Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 26, No. 02

From the Sky Down provides elevating look at U2

The last time Davis Guggenheim made a documentary involving a member of U2, the result was the lacklustre It Might Get Loud.

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Projections by Bruce Soderholm

Vol. 26, No. 02

In Darkness sheds light on underground war story

Leopold Socha (Robert Wieckiewicz) is a man who's not afraid to get down and dirty. In fact he does it every day—literally—in his capacity as a sewer inspector for the Polish city of Lvov. He knows the tunnels beneath the city like the clichéd back of his work-calloused hand. It's 1943, and the sewers are a convenient place to hide some of the minor spoils of war—goods and artifacts pilfered from the homes of local Jews who've been forcibly removed to ghettos—during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

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Wise Reader by Doug Koop

Vol. 26, No. 02

Dictionary of Christian Spirituality destined to have long, useful life

Let's begin with some stereotyping. Evangelicals typically look to the Bible as the supreme source of spiritual authority and put Christ at the very centre of religious devotion. We are also known for a compelling desire to see people come to a saving knowledge of Jesus, and often bring a great deal of marketing moxie to the task.

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Musical Routes by Adam Kroeker

Vol. 25, No. 12

Manitoban's Christmas album reveals true Joy

WINNIPEG, MB—Manitoba musician Barbara Joy's new album, A King Has Come, presents a welcome change to the Christmas season's stale cover songs and tired favorites.

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Projections by Bruce Soderholm

Vol. 25, No. 12

Road movie The Way more than a pedestrian affair

Cursing the quest Courting disaster Measureless nights forebode Moments of rest Glimpses of laughter Are treasured along the road. (Dan Fogelberg, "Along the Road")

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 25, No. 11

Newsboys stand for more than music

In the world of Contemporary Christian Music, there are few bands bigger than Newsboys. Last year - 25 years after forming in Australia - the rock band released Born Again, its most popular album yet.

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Projections by Bruce Soderholm

Vol. 25, No. 10

DVD stores: Rest in peace

Somewhere out there, a desperate man is cruising the backstreets of his hometown desperately looking for a corner store, a grocery store, a Dickie Dee ice cream cart - some place, any place, from which he can rent a DVD for his daughter's sleep-over, but to no avail. A neighbour severed his Internet and cable TV connection while attempting to install an in-lawn sprinkler system and it'll be three days before anyone can fix it.

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 25, No. 10

Singer-songwriter uses gift of music to address personal suffering

Vancouver singer-songwriter Joel Kroeker has released three albums, filmed music videos, toured throughout Canada, shared the stage with Bruce Cockburn, been nominated for songwriting awards and collaborated with Randy Bachman.

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Musical Routes by Aaron Epp

Vol. 25, No. 08

God is up to something

Just over 10 years ago, a Winnipeg youth pastor named Bryan Moyer Suderman sat down on his living room floor with his then three-year-old son and sang, for the first time, a simple song he had written. The refrain says: "God's love is for everybody, everybody around the world / Me and you and all God's children / From across the street to around the world."

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Projections by Bruce Soderholm

Vol. 25, No. 07

Complex film highlights Christian themes

A friend of mine once developed his own five-point scale to address the question of how serious, or artistic, a particular movie might be. On the low end of the scale was a flick, followed by a show, moving upward to a movie, then a film, and superceding all was a fil-um (same spelling, different pronunciation). Fil-ums have niche audiences, and their artistic vision comes from directors who are considered auteurs (original authors). Terence Mallick sports such a pedigree and his most recent project, The Tree of Life, might be considered his masterpiece. It captured the Palme D'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival and has earned the plaudits of most, if not all, serious film critics.

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