Quickie Movie Reviews for August 2013

Rated: Not Rated Starring: Ken Davis Released: February 21, 2006 (DVD)

Ken Davis: Second Chances: More of a live sermon than a movie, Ken Davis' message about God giving us second chances is as needed today as it was in 2005. Though the first VeggieTales movie presented exactly the same point, Mr. Davis does it with more sophisticated humor and in a harder-hitting style. It's lighter on laughs than I was expecting, but what it lacks in chuckles, it makes up for in impact. One thing's for sure: After watching this story, you'll know that the story of Jonah and the big fish isn't just kiddie stuff! Score: 4/5

Rated: TV-G (US) (Dove approved for all ages) Starring: Robyn Lively, Loren Dean, and Skyler Day Released: August 6, 2011 (NBC premiere) / December 6, 2011 (DVD)

Who Is Simon Miller?: Action/espionage stories can be fun, but this one is ruined by the fact that the two kids and their mother are Mary Sues.  An eighteen-year-old girl who can speak both Spanish, French, and even a little of other languages? A teenage boy who never met a password or encryption code he couldn't crack, and knows how to manipulate any device ever made? Seriously, that's just ridiculous.  Though it's family-friendly, the telefilm ventures into such silliness that I'm not even sure kids would like it.  (This kid at heart certainly didn't.) Content Concerns: The MPAA would likely have given this movie "PG for action violence".  People fight; two people get captured; guns are pointed at others.  I think this falls into the "TV-Y7-FV" category. Product placement is a bit too prevalent. Score: 2/5