{"id":23522,"date":"2007-03-01T16:32:00","date_gmt":"2007-03-01T16:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.wordpress.com\/2007\/03\/01\/film-forum-is-coming-to-looking-closer\/"},"modified":"2013-02-07T12:43:50","modified_gmt":"2013-02-07T19:43:50","slug":"film-forum-is-coming-to-looking-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2007\/03\/film-forum-is-coming-to-looking-closer\/","title":{"rendered":"“Film Forum” is Coming to Looking Closer!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

As I sat watching the Oscars and writing the last installment of Film Forum for Christianity Today<\/a>, I was inspired by all of the thank-you speeches made by the winners.<\/p>\n

So I\u2019ve started this week\u2019s edition with thanks to a few people who have supported me in this work over six years. And I want to repeat those thanks here.<\/p>\n

This column began even before the Christianity Today Movies website existed\u2014it was created by Steve Lansingh and Ted Olsen in November 1999, even before the famous Rotten Tomatoes site started excerpting different critics\u2019 reviews. I would like to thank them for their vision and courage in establishing Film Forum. And I am grateful that they invited me to carry it forward. It has been a privilege.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Mark Moring for being so supportive and working so hard at Christianity Today Movies. I greatly admire his courage, conviction, and enthusiasm, and I\u2019m thankful for his thoughtful editing week after week.<\/p>\n

And thanks to the critics from so many publications and websites, who are doing such inspiring work. You\u2019ve changed my understanding of what a \u201cChristian movie review\u201d can be, and given me hope that we can carry Christian engagement with film to a deeper, more rewarding levels.<\/p>\n

Finally, thanks to the readers who have corresponded with me over the years. You\u2019ve challenged me, corrected me, given me new ideas, and introduced me to great films I might otherwise have missed.<\/p>\n

And of course, in the spirit of Jennifer Hudson, I\u2019d like to thank God.<\/p>\n

Where is Film Forum going? And why?<\/p>\n

When Film Forum began, it was the only weekly film coverage at ChristianityToday.com. It provided a new perspective on the diversity of Christian opinions about film, entertainment, and popular culture. Since then, so many Christian perspectives have become available that it\u2019s become difficult to keep up with them all. ChristianityTodayMovies.com has rounded up a whole team of active film critics, and they are providing plenty of coverage to keep readers informed. It\u2019s time to focus our energies on those articles.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, since the \u201cround table\u201d format of Film Forum provides an interesting way to compare and contrast differing Christian perspectives on film, I intend to continue providing it (in a slightly altered format) at my website, LookingCloser.org. And I will continue to write film reviews for CT Movies.<\/p>\n

I have a passion for this column, and here\u2019s the reason why: As I was growing up, I came to believe that a \u201cChristian movie review\u201d consisted of these things:<\/p>\n