On Movies & Media

The Hard Work of "Levity": A Conversation with Director Ed Solomon

Ed Solomon's directorial debut — Levity — offers very little of that very thing. And this might surprise moviegoers eager for the latest from the writer of Men in Black and Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Fittingly, the title refers to what's missing from the lives of

Overstreet's Books

Read an Excerpt from Cyndere's Midnight

Prologue A magnificent viscorcat paws at the trunk of the coil tree, yearning for a summer sun spot up in the branches, his black fur glossed from grooming. The cat’s rider, a girl no more than thirteen, slides from his back.Impatient, the cat claws neat lines down through

On Movies & Media

The Passion of the Christ - A Letter to Christians about Mel Gibson's Film

This commentary is a follow-up to my review of The Passion of the Christ. * Most Christian press publications will lavish praise upon Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. They will celebrate the arrival of a film rich with spiritual power, rendered with riveting and even excruciating detail.

On Movies & Media

The Passion of the Christ (2004)

"There is nothing less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only be selection, by elimination, by emphasis that we get at the real meaning of things." - Georgia O'Keeffe * The words “excruciating” and “crucifixion” are related. It’s easy to see why when you

Music Reviews

Overstreet's Favorite Recordings: 2005

I'll admit it. I did not keep up with the world of music the way I have in the past. On average, I listened to a new album every week, but the time I'd planned to spend writing about them was swallowed by film-writing assignments and

Music Reviews

Overstreet's Favorite Recordings: 2006

About this list: Once again, I find myself looking forward to hearing a long list of albums that have come highly      recommended... but I haven't had the time to give them proper attention.      (That's what a full-time job, weekly review-and-column deadlines, and three      book deadlines will

On Movies & Media

Superman Returns (2006) - guest reviewer Greg Wright

This is a guest review by Greg Wright • Has anyone but me noticed that only one letter prevents Superman Returns from being an anagram for Superman Reruns? Dan Brown is to blame for doing this to my mind. Before you think I’ve gone entirely off the deep end, though,

On Movies & Media

The Queen (2006)

Stephen Frears' new film The Queen begins just before that catastrophic car crash, seemingly provoked by pursuing paparazzi, took the lives of Diana, Princess of Wales, and her boyfriend, the rich playboy Dodi Fayed. With an efficient and effective montage of news clips, Frears reminds us (as if we

On Movies & Media

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

An much-abridged version of this review was published at Christianity Today. • In a recent British poll, U2’s song “One” was voted the greatest song of all time. Okay, perhaps it wasn’t a poll of musicians, historians, and songwriters, but of music fans. Still, the poll proves that U2’

Fantasy

What are your favorite fantasy novels... for grownups?

We had a lot of fun a few weeks back considering what the best fantasy novels for young readers might be. That prompted this question from a reader named Melissa: Do you have a similar list for adults?  I've read The Lords of the Rings, Harry Potter, and

Overstreet's Books

Auralia's Favorite Bookstores

Auralia's Favorite Bookstores You can find copies of Auralia's Colors and Cyndere's Midnight at any of your favorite bookstores, but these fantastic stores have been especially supportive in sharing The Auralia Thread with their customers and communities. Many thanks to all of them! * The

Reader Mail

Cyndere in Singapore

Cynthia writes: Hello from hot and humid Singapore! I have become a fan of your blog for about 2 years now. It was introduced by a friend of mine who lives in LA. Generally I don't trust film critics, but I found an unpretentious opinion and style in

On Movies & Media

My Third Conversation with Charlie Kaufman

I first met Charlie Kaufman when he visited Seattle to promote Adaptation. I met him again when he came back to talk about Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. About a week and a half ago, when he returned to Seattle to discuss his fantastic new movie Synecdoche, New York,

Overstreet's Books

Win an Auralia Thread poster!

So... I spilled the beans and mentioned that I have some glorious new posters for The Auralia Thread. And I'm planning to give away ten of them. Want one? Come up with one of the ten most creative blog posts about Auralia's Colors or Cyndere'

Artist's Forum Part Two: The Artists' Compulsion

ARTISTS FORUM The voices of artists on the front lines. Copyright © 2002 by Jeffrey Overstreet Reproduction is forbidden without permission of the author. Contact Jeffrey Overstreet at joverstreet@gmail.com. FORUM THREE: The Artist's Compulsion from The Crossing, The Compelling Issue, published in Summer 1999 featuring: Alan Brozovich,

Artist's Forum Part Two: Artists and Criticism

ARTISTS FORUM The voices of artists on the front lines. Copyright © 2002 by Jeffrey Overstreet Reproduction is forbidden without permission of the author. Contact Jeffrey Overstreet at joverstreet@gmail.com. -from The Crossing, The Critical Issue, published in Winter 1999- featuring: Todd Driscoll, Nancy Dyer, Fritz Liedtke, Chad Sides, Jim

Artist's Forum Part One: Artists and Honesty

ARTISTS FORUM The voices of artists on the front lines. Originally posted in The Crossing. Copyright © 2002 by Jeffrey Overstreet Reproduction is forbidden without permission of the author. Contact Jeffrey Overstreet at joverstreet@gmail.com. FORUM ONE: Artists and "Honesty" -from The Crossing, The Honesty Issue, 1997- featuring:

The Right Frame of Mind: Finding Revelation in Creativity

[This article was originally published in The Crossing in 1999.] • A few years ago "Magic Eye" art became an abrupt phenomenon from galleries to gift shops. People stood staring at posters comprised of little more than spatterings of colored pixels. They’d wait… wait… wait for something to

On Movies & Media

And the Slater Award goes to...

On Christianity Today's "Feedback" page, you'll see a wide range of responses to Peter T. Chattaway's review of the film Save Me. Read the review. Then read the responses. Quite a variety of responses there. Some show evidence that the writers actually

Speaking engagements

Iowa you an explanation.

I'm in Orange City, Iowa. It's like... 20 degrees here, and there's snow on the ground. I'm preparing for my third presentation of the day at Northwestern College. It'll be a public lecture about Christian discernment in the arts. So

On Movies & Media

Body of Lies (2008)

🗓️This review was originally published at Christianity Today. It is reprinted here with permission. Sir Ridley Scott is not only one of the world’s most popular filmmakers — he’s also a visionary. Best known for directing Alien and Blade Runner, two of the most influential sci-fi films ever made,

Concerts

Decemberists, live, tonight on NPR.

The Decemberists live on NPR, tonight!

On Movies & Media

Up! Up! And away we go in a... a balloonhouse.

Buckle up. Pixar's going to lift your spirits.

Politics

Browser, 11/6

First, the previews... [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=299WKQGZl9Q] HD here. <h6><img src="http://lookingcloser.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/the-eyes.thumbnail.jpg" alt="the-eyes.jpg" /> <strong><span style="color:#800000;">The Browser:

Jobs

Wanted: A web designer to work with me (at SPU).

Seattle Pacific University is seeking an experienced Web Designer. Full-time, exempt staff position in University Communications (UC). Responsibilities include: Help to establish and maintain an overall look and feel for the SPU Web site. Help design, develop, and maintain priority areas of the site, and provide guidelines and templates for