The Gospel According to Hollywood - Greg Garrett

I'm not a religious person. I believe in God, but have a lot of questions. I don't believe in denominations and thus don't claim one. But even I found this to be a great book.

This June release from religious novelist Greg Garrett covers some of Hollywood's most popular films and emphasizes the underlying similarities to Biblical stories and anecdotes. And The Passion of the Christ isn't the only one covered here - did you really think Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was only about an aspiring wizard and his untapped strength? Think again.

Garrett emphasizes some of the obvious religion-twinged releases, like the Keanu Reeves flick Constantine, M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, and the '89 release Field of Dreams. But, through in-depth analysis and seemingly long nights of movie-watching (such a tough job, I tell ya), Garrett pulls religion out of unexpected films like the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Matrix, and the Paul Newman classic Cool Hand Luke. Oh, and let's not forget E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. Oh, yes, he gives insight into the family flick as he makes supported and insightful comparisons of the lovable alien's life to Jesus the Son's. (Seems like a long stretch, but really, it's not.)

Garrett covers the accuracy of the Devil's existence (as well as history's biggest movie baddies), different people's definitions of being 'saved', the way through which one can live their life righteously, and...how to buckle a swash? Yeah, he doesn't know either. But nonetheless, he fills 165 pages with his gathered knowledge of movies and the Force Within. Yes, yes, Star Wars gets some plugging, too - read away, potential Jedi Masters.