Film Reviews - Jeffrey Overstreet (Page 4)

First Position (2011)

[This review was originally published at Good Letters, the Patheos blog hosted by Image.] • All of the dollars and expertise that produced The Avengers, Men in Black 3, and the rest of this summer’s block-busting movie events could never produce a spectacle as wondrous as eleven-year-old Aran Bell dancing

Film Reviews

Chariots of Fire (1981) - Part 2

[This review was originally published at Good Letters, the Patheos blog hosted by Image.] • Maybe it was instinct that sent me back to relive the 1924 Olympic Games. In Part One of this reflection, you found me despairing, feeling a sudden collapse of my lifelong will to write. Slumped on

Film Reviews

Chariots of Fire (1981): Part 1

[This review was originally published at Good Letters, the Patheos blog hosted by Image.] • So, why Chariots of Fire? Why is that what I chose for tonight’s movie? Netflix is recommending all kinds of recent, highly rated titles. Why revisit this old DVD? It happened like this: Two hours

Film Reviews

Brave (2012)

My review of Brave is published at Seattle Pacific University's Response magazine. Here's how it starts: Please avoid reading reviews of Brave before you see it for yourself. That sounds like strange advice from a critic, I know. But many who have reviewed Pixar’s new

Film Reviews

Take Shelter (2011) and Movies About the End of the World

In "At World's End: The Age of the Apocalypse Movie," an article published at Seattle Pacific University's Response magazine, I consider Take Shelter and other films that show an increasing obsession with the end of the world.

Film Reviews

The Avengers (2012)

My review of The Avengers is published at Filmwell.

Film Reviews

Lourdes (2009)

[This review was originally published at Good Letters, the blog hosted by Image.] • Caution: Lourdes is a movie that may complicate your prayers. And prayer is complicated enough already, isn’t it? You’re probably familiar with scriptures that advise us how to pray. I’m embarrassed to admit it,

Film Reviews

Blue Like Jazz (2012)

This review of Blue Like Jazz was originally published at Filmwell, where it sparked many comments. • Blue Like Jazz, the new film by director Steve Taylor, is based on Donald Miller’s New York Times-bestselling memoir. It’s the biggest filmmaking success story in the history of the Kickstarter program,

Film Reviews

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

Before I go any farther, please accept this caution: If you don’t want this movie's surprises to be spoiled, you would be wise to avoid almost all reviews of The Cabin in the Woods. Here’s my promise to you: I’ll strive to avoid spoiling any

Film Reviews

The Kid With a Bike (2011)

My review of The Kid With a Bike is published at Good Letters, the blog hosted by Image.

Film Reviews

The Hunger Games (2012)

My review of The Hunger Games is up! It's actually a collaborative review with Seattle Pacific University's Response magazine editor Hannah Notess, published at Response. UPDATE: Some responses to the review are starting to show up on my Facebook page.

Film Reviews

Casa de Mi Padre (2012)

Sketch comedy artists like Will Ferrell face a challenge when they make the leap to the big screen. Can they come up with an idea that is substantial enough to last the length of a feature film? If they do, can they succeed again? Steve Martin may have set the

Film Reviews

John Carter (2012)

"Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse." That’s how C.S. Lewis famously stated the question each man and woman must answer about the Messiah, the savior from heaven, whose initials are J.C. Others have since

Film Reviews

Of Gods and Men (2010): a review and film forum

At Seattle's Harvard Exit theatre last March, I witnessed a rare and wonderful thing on the big screen — a thoughtful portrayal of devout Christians putting their faith into practice. I was caught off guard. I've developed a serious allergy to "Christian movies." They usually

Film Reviews

Pina (2011)

My review of Wim Wenders' 3D tribute to Pina Bausch was originally published at Good Letters, the blog belonging to Image. A woman wearing little more than an accordion stands on stage and shouts, “Soon it will be spring again!” What an inspiring announcement. The world’s dark stage

Film Reviews

War Horse (2011)

[This review was originally published at Good Letters, the blog hosted by Image.] • Was there a horse story in your childhood? My wife Anne cherished Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, C.W. Anderson’sThe Blind Connemara, and Marguerite Henry’s Stormy and White Stallion of Lipizza. When she wasn’t

Film Reviews

Lucky Life (2010)

Lucky Life is now streaming at Hulu. My review was originally published at Good Letters, the Image blog. • I’ve been waiting for a chance to share this movie with you for two years. In Lucky Life, the new film by Lee Isaac Chung, three friends—a writer named Mark,

Film Reviews

The Artist (2011)

[This review was originally published at Filmwell.] It happens every January — movie ads fill up with boasts about awards they’ve won. In a few days, those boasts will start to include Oscar nominations. And The Artist is currently the most boastful of all. Filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius’s tribute to

Film Reviews

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn (2011)

In the opening scenes of The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, the new 3D motion-capture-powered animated spectacle from director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson, one character in an open marketplace happily informs a stranger, “Everybody knows him. That’s Tintin.” And yet, after two hours of nearly

Film Reviews

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

It is a pleasure to report that director Brad Bird's Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was worth every penny of the high ticket price I will pay to see it a second and third time. In this moviegoer's opinion, it's easily the finest installment in

Film Reviews

Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)

Some stories are short for a reason. Dr. Seuss's children's book How the Grinch Stole Christmas tells a simple tale about a mean old grouch who learns that love conquers all. The Grinch hates the Whos, it's as simple as that. But no matter

Film Reviews

The Muppet Movie (1979)

My two-part reflection on The Muppet Movie, and how it changed my life, was originally published at Good Letters, the blog hosted by Image. Those posts are republished here with permission. • Part One Plunk-ah PLUNK-AH PLUNK-AH Plunk-ah PLUNNG! It may be the simplest pop-song hook I’ve ever heard. I

Film Reviews

My Week with Marilyn (2011)

My review of My Week with Marilyn is up at Good Letters, the daily blog at Image.

Film Reviews

The Muppets (2011)

Once upon a time — 1979, to be exact — along a freeway in the southwest, a car carrying the Muppets broke down. And their pursuit of a dream (“to make millions of people happy!”) came to a crashing halt. So they built a campfire beside their broken-down car. Kermit the Frog

Film Reviews

Chunhyang (2000): a capsule review

Chunhyang feels like an ancient fairy tale that has been given a fresh coat of paint. Unfortunately, the paint is the most interesting part. The narrative, told in the broadest of strokes, offers few surprises. The story follows a young prince who falls for Chunhyang, a courtesan's daughter,