Voiceover: Movies that Move Us

Why can a movie make you feel closer to God one minute and terrified of existence the next? From 2001: A Space Odyssey and Baraka to Nosferatu and Omaha, this episode explores how cinema turns awe into wonder, transcendence, and dread. Along the way, we connect space movies such as Interstellar, Sunshine, Contact, and Project Hail Mary to questions about faith, scale, mystery, mortality, and what it means to feel small. You’ll learn why film can create awe rather than simply depict it, how silence and long takes open a crack in ordinary reality, and why horror can feel as spiritually overwhelming as science fiction.
Spoilers for the films discussed.
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Why does Jaws still make people afraid to go in the water? And how did a broken mechanical shark help Steven Spielberg create one of cinema’s most enduring suspense films?
Heather talks with Columbus film commissioner John Daugherty about Jaws, the 1975 thriller that helped define the summer blockbuster. They explore Spielberg’s suspenseful direction, the shark’s limited screen time, John Williams’s unforgettable score, the film’s human performances, and the childhood fear that can linger long after the credits. They also discuss why horror movies can be so thrilling in a theater, how audience reactions turn a screening into a shared experience, and why low-budget genre films continue to attract filmmakers and investors.
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Signs was advertised as an alien invasion movie, but what if it's about something so much more? A pastor revisits M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 thriller and finds a story about grief, faith, family, and the possibility that nothing is accidental.

Pastor Jeff McCullough and Heather explore Signs through the eyes of someone who spent 15 years in ministry. This movie analysis examines Mel Gibson’s Graham Hess, his crisis of faith, and the lonely burden of being the person everyone expects to have answers.

Jeff McCullough is known to many as Pastor Jeff from Hello Saints! A YouTube channel where he works for interfaith connection as an evangelical pastor exploring the beliefs of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

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Why do we feel betrayed when a movie changes the book we love? And can a new adaptation reveal something the original story could not?

Heather talks with Kacy Faulconer and Tyler Gardner of BYUradio’s Proofread about book-to-screen adaptations, faithful film adaptations, fan expectations, and why Hollywood keeps returning to familiar literary IP. They discuss Cloud Atlas, A Wrinkle in Time, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Project Hail Mary, Life of Pi, Anna Karenina, and Pride and Prejudice.

The conversation also previews upcoming adaptations including the next Pride and Prejudice adaptation. Hear why some books need a limited series, how adaptations can add meaning, and whether a movie should work independently or as a companion to the novel.

What if Hidalgo was never really about winning the Ocean of Fire? In this film commentary, Heather and Cindy Quinney revisit the 2004 Viggo Mortensen movie to unpack Frank Hopkins’s Native identity, the Wounded Knee Massacre, the Ghost Dance, and the ending that still brings them to tears.

This Hidalgo 2004 analysis explores the film’s horse symbolism, mixed-race identity, historical framing, and transformation from shame and isolation to community and purpose. We discuss why the desert journey matters, how the movie uses purity and belonging as metaphors, why the injured horse scene is so powerful, and what filmmakers should consider when portraying Indigenous history and culture.

Cindy Quinney is the Executive Director of Gathering of Tribes, which works to meet the needs of Indigenous Latter-day Saints through producing media, organizing events, and serving communities. Cindy is an enrolled member of the Onion Lake Cree Nation. She lives in Calgary, Canada.