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.

On Movies & Media

Overstreet's 39 Favorite Films of 2020

Consider this a travel journal full of wonders, escapes, thrills, wisdom, and revelation. These are the films that blessed and challenged me most in 2020. Most of them are easily accessible now and you can enjoy them and share them. Take your time and explore.

Give Me Some Light

This Is Chad Hartigan: a conversation with the director of "Little Fish"

In this episode of the Looking Closer podcast, filmmaker Chad Hartigan talks about his new sci-fi love story "Little Fish," its focus on the power of memory, and what it was like to make a pandemic-focused movie just in time for a real pandemic.

On Songs & Albums

Favorite Recordings of 2020: Part 3 (#20–#1)

[This post is dedicated to the Looking Closer Specialists — especially Laure Hittle, Timothy Grant, and Winston Chow — whose contributions make this website possible.] The word for this year was survive. The Holy Scriptures caution us that with increasing wisdom comes increasing pain, and that to love is to suffer. The

Journal

I approve this message from Governor "Conan the Anti-Authoritarian" Schwarzenegger

On Songs & Albums

Favorite Recordings of 2020: Part 2 (#35–#21)

The countdown continues! Having listed my Honorable Mentions, I move on to my list of 35 favorite recordings from 2020. This post counts down #35–#21.

Favorite Recordings of 2020: Part 1 (Honorable Mentions)

Every year for decades I've posted annual lists of favorite albums here. I'm taking things up a notch, with a longer list and more links to specific tracks than ever before. Here's Part One of three posts on my favorite recordings of 2020. Put on your headphones and make some discoveries!

Film Review

Oscar-bait extravagance: Mank is a mess

In David Fincher's much-anticipated epic about the origins of Citizen Kane, its political context, and its troubled screenwriter, so much artistry is spent on ambitious and extravagant scenes. But there's no magic happening here.