Interviews

A Novelist, A Horror Filmmaker, and Two Critics: Conversations Worth Hearing

Scott Derrickson, Alissa Wilkinson, Sara Zarr, Steven Greydanus... listen to all of these inspiring Christians talking to each other about art and criticism!

On Movies & Media

Viewer Discussion Advised! 12 Steps to More Rewarding Moviegoing

Share this with your family and friends. Make a copy for your pastor. And start your own church-basement movie club! But be sneaky about it. The first rule of Sight Club is this: Don't talk about Sight Club.

On Movies & Media

The 2014 Looking Closer Beauty Pageant - Contestant 2: Ewa

"The Immigrant" is going to bless those who love cinema more than entertainment, who want something to think about and talk about instead of something to pass the time.

Film Review

Ida (2014)

Welcome to the 2014 Looking Closer Beauty Pageant. So far this year, I've found four compelling contestants who manifest a different definition of beauty than the one embraced by popular culture. And it should come as no surprise that these characters appear in movies that have barely made a blip at

On Movies & Media

You're Not a Sexist Moviegoer. Or... Are You?

We're about halfway through 2014, and as I look at the Top 20 Box Office hits so far, something troubles me. Where are the substantial leading roles for women? I'm not talking about wicked queens in fairy tales and Hunger Games-style action heroes. I mean women. You know... women who inhabit worlds

Film Review

How to Train Your Dragon 2: How to Spoil a Sequel

This isn't really a review of How to Train Your Dragon 2. It's more of a sigh of disappointment. This movie starts the engines of so many interesting story possibilities, and then devolves into just another "Come at me, bro!" battle spectacle.

Film Forum

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014): A Looking Closer Film Forum

I'm thinking about seeing "How to Train Your Dragon 2." So I'm consulting the opinons of Steven Greydanus, Scott Renshaw, Tasha Robinson, and Susan Wloszczyna...

Dualism

There Are No "Good People" and "Bad People": A Must-Read Response to the Hurt and the Heroism at Seattle Pacific University

What really happened at Seattle Pacific University on Thursday? Did a "bad guy" show up on campus? Did "good guys" overcome him? The following letter was posted on Facebook by Dr. Stamatis Vokos, a professor of physics at Seattle Pacific University. I think it's

Guns

Pray for Seattle Pacific University.

Thursday afternoon: Report 1 - 4:30pm. : I am in a conference room here at Seattle Pacific University with the staff of University Communications — my coworkers — and with some of our amazing student interns, some of whom have been preparing for graduation. Please pray for our community. Over the coming

On Movies & Media

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014): Or, Confessions of an X-Men Ex-Fan

I'm not going to try to talk anybody out of liking "Days of Future Past." I can see why it's getting such great reviews. But in the whole film, I found only one sequence particularly memorable...

On Movies & Media

The Return (2003): Why Moviegoers Everywhere Must Learn to Say "Zvyagintsev"

If you hear film buffs shouting "Zvyagintsev!" in the coming months, do not say "Gesundheit." The proper response is this: "When do I get to see Leviathan?"

Gareth Edwards

Gadzooks! A Godzilla for Malick Fans?

Here are some of the more intriguing paragraphs I've read about Godzilla...

The Force Awakens

Star Wars - Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (1999): Looking Back 15 Years

I know, I know. Take a deep breath. Let go of your anger, young Jedi.

On Movies & Media

Aragorn's Favorite Peter Jackson Movie (Hint: It's Not The Return of the King)

It's another return of the king! Aragorn is back, and he has some kingly wisdom to share with us...

Looking Closer Classic

Ten Years Ago Today...

Just marking the occasion... Seems to me the best way to mark the 10th anniversary of this blog is to point you to the essay that inspired it — a few words about art and discernment written by my friend, mentor, and high school English teacher, the photographer Michael Demkowicz. It&

Letterboxd

30 Must-See Movies for Kids

Featured in a WORD-FM Radio interview, here's my list of more than 30 of my favorite films for children. Do you like lists? I've got more where that one came from...

On Movies & Media

Saving Mr. Banks (2013) ... or Squandering Mr. Hanks

If you want to hang on to that warm "Mary Poppins" feeling, you may just want to stop reading — because "happiness" is about the opposite of how I felt when I finally sat down to watch "Saving Mr. Banks."

On Movies & Media

Only Lovers Left Alive (2014) — Forget Twilight: These Are My Favorite Vampires

We're all vampires. That is to say, we all have particular kinds of "blood" that we seek — sources of sustenance and inspiration that keep our eyes open and our hearts beating in a dark and punishing world. For me, it's a particular kind of

On Movies & Media

Hey, Moviegoers: You're Invited to a Secret Seattle Q&A

If you could meet and interrogate your local film critics, free of charge, would you do it?

Noah

Podcast: Listen as a Theology Professor, an English Professor, an Ordained Minister, and a Film Critic Talk About That Noah Movie

Did the theologian think the movie was "un-Biblical"? Did the English professor think the "rock monsters" in the movie were "stupid"? Did the ordained minister think that God was absent in the film? Did the film critic think it was "the worst Christian movie ever made"?

2005

TEN YEARS! Pt. 2: The Best of Looking Closer - 2005

This blog turns ten years old on May 11, 2014. And this post is Part Two of a ten-post series in which I'm celebrating by reflecting on some of my favorite experiences from Looking Closer's first decade.

Looking Closer Classic

TEN YEARS! Pt. 1: The Best of Looking Closer - 2004

This blog is turning ten! Let's look back a whole decade. What were the highlights here ten years ago?

Elbow

Listen Closer: Joe Henry; Peter Gabriel & Elbow; The Secret Sisters; Hiss Golden Messenger; Belle & Sebastian; Beck Covers Arcade Fire

Sample new music from Joe Henry, Elbow, Hiss Golden Messenger, The Secret Sisters, Belle and Sebastian, and Beck.

Under the Skin

Under the Skin (2014)

Feel free to eavesdrop as I argue with myself upon exiting the theater after seeing Jonathan Glazer's troubling new sci-fi horror film Under the Skin...

Question and Overstreet

Q&O = Question & Overstreet! On Muppets, Korean Cinema, U2, God's Not Dead!, and more.

Q&A time! If you're interested in MFA programs, Korean cinema, Muppets, God's Not Dead, U2, or my dubious opinions... here we go!