On Songs & Albums

Tom Waits interviews himself.

Brilliant.

Concerts

An Honor for Over the Rhine

Over the Rhine gets to be the first act at Cincinnati's new 4,100-seat National City Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center on Saturday. And what will they do? Play all of the songs from their sensational double album Ohio!

On Movies & Media

Lear Year

King Lear is on the way... twice on the big screen, and then on the BBC. With Anthony Hopkins, and Ian McKellen, as Lear And Keira Knightley, and Romola Garai, as Cordelia. But who will direct?

On Movies & Media

McSweeney's Publishes a Letter to Aslan

McSweeney's Mari Ness submits A Letter to His Imperial Majesty, Aslan: In the course of talking-animal events, it may become necessary for one animal‚ or human‚ or divine being‚ to come and rescue Narnia from its deepest, darkest hours. We're cool with that. We'

On Songs & Albums

Keith Green, Age 11

My friend Mark Moring just sent this in: I've Got a Secret [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foHRDsFL260&eurl]

On Movies & Media

How Prince Caspian botches the meaning of the book

Want to know if Andrew Adamson’s Prince Caspian is fun and entertaining? Check out the reviews archived at Rotten Tomatoes. But if you’re a fan of C.S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian, which is something quite different, and if you hope to see Lewis’s ideas come to

On Movies & Media

Caspian's PG and David Dark's Next

Did Prince Caspian get the right rating? Cinematical's Eric Snider thinks the "PG" is misleading. I didn't know the rating before I watched it, and I didn't remember, off the top of my head, whether the first Chronicles of Narnia was PG.

On Movies & Media

DecentFilms on Prince Caspian: Lewis's Themes and Ideas are "Largely Lost."

When it comes to The Chronicles of Narnia films, well... I want them to be great. I want them to be entertaining, yes. But more than anything, I hope that the filmmakers finds ways to preserve the ideas at the core of the story. In The Lion, the Witch and

On Movies & Media

Christianity Today: 2 1/2 stars (out of 4) for "Prince Caspian"

Are you looking forward to the appearance of Bacchus in Prince Caspian? Alas, you won't see that scene. That's just the beginning of the cuts that concern Peter T. Chattaway in his review of the movie at Christianity Today. Wow. Chattaway does find the film quite

On Movies & Media

Sean Penn Disqualifies Cannes Films that Don't Reflect "Current Climate"

Aaaaaaaand they're off! The Cannes Film Festival has begun, which means Indiana Jones is suiting up for his first big-screen adventure in twenty years, and a crop of great works of art destined to be almost ignored in America are about to screen for very lucky audiences.

On Movies & Media

"The Defanging of Aslan"

Steven D. Greydanus interviews the men behind Prince Caspian. And he finds them making some rather dubious claims. "I've produced a lot of movies based on books," he said, speaking at a New York press event with other Narnia filmmakers. Citing titles from The Natural to

Will Ferrell

The Browser, 5/14: Brooks on "Neural Buddhism"; Fraggles; Scarlett Johansson; Why I'll Miss Dubya

Brooks on a new challenge for those who believe in a "personal God" David Brooks talks about why believers' debates with Richard Dawkins are "just a sideshow," and that the real revolution is something like "neural Buddhism." * Fraggle Rock is here to stay

On Movies & Media

Badder Lieutenant

The Hollywood Reporter is trying to ruin my day, claiming that Abel Ferrara's Bad Lieutenant is being re-made by Werner Herzog, with Nicolas Cage stepping into the role already owned by Harvey Keitel. But it couldn't possibly be true. Cage would know better than to

On Movies & Media

Lord Save Us From Your Followers

Comedy writer/filmmaker Dan Merchant wrote a book called Lord, Save Us from Your Followers, chronicling what happened when he journeyed across the U.S. and asked people questions about the divisiveness of religion. Watch the MSNBC interview with Matt Lauer. Here's a USA Today article on the

On Movies & Media

Unbearable "Noise"; CGI vs. Ye Olde Fashioned Way

I watched Noise last week. I was assigned to review it. I was excited, because it came from writer-director Henry Bean. Bean made The Believer in 2001, an intriguing movie about a neo-Nazi starring Ryan Gosling a few years back. But alas, I should have looked closer. Bean

On Books & Writing

Is the World Going to Hell in a Handbasket? Let's Hear From Gregory Wolfe.

Image's Gregory Wolfe, with a little help from Annie Dillard, starts Monday morning off right, asking, "Is the end near?" I feel a responsibility to alert you whenever my favorite Annie Dillard book, For the Time Being, is quoted online.

Coen Brothers

Reader!!!! Mail!!!!

This week's blue-ribbon-winning letter from a reader comes in response to my review of No Country for Old Men, which was published at CTMovies. The reader writes: Thank you. You're welcome!!!!!!!!! You are welcome to read my "arguments" in the book Through

On Movies & Media

Morefield on "Lars and the Real Girl"

Yesterday, Kenneth Morefield posted comments on Lars and the Real Girl. He gets so much of what I love about this film. And his thoughts make me eager to rent it and see it again... ... Maybe it is the responsibility of art or film to hold a mirror up to

On Movies & Media

What Does Indiana Jones Mean to You?

One week from today, I'll be seeing Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Time for me to put aside the heavier viewing fare and relive the joys of being a wide-eyed teenager. In my opinion, Raiders of the Lost Ark is the finest adventure

On Movies & Media

Mick Silva's Advice for Writers; Narnia's Makeover for High King Peter

Silva ponders Mick Silva on the voice of the Christian writer. * High King Peter of Narnia's "small mind" In C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, High King Peter did not have a "small mind." But it seems that American filmmakers are

On Movies & Media

Film Forum: "The Fall"

This is collection of reviews of The Fall that found interesting. Morehead: The Falldrowning in its own excesses McCracken: The FallThe Wizard of OzBig FishPan's LabyrinthThe Fall Ulich: the film eventually keels over and dies Dollar: Losing My Religiondevotes far more energy to settings and costumes than his

Coen Brothers

The Browser, 5/9: Evangelical Manifesto; Koehler on Cannes; Dude still abides!; Neil Young hates mp3s; book reviews; Marion Ravenwood

The Evangelical Manifesto On the remote chance that you may not already have read it, I should post the news that An Evangelical Manifesto was published and presented earlier this week, on May 7. The Steering Committee for the document includes... * Timothy George Dean, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University * Os

Flannery O'Connor

The Browser, 5/8: O'Connor; Berryman; Joe Henry; Elvis Costello; Ron Burgundy; Image on Lumet's latest

Do you have the equipment? Flannery O'Connor blogged twice this week. That's always worth a look. And what great quotes. * The Badge of Shame This is why I read Jeff Berryman's blog. His anecdotes and observations interrupt my scattered, frivolous thoughts with sobering insights.

On Movies & Media

For the Love of Movies That Never Played at the Mall...

In my experience of discussing movies online, few people have challenged me to dig deeper and look closer at movies than Ken Morefield. That's why I'm enthusiastic about having his as a "guest reviewer" so often at Looking Closer. So I am delighted to

On Books & Writing

Leif Enger Returns

Not many novelists have so impressed me with their first novel that I would literally jump for joy in the bookstore to discover their second novel. But when I stumbled unexpectedly onto THIS yesterday, yes, I did jump, and it was for joy. I have my copy sitting next to