Brett McCracken has written an excellent commentary for CT Movies on the recent trend in pro-life themes at the movies — focusing not only on Waitress and Knocked Up, the hot topics du jour, but looking back at Children of Men and looking ahead to Bella, and even comparing and contrasting the rise in these themes with the recent box-office failure of ultraviolent films like Hostel Part II and Captivity, the latter of which couldn’t even crack the top ten... Read more

If you are anywhere near Vancouver and have any interest in the effect that Michael Moore’s films have had on the state of current documentaries and/or political discourse, then make a point of catching Manufacturing Dissent at the VanCity Theatre while you still can, i.e. before its final performance Wednesday night. The film, directed by Debbie Melnyk (seen above with Moore) and Rick Caine, is not perfect by any stretch, but it is an absolutely necessary critique of Michael Moore... Read more

It used to be that, if a movie wasn’t screened for critics until the night before the movie opened, it probably meant the movie sucked. Now, it might just mean that the movie was made by 20th Century Fox. The latest case in point: The Simpsons Movie. The Los Angeles Times reports: Some critics won’t get a look at “The Simpsons Movie” until three days before it opens nationally, a strategy Twentieth Century Fox is using to preserve the film’s... Read more

My third report from the junket for Evan Almighty is now up at ChristianWeek. This report is actually the second one that I wrote, but this newspaper usually waits a few weeks before posting the arts columns online, so it’s the third one to hit the internet. Read more

Here’s a funny coincidence. A friend and I were discussing whether my review of A Mighty Heart should have completely avoided any reference to the baggage that Angelina Jolie brings to this film via her offscreen persona, including whether my review should have avoided even the slightest allusion to the celebrity gossip surrounding her. (I think I refrained from getting bogged down in that, but I didn’t think I could avoid mentioning it entirely.) As we were discussing this, I... Read more

How much do you want to bet that “Dr.” Ted Baehr did not get the penis joke at the end of this clip from Ratatouille? Click here if the video file above doesn’t play properly. Read more

My article on ‘Faith and Film’ is now up at The Salvationist. SEP 20 UPDATE: It has now been re-printed by the MB Herald. Read more

Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. Nitro — CDN $1,440,000 — N.AM $1,440,000 — 100%Sicko — CDN $1,150,000 — N.AM $11,452,560 — 10.0%Knocked Up — CDN $12,130,000 — N.AM $132,089,425 — 9.2%Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End — CDN $25,880,000 — N.AM $301,725,691 — 8.6%Live Free or Die Hard — CDN $6,660,000 — N.AM $84,424,123... Read more

My review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is now up at CT Movies. FWIW, I saw the film on Friday afternoon, went to bed very early that night because I was sick, left with my family for Nimpo Lake on Saturday morning, and then wrote the review on Sunday in a cabin besieged by mosquitoes — all while hoping the neighbours really did have the internet connection that I had been told they would have. Not... Read more

Because I’m on a week-long trip through the B.C. interior with the wife and kids, trying out our brand new mini-van. And let the record show that the first movie we popped into our mini-van’s DVD player, to keep the kids distracted last Saturday, was Godspell (1973). I think parts of it were a bit scary for them, though. They liked Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood better. Read more