On Movies & Media

"Apocalypto": A Catholic Masterpiece?

Apocalypto is dividing up my friends, colleagues, and my favorite critics more than any movie I can remember since... well... The Passion of the Christ. Thanks to Stuart Buck for sending this along... certainly a different perspective than I've read elsewhere... Apocalypto is a Catholic masterpiece. Its message

Looking Elsewhere

Specials: Gondry's astonishing feet; the great Bob Newhart lives

Is this two-minute video the greatest feet of Michel "Eternal Sunshine" Gondry's career? You decide!! (And no, that wasn't a typo in my headline.) The great Bob Newhart lives on I depend on Mark Shea's blog for insight on many things. But

On Movies & Media

Awards! Awards! Awards! (Updated Tues. 12/12/06)

The Boston Film Critics pick The Departed. (Runner-up: United 93) My favorite Boston picks: Best Actress - Helen Mirren, The Queen (Runner-up: Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal) Best Supporting Actor - Mark Wahlberg, The Departed Best Supporting Actress - Shareeka Epps, Half Nelson Best Foreign Language Film- Pan'

On Books & Writing

"Mr. Wilson's Bookshelf": John Wilson Picks the Best of 2006

Here's the annual list of recommendations from the editor of Books and Culture, John Wilson. I've seen Mr. Wilson's office, and it is a book-lover's dream... you would be surprised how many books he's managed to fit in that fairly

On Movies & Media

Give Judi Dench a Nomination for "Notes on a Scandal"

Watch out. Here comes Notes on a Scandal. And what Hannibal Lecter was for Anthony Hopkins, Barbara Covett is for Dame Judi Dench. Yikes, what a nasty bit of business this movie is. Count Barbara Covett up there with Tom Ripley on the chart of Malevolent Devils. She's

On Movies & Media

Family Stories: My Conversation with Alejandro González Iñárritu

This interview was originally published at Christianity Today on November 8, 2006. • Alejandro González Iñárritu has a lot of stories to tell. He packs several of them into each film that he makes. In three critically acclaimed features — Amores Perros, 21 Grams, and the latest, Babel — he and screenwriter Guillermo

On Movies & Media

"Apocalypto": the reviews are in.

So... what did Mel Gibson do with all of that money he made off of The Passion of the Christ? He made Apocalypto. And here's what Christian film critics are saying... Steven D. Greydanus (Decent Films): Gibson is a consummate filmmaker, and the action is never less than

On Movies & Media

"Wings of Desire": Stage Play

My favorite film, Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, has been re-made once before... as a forgettable, cheezy American romance called City of Angels. Now, it's being remade again, night after night, onstage. And The New York Times has a review.

On Movies & Media

The Weinsteins Start Up Their Own "Faith-Based" Film Endeavor

Great. Now the Weinstein Company is developing a faith-based filmmaking line. Since the Contemporary Christian Music has done so much to sidetrack Christian musicians so their music doesn't accidentally end up in arenas where the world might hear it... why not create Contemporary Christian Cinema? That way, faith-related

On Movies & Media

Firefly is back. (Sort of.)

With each passing week, it continues to blow my mind that there is nobody out there able to talk sense into a television network and organize the return of Joss Whedon's Firefly. The fans have made valiant efforts. The cast has expressed enthusiasm and love and longing to

On Movies & Media

My talk with The Nativity Story's screenwriter, Mike Rich

My interview with Mike Rich, the guy who wrote The Rookie, Radio, and The Nativity Story, is now posted on the website for Response Magazine. I've interviewed a lot of writers and filmmakers. Few have been as eloquent as Rich. It was a pleasure to talk with him.

National Board of Review

Specials: National Board of What?; Time Out on NY Critics; Battlestar Galactica

"The National Board of Review" - impressive name, no credibility At Hollywood Elsewhere today, Jeffrey Wells links to Roger Friedman's bit about the National Board of (not-so-credible) Review. Who are they to be naming the Best Films of 2006? Find out. And speaking of reviewers... Time

On Movies & Media

Christian Film Critics Publish "Outrageous, Disingenuous Lies" for God's Glory

This week's Film Forum contains dangerous material. Christians are giving mixed reviews to The Nativity Story. Some of them love it, some of them like it, some of them don't like it. Could it be that a movie might fall short of greatness, even if the

Over the Rhine

Over the Rhine in New York Press

I bring you tidings of great joy which shall be for all the music lovers: The New York Press has an article about the new Over the Rhine Christmas album! And the writer calls it: ...a recording whose charm is exceeded only by its musical dexterity. Karin Bergquist, Detweiler’s

On Movies & Media

Why Is "The New World" on 2005 Best-Lists If Malick Finished It in 2006?

The final cut of Terrence Malick's The New World was not finished until January 2006. It was not shown to critics in Seattle until January 18, 2006. The cut that was shown to Oscar voters in a rather rushed attempt to get an Oscar nomination was not the

On Movies & Media

Questions for Alfonso Cuarón?

I'll be meeting Alfonso Cuarón on Monday, and I've got all kinds of questions for him. But I'm open to suggestions. Do you have a question for the director of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Children of Men, The Little Princess, and

On Movies & Media

So It Begins: National Board of Review's Top Ten of 2006

The National Board of Review, a secretive and suspicious society of film reviewers, have come up with their Top Ten of 2006. Their best picture pick? Letters from Iwo Jima, Clint Eastwood's follow-up to Flags of Our Fathers. Looking at the rest of their choices, I think it

On Movies & Media

"What?! You Mentioned Mormonism?"

A few days back, Christianity Today Movies published an interview with film director Richard Dutcher, who has a Mormon background. And this provoked a classic reactionary response. Read the letter, read CT's reply, and shake your head and sigh... Editor's note: Um, the article wasn'

On Movies & Media

Another Cry of Dismay about "Apocalypto"

From an insightful friend who just saw Apocalypto: ApocalyptoThe PassionApocalyptoVarietyRolling Stone And now this... David Ansen in Newsweek (via GreenCine Daily): Apocalypto

Fear

The Perilous Road of Engaging Our Culture

On Friday, I spoke to a class of English literature students at Seattle Pacific University. I told them about my life at the movies, about the varoius warnings I've heard from Christians over the years about the dangers of movies like... oh... The Empire Strikes Back, Harry Potter

Geoffrey Deweese

Twins! Congratulations to Geoffrey and Melody.

This was a scene at Geoff and Melody's house just a few weeks ago. You can only see four people on that couch... but there were, in fact, six people on that couch. Two of them weren't quite ready to be born. But now, they'

On Movies & Media

Reactions to "Apocalypto"

UPDATED: Some friends of mine over at ArtsandFaith.com have just seen Apocalypto, yet another film I couldn't see due to ice and snow this week. Here are a few things they've said: Wow. This is the most violent movie I've ever seen. People

Auralia's Colors

Headed Back to Auralia's Colors for One Last Investigation

I have received the text of Auralia's Colors back from the publisher, and my editor has come up with a tantalyzing list of questions, encouraging me to give some of the supporting characters more time to play a part in the story. I'm excited. I love

On Movies & Media

"The Nativity Story": Your Reviews

Since snow and ice have kept me from the Seattle press screenings of The Nativity Story, chances are you will see the movie before I do. (I'm going to try to catch a Saturday or Sunday matinee.) If you see it, tell us what you think of it.

On Movies & Media

Manderlay (2005)

Danish director Lars von Trier gave us a remarkable, audacious film in 2004 called Dogville. The film starred Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Anne Bancroft, and a supporting cast of familiar faces, but it also demanded audience participation. The story played out on a stage decorated with a few props and