Last week, I wrote a short review of Seconds and the “what-if-ness” of cinema.  This weekend, I watched a recent dark comedy, Cold Souls, that blends reality and the “what if” in really interesting ways. (more…) Read more

“What if” is the basis of cinema.  All filmmakers, to some degree, ask themselves this question.  Their success, in part, relies on their ability to answer that question.  “What if” plays a significant part of our daily lives as well.   Hopefully, we live our lives in such a way that those “what ifs” don’t plague us.  I came across an old film recently that takes an interesting approach to this notion,  John Frankenheimer‘s Seconds (1966). (more…) Read more

Marion Grau, Professor of Theology at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, makes her first (and hopefully not last!) contribution to Pop Theology on the cult classic, The Fifth Element.  Check it out after the jump.  Thanks Marion! (more…) Read more

Thankfully, in the recent publication, Halos and Avatars:  Playing Video Games With God, editor Craig Detweiler and his contributors forego the well-worn arguments of whether or not video games promote violence and take a deeper look at their theological and spiritual potential.  A Belgian film, Ben X, reveals such potential while continuing to raise questions about video games as violence-inducing or as a location to vent pent-up violence. (more…) Read more

Martin Scorsese has provided us with some of the most memorable films, and moments, in the history of cinema, many of which demand multiple viewings.  While his latest film, Shutter Island, is not one of those historical classics, it is by no means a disappointment, thanks in large part to an engrossing story by Dennis Lehane. (more…) Read more