Book reviewer Lindsay Stallones has conspired to get her hands on a copy of Raven’s Ladder. Here’s her report. I must say, while I don’t write in order to please book reviewers (I write because I enjoy it), a few words like this can be a tremendous encouragement to keep on writing, to keep on finding ways to improve. Fuel in the tank. My thanks to Lindsay for her thoughtful reading and her review. UPDATE: And now… another reader responds!... Read more
The Looking Closer Film Viewing Journal is open for business. This is the post where I’ll catalog most of the movies I see. (more…) Read more
Chances are I’ll make my way to your neighborhood one of these days, if I haven’t already. And I’d love to meet LookingCloser.org readers, and anybody who has ventured into the world of Auralia’s Colors, Cyndere’s Midnight, and Raven’s Ladder. These days, I’ve been delivering presentations on: “Following The Auralia Thread” – Writing Fantasy as a Practice of Discovery “Beyond Blockbusters” – Entering the Mind of Contemplative Cinema “Through a Screen Darkly” – Faith, Discernment, and a Memoir of “Dangerous... Read more
My friend Cathleen Falsani, whose unapologetic journalism about faith for The Chicago Sun-Times has been a pioneering work of exploration and religious inquiry in the public square, is moving on. Her farewell piece for the Sun-Times is about Crazy Heart, the new film starring Jeff Bridges (and, I might add, featuring some music by Sam Phillips!) But it’s about a whole lot more than that. With her permission, I’m reposting that farewell article from her blog: (more…) Read more
One of my favorite kinds of “wishful thinking” is to cast movies of my favorite novels. I’ve been “dream-casting” since I was a kid. I remember deciding that I wanted to see Ian Holm play Bilbo Baggins when I was in high school, and lo… it came to be. I wanted to see Daniel Day-Lewis play Aragorn… and it’s been reported that they actually offered him the part more than once! (Oh, if only he’d taken that.) So… (more…) Read more
Remember the powerful, inspiring movie Born into Brothels? If you were inspired by that, then check this out. (more…) Read more
Folks who have joined my Facebook fan page are reading the details on the first of several Raven’s Ladder contests and giveaways. (more…) Read more
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Portions of this reviews were previously published at the Image blog Good Letters. – Martin Scorsese was so impressed by Matteo Garrone’s film about the Italian mafia, Gommora, that he stamped his name on it to attract a larger American audience. And yet, it’s so very different from any gangster epic that he, Francis Ford Coppola, or any American filmmakers have made. This isn’t a story about how a nobody worked his way up to become a monster, or about... Read more
Casablanca? Henry IV? Ordet? (more…) Read more
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