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!

God's Not Dead

God's Not Dead (2014): A Looking Closer Film Forum

Now, two of the finest film critics in Christian media agree: There's something quite contrary to the spirit of the Gospel at the heart of the smash-hit "Christian Movie" God's Not Dead.

Noah

Noah (2014): Part Two of a Two-Part Commentary

In which two very different moviegoers wrestle with Noah, and with some of the questions that the movie asks.

Interviews

I'm Singing On the Radio. Forgive Me.

This weekend, I'm a guest on "Tapestry with Mary Hynes" on CBC radio and, in some places, on NPR. Also, on Monday I'll join a panel discussion on "Noah" at The Kindlings Muse. You're invited!

Noah

Noah (2014): Part One of A Two-Part Commentary

Darren Aronofsky made an epic Old Testament movie in which he wrestled with some of humankind's most difficult questions. And Christians responded with admirable attention, grace, intelligence, and humility. Right? No? That didn't happen?

Old Testament

Is It Dangerous? Biblical? Gnostic? Awesome? — Here's All The Noah That's Fit to Print

Let's focus on the reviews of Noah that demonstrate an actual love for movies, an interest in our neighbor Darren Aronofsky, and a willingness to engage his ideas.

Overstreet's Books

Three Years Ago Today, We Raised Our Glasses to the Ale Boy

"This is my favorite fantasy series," says the latest Amazon reviewer of The Ale Boy's Feast, the fourth and final book in my series of fantasy novels called The Auralia Thread. "I recommend it to everyone 13 through 120."

The Grand Budapest Hotel

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

Every scene was like a spectacular frosted pastry with a sharp object baked into the middle of it.

On Movies & Media

Seven Films That the Oscars Forgot

Now would be a great time to catch up with what the Oscars missed. And they missed a lot. Good news: Most of those titles are now easily accessible for you to enjoy at home.

On Movies & Media

Girl Rising (2014)

“I’m told my mother burst into tears when she learned my sex. She set me aside in the dirt.” Amina was born in Afghanistan, but no one made a record of her birth date. Only boys are given that kind of attention. At 11 years old, she was “sold”

Jim Caviezel

The Passion of the Christ: Revisited

Would I now disagree with the review I wrote ten years ago? Would I flinch to read what I wrote back then?

On Movies & Media

What's So Funny? - Part 2

When movies make fun of religious characters, should we laugh?

On Movies & Media

What's So Funny? (Or: Christianity and Comedy are Not Exclusive)

A criminal steals a baby. Are you laughing? A rabbi uses Jesus's name in vain? Is that funny?

On Movies & Media

The Incredibles (and Other 10-Year-Old Films); Jesus Films; Matt Zoller Seitz; Scott Cairns

This week, special thanks go out to Brad Bird, Matt Zoller Seitz, and more. Find out why.

About Looking Closer

Put Your Name in the Credits

Breaking news! The times, they are a-changin' here at Looking Closer with Jeffrey Overstreet. For the first time in more than a decade of blogging, I'm asking for your help. I hate to do this. It's been a pleasure to volunteer my time, energy,

On Movies & Media

Not Gonna Bow: Notes on the Oscars

It appears that a lot of people have completely misunderstood what cinema is for, concluding that it's all some big cockamamie competition.