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Winning stronger notices is this romantic comedy about a widower (David Duchovny) who falls in love with the woman (Minnie Driver) who received his wife's heart in a transplant. Although World magazine questions whether many "can stomach the morose plot point," most reviewers concurred with Movieguide, which calls it "a strongly moral love story" in which "the characters are portrayed with realistic strength." The U.S. Catholic Conference was likewise upbeat, saying it's "an appealing look at romance and second chances, with honest, funny dialogue and good performances." Michael Elliott of Crosswalk.com was also impressed, finding it "refreshing to see family units portrayed as loving and supportive" and relishing the "warm and inviting characters who clearly loved one another and enjoyed each other immensely." Other critics had qualms with a recurring joke where a kid repeated his father's foul language. "Hearing a little kid repeat God d-- is not funny or clever," says The Movie Reporter. Holly McClure of Crosswalk.com makes allowance that the gag will be "funny to some parents who've had that moment happen, but [it] will also offend others." The relatively minor moral concerns in this film led one reviewer to perhaps overreach for a criticism; Preview's John Evans complains that the father "is not bashful in suggesting sex" to his wife, which isn't really a moral infraction. Evans was the only critic, though, who extensively praised the film for its strong religious content, which includes "a devout Catholic" who encourages his granddaughter "to vacation and pray in Rome where 'God will hear you better.'" Still, none of the reviewers even mentioned the questions the film prompts about free will and the relationship between body and soul, after the transplant recipient begins to take on several traits of the donor.

This new thriller is about an Ivy-League jock who gets lured into a secret society that offers cars, money, and women but kills to protect its existence. Christian opinion was split between those who reviewed the film and those who reviewed the message. Some critics, like Focus on the Family's Steven Isaac, found the movie noteworthy for its "strong overarching moral lessons … Stand up for the truth. Do the right thing, even if it means you'll lose everything. … Resist the allure of ill-gotten power and money." John Evans of Preview praises the protagonist who "risks his life for truth and justice." But the majority of critics found the movie too slight to support such messages: "The confusing plot drags on interminably," says the U.S. Catholic Conference, and The Movie Reporter calls it "cliched and not very suspenseful." Crosswalk.com's Holly McClure says it turns "boring, silly, and … ridiculous," lacking any "credibility and realism." StudentMinistry.net highlights the implausibility with this mock campus conversation: "'Excuse me, do you know where The Skulls, the most powerful, secret and impenetrable society in the world, holds its gatherings?' 'Oh, The Skulls. … See that building over there with the truck-sized skull on top of it? I'd try right there.'"

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April (Web-only) 2000, Vol. 44