Artistically and financially, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (hereafter known as ST5:TFF) has long been widely regarded as the least successful film in the Star Trek franchise, at least until Star Trek: Nemesis came out last year. So of course, I approached the “collector’s edition” two-disc DVD set — which came out yesterday, 14 years and a few months after the film came out in theatres — curious to see whether the film’s low reputation would be acknowledged in... Read more
IS MEL Gibson yielding to criticism over his death-of-Christ movie The Passion? In some ways, it seems he might be. Earlier this year, Gibson told reporters Holly McClure and Raymond Arroyo in on-the-set interviews that his film made significant use of the visions of Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich, a 19th-century stigmatic nun. He even cited his seemingly accidental discovery of The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, a published record of her visions, as a sign that he had... Read more
THE PASSION, Mel Gibson’s much-hyped movie about the events leading to the death of Christ, won’t be coming to theatres near us for nearly a year; Gibson plans to release it in time for Easter 2004. But the controversy over his film is already under way — and people are taking sides in the debate even though no one has yet seen the finished film. (more…) Read more
• John Killinger: God, the Devil & Harry Potter, St. Martin’s, 2002. • Connie Neal: The Gospel According to Harry Potter, Westminster John Knox, 2002. • John Granger: The Hidden Key to Harry Potter, Zossima, 2002. CHRISTIAN Harry Potter fans, unite! It has been over two years since Richard Abanes wrote Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace behind the Magick, a scathing critique of just about everything to do with J.K. Rowling’s bestselling series about an orphaned English boy... Read more
IT’S TOO early to say all that much about The Matrix Reloaded — it’s only the first half of a two-part sequel that won’t be over until the next installment comes out in November — but the film does force fans of the first movie to rethink everything they thought they knew about it. (more…) Read more
Videos and DVDs are in italics. Films I saw for the first time have an asterisk (*) next to them. Not counting extras and promo items. Jan 1 — The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Jan 2 — The Hot Chick * Jan 2 — Pinocchio [2002, dubbed version] * Jan 3 — The Reluctant Dragon * Jan 5 — Claire’s Knee * Jan 5 — The Woman Next Door * Jan 5 — The Best of the... Read more
Adaptation is about a screenwriter named Charlie Kaufman who is struggling to adapt a book on orchids by a writer for the New Yorker named Susan Orlean. As it happens, the film itself is written by a screenwriter named Charlie Kaufman — whose previous forays into the bizarre and self-referential include the little-seen Human Nature and the inspired, if over-rated, Being John Malkovich — and parts of this new film are based on a book on orchids by a real-life... Read more
Just came home from seeing this one. I don’t have to review this film for any secular media, and I’m afraid there’s no great thematic depth to it that warrants any coverage in the religious media, AFAIAC. So instead of writing a “review”, I’m just going to post a few random thoughts. (more…) Read more
I recently made mp3s of a few James Horner tunes so people could compare and contrast his soundtracks to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) and Aliens (1986) — they’re very similar. As a result, I have had the ‘Genesis Countdown’ tune running through my head a fair bit lately, and today, during a moment of boredom, I found myself thinking about the climax to this film, and what makes it so interesting and distinctive. There is a... Read more
Harry Potter and his friends may soar through the air on broomsticks and dangle from flying cars in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the latest chapter in J.K. Rowling’s ongoing saga about a young orphan at a boarding school for witches and wizards, but the film never takes flight the way it ought to. Despite the abundance of special effects that flood nearly every frame, director Chris Columbus and screenwriter Steve Kloves have their feet planted firmly on... Read more
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