Sam Phillips

A Good Week for Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips'ss Long Play experiment was one of the most rewarding experiences of 2010 for me. Phillips provided so much creative, inspiring music that I hardly had time to learn the lyrics of one album before another one arrived. The music she recorded in 2010 is still surprising

U2

Fingertips: Wendell Berry; Submarine and Buck; U2 documentary; Feist; Ollabelle; Favorite Film of 2010 now on Blu-Ray; Philip Seymour Hoffman; Cinderella; and more.

Here are several fingertips, poking at you until you poke at the links I've discovered... Thanks to Mike Morrell for tweeting this: Wendell Berryhttp://t.co/1DWUpfS • I'm enjoying the new film reviews by Lauren Wilford, who published a review of Submarine at Image, and a

Anne M. Doe Overstreet

"Surviving the Open Heart" and interviews with Anne

You never know what you'll find in the process of open heart surgery. My wife Anne found one of her best pieces of writing... It went like this. Several years ago, my wife Anne and I traveled to be with her family as her father underwent open heart

On Books & Writing

Come write with me.

Gregory Wolfe. David Dark. Julia Kasdorf. Jill Phillips. Andy Gullahorn. And me. At one of the most beautiful spots on earth. Ready to talk with you about your writing — fiction, nonfiction, poetry, songwriting — on a weekend retreat. Will you join us September 29? Read on for details about my workshop.

On Movies & Media

The Seattle cinema scene still has a heartbeat

I heart The Seattle International Film Festival. Why? Seattle's cinema scene has suffered lately, with the closure of two important, historic theaters: the Neptune and the Uptown. The Neptune is now a concert venue... and a good one. But still, it was a sad thing to lose such

On Movies & Media

Looking back at Glen West 2011: Six movies in five days.

The theme of the 2011 Glen Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico was "Acts of Attention: Art as Discovery." It lived up to the name. For seven days, Gregory Wolfe and the Image team served up a feast of art, insight, exploration, discussion, and discoveries. I've

On Movies & Media

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

My first impressions of Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, winner of the 2010 Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, are published at Image, on the blog called Good Letters.

On Movies & Media

127 Hours (2010)

[This capsule review was originally published at Seattle Pacific University's Response website.] Imagine falling into a crack in the earth, and getting trapped there for several days, your arm pinned by an immovable boulder. Such a calamity would probably test your faith. Would you question the existence of

On Movies & Media

The King's Speech (2010)

[This review by Jeffrey Overstreet appeared in abridged versions at Image and at Seattle Pacific University's Response.] * Tom Hooper’s movie The King's Speech is made of close-ups. And that makes sense. It’s about a speech impediment, one that almost prevented the Duke of

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

🗓️This review was originally published at Good Letters, the Image blog. It is reprinted here with permission. Doc Brown might disagree, but Hollywood says you don’t need a DeLorean to visit the past. This summer, your local cineplex is offering time travel at twelve bucks a ticket. In my

Overstreet's Books

Auralia goes camping! Then, she goes to the Hollywood Bowl!

Where have you discovered The Auralia Thread lately? How about Live at the Hollywood Bowl? My friend Chuck writes to say, The Ale Boy's Feast Wow. It's the next best thing to being there! That's only the first of two stories that surprised me

True Grit

True Grit (2010)

Pieces of this review were originally published in Image and Response. * The Coen Brothers’ first Western gives us three important stories to consider. The first is the story of what happens when a young justice seeker, Mattie Ross, hires the ruthless manhunter Rooster Cogburn to track down the vigilante who

On Movies & Media

Toy Story 3 (2010)

This review was originally published in an abridged version at Good Letters, the blog for Image. * Fifteen years ago, I approached Toy Story with skepticism. A full-length feature animated on computers? I feared it would look fake and robotic, a poor substitute for the hand-drawn brilliance of Disney

Overstreet's Books

Touchstone on Auralia's Colors

Despite my best efforts to remain unnoticed, it seems another reader has somehow found his way to a copy of Auralia's Colors. My thanks to my friend Mary McCleary, who alerted me to a new review... ... by Lars Walker, a novelist himself has just written up a piece

The Muppets

And now for something completely familiar...

Ever suffer from sequelitis? How about the reboot rash? This morning at Image, I reflect on Cars 2, The Muppets, The Smurfs, Winnie the Pooh, Transformers 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, etc, etc, etc...

USA

Freedom on the Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! Let's begin with a few words from Wendell Berry... In our limitless selfishness, we have tried to define “freedom” for example, as an escape from all restraint. But, as my friend Bert Hornback has explained in his book “The Wisdom of Words”, “free” is

Anne M. Doe Overstreet

Delicate Machinery Suspended: Anne M. Doe Overstreet's First Book is Here!

Ladies and gentlemen... you may now order Anne M. Doe Overstreet's first book of poetry: Delicate Machinery Suspended Enjoy! And don't forget to stock up on copies for birthday and Christmas gifts! Also: Choose LIKE on the Amazon page! Follow Anne on Facebook.

On Movies & Media

Cars 2 (2011)

Dear people of Pixar, I've seen the trailer for Brave... It gave me chills. It looks like an enchanting movie. I cannot wait to see it. I'm going to go ahead let my hopes soar, like Carl Fredricksen's balloon-raised house, right up into

Mulholland Drive

Your favorite films of 2001?

So, it’s been ten years… Now that you’ve had a decade to chew on these films, I’d be curious to know what you would now choose as your top 5, 10, or 20 of 2001. It’s a list that includes titles that weren’t accessible in

On Books & Writing

Is Today's Young Adult Literature "Too Dark"?

If you were to ask me that question, I would refer you to my favorite Young Adult novelist: Sara Zarr. And she would say something like this... ...her contribution today to the Good Letters blog.

Facebook

10 Things My Friends and I Said On Facebook Since Friday

It's been a lively weekend on my Facebook page. Are you following the news and conversations there? Choose "LIKE" to do so. Here are some recent comments.... 1. "Whoa, as in, kick ass." * Mick Silva on the news that Danny Elfman and T-Bone

On Movies & Media

Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians (2011)

At a Seattle coffee shop, a friend of mine is talking about an intriguing fellow that both of us know. "Do you know how he pays the bills?" My friend smiles slyly. His half-whisper suggests that our mutual friend is up to something risky. I'm

Benedict Cumberbatch

The Hobbit casts Bard the Guardsman... and Smaug.

Well, for fans of The Hobbit, there have been two more big questions related to casting Peter Jackson's upcoming movie. Who will play Bard the Guardsman, a strong fellow whose skill as an archer becomes very important in the story? And who will give a voice to the

Mike Mills

We're All Beginners

Beginners is a very persuasive film, largely due to nuanced performances—and that includes the charming Jack Russell terrier who plays Arthur, a four-legged grief counselor (via subtitles). Unlikely as it sounds, director Mike Mills weaves all of these emotional storylines together—and anthropomorphizes a canine—without stumbling into

Mike Mills

Beginners (2010)

[This review was originally published at Good Letters, a blog hosted by Image.] • During a lecture last March, I spoke fondly of a friend whom I had recently lost to cancer. Halfway through the anecdote, I suddenly recognized his wife, the mother of his two young children, in the audience,