SHINE A LIGHT TODAY. AKA: SALT
The Christian & Faith-Based go-to media review series that spotlights faith-driven books, films, and podcasts worth your time.
10 Lives
10 Lives is a British animated film by Chris Jenkins. Starring Mo Gilligan as a pampered, arrogant housecat who just ran out of lives, this animated kids’ movie takes the audience on a redemptive adventure.
Bookwalker: Thief of Tales
Bookwalker: Thief of Tales is a reality-shaping adventure game from TinyBuild Games. In it, players take on the role of Etienne Quist, a disgraced novelist serving out a thirty-year writing suspension. After a “Client” comes to Quist with an offer — enter novels and steal special artefacts from the story to bring into the real world, then they’ll break his “shackles” and allow him to write again — he takes them up on it. Using both the mechanics of a standard first person RPG in Etienne’s real world and an isometric, point-and-click playstyle in the novels, Bookwalker takes the player on a journey through imaginative novels of various genres and tones, all the while hinting at Etienne’s complicated past.
Over the Moon (2020)
Over the Moon is a 2020 Netflix original movie directed by Glen Keane. In it, the grieving Fei Fei builds a rocketship out of scraps in order to get to the moon and bring her father back proof of the moon goddess’ existence. Through a journey of determination, Fei Fei learns that true love may not be what she thought it was.
Kensuke’s Kingdom (2024)
Kensuke’s Kingdom is a breathtaking 2023 animated film based on Michael Morpurgo’s 1999 shipwreck adventure novel of the same name. In it, young Michael and his pet dog Stella find themselves stranded after being thrown overboard during a terrible storm. Washed ashore on an unknown island, Michael and Stella meet a Japanese man named Kensuke, who’s been in the untamed wilderness for decades.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a cozy, philosophical, time-travel international bestseller. The cafe Funiculi Funicula has had a rumor swirling around it for decades: it can provide customers with the ability to time-travel. However, this ability is limited by a number of non-negotiable rules, including — but not limited to — where customers have to sit in order to time travel, the fact that they will never be able to change the past, that they can only meet with people who have been to the cafe before, and that they must complete their temporal jaunt before their coffee gets cold.
A Crane Among Wolves
A Crane Among Wolves is a historical fiction-romance set during a particularly tumultuous time in Korea’s Joseon Period. Written by Korean-Canadian author June Hur, this story follows Iseul, a teenager who was orphaned years ago as she strives to save her sister from the clutches of an evil tyrant. To do this, she must band together with the king’s half-brother, Prince Daehyun to mount a rescue and save her sister as well as the kingdom, from King Yeonsan.
Kpop Demon Hunters
Kpop Demon Hunters is a high-quality animated movie with solid writing, beautiful animation, a catchy soundtrack, and characters that are both likeable and relatable. It stands out among animated movies as one of the most well-crafted stories in the past decade — and would in many other decades past. The movie is rich with storytelling from the dynamic characters, the little details about South Korean culture and nuances, the spectacular animation, and the nuances of guilt and shame as burdens.
Spy X Family
Spy x Family is the internationally beloved Japanese manga-turned-anime story about a spy who must assemble a fake family in order to carry out his mission. In doing so, he adopts a telepathic child and marries an assassin. Only the child, Anya, knows the secrets they all three carry. Spy x Family is a fantastic story that balances the epic action and wholesome family moments expertly on a background of political intrigue.
Arcane (Season 2)
Arcane (Season 2) is the final season of Riot Games’ animated epic, based off of their international hit video game League of Legends. In it, conflict is brewing between the upper city of Piltover and the disarrayed Zaun as various factions and individuals struggle for power and control of the Arcane.
Arcane (Season 1)
Arcane is an animated story based off of the famous (or infamous) League of Legends videogame. The first season of this series is full of breathtaking animation, tight, expert writing, and entirely real and believable characters. Given the material it is based off of, however, is it worth the Christian viewer’s time?
Godzilla: Minus One
Now, I have to admit that I am a bit biased when it comes to Godzilla movies. I have been an avid fan of the franchise since 2017 and a fan of kaiju — that is, “big monster” — movies since Pacific Rim came out in 2013.