—Staff writers:
        Thomas Bean
        Dan Buck
        Amanda Caldwell
        J.R. Cillian Green
        Anise Hotchkiss
        Dr. Jamee Kennedy
        Rich Kennedy
        M. Leary
        Stef Loy
        Carole McDonnell
        David Meldrum
        Kevin Miller
        Michael Parrilla
        Tara Plog
        Matthew Prins
        Ashley Proctor
        Kevin Reynolds
        Ben St. John
        Kent Straith

   —Contributors:
        Steve Parish
        Roger Thomas
        Cliff Vaughn

Steve Lansingh, editor
Steve is a spiritual sojourner whose encounters with God are usually found in everyday, "mundane" moments like watching movies, preparing food, holding hands, waiting in line, and laughter. He believes that since life was created as a gift, and human beings were created in love, then the purpose of Christianity is not to withdraw from our surroundings but to know God more fully through experiencing this world.

JoyOfMovies.com is an attempt to convey how a dynamic spiritual life can spring from engaging the world, particularly through the artistic expressions of the cinema, and an invitation for others to share their journeys as moviegoers. Steve writes about other everyday moments of spiritual connection in his monthly column for Catapult Magazine.

Steve lives in Seattle with his wife, Amanda, and a cat that likes to jump on his keyboajslfhrd. He can be reached at steve@joyofmovies.com.


Thomas Bean, staff writer
Thomas had aspirations of acting and was going for the Big Screen. However, God threw him a curveball instead. After Thomas graduated from the University of Florida with a journalism degree, he left sunny, hurricane-ridden Florida for cold, windy Chicago to attend Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. After graduating from Trinity in December 2001, Thomas moved to Washington, D.C. where he is now a press secretary working for a Florida congressman.

He is a devoted Florida Gator. Too devoted. Those loud cheers you hear every fall Saturday are simply Thomas engrossed in yet another University of Florida football game. He is irrationally blinded by his love and devotion to the school, thus it is healthy to not confuse his alma mater with Florida State – much venom spews forth and is really a disgusting sight.

A cynic by nature, who graciously was extended grace by the Lord, he now takes out his angst of not being able to act in front of the camera by critiquing those who do. He appreciates deep, complicated films and skilled acting. Thomas also has various screenplays of his own in the works that others may be able to ridicule and shred – that is if he ever gets around to writing them. All's fair in love, war and film criticism.

Thomas lives with his beautiful wife Ramona in the Washington, D.C. area. He also loves Monty Python, sports, political debate, Opus from Bloom County, Snoopy, and too many other things to list here. You can reach Thomas at gatorbean@hotmail.com. He welcomes your thoughts about film and Christianity and where the two co-mingle.


J.R. Cillian Green, staff writer
Cillian is a graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in Theater and Political Thought. This highly unemployable degree has led him back to Memphis where he works as an Admissions Rep. at one of the local hospitals. He was recently married to the lovely Heather. In his spare time he fights and gets beaten senseless by his brothers (in a martial arts class...not just in general). The whole goal of movies seems to be to try and say something. If not...what a waste of time...and a dark room could be used for such more interesting purposes.

Cillian can be reached at cillian@joyofmovies.com.


Anise Hotchkiss, staff writer
Anise can be reached at anise@joyofmovies.com.

Dr. Jamee Kennedy, staff writer
Originally from southern Connecticut, Jamee graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BFA in Theatre Education. She then completed a Masters Degree in Theatre at Texas State University and a Doctorate in Drama from Nova Southeastern University. She feels blessed to have continually worked in the theatre world in Austin for over seventeen years, directing such shows as Brighton Beach Memoirs, Wings, Shadow Box, Godspell, Grease, and The Crucible, as well as many original productions.

In February 2003, Jamee founded LightKeepers Media, Inc., a production company that recently completed its first project: "Swimmer Girls," a one-hour documentary on girls' competitive swimming. She has also worked in the film industry as a casting assistant and in the Austin Film Society office and was a long-time acting instructor for Austin Community College. She is the author of an as-yet-published text on beginning acting titled "The Process of Acting: The Beginning Steps."

In her off time, she tries to keep up with her active family in the pool, on the ball fields, at the beach, on the slopes, and rooting for the San Antonio Spurs. Jamee would like to sincerely thank JoyOfMovies.com for the opportunity to minister to film buffs like herself. She can be reached at jamee@joyofmovies.com.


Rich Kennedy, staff writer
Rich is a recovering fundamentalist and missionary kid who serves as resident old fart. He studied philosophy and theology in the '70s, but became distracted by the movies and so did not graduate from any particular college. His film influences are Billy Wilder, Sam Peckinpah, Don Siegal and anything with Robert Mitchum in it. He has also been foolish enough to have read a bit of criticism by Richard Corliss, Paul Schrader, and Andrew Sarris.

Among other things, Rich is a cook for a Jesuit house for novices in suburban Detroit where he lives with his lovely wife Dena, their dog and three cats. Together they prop up an old house, restore furniture, and argue about films, music, and how Rich should behave in public. He can be goaded into an argument on politics, religion, and the glory that was the Detroit Lions in '50s, before he was born. He can be reached at kennjen@ameritech.net. No, he is not related to THEM. He's a republican.


Stef Loy, staff writer
Stef Loy is a recovering musician who spent years thinking he was a socialist. After nearly being murdered in Sweden by a crazy man with codeine, Stef wallowed away in European recording studios trying to put the pieces back together. It never happened. Stef is known in the US for allegedly believing that he had written the song "Afternoon Delight" as a third grader. He is also still wanted in rural Ohio for beating up a car wash. His love of film goes back to early childhood and the scarring moment of seeing (spoiler) Bambi's mother get shot. He is hoping that family life can help to mend that wound. His wife and newborn daughter look after him as he daily pursues the American dream with two jobs and a home recording studio, but his wife still drives a much better car than he does. Stef can be reached at stef@joyofmovies.com.


Carole McDonnell, staff writer
Carole is a married, 43-year-old Jamaican-American mother of two sons. She is a freelance writer and book and film reviewer, with reviews appearing in The Peekskill Herald, Self-Health Recovery Networker, The Hudson Valley Arts Review, Gannett's Suburban Styles Magazine, The Quarterly Black Review of Books, Christian Spotlight on the Movies, Christian Spotlight on Video Games, nonfictionreviews.com, compulsivereader.com, curledup.com, and christianliving.ca.

Her short story "Homecoming" was winner of New Mass Media's, Westchester Weekly, annual fiction contest in September 1996 and third place winner of the Annual Contemporary Western Fiction Contest. She has had several essays published including, "Oreo Blues" in W.W. Norton's LifeNotes: Personal Writings by Contemporary Black Women, and "The Cat Came Back" in the anthology Nudges from God by Obadiah Press. Her essay "My Son and Mrs Torres" won honorable mention in the Writers Digest 2001 Writing Competition. Her novels are the SF "The Daughters of Men" and the historical romance "Wind Follower."

Carole graduated from SUNY, Purchase in 1981 with a B.A. in Literature and has been a certified Teaching Assistant in New York State. She can be reached at carole@joyofmovies.com.


David Meldrum, staff writer
David is on the staff of St. Luke's Church, Cranham which is a quiet place right in the edge of London. After graduating from St. Andrews University, he worked with school children in Aberdeen and homeless young people in London before training again for his current job. He's enthusiastic about films, faith and any conversation between the two. His other distractions from work include: music (listening, not doing), books, the PS2, a dog and a rabbit. He's firm and unashamed in his lifelong belief that Arsenal football club are the world's greatest sports team; that one day England will beat Australia at cricket; that some time the 49ers might reach the Superbowl again.

He's married to Bev, who keeps him grounded and sane. David can be reached at david@joyofmovies.com.


Kevin Miller, staff writer
Kevin is a freelance writer, editor, and educator who has written, co-written, and edited over 30 books. Kevin is also an avid screenwriter. One of his scripts, "After...," which he co-wrote with director David L. Cunningham, is going into production in early 2005. He currently resides in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada with his wife, Heidi, and their three children: Huw (4), Gretchen (2.5), and Zeph (5 months). They attend Fresh Wind Christian Fellowship, a non-denominational church that focuses on reaching the disabled, children, the poor, and people who've been "burnt by the church." To learn more about Kevin, visit www.kevinwrites.com. He can be reached at info@kevinwrites.com.


Michael Parrilla, staff writer
I have always had an affinity towards the arts and anything creative. It's hard to pinpoint one particular discipline as being a favorite. I had an appreciation of design early on, which led me to major in Art & Design when I started college at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. But when I came to know God my freshman year, that creative drive took off in a lot of different directions. I started playing piano and bass guitar by ear, got into narrative writing, and I became more of a movie buff, too. My major jumped around just as much, but I eventually graduated with a Communication degree.

Currently I live in the suburbs of Chicago, and I work as a Market Analyst in an advertising agency. I am also currently pursuing an MBA at one of the business schools downtown (gotta love Chicago). Although my job is a little more removed from those interests, my thoughts often drift from my work (hope my boss isn't reading this), and I dwell on other things. My time away from the office is usually spent among friends, hanging out, going to church, and of course, watching movies.

Lately I've been a lot more critical of the things I watch, and I realized some about the whole notion of "mindless entertainment." What's been bothering me about it hasn't been so much its entertainment value (or lack of), but more so on the mindlessness of it. After reading through Roger Ebert's Great Movies series from his website, I was inspired to start a series as well, but with adding a spiritual twist from a Christian perspective. So if any readers have any particular movies they want to suggest, they are more than welcome. I can be reached at michael@joyofmovies.com.


Tara Plog, staff writer
Tara is a recuperating legalist with rebellious artistic tendencies. By dabbling in communication and English, as well as creative writing, she received her BA. She has twice traveled abroad to live with kangaroos and "convicts" in Sydney, Australia -- one of these journeys, to pursue her MA. At some point she became enamored with "moving pictures". This is now accepted -- except on bad days -- as her "life purpose".

Her artistic "mentors" range from Lucy Shaw to Frederick Buechner -- and Tommy Emmanuel. Filmmakers Ida Lupino and Gillian Armstrong offer her creative fodder, as well as Wim Wenders and Yasujiro Ozu -- and relative newcomer Tracey Moffatt. Tara hates arguing, bigotry and improper capitalization. She regularly longs for shrimp on "the barbie", snorkeling, and dancing without tripping over herself. Her passions are divine Grace and cross-cultural experiences. Oh, and intriguing science-fiction.

Most importantly, she is seeking the "abundant life" of Christ -- which meshes heart and intellect -- and trying to bridge the vast chasm between political correctness and loving honesty. Tara was most recently found in Colorado "crewing" on an Independent feature, beginning Spanish-language lessons, discovering Brazilian jazz and other Latin-American music, and looking for a paying job in which she can invest herself. Tara can be reached at tara@joyofmovies.com.


Ashley Proctor, staff writer
Ashley currently lives in gorgeous Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, overlooking the Manchester Harbor. He graduated with degrees in accounting and sport management from Barton College. However, it wasn't long after that he had to make a decision. He had grown tired of working for minor-league teams making little money (but having fun) and joined the corporate world. Unfortunately, he was unhappy with this also (not having fun) but making a good living. Meanwhile, he had a new wife, Ellen, to support. So in 2001, he moved to D.C. from Chapel Hill, N. Carolina, and worked for two prestigious CPA firms in the Washington area. Sensing a call in a totally different direction, Ashley packed up and moved his confused, but very gracious and lovely wife to Massachusetts to attend seminary.

He presently spends most days now at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary researching, going to class and being surrounded by books that he just hasn't had time to read. He also finds time to do corporate taxation work at a local accounting firm 10-15 hours per week and serves as treasurer for the Student Government Association. Apart from movies, television, sports, and the Internet, he enjoys church history, particularly the Greek Patristics, the early monastic fathers, and Medieval and Puritan studies.

Ashley will watch most any film genre but generally tries to avoid the horror/thriller. He spent most nights in his childhood convinced that Jack the Ripper was in his closet. More recently, he still sees the occasional dead person after viewing The Sixth Sense in 1999. This works well when watching movies with Ellen as she was traumatized by Jaws at age five and refused to take a bath alone for almost three years. He looks forward to making a tangible -- or is that intangible -- contribution to film critique and takes seriously his Christian responsibility to be salt and light. Ashley can be reached at ashley@joyofmovies.com.


Ben St. John, staff writer
Ben has always been influenced by movies. As a child he would run around the house, wearing a fedora hat, whipping household items. When he reached middle school, he saved up enough money to buy a camcorder. He made several movies with the neighborhood kids, depicting the heart wrenching issues every thirteen year old faces. This obsession with film carried on into high school, exemplified by his films "Origami Man" and "The Graveyard Picnic".

However, it was at Wheaton College that his interest in films delved deeper. By getting acquainted with the works of Kieslowski, Kubrick, and Tarkovsky, he began to realize film is a unique art form with its own language, metaphors, and structures. His training in literature and philosophy further helped him to watch films more critically.

This learning process continues by studying film history and criticism. Writing reviews for JoyOfMovies.com will help him along on his quest to be the uber-film critic everyone will love to fear.