J. Robert Parks weighs in again, this time on three beastly films: It's a summer for penguins at the movie theater. The documentary March of the Penguins has become one of the biggest arthouse hits in recent years, so much so that its studio is rolling it out into almost 2000 theaters this weekend, hoping to push it into blockbuster territory. Furthermore, almost every other day someone stops me on the street and asks me if I've seen the film and what I think about it. I respond that I like … [Read more...]
Grizzly Man, March of the Penguins, Duma (2005) – A Guest Review by J. Robert Parks
August 12, 2005 By 9 Comments
The Edukators (2004) – A Guest Review by J. Robert Parks
August 12, 2005 By 1 Comment
Seems like J. Robert Parks is seeing all of the great films this year, while I sit and wait for them to show in Seattle... Here he goes again, raving about another must-see: The Edukators. The month of August is not usually a banner month for cinema. Hollywood will release some of its worst films in the next few weeks, assuming that most people are either on vacation or getting ready for school and, therefore, aren't going to the movies anyway. But in Chicago at least, these last weeks of … [Read more...]
Broken Flowers (2005)
August 5, 2005 By
Jeffrey's review of Broken Flowers was published at Christianity Today in August 2005. … [Read more...]
Crash (2005)
May 6, 2005 By
This review was originally published at Christianity Today in May 2005. - Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day is a classic children's story about a day in which everything that can go wrong does go wrong for a young disgruntled kid. Paul Haggis's first film Crash is similar, only it's about the whole city of Los Angeles having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. … [Read more...]
Millions (2004)
April 11, 2005 By
This review was originally published at Christianity Today on March 11, 2005. - A particularly reliable source once said, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." When he said this, he was referring to children like Damian. Damian is the young hero of Millions, and you've never encountered a hero quite like him. Unlike the Bart Simpsons and Malcolms in the middle of most family entertainment, Damian is not a … [Read more...]
Dogville (2004)
March 27, 2005 By
This review was originally published at Christianity Today on March 26, 2004. - There is an unforgettable scene in Dogville. It is unconventional, risky, unsettling, and it sums up writer/director Lars von Trier's rage against human hard-heartedness. In a wordless moment, the camera, the actors, the stage and the silence offer us a sobering observation. All that comes before it has set the stage for this moment, when the movie makes its chilling revelation. Like Jesus' parable of the … [Read more...]
In My Country (2005)
March 21, 2005 By
This review of In My Country was originally published at Christianity Today in March 2005. - South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings deserve a film like Schindler's List or Hotel Rwanda—something that brings that historical drama to life in a way that helps us shoulder the burden of history and walk away wiser. In My Country tries to be that film, but falls short. The hearings, which started in 1996 and lasted two years, gave more than 20,000 witnesses a chance … [Read more...]
Be Cool (2005)
March 4, 2005 By
This review was originally published in March 2005 at Christianity Today. - Be Cool, directed by F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job), tries to strike the cocky pose of its 1995 predecessor, Barry Sonnenfeld's Get Shorty, and other show-biz satires like The Player. But above all, it alludes to Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, with its dimwitted gangsters, glamorous ne'er-do-wells, gunslinging face-offs, painful ironies, and its centerpiece John Travolta/Uma Thurman dance floor flourish. So, … [Read more...]
Assault on Precinct 13 (2005)
January 19, 2005 By
[This review was originally published in January 2005 at Christianity Today.] - Soon after the opening credits of director Jean–François Richet's Assault on Precinct 13, a gangster resembling Morpheus from The Matrix sits down near the back of a crowded church. The morning's sermon is a simple lesson: "Cherish your power to choose the righteous path." This cynical churchgoer quickly disobeys. The church is quickly thrown into chaos. As the Detroit police close in for his capture, a … [Read more...]
Buechner (2005)
January 1, 2005 By
[These comments were originally published in an installment of Film Forum column at Christianity Today in January 2005.] - Buechner ... is simply a conversation with the subject. If that's what you're looking for, you won't be disappointed. On the first day of the war in Iraq, Rob and Molly Collins sat down with one of their heroes — the writer and ordained Presbyterian minister, Frederick Buechner. The cameras rolled, and the result is a thought-provoking conversation with the … [Read more...]
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