{"id":4624,"date":"2013-12-10T10:13:13","date_gmt":"2013-12-10T15:13:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?p=4624"},"modified":"2013-12-10T10:13:50","modified_gmt":"2013-12-10T15:13:50","slug":"new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html","title":{"rendered":"DVD Reviews: &#8220;Angels Sing&#8221; and &#8220;The Ultimate Life&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture.<\/p>\n<p>Two faith-themed films are out on DVD today (12\/10), both worth catching.<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"Angels Sing: Official Movie Trailer\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/51Tgv8oPTeA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p><strong><em>Angels Sing<\/em> Synopsis (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.angelssingmovie.com\/\">from the film&#8217;s website<\/a>):<em> Harry Connick, Jr.<\/em><\/strong><em> stars as Michael Walker, who, as a child, wished every day was Christmas. That is, until a tragic <a id=\"FALINK_1_0_0\" href=\"http:\/\/www.angelssingmovie.com\/about\/#\">accident<\/a> crushed his holiday spirit. Thirty years later, Michael still can\u2019t muster any joy for Christmas, despite encouragement from his playful wife <strong>(Connie Britton)<\/strong> and well intentioned parents <strong>(Kris Kristofferson and Fionnula Flanagan)<\/strong>. But when his young son <strong>(Chandler Canterbury)<\/strong> faces a tragedy, Michael needs to make amends with his past. A mysterious man named Nick <strong>(Willie Nelson)<\/strong> gives Michael a gift that instills in him the courage to find the Christmas joy that he lost&#8230;<strong><\/strong><strong>Angels Sing<\/strong> is a comedic, heartfelt fable about the importance of family ties, the power of forgiveness and the undeniable magic of <a id=\"FALINK_3_0_2\" href=\"http:\/\/www.angelssingmovie.com\/about\/#\">Christmas<\/a>. Rounding out the cast are <strong>(Lyle Lovett)<\/strong> <strong>Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Eloise DeJoria, Bruce Robison, Sara Hickman and Turk Pipkin.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Mini-Review:\u00a0<\/strong>A charming and genuinely touching tale of the importance of family love and of forgiveness (including self-forgiveness). The entire cast, led by Harry Connick, Jr., shines in a Christmas tale starts off quietly but grips you with its honest emotion by the end. The story actually is quite profound. For an extra treat, stick around during the credits to hear Harry Connick&#8217;s and Willie Nelson&#8217;s duet of a song called <em><strong>When I&#8217;m Home<\/strong><\/em>. \u00a0 <strong>Highly<\/strong> <strong>Recommended.<\/strong> (BTW, I&#8217;ll be posting an interview with Turk Pipkin tomorrow. Besides having a small role in the and, perhaps, the coolest name in show business, he wrote <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/When-Angels-Sing-Christmas-Story\/dp\/1565122526\"><em><strong>When Angels Sing; A Christmas Story<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, the bestselling novel on which the charming<\/p>\n<iframe title=\"The Ultimate Life - Official Trailer 2013\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7C_ghciPnco?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<p>I actually<a href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/09\/thank-god-somebodys-actually-made-a-movie-about-the-value-of-gratitude-producer-rick-eldridge-talk-about-bringing-his-sequel-to-the-ultimate-gift-to-the-big-screen.html\"> wrote a full review of this film<\/a> when it first came out last September.\u00a0 Since my feelings about it haven&#8217;t changed, I present it again for you below.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>The Ultimate Life <\/em>mini-review: <\/strong>I checked. Gratitude is not among the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/trends\/\">top trending topics on <strong>Google<\/strong><\/a> today. No surprise there. The undervalued value of gratitude certainly just doesn\u2019t much attention these days. That\u2019s why I\u2019m grateful when a movie like <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theultimatelifemovie.com\/\"><strong><em>The Ultimate Life<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong> <\/strong>comes along. Hitting theaters this Friday (9\/6), the movie is sort of an odd duck given that it\u2019s both a prequel and a sequel to the surprisingly-successful 2006 film <a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0482629\/\"><strong><em>The Ultimate Gift<\/em><\/strong><\/a> written by <strong>Cheryl McKay<\/strong> from the <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jim_Stovall\" target=\"_blank\">Jim Stovall <\/a>novel. The original movie featured <strong>James Garner<\/strong> as billionaire \u201cRed\u201d Stevens who, in death, attempts to pass along to his grandson Jason the values he failed to express in life.<\/p>\n<p>The sequel picks up some years later as Jason (<strong>Logan Bartholomew<\/strong>), beset by scheming family members, is feeling the pressure of running his grandfather\u2019s foundation even as the love of his life Alexia (<strong>Ali Hillis<\/strong>) announces that she\u2019s leaving his side and heading to Haiti on an extended mission trip. With his life crumbling around him Jason is presented with his grandfather\u2019s journal. It\u2019s then the sequel becomes a prequel and my head explodes. Okay, my head doesn\u2019t actually explode but we do flash back to Red\u2019s early years. We <a id=\"FALINK_3_0_2\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/09\/thank-god-somebodys-actually-made-a-movie-about-the-value-of-gratitude-producer-rick-eldridge-talk-about-bringing-his-sequel-to-the-ultimate-gift-to-the-big-screen.html#\">watch<\/a> as he struggles through the depths of the Great Depression to amass billions. It\u2019s a sweeping epic story, reminiscent of those grand miniseries the <a id=\"FALINK_2_0_1\" href=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/09\/thank-god-somebodys-actually-made-a-movie-about-the-value-of-gratitude-producer-rick-eldridge-talk-about-bringing-his-sequel-to-the-ultimate-gift-to-the-big-screen.html#\">TV networks<\/a> used to present during sweeps months. That was, of course, before the concept of \u201cevent programming\u201d morphed into a two-hour episode of <strong><em>The Bachelor<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Director <strong>Michael Landon, Jr.<\/strong> draws strong subtle performances from his cast, particularly by <strong>Drew Waters<\/strong> (as Red in his heyday) and <strong>Peter Fonda<\/strong> (as his early mentor) strike and the overall production values are first rate. But, most of all, the script by <strong>Brian Bird<\/strong> and <strong>Lisa G. Shillingburg<\/strong> (based on a story concept by McKay) tells a believable and captivating story of how we all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us. Red learned his lessons the hard way but he did learn them and his lessons shine a light for his grandson to follow. In the end, the ultimate lesson that Jason learns is to be grateful for the gifts he has been given \u2014 and to use those gifts to help others.\u00a0 <strong><em>The Ultimate Gift<\/em> is highly recommended.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div><em>Encourage one another and build each other up \u2013 <\/em><b>1 Thessalonians 5:11<\/b><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. Two faith-themed films are out on DVD today (12\/10), both worth catching. Angels Sing Synopsis (from the film&#8217;s website): Harry Connick, Jr. stars as Michael Walker, who, as a child, wished every day was Christmas. That is, until a tragic accident crushed his holiday&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":225,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[6042,35,2266,6052,6047,6044,6050,5444,6051,6046,6043,6045,5446,2975,6049,4441,5445,6053,5208,6054,6055,6048],"class_list":["post-4624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-angels-sing","tag-1-thessalonians-511","tag-brian-bird","tag-bruce-robison","tag-chandler-canterbury","tag-connie-britton","tag-dana-wheeler-nicholson","tag-drew-waters","tag-eloise-dejoria","tag-fionnula-flanagan","tag-harry-connick","tag-kris-kristofferson","tag-lisa-g-shillingburg","tag-logan-bartholomew","tag-lyle-lovett","tag-michael-landon","tag-peter-fonda","tag-sara-hickman","tag-the-ultimate-life","tag-turk-pipkin","tag-when-angels-sing-a-christmas-story","tag-willie-nelson"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>DVD Reviews: &quot;Angels Sing&quot; and &quot;The Ultimate Life&quot;<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DVD Reviews: &quot;Angels Sing&quot; and &quot;The Ultimate Life&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. Two faith-themed films are out on DVD today (12\/10), both worth catching. Angels Sing Synopsis (from the film&#8217;s website): Harry Connick, Jr. stars as Michael Walker, who, as a child, wished every day was Christmas. That is, until a tragic accident crushed his holiday&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-10T15:13:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-12-10T15:13:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John W. Kennedy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"DVD Reviews: \"Angels Sing\" and \"The Ultimate Life\"","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"DVD Reviews: \"Angels Sing\" and \"The Ultimate Life\"","og_description":"Here\u2019s today\u2019s dispatch from the crossroads of faith, media and culture. Two faith-themed films are out on DVD today (12\/10), both worth catching. Angels Sing Synopsis (from the film&#8217;s website): Harry Connick, Jr. stars as Michael Walker, who, as a child, wished every day was Christmas. That is, until a tragic accident crushed his holiday&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html","og_site_name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","article_published_time":"2013-12-10T15:13:13+00:00","article_modified_time":"2013-12-10T15:13:50+00:00","author":"John W. Kennedy","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html","name":"DVD Reviews: \"Angels Sing\" and \"The Ultimate Life\"","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-12-10T15:13:13+00:00","dateModified":"2013-12-10T15:13:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/2013\/12\/new-on-dvd-angels-sing-and-the-ultimate-life.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"DVD Reviews: &#8220;Angels Sing&#8221; and &#8220;The Ultimate Life&#8221;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/","name":"Faith, Media &amp; Culture","description":"Beliefnet Voices - John W. Kennedy","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/#\/schema\/person\/e5d5ef9caeb6b01bcbf08ca6de6591c2","name":"John W. Kennedy","description":"John W. Kennedy is the founder and Dir. of Development of The Creative Universe Entertainment\u2122, a media consultation and development company focusing on the creation, development and support of high-quality mainstream entertainment that upholds positive timeless values, including trust in God. Current projects include \"Bryant Park\" (an uplifting romantic-comedy) and \"Photo Finish\" (an award-winning sci-fi TV pilot). He has written over 100 children's novels based on episodes of the Cartoon Network series \"Ben 10\", \"Ben 10: Alien Force\", \"Ben 10: Ultimate Alien\", \"Ben 10: Omniverse\" and \"Generator Rex\" among others. He also writes Beliefnet\u2019s \"Faith, Media &amp; Culture\" blog. Previously, he has produced successful news and talk programming for CNN, Fox News, Pax TV and SiriusXM. Specialties: Script Writing, Movie\/TV Novelizations &amp; Adaptations, TV Content Creation and Development, Creative Consultation, Producing and Booking News and Talk shows. He can be reached for writing, producing and consulting services at 516-640-1182.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/author\/jkennedy"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/225"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4624"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4626,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4624\/revisions\/4626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithmediaandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}