Abominable Snows Under the Competition
I just returned from a week on the beach, where the sun always shined and not a day’s temperature dipped below 80 degrees. But at theaters across the country, it looked less chill and more … chilly? Granted, the Yeti at the heart of Abominable took a while to find the snowcapped Himalayas. But the […]
The Horror (of Kids in Horror Movies)
The original IT was rated R, and just five minutes in you could see why. As such, children were strongly advised against seeing the movie. But children had to star in it, too. Blame Stephen King for featuring seven 12-year-olds (and a few kids who were even younger) in his original 1986 novel. Or, perhaps, […]
America Re-Reads Chapter Two
Moviegoers just can’t get enough scares in September. IT: Chapter Two earned its second-straight box-office victory, devouring an estimated $40.7 million in North America en route to the win. That pushes its total domestic cume to about $153.8 million. Add in its overseas cash, and Chapter Two has collected $323.3 million worldwide. Clearly, this pic […]
IT Haunts No. 1 … Again
Make way for the king. Stephen King, that is. IT Chapter Two, the sequel to 2017’s record-setting IT (both of which were based on King’s 1986 novel), scared up a huge win this weekend, gobbling up an estimated $91 million in North America for a bury-your-head-in-the-covers first-place finish. That gives Chapter Two the second-biggest horror […]
“You Have to Be Proactive.” An Interview With VeggieTales Creator Phil Vischer
Thanks to Phil Vischer, kids love their veggies. Not necessarily the vegetables that land on the dinner plate (because, let’s face it, beets are disgusting). But in 1993, he and Mike Nawrocki introduced them to Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber and a bunch of other characters typically found in the produce aisle. Their direct-to-video […]
Culture Clips: Behind Bars, But Newly Freed
The Bible says the truth will set you free. But sometimes it’ll land you in jail, too. Languishing in jail in advance of his trial for (among other things) robbery and murder, Danny Dashay Holmes ran across the lyrics of Big Daddy Weave’s song “Redeemed.” Those lyrics inspired the guy to walk into court and […]
Angel Hasn’t Fallen Yet
In a decidedly sleepy weekend at the box office, the Gerard Butler actioner Angel Has Fallen flapped over a legion of holdovers to claim its second-straight weekend crown. Just as we said last weekend, its totals weren’t particularly jaw-dropping. Angel earned an estimated $14.8 million domestically during the holiday weekend (including Labor Day). Thwack off […]
What’s Streaming for Families in September (2019)
Well, it’s September. Football season is once again sticking its pigskin snout into your life and your local team is once again appearing less than ready to live up to your hopes of gridiron glory. (Unless you live in New England.) Of course, if you would rather sit down with the kids for some family […]
Culture Clips: Farewell, My Captain. (Oh, and the Football Player’s Gone, Too.)
The football world was a wee bit shocked when Andrew Luck, oft-injured quarterback for the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts, announced last week that he was hanging up his cleats. Everyone had lots of thoughts about it (including Focus on the Family’s own Jim Daly). Fox Sports’ Doug Gottlieb nearly united Twitter in anger when he insinuated […]
Angel, Overcomer Both Overperform
Fallen Angel? Hardly. The new Gerard Butler actioner, Angel Has Fallen, actually fluttered straight to No. 1, soaring high above its competition with an estimated $21.3 million weekend in North America. That makes it the first film in the Fallen franchise to open at No. 1—even though, paradoxically, it made the least money of the […]