Book Review: 250 Great Movies for Latter-Day Families by Jonathan Decker

Publication: September 2013   
Length: 259 pages
Source: won in a giveaway
My Rating: *****--5 Stars

Amazon Description:

In the classic words of Danny Kaye, “The theatre, the theatre, what's happened to the theatre?” Many LDS parents are asking themselves the same thing. Finding clean, wholesome films that are well made and interesting is becoming more and more difficult. 250 Great Movies for Latter-day Families not only helps guide you to these kinds of movies but also helps you to apply principles of the gospel to them to make your night not only entertaining but edifying as well.

Jonathan Decker, host of the KJZZ Movie Show and certified marriage and family therapist, offers this easy-to-use guide complete with indexes. Each film receives a discussion of artistic value, a general content review, and suggestions for gospel parallels. Decker reviews films that range from Bing Cosby's Going My Way (1944) to the more modern Avengers (2012), giving a wide range of genres. This guide has something for everyone and is an essential tool when planning movie nights, dates, family home evenings, and other gatherings.

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My Review: I won this book in a giveaway and was very excited about it. When it came in the mail, I told my kids about it and they all groaned, "So we can only watch Church movies now?" They were in for a big surprise when I opened it up and showed them some of the movies that they love now and how they have such great messages and can tie into the scriptures. I was surprised at some of the movies myself. There are some I've never heard of or seen, but now I have some good ideas of what to watch.

There are movies that a lot of teens love--The Avengers, Captain America,and Thor. There are movies that my family loves--the Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings series, the Star Wars series, and Nacho Libre. There are movies my younger children love--Finding Nemo, the Ice Age movies, Rio, and Bolt. There's something for everyone, with movies in a bunch of different categories--comedy, drama, religious, Christmas, musicals, etc.

What I really love about each movie is the author gives it a rating, a content overview, and messages to discuss, with scriptures included. This is a terrific book for anyone looking for wholesome family movies with great messages and I highly recommend it.

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