The new movie Pawn due out on DVD by Anchor Bay on April 23 is a movie that will have you guessing right from the beginning, even though the thriller sets up Whitaker to be killed only moments into the movie.

The diner is really a front for the mob, and some thugs have been sent to rob the owner, but to also take a disc drive that contains very important information about connections, deals and other secret things that no one wants to be revealed to outsiders.

Whitaker reunites with Michael Chiklis, with whom he played in The Shield. We also see Common and Ray Liota, who just scares me in any role that he plays and who goes by The Man in the Suit, Nikki Reed, Sean Faris and Stephen Lang, among others.

This is a shotgun blast of a thriller about last chances, double-crosses and a deadly game of dirty deals where anyone can be a pawn. No one seems to be exempt from being double-crossed—from the young, married man named Nick, who just got out of jail; his young, innocent wife; the mobster who runs the diner and the investigators who are working to get the hostages out of the diner.

Chiklis is ruthless as the lead thug, who was instructed to go into the diner alone and at a certain time. But he gets slick and goes against these orders, which causes him problems, once the robbery and ensuing tense hostage situation gets under way. Pawn uses flashbacks to bring folks up to speed and to also show different scenes, which weren’t shown but provide much insight into current situations. He thinks one of the cops on the outside is on his side, and that cop hasn’t a clue that Nick’s wife has been taken by Liota, a situation that wasn’t necessary, as Liota had his information misconstrued. To add to the madness and deceit, Common is on to something, as he is wary of the S.W.A.T. leader’s actions. As soon as Common issues a command to the cops who have assembled, they are overruled by the S.W.A.T. leader.

I liked Pawn, as it reminded me of A Simple Plan, Fargo and Leaves of Grass, movies which started off with something that seems a sure thing but gets screwed up somewhere along the way.

In a movie where everyone has to look over their shoulder before making the next move, the ending still held many more surprises and suspense.

Produced by Michael Becker of Imprint Entertainment, Michael Chiklis of Extravaganza Entertainment, Brad Luff of Storyville Productions and Jeff Most of Most Films and featuring the directorial debut of renowned cinematographer David A. Armstrong, Pawn is available on Blu-ray/DVD combo and on DVD only. The bonus feature on the Blu-ray/DVD combo includes a behind-the-scenes featurette. Visit www.anchorbayentertainment.com.

This integration was deliberate, as baseball club owner Branch Rickey, who was a man of great faith in God, decided it was time to end segregation within the sport, as he scouted out which black player would perfectly fit the bill. Surely, he also had a financial incentive to bring the first black player into a white team—it would be a moneymaker for him. That player, the great Jackie Robinson, was chosen to withstand the insults and bigotry that black men of the day had to constantly endure. But Robinson endured this on the baseball field with great determination and dignity.

I view 42 as a love story between Jackie Robinson and his wife, as well as the love that Jackie had for the great pastime of baseball. He bought into the entire idea of being the guinea pig, so to speak, for the love of his race.

42 stars Chadwick Boseman as Jackie Robinson, Nicole Beharrie as his wife, Rachel, and Harrison Ford as the trailblazing Branch Rickey. I don’t pretend to know much about baseball, other than a ball is hit with a bat and there are innings, home runs, strikeouts and walks, among other things.  Robinson would toy with the other teams, as he played around stealing bases and seriously hitting fly balls across the field, to cinch his legacy in baseball history. His wife watched on with joy and sadness, as she witnessed the white players’ rudeness toward her husband. But she was as strong as Jackie, as portrayed in the film.

42 kept my interest, and I marveled at the tough skin that Robinson had to adapt, as he was ridiculed both on and off the baseball field. As a member of the Kansas City Monarchs, one of many Negro League teams, Robinson had shown great skills that would serve the Brooklyn, New York, team well. And when he finally was signed, at what seems like a million bucks at the time, the black community rejoiced. Now, the white players on the team and the other white teams were not happy with the progress. But eventually his team mates were convinced that it was better to get along with Robinson, as opposed to joining in on the disgusting acts of intimidation that Robinson was receiving from other teams.

Ford is great as Branch Rickey, and the makeup was so defining, that it was hard to believe that this was actually Ford. This is reportedly his first acting role where he played an actual person, as opposed to a character.

Andre Holland plays Wendell Smith, the celebrated black sports writer who began his career with the Pittsburgh Courier. It was his job to follow Robinson from town to town and write about the experiences for the Courier. He also served as the advance man, finding accommodations for Robinson with local black families, since Robinson couldn’t stay at any hotels during that time. Smith faced discrimination on his own, as he wasn’t allowed into the press pool at the ball parks or on the baseball field to report the happenings; he had to write from the stands with his typewriter on his lap.

In 1997, Major League Baseball retired No. 42 across all major league teams, and in 2004, Jackie Robinson day was first observed by all teams where every player wears No. 42.

42 should revive a love for the sport for young, black youth everywhere, as there were a few teams in the theater when I saw the movie. 42 is a good movie that is great viewing for everyone—whether you are a baseball fan or not.

The Sweeney is directed by Nick Love and based on the popular 1970s U.K. television show of the same name. This movie from the beginning to the end tells the story of the Sweeney Flying Squad, London’s elite crime-fighting force –a branch of the Metropolitan Police specializing in tackling armed robbery and violent crime.

The big man holding up The Sweeney is Detective Jack Regan, played by Ray Winstone and his loyal partner, played by Ben Drew. Often the group members are as bad as the criminals who they are chasing, and they must act the part by using unscrupulous tactics—basically meting out beatings and pistol whippings—all in the name of catching the criminal.

It gets a little out of hand, however, when Regan really crosses the line by sleeping with his boss’ wife, played by Hayley Atwell. He really rubs it in when the boss, played by Damien Lewis, finds out about it. He lets his rough, tough, gruffy personality get in the way of his mission, and I’m sure he isn’t getting paid to sleep with the woman, who is also part of his team.

Things get really messy when the team goes on detail to catch jewelry store bandits and the wife is killed by the criminals. At this point, Regan’s bosses have had enough and they order him off duty, even though they had ordered his off the hunt for the thieves in the first place—an order that he ignored. And as is his fashion, he ignores the order to just hang tight and let others pick up this case. He’s off on a renegade mission to find the jewelry-stealing murderers and maybe in the end get his job back. Or at least he thinks he can atone for his indiscretions with his married female partner and ultimately her death.

I liked The Sweeney, because it is set in London and is such a fast-paced thrill ride that keeps your attention throughout. The action takes you from Trafalgar Square to a trailer part on the outskirts of the city. And Winstone is a character that I enjoy whenever I run across him in a film (he’s also played in The Departed and Hugo). In The Sweeney, I don’t know if he’s more appealing with a clean shaven face or one all battered up from his run-ins with the criminals and other law enforcement officers. He has a certain style and demeanor that makes you either love him or hate him.

In any case, The Sweeney will leave you on the edge of your seat, wondering just when the next beating, pistol whipping or brain blowing action will take place. The film is out on DVD and Blu-ray April 2. For more information, visit www.us.eonefilms.com

Reuben is so bent on not practicing his Jewish faith that in the end he risks the love and trust of his mom and uncle. He isn’t content with the money he makes at his uncle’s jewelry store by day, and the beats he makes at the bar have caught the attention of the local thugs. In turn, these local thugs offer him an opportunity to dabble in drug dealing. Things are going along fine, but when Moises comes to visit, Reuben’s life seems to spiral downward. Moises practices Jewish tradition, even dressing in traditional garb, all along aware of how Reuben makes his extra money. But he suddenly loses his drug supplier, and everyone is on his back, as well as his family is dealing with the death of his grandfather who is living his final days out in the hospital.

When Reuben is pushed against the wall, he steals $20K from his uncle’s store to buy dope to meet his customers’ demands. And this event takes him farther away from his familial roots and closer to him being like the other thugs that frequent the bar. To compound Reuben’s bad choices, he gets into a fight with Ebony, played by Golden Brooks, after she is unable to pay him the money that she owes him from her drug sales. He is arrested right around the time his grandfather passes. He isn’t welcome to sit Shiva and is very upset. But this is a good time for Reuben to decide how he is going to address the bad blood that has flowed among his family and regain their trust and respect. And it is even a better time for him to be away from the club, because not too many people appreciated that he struck a woman.

Polish Bar is set in Chicago, and it was great seeing all the iconic Chicago sites, i.e., the elevated train, two flats and mean streets that could only be represented by Chicago. I didn’t enjoy Brooks’ portrayal as the queen of “tits and ass” at the club, but everybody (actor) has to make a living somehow. Her underlying story, i.e., just why am I working at a strip club? was that she was taking care of her younger brother. However, he wasn’t too thrilled when he learned about her employment. She constantly catches a hard time from the club’s owner, played by Meatloaf.

Reuben seems to be a tortured soul; he knows what will make his family happy, but he hasn’t done it in so long that he feels that it will put a strain on his life. But what he has been doing is no longer working, and he must make a change. But many people practice the family’s religion when they are young, only to veer away from it as they become older. So in this way, this was a familiar story.

Overall, I enjoyed Polish Bar. It was interesting at first watching Reuben go back and forth, while desperately trying to respect his family, particularly his dying grandfather. But it was good to know that in the end, he just wanted reconciliation. Other cast members include Judd Hirsch and Richard Belzer. Director and co-writer Ben Berkowitz is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Polish Bar is available on VOD March 19 and other digital and rental formats. Visit www.polishbar.com for more information.

She begins with a story about seeing an old friend after many years, but sneaking away to the bathroom to check her text messages. I am sure many people also remember that when we took airplane flights, people were happy when the flight ended, so they could smoke. Now, it seems everyone is glad when the plane lands, so they can text or call loved ones and associates.

Tiffany begins with a history of how the alphabet came to be and with that a way for humans to connect with one another. She also brings into the discussion her father, noted San Francisco surgeon and writer Leonard Shlain, who received a diagnosis of brain cancer in 2007, and to whom she had been very close.

The human brain evolved to seek out contact with others, according to CONNECTED, and the alphabet made it easier to keep narrative records. By accumulating knowledge, humans progressed and multiplied. But literacy changed the way that humans thought, and it shifted the balance of power between the sexes. Leonard Shlain had posited that the left brain had masculine traits, while the right brain was more feminine. Literacy, therefore, created this patriarchy that led to the depression of women and female thinking.

The more connected we became, the greater the consequences, and Tiffany pointed to the advent of television in the 1950’s as allowing the United States to see each other differently and to see news reports from around the world. She says that this reactivated the right hemisphere of the brain and strengthened women.

While working on her film, Tiffany’s father was working on his last book, but was slowed down because he temporarily lost his ability to speak. And there was more bad news for Tiffany. Around that same time, she was enduring a difficult pregnancy, after five miscarriages after having had a daughter five years prior.

As her need to discuss technology became overshadowed by her father’s medical condition and influence on her life, Tiffany’s CONNECTED shows that she absolutely adored, respected and cherished her father and all the many things that he meant to her. She had become dependent on him, much like she says the world has become dependent on many forms of technology. She shared the story of him following her on the Golden Gate Bridge as she drove for the first time. She got into an accident, but her father miraculously appeared to rescue her as if he were Superman, because he had been following her.

And while people have many gadgets to keep them occupied, these gadgets provide new information that simply creates dopamine, which feeds the need for pleasure. But we are never thoroughly pleased. That’s why people are constantly clicking, tweeting and downloading away in a quest for more information. But technology can be a curse, Tiffany says, as she believes that cell phones, toxins and insecticides had contributed to the prevalence of cancer diagnoses, particularly her father’s, and we should disconnect every once in a while. On the other hand, technology extends our brain’s ability, with close to 2 billion people online and 5 billion cellphones—this should lead to a participatory revolution. But in the end, this connection with people from around the world should help unite us to connect both broadly and deeply to solve the world’s problems. CONNECTED teaches us that while online and out in cyberspace, we should harness the potential of people all over.

I liked this movie, because it played out differently than I thought it would. It was chock full of funny moments and brilliant animated illustrations detailing historical significances—serving as both a documentary and a memoir about Tiffany’s life and the eventual death of her loving father.

CONNECTED world premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival; was released theatrically in the U.S. in 11 cities (held over in five); has screened more than 1,000 times around the globe – including at more than 200 educational institutions worldwide—and has been selected by the U.S. State Department to represent the States at U.S. embassies around the world as part of its 2012 American Film Showcase.

Honored by Newsweek as one of the “Women Shaping the 21st Century,” Tiffany Shlain is a filmmaker, artist, director of the Moxie Institute, founder of The Webby Awards, co-founder of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences and has advised Secretary Hillary Clinton on the Internet and society.

CONNECTED is available March 12 on DVD. For more information, visit www.connectedthefilm.com

I first saw Yelling to the Sky at a local film festival, and I was intrigued because Gabourey Sidibe, of Precious fame, was one of the lead girl bullies at the school.

Antonique Smith plays the older sister, Ola, who has a baby and seems to be in a fractured relationship with her boyfriend. Yelling to the Sky could tell the story of young girls going to high school anywhere in the country—they are always looking to fit in. But in the case of Sweetness, she only seems at home at the house of a local drug dealer, played by Tariq Trotter. In the opening scenes, a pregnant Ola defends Sweetness against a bunch of teens who are bent on relieving her of her bicycle. It doesn’t matter to Ola that she is pregnant; she is just concentrating on beating the daylights out of a young man who was the main antagonist.

Admittedly, the girls don’t have much chance at a good life—what with living in the ghetto with an alcoholic father and a mother who is battling mental illness. Early on in the movie, also, the mother just leaves after being abused by the father. She eventually returns but seems really detached from all that is happening in the household. It was kind of weird to see Clarke, of The Wire and Zero Dark Thirty fame, playing an abusive husband and father. Sidibe as one of the bullies finally gets her dues, when Sweetness gets some gall and courage and jumps her at school. This courage, however, comes from her selling drugs, shoplifting and hanging out with two of the girls who at one time were her enemies.

Only a few symbols of normalcy exist within the household, as the mother dotes on the baby and prepares breakfast one morning. The father even buys the newborn a toy and brings home groceries. However, a round of handball with the drug dealer ends up with him being ambushed and murdered on the spot.

At the end, everything still doesn’t seem to be wrapped in a pretty bow, but the father seems more loving and determined to pay attention to Sweetness and her surroundings.

The title seems telling: Yelling to the Sky is exactly what Sweetness appears to be doing in the end, as she crumbles into her father’s chest trying to find herself, while assuring herself that his presence will stick this time. Yelling to the Sky is by actress-turned-director Victoria Mahoney and is available on Blu-ray February 5. Visit www.mpihomevideo,com for more information.

Foxx is one of many slaves who are walking from one southern town to the next to be sold at a slave auction in 1858 or so, and his freedom is purchased for him by a German guy named Dr. King Schultz (Waltz) who is a bounty hunter. Schultz is looking for three men who are wanted for murder and for robbing a stagecoach. Django knows who the men are, and he is enlisted by Schultz to become a bounty hunter as well. The ultimate promise that Schultz makes to Django, however, is that in the end, he will take Django to the plantation where his wife, Broomhilda, is enslaved and buy her freedom as well. So it is on, as far as Django is concerned: he is excited about his newly found freedom, about the prospect of gaining freedom for his wife, and very exciting about “killing white people for a living.”

Django (the “D” is silent) is full of violence and slave references, as only Tarantino can express on the big screen. It is also full of folks using the “N” word, which was apropos for the time, but in some cases, enough was enough already!

Broomhilda has learned how to speak German and so far has been afforded the luxury of not having to pick cotton in theDeep South. But that one aspect of slavery is missing—no one ever picks cotton in the movie, and the only time I saw cotton during the nearly 2.5 hour feature was when Django blew someone away and blood splattered all over the fluffy, white stuff. Another glaring omission is the fact that not many of the slaves use the word “Sir” when addressing their masters. Even when Django first meets Dr. Schultz for the first time, he answers the doctor’s question but doesn’t end it with a “Sir.” Scenes of “Mandingo” fighters beating each other to a pulp and another where a dog savagely kills an escaped slave exhibit violence that is classic Tarantino (who did a similar “revisionist” movie about Nazi-occupied France and U.S. Jewish soldiers with his 2009 Inglorious Basterds), but these scenes are insufferable.

Jackson plays a “house” slave named Stephen, who is nearly 80 years old and full of venom, more so for fellow slaves than for his master Candie (DiCaprio). There is an extended scene where some Klan knock-offs, led by Don Johnson, discuss the inaptitude of the seamstress who made the white linen bags that they are using to cover their faces in the still of the night.

The relationships between Dr. Schultz and Django, as well as between Stephen and Candie aren’t realistic, but the entire premise of a spaghetti western intertwined with a slavery tale isn’t realistic, either. Django, it has been noted in an interview with Tarantino, starts off too liberated in the beginning and he is encouraged to slow down and grow into the role of a “bad ass” slave. At times, Django is telling Dr. Schultz what to do. Jackson, on the other hand, plays Stephen in such a subservient, Uncle Tom role that it’s disgusting. His makeup is awful, making his eyes appear yellowed, I suppose as an old, drinking, dark-skinned Black man would appear. He played this superior role over the other slaves, while at times “kowtowing” to Candie and then over speaking and challenging Candie, until you wondered just who owned whom.

And if Jackson makes another 50 movies in his career, he doesn’t have to use the “N” word another time—he used it more than enough in Django Unchained. Washington could have spared herself this role; they could have used any black actress to play the few scenes in which she appeared. But she and Foxx played well together in Ray, and he probably pulled her into this movie to give her a job, other than in her current television hit Scandal.

Certainly I don’t discuss every bit of the movie, scenes and plots that unfold, because I can’t step away from other film aspects. Other critics have thoroughly discussed the merits of the movie and the use of the “N” word, and Foxx has been quoted as saying if you want to learn something, then go see a documentary. However, Django Unchained, albeit one that is being discussed as one of the year’s and Tarantino’s best movies, is still sitting kind of funny with me, even after a week. It is playing in wide release, if you want to judge for yourself.

At the time, New York Mayor Ed Koch called it the “crime of the century,” and it remains to date one of the biggest media stories ever. The five accused spent between six and 13 years in prison before a shocking confession from a serial rapist and DNA evidence proved their innocence, winning their release in 2002. If authorities had paid closer attention, they would have arrested Matias Reyes for the Central Park crime, before he went on to cause more harm to women and their families.

Media outlets tried to “out headline” each other, and new terminology was born: “wilding” and “wolf packs”; Donald Trump spent $89,000 to run full-page ads in New York dailies calling for the death penalty to be reinstated; Pat Buchannan suggested that it would be good for the oldest boy (16) to be “tried, convicted and hanged in Central Park by June 1.”

The documentary, which was screened at the recent Chicago International Film Festival, is unsettling enough. Racism permeates the comments of the regular “man on the street” and also city officials. But to learn that the five accused were wrongly convicted will just turn a viewer’s stomach. The writing was on the wall: the youth were questioned and taped, without the benefit of attorney or their parents being in the room. The interrogations ran throughout the night and early morning after the jogger’s body was found. Four of the five confessed, under coercion, but all later recanted—to no avail.

The so-called “wilding” case saw overzealous police and prosecutors working feverishly to convict the five guys, who were in or near the park on that night. But none of them knew one another. These were just guys out on a summer night having fun, doing not much of anything. Although unknown to each other, each is questioned and each is fed the same story by the cops for more than 36 hours. One young boy’s mother is told that she should go home and get some sleep. Most were told if they would just corroborate what the police were telling them, then they would be on their way home. But that wasn’t the case. The Central Park Five contains archival footage, including the taped “confessions” of the boys, as well as them being led back and forth to trial and the demonstrations at the courthouse—either for their release or for hard sentences.

The Central Park Five examines race relations in a town that was already polarized, but it also really makes human the men accused of the horrible crime, after the media has characterized them as being savages. There is no way that any person with any kind of emotion or feelings can watch Central Park Five without becoming upset. Upset that not much was done to find the real suspects and much was done to lasso these five men into custody. I suppose on one hand you look at the authorities and see what they were up against—they had to find someone. But finding someone at the cost of denying others freedom is just wrong.

The film does not go into great detail about the pending 2003 federal lawsuit against New York City, in which the five men and their families are reportedly seeking $50 million each in damages – a case that reportedly may involve the filmmakers, whose raw footage and outtakes have been subpoenaed.

Sarah Burns had worked on the story while in college, and her father, Ken Burns, said that while they were emotional while creating the documentary, they stayed with the facts. After the CIFF screening, one of the men Raymond Santana fielded questions about his innocence and more particularly his life before and after the verdict and his conviction.

Even though the sentences were vacated, the documentary reveals that the five men still face obstacles in finding employment and most are distracted. Santana said that the “decks were stacked against me.” He had grown up in the system, which resulted in criminal activity. Even after he was vindicated for the Central Park case, Santana was later arrested for a drug charge—extra time was levied against him, he said, because of his prior felony conviction in the Central Park case. But he shares that he couldn’t find employment after his release from prison, “It’s all about awareness, and it is up to us to give one another second chances,” he told the audience.

Santana is currently advocating for changes in custodial interrogations. And while the five men and their attorneys wait for disposition of their lawsuit against the city; they say they haven’t received any apologies from the City of New York, and no one involved in their rapid, shameful convictions has been reprimanded.

A Houston prosecutor in the audience says she uses this as a teaching tool. “Raymond is a hero, and we have to be sure that what we are doing is just,” she said. Another audience member apologized for the city of New York, simply because he lived in New York at the time of the crime.

The Central Park Five is now playing in NY/LA and opens in more cities in December.

The documentary suggests that fans and the public push media outlets to go bananas around a particular trial, although if the accused were just the “regular joes,” then there would be no real interest.

During the same time as the Bryant trial in Colorado, the documentary details the Michael Jackson child molestation trial in California. In both trials, the photographers were charged with getting a photo of something, even if it meant just 15 minutes of videos of the celebrity going in and out of the court building. One reporter suggests that Jackson walked a certain way when the cameras weren’t on him, but when he caught the cameras trained on him, he would seem to need assistance walking.

How many ways can you say that the defendant wore pajamas to court, or a nice brown suit? It was suggested that maybe Bryant helped his female attorney out of the SUV every day, because he had been told to do so.

It’s a common curiosity; the public wants to know all they can about someone else’s business, and what better way than to while away the hours consumed by bad news that doesn’t remotely affect you? But some reporters offered that maybe it’s not right to report on sexual abuse cases, because of the subject matter, and they candidly share the challenges and ethical dilemmas that arise when the camera lights go on and the deadline to deliver a compelling news story, nearly 24 hours/7 days a week, arrives.

Producers and networks wrangle over whether to say undergarments or panties; debate back and forth on how to describe oral sex, while at the same time admitting that the news has to be salacious to compete with the cable court shows. Filmmaker Brian Malone steps into this nexus, camera in hand, to capture a fascinating behind-the-curtain view of how the news machine kicks into gear when celebrities go wrong. He makes references to the O.J. Simpson trial, President Bill Clinton’s drilling about the Monica Lewinsky event, as well as the Tanya Harding trial, among others.

In addition to capturing the circus-like atmosphere, Malone was able to tape some fascinating glimpses into the process of celebrity trial news coverage. But Americans’ fascination with soap opera–esque tragedy is not the only factor. Malone points to the role that for President Ronald Reagan played by deregulating the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) which threw open the door to media consolidation. And news programs, which had been insulated from commercial demands previous to this, became part of the bottom line and subject to the ratings game for advertising dollars.

Celebrity Trials in the Media is available November 6 for the first time on DVD and VOD platforms from Cinema Libre Studio. Visit www.cinemalibrestudio.com/celebritytrials for more information.

The young boy’s name is Dax Locke, and it’s based on a true story. The Heart of Christmas boasts a stellar cast that includes Candace Cameron Bure (Make it or Break It); Jeanne Neilson (Faith Like Potatoes); George Newbern (Father of the Bride; and Erin Bethea (Fireproof).

Dax’s mother has been charged with staying at the hospital while he undergoes chemotherapy, but she is unsure of his recovery, especially since the first doctor is no longer available to care for her child. She questions the second doctor’s care plan and is even more put off when he doesn’t offer her his personal cell phone number. Dax’s father is busy trying to keep their home and work life together, as he travels to the hospital only on the weekends. During his hospital stay, many people at the hospital—patients and parents of patients alike—come into Dax’s family’s life. Amazingly, although it may not seem so at first, all have a part in restoring the faith of this young family that God knows what is best. They also help arm the family with best practices to care for their son as well as make him as comfortable as they can.

Dax’s favorite holiday is Christmas, and while it’s yet Halloween, the parents are faced with his imminent death, so they hatch a clever idea to have Christmas early. As another new neighbor is taking her children out for trick or treating, she runs across a family who is decorating—not for Halloween—but for Christmas. The new neighbor is encouraged to read blog postings by Dax’s mother that explains all there is to know about why this one neighborhood seems to be rushing the holidays. The blog postings are so heart wrenching and intimate. But they tell the story for one and all about the impact that Dax, his illness and his family’s fortitude have had on many.

The Heart of Christmas is a heartbreaking movie, but one of courage, hope, resilience and love from all around. The film recently received an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Lyrics and Music for its title song.

The Heart of Christmas is available on DVD October 16 from Image Entertainment. For more information about this inspiring true story, visit the Dax Locke Foundation website at www.daxlocke.org