Should I throw myself into the latest Oz tornado? I'm reluctant. And most of the reviewers I trust — even those who are big fans of L. Frank Baum's Oz stories — are frustrated with Sam Raimi's Oz the Great and Powerful. If you're looking for guidance, I recommend, above all, Steven Greydanus's review. He writes... … [Read more...]
A Looking Closer Film Forum is an evolving "conversation" among critics... a "round-table" review of perspectives from critics I regularly consult as I revise my list of viewing priorities. I haven't seen the film yet, but these reviews have intrigued me. Check back from time to time, as I may add more reviews to the list. … [Read more...]
A Looking Closer Film Forum is an evolving “conversation” among critics… a “round-table” review of perspectives from critics I regularly consult as I revise my list of viewing priorities. I haven’t seen the film yet, but these reviews have intrigued me. Check back from time to time, as I may add more reviews to the list. The Grey It looks like we have the makings of a debate between these first two reviewers. … [Read more...]
I haven't seen The Princess and the Frog yet, but I'm on the lookout for opinions from thoughtful critics. Check back, for I'll post them as I find them. Steven D. Greydanus, National Register: The Princess and the Frog is the first real classic Disney of the 21st century. ... None of the studio’s cartoons of the last 15 years or so has had both feet firmly in the tradition represented by golden-age masterpieces like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White as well as “silver age” … [Read more...]
I'm not allowed to post my review of this film before its release date, due to studio policies. So I'll wait. In the meantime, here are some reviews that have been online for a while now... 1. Amiable and innocuous, Up in the Air offers a disingenuously smooth flight over choppy waters and rugged terrain. ... Up in the Air is neither funny enough to be a straight comedy nor serious enough to be a telling drama about the human toll wrought by economic crisis. Instead, the film is merely a … [Read more...]
This is collection of reviews that I found interesting and helpful. The collection will be revised as I find more notable assessments online. Feel free to submit more reviews, or even your own, in the comments below. TROPIC THUNDER Anthony Lane - New Yorker: After the dazzle of the early scenes, something droops and flags in Tropic Thunder. ... As a jab at the movie business, Tropic Thunder is flailing and unfocussed, hardly in the league of The Player, and if you want an expos√© of … [Read more...]
What a wide range of responses I'm seeing for Henry Poole is Here... … [Read more...]
Congratulations to my good friend Alissa Wilkinson, who makes her debut as a Christianity Today Movies film critic today with a 3 1/2 - star review for Brideshead Revisited: … [Read more...]
This is collection of reviews that I found interesting and helpful. The collection will be revised as I find more notable assessments online. Feel free to submit more reviews, or even your own, in the comments below. HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY With his newest fantasy, Guillermo Del Toro has earned a place at the table with Jim Henson, George Lucas, Peter Jackson, and Hayao Miyazaki as one of the big screen's most imaginative inventors of new worlds. Hellboy II: The Golden Army is far … [Read more...]
SEX AND THE CITY Courtney: Most of the few Christian voices speaking to the growing single segment of the population offer ten easy steps to find our soulmate. As if it's that wondrously simple. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda, however, show how challenging it really can be for intelligent, accomplished, and admittedly neurotic women to find lasting love. They, unlike many Christians, don't insult my intelligence. Instead they speak to the complexities of relationships in a … [Read more...]
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“Jeffrey Overstreet is a witness. While habituating the dark caves of movie theaters, he gives articulate witness to what I too often miss in those caves — the contours of God’s creation and the language of Christ’s salvation. … I find him a delightful and most percipient companion — a faithful Christian witness.”- Eugene Peterson, author of The Message and Tell It Slant, on Overstreet’s moviegoing memoir Through a Screen Darkly
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"Jeffrey is ... one of my favorite film critics. He writes with great lucidity and compassion about all sorts of movies, from all sorts of angles, but what I value most about his work is the theological-moral perspective he takes on things. He’s not a dogmatic scold, sifting through popular art looking for work that fits a rigid world view; he’s more interested in Looking Closer, as his blog title suggests, to discover what, if anything, the work is saying." - Matt Zoller Seitz, founder of the film review websites The House Next Door and Press Play (at indieWire) and television critic for New York Magazine-
“Overstreet’s writing is precise and beautiful, and the story is masterfully told.”- Publisher’s Weekly on Overstreet’s novel Auralia’s Colors
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“In Auralia’s Colors, Overstreet masterfully extends the borders of imagination.”- Gina Ochsner, author of The Russian Dreambook of Color and Flight
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“… [T]he spirit of the Inklings is alive and well and at least one living writer could have held his own at their table!”- Dick Staub, author of The Culturally Savvy Christian
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“Jeffrey Overstreet is a trespasser. He’s constantly moving outside of the borders of what church and culture deem to be ironclad, eternal categories (sacred vs. profane, high culture vs. popular culture) — and he has a knack for bringing people along with him. His passport? The imagination. ... When you trespass with Jeffrey Overstreet, you don’t have to ask for forgiveness.” - Image-
EXCUSE OUR DUST: This blog is under construction. Please email Jeffrey if you find broken links or problems. Many reviews, interviews, and posts are still being restored from the past decade of blogging. So check it out: This blog will expand both forward and backward in time. The future is now, and yesterday is not so very far away.-
About Jeffrey Overstreet-
About Looking Closer: An Introduction-
Comment Policy-
Overstreet on Tour: Speaking Calendar-
Some Favorite Quotes-
Some Favorite Sites-
"Mystery & Message," by Michael Demkowicz-
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