On Movies & Media

Record-Breaker: 17 Movies in This week's Film Forum

* Which Christian film critic calls The Fountain "a syncretistic mishmash that never addresses core biblical teaching about humanity's sin and our need for a Savior"? * And which one calls it "a brilliantly conceived and executed artistic vision"? * Who said Deja Vu "feels a

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United 93: first impressions

Well, I took a deep breath and watched United 93 during the Seattle snowstorm. And it was just as harrowing as I feared, just as harrowing as it should be. As a recreation of the events, I'd say it's about as perfect a film as we

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Flags of Our Fathers (2006)

This review was originally published at Christianity Today. • "War is hell," they say. So is war propaganda. Both of these observations are powerfully illustrated in Clint Eastwood's new film Flags of Our Fathers, which is based on James Bradley's book about the lives of

Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips's The Turning: Rediscovered at NPR

Today, NPR posted... of all things... a review of the album that was a turning point in my life. The Turning, by Leslie Phillips (now Sam Phillips), continues to win praise for its excellence and vision twenty years after its release, whereas most albums from the contemporary Christian music market

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New York Times on the Jackson/Hobbit Situation

The New York Times is now giving page space to the current troubles in The Shire. It's likely that the smart money is on Jackson still getting the job. We'll see. Why do I care? I love that book. If I could, I would keep The

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Frederica Matthewes-Green on "The Nativity Story"

Here's Frederica, entertaining and insightful as always, with her take on Catherine Hardwicke's The Nativity Story. And there's still time for you to submit questions for me to ask Mike Rich, the screenwriter of the film, this afternoon. (About fifteen more minutes, actually.) My

On Movies & Media

Frederica Matthewes-Green on "The Nativity Story"

Here's Frederica, entertaining and insightful as always, with her take on Catherine Hardwicke's The Nativity Story. And there's still time for you to submit questions for me to ask Mike Rich, the screenwriter of the film, this afternoon. (About fifteen more minutes, actually.) My

On Movies & Media

Keeping the Christ-movie in Christmas

When I worked for the City of Seattle's Department of Construction and Land Use, one of the directors hung pictures of Buddhist temples and Buddha statues all over her office and even outside her office for passers-by to enjoy. I found this strange, since I was told that

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Questions for the writer of "The Nativity Story"?

I'll be interviewing Mike Rich, screenwriter of Finding Forrester, The Rookie, Radio, and The Nativity Story, this afternoon. The guy's being interviewed by all kinds of religious press publications. I'm sure he's heard some questions a hundred time. So I'm

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"The Nativity Story": Gritty realism? Or sentimental, romantic iconography?

Christianity Today's David Neff, in the new issue: The Nativity StoryThe Passion of the Christ. UPDATE: Here's the link to the whole article, which is, in fact, a very positive review. I posted this excerpt because Neff's point here seems to contrast with others

Anne M. Doe Overstreet

Snow Day at Overstreet Headquarters

Anne wisely decided not to sit back and relax on several inches of snow. But I chose otherwise.

The Glen Workshop

Glen Workshop Alert!

Click on the ad* to see the large-sized version. Here comes the 2007 Glen Workshop! *This is the first time a photograph of mine has ever been used in an ad. And it was just a spur-of-the-moment snapshot out the window of Over the Rhine's car.... Thanks to

On Movies & Media

"Promises": A Movie That's More Powerful Now Than It Was When First Released

If you haven't seen Promises, find it and rent it. I've finally condensed my review to a readable size. It was hard to abbreviate my thoughts about it, it's such a beautiful, moving experience.

On Books & Writing

The Gospel According to Jim Wallis

The Washington Post on Jim Wallis... "And when we were done, that Bible was literally in shreds. It was falling apart in my hands. It was a Bible full of holes. I would take it out to preach and say, 'Brothers and sisters, this is our American Bible.

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Quick Looks: "Casino Royale," "The Double Life of Veronique," "Catch a Fire"

It's that time of year again, when there are so many interesting films playing that I just can't keep up with them all. And considering the pile of extra writing projects I'm dealing with right now, I'm farther behind than usual. I

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Film Critic Pet Peeves: "Stranger Than Fiction" Edition

From a Christian film review of Stranger Than Fiction: It is a shame that a film based around such a clever idea couldn’t have been slightly altered to make an otherwise interesting story more palatable for families. Hollywood continues to add in offensive elements that serve no real purpose

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Film Critic Pet Peeves: "The Fountain" Edition

Just ranting about another film criticism pet peeve... Don't you hate it when a critic makes a statement that says, "If you don't agree with me, well, you're just not enlightened like I am"...? When I was a much younger reviewer, I

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Publishers Weekly on "Through a Screen Darkly"

It's not often I steal a line from Darth Vader, but here goes: "This will be a day long remembered." Publishers Weekly has given Through a Screen Darkly a starred review! You can read it here. They give it two thumbs up. Really. See for yourself!

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Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" sequel earns Goldman highest screenplay paycheck ever

Nikke Finke at Deadline: Hollywood reports, Da Vinci Code Meanwhile, the Da Vinci Code pre-quel, Angels and Demons, is coming to the big screen. Finke says: In A&D, Goldsman must make sense of a plot crammed with Vatican intrigue and high-tech drama: it thrusts Langdon together with an

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Robert Altman, Remembered by Friends and Colleagues

A few words about Robert Altman from his friends and colleagues... “I have always admired Robert Altman's films and it was an honor to work with him on A Prairie Home Compasnion. We had so much fun working on that project over the past year and I know

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Opus on "Ikiru"

I was going to just surrender blogging for the rest of the day, due to the loss of Altman, but then I discovered that Opus, one of my daily blog stops, has just published a review of Kurosawa's Ikiru, another one of my favorites, and a film that

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Rest in Peace, Robert Altman

This is a devastating day for anyone who loves great moviemaking. A giant, an innovator, one of the few truly visionary American directors, Robert Altman, director of one of my all-time favorites -- Gosford Park -- has died. No. No no no no no. There aren't enough visionaries

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UPDATED: Jeffrey Wells on New Line's decision against Peter Jackson

Wells has a forceful opinion of the fate of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. (Earlier story here, and further thoughts here.) In short, he thinks New Line has done the right thing, and he's glad that Jackson's out. You may remember I expressed my preference

Darren Aronofsky

My Conversation(s) with Darren Aronofsky ("The Fountain," "Requiem for a Dream")

Earlier this month, I had a long conversation with director Darren Aronofsky, the man responsible for this year's most ambitious sci-fi film The Fountain, and who has also given us Requiem for a Dream and Pi. We talked by telephone about The Fountain, and about how it begs

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An Appeal to MGM: Get Alfonzo Cuaron to Direct "The Hobbit"

Since Peter Jackson has just made it offical... he's not going to direct The Hobbit... the biggest guaranteed blockbuster on the "Coming Soon" list is now in need of a director. MGM is probably going to have directors lined up begging for the job. And I