Set in a small Ohio town in 1979, a group of pre-teen friends set out to make their zombie movie on a super 8 camera. While filming near the train station, a truck plows onto the tracks and causes the entire train to derail. This train was carrying a life-form. A life-form that is captured on their film.

While the military come in to contain the situation, the kids discuss what they are going to do.

The movie is trademark Abrams - so many lens flares - with a strong mix of Spielbergian storytelling - focus in on a group of people thrown into extraordinary circumstances.

Kyle Chandler does a fantastic job as the town's deputy. The other actors keep the interest between peeks at the creature.

Speaking of the creature, you never really get a good look at the thing. Even at the end, when you typically get the full views of monsters, things are kept in the dark. And that is because the monster really isn't the point of this movie.

There are critics who didn't like this movie because they thought it would be something akin to Cloverfield instead of focusing on kids. But this is a fulfilling movie in the spirit of when making movies and watching them were fun.

This is such a good movie. Like the Goonies, this one will be quoted for a long time.

The Queen by Steven James

It took me a lot longer to The Queen than I anticipated and typically, that means the story isn't as good.

However, with Steven James, he continues to impress with this stories that surprise me and have always caught me off guard when it comes to the "big reveal" at the end.

FBI special agent Patrick Bowers is sent in to investigate a couple murders. While he's doing his thing, we're introduced to a much bigger plot than we have experienced with past Bower books.

James continues his excellence in FBI thrillers. He can take an adrenaline-laced plot and interweave very personal characters throughout. The humanity that leaps off of these pages is astounding. A Michael Bay-like blockbuster these books are not. These novels are so full of substance that you forget these books follow the line of so many procedural tv shows. (CSI, Law & Order, etc...)

Patrick and his step-daughter are continuing their relationship in a very authentic way. The romantic interest between Patrick and Lien-Hua feels very true-to-life. I have always enjoyed this about James' writing. While the craziness is going around the investigation, the relationships are not lacking.

When the investigation leads to nuclear war and submarines I began to wonder how realistic this truly could be. When it involved the Secretary of State and a nation in the Middle East, and a particular reaction of that nation, I threw reality to the wind.

By that time, however, I was enjoying the full-paced rush to the climactic end.

I cannot wait for The King.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Revell Publishing.

Source Code

A mind-twisting movie that feels like a 30 minute television show.

I thought Jake Gyllenhaal did a good job as a soldier tasked with identifying a terrorist by reliving the last eight minutes of someone's life over and over.

This is science fiction mixed with ideas of time & space. The confined space of a commuter train and the machine Gyllenhaal's character sits in helps create some of the atmosphere of tension and deep threat.

I thought this movie went very fast. It felt like I was watching an episode of television instead of a feature film simply because of how quick it was over.

I didn't connect with the romance forced into the plot nor did I empathize with the whole father-son dynamic either. This film was all about the science behind the plot. Nevermind the characters.

This is a movie similar to Pandorum in that you discover answers to the plot along with the characters. In the end, it's a far-fetched idea about combating terrorism with super computers, time/space and physics.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Chris Evans is getting around the super hero circuit. First he took his turn as Johnny Storm in two Fantastic Four films and now he's emerged as Captain America. (Supposedly he's contracted to "appear" in six movies)

I think the biggest problem with this movie is the director. The only Joe Johnston movie I enjoyed was the perfect Rocketeer. I thought Jurassic Park 3 was a franchise-killer, Hildalgo - bleh. And nevermind The Wolfman.

I thought it was great to do a period film when showing the origins of Captain America and staying with the original comics. However I found the pacing to be a bit off. I was actually bored with most of this movie. Every character seemed very bland. Even the fantastic Hugo Weaving was demoted to half-a-second moments.

While I did enjoy this movie more than Thor, I'm not sure what I should expect from Marvel and their super hero movies anymore. If this was a tease of what's to come in The Avengers, I shudder.

On the plus side, this does equal summer fun. There isn't anything questionable as far as content. I was just hoping for more super in this hero. Let's hope we'll get that in The Avengers and the next Captain movie.

Nearing Home by Billy Graham

How can you possibly go wrong with Billy Graham? His latest book seems to be geared toward the grandparent generation but it will speak to anyone who is looking for that inspiration to finish well.

You will not be overwhelmed with deep theology or complex topics. One of the cornerstones of Graham is to keep things easy and very simple.

He touches on:
Running toward home
Don't retire from life
The impact of hope
Consider the golden years
Fading strength but standing strong
Death's destination
Influencing
A lasting foundation
Roots strengthen in time
Then and now

Billy Graham uses characters from the Bible to help illustrate his points on aging and nearing the end of our natural lives.

"Growing older wasn't something to be denied or dreaded; it was to be embraced as part of God's plan for their lives." - Billy Graham.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Thomas Nelson Publishing.

For Men Only by Shaunti and Jeff Feldhahn

This is a small, hard cover book that repeats what ever other "christian" help-me-understand-woman book has to say.

This husband & wife team have written a companion book for women called, For Women Only which tells women how to understand men. (That book is much smaller than this one...)

Inside the flap, you'll find a "Quick Start Guide" which explains the six keys to understanding a woman. These keys are:

Reassurance, Emotions, Security, Listening, Sex, and Beauty. This quick guide bullets out the Why she does, Here's why and What to do questions that the book fleshes out.

This book may be a good resource for a men's small group or book club but I didn't read anything new or insightful that I haven't heard/read in any other "gender help" book.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing.

Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho by Stephen Robello

How many of you enjoy watching the special features on DVDs? Do you like the deleted scenes and making-of featurettes?

If that fits you, you may enjoy this book. Stephen Robello takes readers on a behind-the-scenes tour of how Alfred Hitchcock created one of the most terrifying movies of all time.

This book is full of quotes and insights from the director, screenwriter, actors, and studio execs providing the perfect inside look movie buffs crave.

You'll read how Hitchcock wanted to keep ahead of the movie-making crowd with twists and tricks. You'll read how his mind worked with his screenwriter and how they came up with some of the more "colorful" scenes of the movie.

Of course there are the disagreements and those who try to claim more credit than is due them. Hollywood is so full of egomaniacs.

This is a very nice companion piece for anyone who loves Hitchcock and movies in general.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by Open Road Publishing.

The Beaver

Jodie Foster can direct! By no means is The Beaver a comedy - far from it.

However, with some funny moments, Mel Gibson spends most of the movie with his hand inside a beaver puppet, this movie is very touching. I almost want to go so far as to say that it's beautiful...but that may be pushing things a bit too far.

Gibson plays Walter Black. A man suffering from depression. With everything falling apart around him, he finds solace in a beaver puppet and begins to live a double life as the beaver.

Foster plays his wife and there's Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) as his oldest son who wants nothing to do with his father yet continues to find similarities between the two.

This film was bamboozled by Gibson's off-screen antics with his ugly comments and recorded phone conversations. But I think that "drama" adds a layer to this movie.

No one should doubt that he is a fantastic actor. He is terrific in this movie. As the beaver, he picks up an accent that sounds exactly like Ray Winstone (Beowulf).

Maybe it was just the season of when I watched this film, but I thought it was anything but a flop.

The ending surprised me.

Green Lantern

Bottom line: Ryan Reynolds is the best part of this movie. His dry humor saves this from being as bad as Daredevil.

Reynolds is Hal Jordan. Ace test pilot. Chosen to be the first human in an intergalactic guild of protectors called the Green Lantern Corps.

They use the power of their will to create all kinds of instruments to use in their fight for good.

Suddenly, a force emerges that feeds off of people's fears. While gaining strength, Jordan is learning to create outlandish tools. Not only does this diabolical force desire to destroy the earth, but another villain emerges. One found in Peter Sarsgaard. It may just be me but I find Sarsgaard incredibly annoying. I don't know if it's his face or his voice. Maybe a combination of those two plus his acting the same character in every movie.

It was an interesting choice to have the Green Lantern costume to be all digital and not the typical spandex outfit. I'm biased, I enjoy the old way of making special effects. (Think the original Star Wars. Before Lucas destroyed them with CGI) But with that, I'm not sure they could have made this movie with traditional effects.

Let's see if the sequel will build on the more positive aspects of this film and never bring back Sarsgaard...

Skyline

When your attention grabber is, "from the visual effects masterminds behind Avatar, Iron Man 2 and 300" you better have a good idea what kind of plot-deprived movie you're about to watch.

Skyline is about a group of yuppies in Southern California trying to survive a massive alien invasion. Another reviewer commented that this was basically "watching people watch the movie Independence Day"; and that is surprisingly accurate.

The aliens unleash a blue light that alters your face and puts you in some kind of hypnosis for them to suck you up into their machines.

Most of the dialogue consists of, "go...GO!" and "Hurry, get down. Shhhh" But who was really expecting anything other than a mindless alien-destruction movie?

It came out around the same time as Battle: Los Angeles so the comparisons are everywhere. This one isn't as boring, it's not as long and it plays as more comic-booky than realistic.

I enjoyed the special effects and the ending. The creators have stated that they want to make a sequel. With them footing their own bill, I'm sure we'll see a Skyline 2 soon

Simply Jesus by N.T. Wright

N.T. Wright has begun a new series that is much easier to read. He's known for his deeply theological books and also his New Testament commentary "for everyone". Simply Jesus is written somewhere between these two styles.

It is very assessable for anyone to pick it up and enjoy.

He calls this "a new vision of who Jesus was, what he did and why he matters" but it's really based on the writings of Jesus in his previous books.

Divided into three parts. In part one, Wright uses the imagery of The Perfect Storm with its three storms coming to a head to explain the culture in which Jesus confronted the Romans, the Jewish religious leadership and God's plan.

In part two, Wright explains what Jesus believed to be the Kingdom of God and how that was brought about by his actions, words and death on the cross.

Part three serves to talk about how Jesus can be Lord while it seems that evil continues to run rampant. This last section felt like Wright returned to his thick/deep writing and I was initially confused before catching on to his rhythm.

This book is terrific as the first of a new series on Jesus in the First Century and how the Jewish community viewed heaven, God and His kingdom. However I think I've read most of these ideas before...from Wright's earlier work. But I'd rather read Wright repeating himself before picking up most other books on Jesus.

This book was provided for review, at no cost, by HarperOne Publishing

Thor

The first Iron Man movie set the bar so high. It's difficult to view another Marvel character movie without comparing it.

I think I'm going to place Thor just above The Incredible Hulk in terms of enjoyment. From top to bottom (so far) they rank: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, Incredible Hulk. (I don't count the X-Men movies or Spider-Man as they were made by Fox & Sony)

Thor stars Chris Helmsworth (Captain Kirk's father from Star Trek) as the arrogant god who is exiled to earth where he is supposed to learn some humility. On our planet he meets Jane (Natalie Portman) and supposedly falls in love.

The biggest drawback for me was the humor. There were funny moments that just felt forced. The first time Thor gets tased is chuckle-worthy; when he gets a shot in his butt in order to control him, I start to cringe. When they recreate the fact that Jane hit him with her car, I rolled my eyes.

What I absolutely loved about this movie was the "villain". I'm still not sure you could call Thor's brother, Loki, the villain. He is such a complex character in this film. There are plenty of twists and surprises from him as this movie progresses. I thought he was the best part.

Once the movie was over, including the anti-climactic scene after the credits, I felt like I had just watched a placeholder for The Avengers movie. I realize Captain America is advertised with that theme, but Thor just didn't pack the punch I was hoping for.

I'd give this movie a B-. Loki was superb. Like The Dark Knight, I was hoping to see more scenes with villain.