Are you familiar with the Love Comes Softly series of films based on books by Janet Ochs and directed by Michael Landon Jr.? Well, here’s to a group of films that seem to be a hotbed of controversy despite their simplicity and beauty. Maybe you don’t see how these movies could be controversial. Let me explain.

Last week I checked Love’s Unending Legacy out of my local library - a great find, I think considering it was produced in 2007 and the story line was absolutely touching and chick-flicky.

My significant other, who I call Mystic on this blog, came in to ask if I’d watched the movie yet. “Yes,” I told him. “I watched it last night. It was SUCH a GOOD movie!”

He gets a sick look on his face and rolls his eyes.

“Oh, you don’t think so?” I said. “I love the simplicity, the love stories, and the fact that God is part of these movies.”

“That’s the problem,” he said. “I don’t need Christianity shoved down my throat.” He then launched into a soliloquy from which I had no recourse. Past experience had taught me not to dare getting a word in edgewise until he says, “You have nothing to say?” And then I’d better be careful what I say.

What I finally said was, “Okay, go watch your violence and bloodshed. To each his own.”

Honestly, I don’t see any problem with the way Christianity is depicted in these films. It isn’t all “in your face” type proselytizing. It is just a gentle matter of fact that American pioneer families were predominantly Christian and the church was a huge part of their social life. If they sit down at the dinner table to say grace, that’s a realistic part of the story, not an attempt on the part of the producer to introduce subliminal suggestions to convert viewers.

Honestly, I’m not a Christian, in fact, I think I may have found my guru and I’m thrilled about that, and still doing quite a bit of seeking to decide… and I’m totally not a joiner. (Been there done that and then literally gave away the t-shirt after 30+ years servitude.) But Christian or no, I absolutely LOVE seeing people relate to God and express their spirituality in these precious movies - which were created from novels written by Janet Ochs. Who can object to that?

Anyhow, if you want a decent, heart warming family-centered movie, the Love Comes Softly series is excellent.

In what was originally billed as a paranormal thriller, Bruce Willis stars as David Dunn, a man who cannot be injured. It starts when he’s the only passenger on a doomed train to survive a horrific accident. He returns home to his estranged wife and doting son, only to have to face questions about how he could possibly have survived without any injuries whatsoever. Once he’s home, the flick takes on the character of a family movie or human interest drama.

Then Dunn is approached by Elijah Price (Samuel Jackson), a victim of osteogenesis imperfecta - brittle bone disease. Price has suffered numerous broken bones throughout his life and presents a tragic figure we can not help but sympathize with despite his rough, gangsta-style exterior. Price is obsessed with superhero comics and has build a business around them; this started when his loving mother gave him comics as a gift to comfort him when he was a child. He’s decided that a superhero with unbreakable bones must exist and he wants that man’s secret. This obsession is what leads him to David Dunn.

As Dunn grapples with the facts of invincibility, he also has to deal with the unwanted attention of Elijah Price. Dunn and his wife, Audrey (Robin Wright Penn) are having enough problems already — their marriage is falling apart and he’s looking for a new job in New York City. Their son, Joseph (Spencer Treat Clark), is not handling this crisis well and obviously loves his father too much to face having him leave.

After Joseph hears that Elijah believes Dunn is an invincible superhero, he works on trying to convince his father that this is true. Dunn eventually tries to fulfill the role, leading to a surprise ending that only a schmo would reveal to the uninitiated.

Be prepared for flashbacks and a bit of confusion at first, but overall, the movie is very entertaining.

My partner, the Mystic, says, “Why would you want to review something like that? It’s a movie. It’s entertainment. You watch it and then forget about it.”

Well, my answer is that it is one of the best movies I saw this week. The others were filled with worse violence . . . obviously his picks not mine. I prefer chick flicks; he doesn’t.

I like the juxtaposition of opposites in Unbreakable - Dunn’s invincibilty vs. Price’s vulnerability - and appreciated the intensity of love Dunn’s son, Joseph, shows for him. Dunn rises from a troubled security guard to a self-actualized superhero, like a phoenix rising from the flames of distress and reprobate thought.

You will have to see the movie to understand what I just wrote. I think it was 106 minutes well-spent though it truly isn’t the most mystical and enlightening movie I’ve seen this year. This was the second movie I’ve seen that was directed by M. Night Shyamalan . . . I enjoyed his bit part in the movie . . . and I’ll be ordering his other movies from Netflix to see what they’re like. I expect I have a treat in store for me.

I could not help but love this movie about a gentle alien (maybe) forced into a mental hospital. Kevin Spacey played the lead role of Prot. I can’t say enough good things about him and the role. Now I’m a big Kevin Spacey fan and have been scanning Netflix to order all the other films he’s been in.

K-Pax leaves you in suspense the entire time. Is Prot an alien, or a mentally ill earthling? The powers that be are convinced he must be insane, but his doctor soon picks up on Prot’s amazing intelligence and wisdom.

I was extremely impressed with Kevin Spacey’s performance. Prot was calm and patient, curious about life on earth, and filled with wisdom. He knew exactly what his fellow mental patients needed and set about improving their lives in the kindest, gentlest way possible.

His open-minded psychiatrist, played by Jeff Bridges, couldn’t seem to believe that Prot could really be an alien. The doctor started an investigation into his past using occasional clues provided by Prot. Bridges was perfect for the part and did a good job of keeping us in total suspense.

This is a movie I would love to see again. Something about Prot is just so attractive! It must be the calm, gentle patience — so unusual in this civilization. For that reason alone I consider this a spiritual masterpiece.

The Descent answers the question: How tough can a woman be? Director Neil Marshall chose to make this movie with an all-female cast. The women depicted are brave to the point of being foolhardy nutcases, but that’s only my opinion.

The movie starts with three friends having fun while whitewater rafting in Scotland. Sarah (Shauna MacDonald) is host and her husband and daughter are along on the trip. On the way home in the car, her husband seems distracted while driving, and suddenly there’s a horrifying accident that kills the husband and daughter. Sarah wakes up in the hospital, traumatized for life. Still, after some recovery time, she decides to visit America where her friend Juno (Natalie Mendoza) has an all-woman adventure planned in the Appalachian Mountains.

What do Sarah, Juno, Beth, Rebecca, Sam and Holly all have in common? They are all athletic, adventurous women ready to have an exciting cave exploration weekend. Juno leads, and the five others are misled into believing they’re exploring a well-known cave system in the National Park. Juno decided, alone and on her own, to take them instead to an unexplored cave so they can have the honor of naming it.

They rappel into a huge open pit chamber, then make their way deep inside the earth. While crawling through a narrow passageway, Sarah gets stuck but Juno talks her out of her terror and rescues her just as there’s a cave-in. By this time the movie viewer is on edge. I was literally ready to pack up and run because horror movies that put me on edge are far from my favorites. My significant other, “The Mystic”, talked me out of it.

I’m glad I stuck around to see the beautiful cave painting that was in the next room they passed through. I’m one who appreciates great artwork, including movie-art, by the way. But when Sarah saw a strange white creature lurking in the distance I felt sure their troubles would multiply.

The main thing I got out of the film was the impression that some women are tougher than others. They have mental prowess, irrepressible bravery, quick instincts, and the guts to do the necessary things to survive. Others melt in the heat of battle, in varying degrees. The women who survived longer did so because they had those special qualities that belong to the toughest, bravest, most-courageous of all.

The Mystic was favorably impressed with this film - especially the acting talents of the women involved. They looked  sincerely traumatized, claustrophobic, and frightened. The directing was flawless and I’ll admit the women were very talented.

If you like sitting on the edge of your chair, frightened half out of your skull, this is an excellent film. If however you are like me and prefer sweet love stories, this is not going to be your cup of tea.

The cast included Shauna Macdonald (Sarah); Natalie Mendoza (Juno); Alex Reid (Beth); Saskia Mulder (Rebecca); MyAnna Buring (Sam); Nora-Jane Noone (Holly); Oliver Milburn (Paul); Molly Kayll (Jessica) and Craig Conway (the underground creature).