On Songs & Albums

Sunday Song: Sault return with "Nine" songs of lament, luxuriant pop, and hope

They've done it again. That mysterious collaboration of London artists called Sault, who released a one-two punch of albums in 2020 that became my favorite records of the year — Untitled (Black Is) and Untitled (Rise) — have surprised us with another album in 2021. Nine is shorter, but it&

Podcast

The secrets of Cartoon Saloon's success: a talk with Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey

In the latest episode of Looking Closer with Jeffrey Overstreet: The Podcast, Dr. Lindsay Marshall and I talk with the world-class animators and storytellers Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey, makers of The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, The Breadwinner, and Wolfwalkers. You can listen to it here: This

On Books & Writing

Whale Writer: Peter Wayne Moe on his passion for whales, writing, and teaching

If you are on the hunt for great books about writing, great books about teaching, great books about faith, or great books about whales — yes, whales — have I got a recommendation for you!

Podcast

So Much Love: a conversation with Lowland Hum about their reinvention of a Peter Gabriel album

In which I talk with Daniel and Lauren Goans of the band Lowland Hum about how and why they made the most of their pandemic lockdown by re-recording a classic Peter Gabriel album.

Sunday Song: Listening Closer to Rhiannon Giddens and Nick Cave

Here are two of my favorite 2021 songs so far, one from Rhiannon Giddens, the other from Nick Cave.

Film Review

A Quiet Place Part II (2021)

Krasinski's follow-up to his smash-hit sci-fi thriller works like a charm — mostly because it's made up of familiar sequences that worked like a charm in better movies.

Film Review

In the Heights (2021)

Full disclosure: I'm not a big fan of Hamilton. And I think it's important you know that before I dare to offer any thoughts on In the Heights. Undoubtedly, the circumstances of my first Hamilton viewing — on my home television via Disney+, rather than in a

On Movies & Media

Wrath of Man (2021)

Guy Ritchie's latest is a standout surprise in his filmography: It doesn't make violence seem fun. Perhaps I'm damning it with faint praise, but these days it seems like a refreshing change of pace to suggest that men with guns end up miserable even if they hit their marks.

On Songs & Albums

Sunday Song: Listening Closer to Jon Batiste and Allison Russell

A new feature at Looking Closer — "Sunday Song" — will feature one or two recent releases that are in frequent rotation during my weekday commute jam session. Here are two of my favorite 2021 songs so far, from Jon Batiste and Allison Russell.

Film Review

Overstreet Archives: The Clearing (2004)

Here's one from the dusty basement that might not be more than a reminder that even the greatest actors sometimes sign on to forgettable projects.

Persuade Me: Should I see A Quiet Place Part II... or not?

I'm not making a priority of seeing A Quiet Place Part II. You're invited to try to change my mind.

Film Review

Overstreet Archives: The Station Agent (2016)

Posted at Looking Closer for the first time, here is Overstreet's 2016 reflection on Tom McCarthy's The Station Agent.

Film Review

Overlooked by Overstreet: Get Shorty (1995)

This week, I found myself enjoying — to some extent — an unexpected reunion with a mid-'90s hit that I never got around to reviewing. So here's a look back at a film that is now more than a quarter-of-a-century old.

Film Review

The Truffle Hunters (2021)

This documentary glimpse of a disappearing world — where fortune hunters and their dogs explore and dig for pungent, savory gold — is worth a look, but it also feels like a missed opportunity for poetry and transcendence.

Film Review

Together Together (2021)

Behold — the invention of the "non-rom-com": a genre for stories about loving-but-platonic relationships between men and women!

Film Review

The Courier (2021)

Our screens are so over-saturated with superheroes these days that we're in danger of forgetting what real heroes look like. Superpowers are exciting — but they're also shortcuts. They show us what we might dream of becoming. But let me put it this way: I lost interest

On Movies & Media

Tenet (2020)

Christopher Nolan's movie was meant to restore our enthusiasm for big-screen cinema. So why do I think it's best watched on a laptop?

Film Review

Nomadland (2020)

Several years ago, I wandered down to the reading room of Laity Lodge, a Texas conference center. I knew it to be the quietest, most restful place at the Lodge, and I needed a break after a few days of constant conversations with other writers. The reading room has an

Film Review

Lee Isaac Chung Week, Day Five: a review of Abigail Harm

Lee Isaac Chung's strangest film isn't easy to watch. Nor is it easy to forget. But it is well worth seeking out for its cautionary tale of a compromising love affair, mystical visitors from "up there," and the dangers of self-isolation.

Lee Isaac Chung Week, Day Four: two epic conversations with the director of Minari

In June of 2009, I met Lee Isaac Chung for the first time. We talked about his first feature film Munyurangabo. Nine summers later, I sat down with Chung to talk again — this time about his unpredictable and surprising journeys since then. The recording of that interview is now available for you tha

On Movies & Media

Lee Isaac Chung Week, Day Three: reviews of his first two films

I stared writing about the films of Lee Isaac Chung more than a decade ago. Now that Minari is finally earning him the attention he has long deserved, it would be interesting to revisit those conversations and reviews. Here are the reviews. The conversations are coming tomorrow.

Lee Isaac Chung

Lee Issac Chung Week, Day Two: Retrospectives

Minari director Lee Isaac Chung has a new essay in the L.A. Times. Have you been reading Looking Closer for the decade that has passed since he shared an essay with us? Here it is again: "Retrospectives."

Film Review

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

Compelling, occasionally impressive in its cinematographic finesse, occasionally obvious in its allusions, often too familiar in its form, eventually painful in its truth-telling, this flashy new film is, ultimately, a necessary testimony.

Lee Isaac Chung

Lee Isaac Chung Week: Day One

This week, I'm celebrating the theatrical and streaming release of "Minari" in honor of filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung. We'll get it started with just a clip from a 2010 interview that will set some of the context for my appreciation of this filmmaker.

On Books & Writing

In space, no one can hear you scream. But on a podcast?

Listen to the latest episode of Looking Closer, which features a conversation with Sarah Welch-Larson about her new book on the theological implications of the Alien franchise.