Sunday, June 09, 2013

JJ's Movie Reviews: Little Red Wagon
Category: Movies Television
Views: 137

 Little Red Wagon Shows That Anybody Can Make A Difference

 

Little Red Wagon is a small little indie film that you probably haven’t heard of unless you happened to have stumbled upon it at your local Walmart (it’s apparently a “Walmart exclusive” even though it’s not advertised as such in the store) or at a digital movie rental of some sort, such as Amazon. Indeed, I had read a little bit about it during production but was surprised to find out earlier this year that it had quietly released with little fanfare. The movie is a wholesome and lighthearted option for families everywhere with a young protagonist demonstrating that even somebody from a humble background can make a difference in the lives of others.

Based on a true story, Little Red Wagon tells the story of young Zach Bonner, who began delivering essential goods to people left homeless by Hurricane Charlie. Not content to end his helpful endeavors here, Zach sets out to do more and winds up starting his own nonprofit charity foundation. Zach collects money to fill backpacks with food, toys, and basic hygienic supplies for homeless youth. Homeless youth become a personal cause for him, and he eventually gets the idea to start walking the nearly 300 mile trek from his home to the state capital for them to raise public awareness about the problem of child homelessness. (The movie also mentions how the real-life Zach did this and moved on to walking to Atlanta, to DC, and eventually across the county.)

The movie also follows the story of the recently widowed Margaret Craig and her son who quickly find themselves among the homeless. The movie interspaces their story with Zach’s and it sort of gives evidence to everything Zach is fighting to help. From having their belongings taken at a homeless shelter, to rummaging through garbage, to being forced to stealing food to survive, the audience gets a good look at the trials facing the homeless families. And due to the nature of the movie, it’s no surprise when one of Zach’s backpacks eventually reaches Margaret and her son and their fortunes soon begin to turn around. (Not necessarily due to the backpack, but receiving the backpack marks the point in which their luck begins to turn around.)

The movie keeps things fairly grounded throughout. There’s plenty of drama in both storylines, but the scales are much more balanced towards the positive. Zach is faced with some obstacles along the way such as the paperwork needed to start a charity and the challenges of meeting his financial goals for his projects, but these are resolved quickly and without too much drama. There’s more drama surrounding Zach’s mother and sister clashes at various points due to the impact of Zach’s cause on their lives. This sometimes feels like it gets a bit too much focus, but isn’t too much a presence to serve as a real foil to the movie.

Zach is played by Chandler Canterbury (Knowing, The Host) in what is a solid performance start to finish. The script is low-key enough that all of the performances are grounded and solid and rarely veer into melodrama. Canterbury is convincing as the philanthropic Zach Bonner and captures both the innocence and drive of a boy who wants to go above and beyond to make a difference to homeless children. While the sentimentality of the script might make it a bit hard to stomach for some, there’s always a realistic veneer to the occurrences that keeps the movie at a roughly appropriate balance of saccharine and compelling. The script isn’t aiming to be a ‘Best Picture’ contender and so the film never feels a disappointment.

While Christ or faith has little to no mention in the movie at all, Zach’s selfless service to others (especially during his walk, which the movie shows the difficulty of completing) is a picture of Christian charity. It’s a great message to kids that even a kid without much money can still make a difference by serving others. It’s a great message and one that helps elevate the film to above-average.

It might not rank among the greatest film on any list and may be little more than a watchable lesson in charity, but Little Red Wagon seems to achieve everything it aspires to be. With solid acting all around and strong moral lessons on helping the poor, this is one family movie that has a little something for everybody.

 

Content Information:
From start to finish, the film is about as unobjectionable as you could really hope for. Sexual content is essentially nonexistent. There is only some brief minor language (d-word, and maybe a few more minor words. Nothing I heard was particularly alarming at all.). There are some upsetting depictions of homeless life. A boy is shown with a minor bloody scrape on his arm after taking a fall. Zach is shown throwing up after a tough stretch of his walk to the state capital. But all in all, this is about as family friendly as you can get.

 

Bonus Features:

There were several short featurettes given background info on the movie and real-life foundation it’s based on. Most revolved around meeting the real-life Zach Bonner. There was a featurette about him visiting the set of the movie and others detailing his homeschooling, how the “Zach Packs” are put together, and his walk across America. The bonus features weren’t mind-blowing but they did succeed in offering a nice supplement to the movie’s story by showing how everything that Zach did was real and that helping people isn’t just something for people in the movies.

 

Closing Thoughts:

If you happen upon this movie, I highly recommend it. It might not be the most riveting thing you’ve seen this year, but it’s a good reminder for any of us that we’re called to service of our brothers and sisters and Christ. If a lower middle class boy like Zach could do all that he did, imagine how much the rest of us could do.

Watch the Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uy7nf4EGDEM
Crowd Reviews at Heartland Film Festival:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzVSXLNsS8U&feature=player_embedded
Check out the Little Red Wagon Foundation: http://www.littleredwagonfoundation.com/home.html

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Monday, December 31, 2012

Year-End Thoughts
Category: Music
Views: 250

It's been quite a year in just about every area, and Christian music is no exception. In my first full year as a staff reviewer ay NewReleaseTuesday, I got a considerably larger view of the Christian music landscape than I have in previous years. So I am even more confident than I usually am in my "Best of" picks--confident enough to write a little article about it. It's been a great year to be part of the NRT team and I'm looking forward to all the surprises that wait next year.

 

So here are my "Best of 2012" picks in Christian music, starting with No. 10 and going to No. 1. Some choices might not surprise you given my reviews, and some just might.

Best Albums of 2012

 

10. Anchor and Braille - The Quiet Life
While not something I can listen to regularly, this side project of Anberlin frontman Stephen Christian was truly a surprising summer treat. It was more upbeat and accessible than the debut album and helped define Christian as one of the more versatile musicians in the industry today.

 

9. Fireflight - Now
Fireflight returned with another release of radio-ready rock this year. The title track and lead single "Stay Close" were all solid tracks. Although given the quality Fireflight is known for, I do wish I could put them a little higher.

 

8. Sent By Ravens - Mean What You Say
Sent By Ravens released their sophomore album this year, and then said goodbye. Talk about bittersweet. On one hand, they released a very solid rock album with promise to make them one of the big names in the industry, and then they break up. It's tough being a music fan in today's day and age…

 

7. Thousand Foot Krutch - The End is Where We Begin
TFK left their longtime home at Tooth and Nail records and started a Kickstarter to pay for this album. Luckily for fans, the quality remained top-notch TFK. Bringing back some of the older rap sound but keeping the accessible rock sounds of their other recent releases made for a satisfying balance and a slew of new classic TFK rock tracks like "War of Change" and "Let the Sparks Fly."

 

6.  Kutless - Believer 
Kutless has always put out solid albums, and this release was no exception. While it seemed to be missing a truly memorable rock anthem, it did well at blending the rock and worship sides of Kutless into an accessible album with a lot of tunes ready to be hits. The Eastertide song "This is Love" and the emotional "Carry On" are definite highlights.

 

5. Capital Lights - Rhythm N' Moves
While so many other bands were breaking up, Capital Lights finally got back together just long enough to release a second album on Tooth and Nail records. Fans who feared that they might never hear any more of the band's signature rock sound were gifted with exactly what we'd expect from another Capital Lights record. While that left surprises few, it was just nice to finally get more music from the CL boys.

 

4. House of Heroes - Cold Hard Want
It's pretty much a given that any time House of Heroes releases a new album nowadays, it's going to end up all over the "best of" lists at the end of the year. This new album is no exception. While it still falls a bit short of their classic The End is not the End album, it's got more than enough signature rock tunes to make a great and memorable release. 

 

3. The Classic Crime - Phoenix
Another band who exited Tooth and Nail and successfully funded a Kickstarter. The band's previous albums set the bar pretty high in terms of musical quality but their new indie status seems to have only helped them raise it again. In short, this album is amazing. It's the same deep, in-your-face lyrics the band has always been known for, but this time the music sounds even better. (Yes, that's possible.) Highlights include the contemplative "Beautiful Darkside" and the epic masterpiece of "The Precipice." 

 

2. For King & Country - Crave
The only debut on this list, and what a debut it is. If you ask me, this goes down next to classics like Jars of Clay's self-titled and Leeland's Sound of Melodies as far as classic debut albums go. While the Australian duo (and brothers of Christian music icon, Rebecca St. James) had put out an EP or two before (some under their former name, Joel and Luke), this was their first national full-length, and they wasted no time packing it with their best. I was first introduced to them on the Winter Jam 2012 Tour and I was immediately won over. From start to finish, be it a rousing anthem or a contemplative ballad, there isn't a wasted note here. Why isn't this band the next big thing being played all day on pop radio both Christian and mainstream? I have no idea. Hopefully 2013 will change that.

 

1. Anberlin - Vital
To anyone who has read my review for this album, this should come as no surprise and I do not need to even explain this choice. In short, this is a mind-blowing, epic, amazing, absolutely terrific masterpiece of an album. Anberlin had struggled to produce such a record since their last such album, Cities, dropped in early 2007. Well, I think it's finally safe to say that they've (finally) succeeded, and captured the spot of my Number 1 album of 2012. 

 

Best Songs:

I'm also including a list of the best songs of this year (without explanations). Well, almost the best songs. If I really included only (what I think are) the best, I probably wouldn't get past my first 2 or 3 album selections, and that wouldn't be a very interesting list. Therefore I am limiting myself to absolutely 1 song from each artist – no exceptions. So I suppose it's the best songs of the best artists, in a way? I don't know. I'll just give you the list and let you judge what you think. In order:

 

"Modern Age" - Anberlin

"The Proof of Your Love" - For King & Country

"The Precipice" – The Classic Crime

"Need You Now (How Many Times)" - Plumb

"Dead Flowers" - Demon Hunter

"Remember The Empire" - House of Heroes

"Save The Last Dance" - Capital Lights

"Up in the Air" - Marc Martel

"This Is Love" – Kutless

"Before I Start Dreaming" – Anchor & Braille

 

Best Christmas Songs:

"Baby Boy" - For King and Country

"Christmas is Coming" - Jason Gray

"Shining" - Sanctus Real
 

Random Lists:

Saddest band "breakup" – Downhere

 

Biggest CCM surprise of the year – Audio Adrenaline sort of comes out of retirement, with an almost entire new lineup, and Kevin Max as the lead singer.

 

Best "new" band – For King & Country (technically not "new" to this year but I'll list them as such since this is the year they released their debut full-length)

 

Most disappointing delay of an expected release – New album by Skillet

 

Most anticipated albums of 2013:

Skillet – Untitled

Plumb – Need You Now

Marc Martel – Untitled EP

Switchfoot – Fading West

The Letter Black – Untitled

Red – Release The Panic

Sanctus Real – Run

Silverline – Lights Out

Seabird – Untitled

Hawk Nelson – Made 

 

I am sure there is much more I could include in such a list, but I'd be here all day if I attempted that. So for 2012, that's my own personal "Best of" list. Here's to a great 2013 that is already promising to be another great year in music. What new artists will thrill us? What artists will surprise us with an amazing comeback? Who will we say goodbye to? Will highly anticipated new releases meet their massive expectations? I suppose by this time next year, we'll know the answers to these questions. Until then, let's sit back and enjoy the ride that will be music in 2013.

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