“The Resurrection of Gavin Stone” gently reminds faith-based moviegoers that if our hearts are open to God, God will find a way in with His love.

Lasse Hallström, the Swedish director known for thought-provoking films such as “The Hundred Foot Journey,” “Chocolat,” “The Shipping News,” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” once again provides theater-goers with some food for thought in “A Dog’s Purpose.” Of course, the food tastes better out of the trash and bacon from under the table is just the best.

Denzel Washington and Viola Davis embody their characters exquisitely in the play-turned movie, “Fences.” Set in Pittsburgh in the 1950’s Washington plays Troy Maxson, a lifelong garbage man. Davis is his long-suffering wife, Rose. Together with their son, Cory (Jovan Adepo), they constitute an endearing but dysfunctional family.

On April 15, 2013, two homemade bombs went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon resulting in the deaths of three people—one an eight-year-old boy—and the maiming of hundreds. The four-day manhunt that followed resulted in the death of one of the suspects and the arrest of the other. The events of this day have been dramatized in “Patriots Day,” directed by Peter Berg.

Just imagine three African-American women on the side of the road, their car broken down. It’s Hampton, Virgina in 1961 and a white police officer pulls over, suspicious. Once he hears they work for NASA, he changes his tune and offers them an escort so they won’t be late for work. As she’s driving, one of the women exclaims, “Three Negro women are chasing a white police officer down the highway in 1961. That is a God-ordained miracle.”

Shûsaku Endô (1923-1996) was a Japanese Catholic novelist whose extensive writings probed the conflicts and paradoxes of faith. He was born in Tokyo, lived in Manchuria, then returned to Japan and was baptized at about the age of 11. After university, he married, had a son and lived in France. The novelist Graham Greene, with whom Endo has often been compared, said he was "one of the finest living novelists" of his time.In 1966, Endô published Silence (Chinmoku), a wo...

Many critics have totally panned “Collateral Beauty” as being emotionally manipulative, unworthy of the acting talent collected in the film. I agree that it’s emotionally manipulative but it’s also inspirational and a heartwarming, if unrealistic, reminder to see the beauty all around us. Now, who couldn’t use that reminder from time to time, right?

“Rogue One” indeed stands alone as a great Star Wars story outside the Episodes. The opening crawl of Episode IV: A New Hope says that during a battle “rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the Death Star.” “Rogue One” tells us who, what, when, where, why, and how that was done in a film to rival the best of the Episodes.

Set in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of JFK, “Jackie,” is not your usual biopic. The film flits from point to point with no apparent logic but isn’t that what grief is like? That’s what we see here, a woman who has witnessed the brutal murder of her husband, only to have to shoulder, not only her own grief, but that of an entire nation.

Finally, Disney gives us a princess that truly breaks the mold. They tried with Merida from “Brave,” but didn’t quite succeed. “Moana” not only accurately portrays Polynesian culture but Moana herself grabs onto life and is determined to learn all it has to offer.