Chris Caldwell

Join me for two special screenings of Prospect in Seattle

At two special Seattle screenings of the sci-fi thriller Prospect, I will interview filmmakers Zeek Earl and Christopher Caldwell. You're invited!

On Movies & Media

Puzzle (2018)

This film looks like a movie made from far-too-familiar pieces. Instead, Puzzle is a delightful and rewarding surprise.

On Movies & Media

Dead Poets Society and the Legacy of Dr. Luke Reinsma

Four years ago this week, I wrote about how I had changed my mind about "Dead Poets Society." This week, I re-post it as a tribute to my favorite professor.

Arrival

A great film about linguistics has arrived...

"There is nothing novel about isolationism," says Dr. Kathryn Bartholomew, professor emeritus of languages and linguistics. "It’s the contrary, hospitality, that surprises and delights us." Can you guess which recent sci-fi film inspired this observation?

On Movies & Media

Three Identical Strangers (2018)

Three Identical Strangers is about the joys of brotherhood, the importance of free information and effective journalism, the difference between nature and nurture, and the dangers of science unchecked by conscience.

On Movies & Media

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Crazy Rich Asians is a Cinderella story in which someone much richer than most of us discovers that wealth is relative, and she might not measure up to the standards of China's super-rich.

On Movies & Media

Eighth Grade (2018)

If "Love is attention," like they say in Lady Bird, then the secret of Eighth Grade is the love it shows its central character: 13-year-old Kayla.

On Movies & Media

Mission: Impossible — Fallout (2018)

While Mission: Impossible—Fallout played, I loved every minute of it. But afterward, I had an itch that I couldn't scratch. I wrote this to scratch it.

On Songs & Albums

Hearts Beat Loud (2018)

Just what the summer movie season needed: a light, fun, frivolous 90 minutes in a record store with Nick Offerman.

On Movies & Media

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

I'm not likely to see a more memorable, meaningful movie all year. Neither are you.

On Movies & Media

Dreaming of making a movie?

I've just learned about The Pitch, a new competition for aspiring filmmakers that will award some talented visionary a substantial financial boost to make their movie. I'm going to spread the word to the aspiring filmmakers among my students at Seattle Pacific University, but you should

On Movies & Media

Leave No Trace (2018)

From the director of Winter's Bone, Leave No Trace is a powerful portrait of a father and daughter that asks us what price we're willing to pay in order to live with integrity and freedom.

On Movies & Media

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

If you're here to read a review of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, I happily refer you to Steven D. Greydanus at Decent Films, who gives it a 'C+' — a higher grade than I'd anticipated.

On Movies & Media

The Rider (2018)

You've probably seen history's first "motion picture." Today, it looks like the first animated GIF, but in 1878 is must have seemed like sorcery: a bright window appeared on a dark wall, revealing a horse and rider in full gallop — a man and an

On Movies & Media

Incredibles 2 (2018)

Incredibles 2 suffers a bit from a predictable twist and from themes that get, like Elastigirl, bent out of shape. But it's still the most sensational action movie of the year so far.

Film Review

First Reformed (2018)

The most invigorating subject of discussion at the movies this year is also a difficult and, for me, frustrating film.

Ocean's 8 (2018)

Ocean's 8 should've been a blast. It's a missed opportunity in so many ways.

On Movies & Media

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

If I told you that Frodo first met Samwise Gamgee in a mud-wrestling match behind a Hobbiton tavern called "Half-Pints," would you believe me? Of course not. Why? Because it's a dumb idea, and one too lazily contrived. It fills in a detail that&

Film Forum

Pope Francis: A Man of His Word — a Looking Closer film forum

Can a documentary about the Pope give us a complex, nuanced, truthful vision that is more than just a vehicle for a message?

Journal

Three qualities of beauty

I think I might just scrap all of my syllabus explanations regarding how I grade essays and short stories in my writing classes. I'll just replace those with this passage from Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose: For three things concur in creating beauty: first

Film Review

Prospect (2018)

Anne and I have just returned, delirious with amazement, from a rainforest on a distant planet. That is to say... my wife and I have just enjoyed the privilege of attending a filmmakers' hometown preview screening of Prospect. Granted, this kind of movie isn't for everybody: It&

On Movies & Media

Game Night (2018)

For friends and weekend parties, Game Night is bound to become a movie-night favorite.

Interviews

The Theology of the Coen Brothers? A Conversation Between Matt Zoller Seitz and Jeffrey Overstreet

Originally titled "O Coen Brothers, Where Art God?", this is my conversation with Matt Zoller Seitz about theology, Raising Arizona, morality, Fargo, good and evil, The Big Lebowski, and so much more.

Film Review

Ready Player One (2018)

Spielberg gets lost in nostalgia, serving up a flashy but frustrating contradiction.

On Movies & Media

Praising Paul, Apostle of Christ

Justin Chang and Steven Greydanus are impressed with "Paul, Apostle of Christ."