From the time the Harry Potter books first crossed the pond from England there has been both praise and disparagement of the books. Most of the criticism came from Christian voices raising concerns about the glorification of magic and the dangers of the occult. Now that the final book has been around for some time and before we see the arrival of the final two movies (the last book is being split into two films because of the density of content as well as Hollywood squeezing every last dime it can from the franchise) we can take a step back and think a little more critically about these ...

Away We Go 2009 • Rated R Directed by Sam Mendes (2009) My wife hated this movie. She said it was vulgar and crude. I have to agree with her, particularly in the first 20 minutes of the film. But as we lay in bed after watching it, talking about why she hated it we discovered the value of the film. It’s in the questions it raises and the underlying hope that serves as its foundation. As actor John Krasinski says in the DVD bonus features, “It’s about searching for a place where you belong and searching for who you really are.” Away We Go is the story of Burt and Verona ...