http://www.umc.org United Methodist News en-us Copyright 2004 United Methodist Communications. All Rights Reserved. Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:55:32 GMT 20 ]]> Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:55:00 GMT In one sweeping move, the venerable Star Trek franchise has boldly gone where it has never gone before—back to square one. ]]> Fri, 15 May 2009 15:03:00 GMT Dreamworks new animated comedy, Monsters vs. Aliens, serves as the perfect reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place—they’re fun! This tale of lovable, earthbound monsters battling pompous, invading aliens is escapist entertainment in the best sense—a movie that helps you take a break from the cares of everyday reality and simply be entertained.]]> Mon, 13 Apr 2009 14:56:00 GMT Sunshine Cleaning is a winning film, which balances humor with drama. It shows both the ugliness of death as well as the humanity of it. The story reinforces the value of life and the need to deal compassionately and sensitively with life’s end. The film also provides an ultimately uplifting look at the power of family and the resilience of the human spirit.]]> Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:55:00 GMT Have you ever lost yourself in a daydream or escaped to a pleasant fantasy when life got a little stressful or dull? Phoebe in Wonderland is an inventive and insightful family drama about a young girl with a vivid imagination and dreams of a special world free from problems. ]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:52:00 GMT Coraline is a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience about a girl with a different kind of name who longs for a different and more exciting life. She wants to live in a different place, have different friends, and most of all, have different (better) parents. ]]> Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:17:00 GMT The idea of kismet hovers over Slumdog Millionaire like an unseen character, nudging events and people this way and that, until this harrowing tale of impoverished orphans in Mumbai, India, blossoms into an exhilarating and life-affirming experience. ]]> Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:27:00 GMT In The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, we meet a man whose youth comes after an unbelievable accumulation of life experiences—whose wisdom grows in a body that defies time. His is a life running backwards, reversing beginnings and endings. Yet throughout this sweeping, lyrical, melancholy journey of a man growing young, we learn that “For everything, there is a season” (Ecclesiastes 3:1), and there is no “normal” life, just the one God gives us.]]> Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:29:00 GMT Anchored by Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning and a strong ensemble cast, Bees brings us an unlikely quintet of unique women in a story of sisterhood, sorrow, catharsis and the healing power of love. ]]> Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:17:00 GMT Flash of Genius is a satisfyingly complex drama about a believable family caught up in extraordinary circumstances. It’s about courage, determination, and the need, every once in a while, for a gritty little David to stand up to the big, greedy Goliath—if only to give the rest of us Davids a little hope.]]> Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:00:00 GMT Miracle at St. Anna is far from perfect. Yet when it works, it presents a powerful story that needs to be told about the important role of African-Americans in World War II that has been sadly overlooked.]]> Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:22:00 GMT In the complex and thought provoking new espionage thriller, Traitor, Don Cheadle plays a human mystery, a man whose loyalties and motives are veiled by intentional deception and who is hopelessly torn between God and country.]]> Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:48:00 GMT Seriocomic and parable-like, Henry Poole Is Here is not only a delight, but is also full of surprises—not the least of which is its endorsement of faith and the presence of the miraculous in our lives.]]> Fri, 22 Aug 2008 15:46:00 GMT Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 rejoins the four girls and their magical “one size fits all” jeans as they continue their journey toward adulthood. And once again, the trickiest terrain they will have to navigate is the landscape of the human heart. ]]> Fri, 08 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT The Dark Knight crackles with malevolent energy as it peels back the layers of heroes and villains, myth and reality to reveal the queasy grey areas where morality and expediency blur and good and evil are literally two sides of the same coin. ]]> Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:14:00 GMT