Next month, visitors to the Venice Film Festival will have the opportunity to view the life of Christ like never before: in 360 degree virtual reality, just as God intended. “Jesus VR” is a virtual reality film depicting the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in 360°, crystal-clear video and sound. The 90-minute film will be available just in time for Christmas — for those wealthy enough to own a VR system — but a 40-minute clip will be available to film... Read more
If you’ve read this site for awhile, you’re likely aware that, despite my interest in films about faith, the “God’s Not Dead” films and I are not on the best terms. I called the first movie dangerous and offensive. And while I thought this year’s “God’s Not Dead 2” was a tad gentler, it still didn’t work for me. But there was improvement! And maybe, I thought, the series could continue to get better over future films. Alas, despite a post-credit tease that... Read more
“Pete’s Dragon” returns wonder to family movies. Director David Lowery’s remake of the 1977 Disney musical ditches the songs and slapstick and spins a gentle tale of friendship, family, healing and faith. Told with beauty and charm, it’s one of the best family films in a year filled with great ones, and a reminder that Disney knows the key to effective remakes — hiring directors who can find a story’s soul. Lowery relocates the tale from a Maine fishing seaport to... Read more
Back when I started this blog, I created a list of some of my favorite critics. Top of that list was Drew McWeeny, who writes the Motion Captured blog for HitFix. I’ve been following Drew’s writing since his Ain’t It Cool News days, and he is one of the critics I most trust. I don’t always agree with his opinions — although, more often than not, we share sensibilities — but I always understand where he’s coming from. And as I said... Read more
The best show on television right now is a cartoon about an alcoholic horse. Three seasons in, and Netflix’s “BoJack Horseman” is still a hard sell to my friends. Some raise an eyebrow over yet another adult cartoon about characters behaving badly. My friends who are up for some edgy humor raise the other eyebrow when I tell them that the show regularly goes beyond coarse jokes and wonderfully bad puns to a place of contemplative silence and existential angst.... Read more
If you read my July wrap up, you know that I’ve been obsessed with Netflix’s new series, “Stranger Things.” I’m not alone; you can’t go online without another entertainment site talking about the Duffer Brothers’ creepy love letter to the 1980s. I can’t remember the last time I raced through a show so quickly; maybe “Breaking Bad.” My wife and I finished the show in a three-episode marathon Sunday night, and my first impulse was to watch it again (I... Read more
I cannot believe we’re at the end of August already. We’re having an incredibly busy summer here, with family events, vacations, busy work schedules and more, and it’s hard to accept that there’s only a month left before we have to start shifting gears into fall. There was quite a bit going on in July, and I’m amazed that I still found time to write anything at all, let alone consume more media to write about here. So, let’s get... Read more
The most disappointing thing about “Jason Bourne” is the feeling that we’ve seen it all before. In the early 2000s, the “Bourne” trilogy reinvigorated action cinema. After years of glossy, over-the-top action thrillers, Matt Damon and directors Doug Liman and Paul Greengrass melded post-9/11 unease with brutal, camera-shaking action to create one of that decade’s most memorable franchises. Based loosely on Robert Ludlum’s best-sellers, the films were vital, exciting and relevant, delivering escapist action through the filter of the day’s... Read more
Early in “Gleason,” former football player Steve Gleason, who is beginning to experience the first effects of ALS, visits a faith healer. Steve’s father, clinging tightly to his fundamentalist teachings, believes that the preacher can cure his son. The speaker asks those who want to be healed to put their hands behind their heads and sing “It’s the end of my pain as I know it,” to the tune of REM’s “It’s the End of the World as We Know... Read more
This past week, our world tiptoed closer to dystopia. A fear-mongering bully officially became the Republican presidential nominee. His wife gave a speech many believe was plagiarized. Racial tension continued to divide Americans and violence spilled out in cities across the world. I was blissfully unaware of all this. I was riding roller coasters with my wife and eating ice cream with my son. It was time for a much-needed vacation this week, so we dropped the baby with... Read more
Chrisicisms
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In