A (Temporary) Farewell to Film Review Work

January 10, 2013 By 19 Comments
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On this day full of Oscar noise, I'm beginning a sabbatical from film reviewing, except for what I post here. I'm stepping down from my work at Image's Good Letters blog, from my (brand new) job at Reel Spirituality, and from all other review-related assignments outside of my day job at SPU. I do so out of necessity, and feel nothing but gratitude toward those who have encouraged me there. This will be the first time I've lived without film-review deadlines since, well... about 1997. … [Read more...]

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The Best Films of 2012? Here’s the Indiewire 2012 Critics Poll

December 22, 2012 By 1 Comment
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So... was The Master a good movie, or not? What about Lincoln or The Avengers? What about This is 40 or Zero Dark Thirty? This year, I had the honor of becoming one of the film critics rating films for Indiewire. That led to an invitation to vote in their year-end poll on the best films of 2012. 204 film critics voted in this year's Indiewire critics' poll.  … [Read more...]

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A Beautiful Mind (2001)

July 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
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[July 2012 Update: In the buzz of recent Hollywood news, we've learned that Jennifer Connelly will reunite with Russell Crowe for Darren Aronofsky's epic retelling (reinvention?) of the story of Noah, the Ark, and the Deluge. That inspires me to look back at Crowe and Connelly's last collaboration, the Academy Award-winning film A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard. Here's my original review—perhaps "rant" is a more appropriate word—with some minor revisions. It's almost ten years old … [Read more...]

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Oscar Night on Sunday

February 23, 2012 By

On Friday night, in Calgary, AB, I'll be speaking about the Oscars, the movies Oscar overlooked, and taking the road less traveled to a life of rewarding, life-changing, "dangerous" moviegoing. On Saturday night I'll be flying home to Seattle. On Sunday night... … [Read more...]

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Oscar predictions.

February 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Based on my experience of watching and reading about the Academy Awards in past years, here are my Oscar predictions... … [Read more...]

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Thursday is Oscar Day at Seattle Pacific University

January 31, 2012 By

This Thursday at Seattle Pacific University, in the Library's "Thursday Food for Thought" program, I'll be sharing some thoughts on the nine films nominated for Best Picture in this year's Oscar race. … [Read more...]

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What the Oscars Overlooked

March 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Let's revisit the ten films that earned Best Picture nominations. What did they really have to offer? … [Read more...]

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A Live Seattle event: Discuss Oscar’s 10 Best Picture Nominees with Dick Staub, Me, and Others.

January 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Mark your calendars, Seattlites... … [Read more...]

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10 Films. One Oscar. But Are Any of Them Actually Profound?

March 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Did you miss The Kindlings Muse last month? It was a lively conversation covering all ten of the Best Picture nominees. I discussed the ups and downs of the nominees with Dick Staub, Greg Wright, and... … [Read more...]

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The World That the Oscars Forgot, Part One

February 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment

It's hard to believe. But America is not the only country in the world that makes movies. … [Read more...]

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