Thanks to John Ottinger for the interview about Auralia’s Colors and Cyndere’s Midnight that appears at Strange Horizons today. I take a lot of encouragement from this as I prepare to revise Raven’s Ladder, the third book in The Auralia Thread. Read more
I have a recording of my friend Nathan Partain singing a hymn called “Jesus is Mine.” I’m grateful to have his permission to share it with you. If you’re interested in the history of the hymn, you can read about the history of the hymn here, in this excerpt from The Complete Book of Hymns. I had never heard it, though, until Nathan wrote a new arrangement and performed it in church. It moved me to tears, and remains, for... Read more
As I pack my bags for the Netherlands, I’m curious: What’s your favorite Made-in-the-Netherlands movie? What’s your favorite scene set in Amsterdam? Perhaps I should revisit those scenes. You know… so I learn how to tell the good guys from the bad guys. :) And speaking of the Netherlands, if I keep getting photographs like this one from Matthijs de Jong in the mail, I’m going to wonder if this is all some elaborate hoax! Read more
Read about two opening minutes that impressed me last year, and tell us about your own favorite opening minute… over at Filmwell. Read more
Got any advice for first-time visitors to the Netherlands? With joy and gratitude, Anne and I will be traveling to the Netherlands next week by the invitation of generous friends who have given us tremendous encouragement. Peter van Dijk and Bart Cusveller, both editors of www.cvfilm.nl, have had a hand in bringing Through a Screen Darkly into a new Dutch translation. I first encountered Peter when he wrote to me about my review of There Will Be Blood just over a... Read more
Discovered at David Hudson’s IFC blog: Joshua Land at Moving Image Source writes about The Passion of the Christ and The Last Temptation of Christ: Considering the tremendous importance of Jesus to many millions, it’s understandable that supporters and opponents of [Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader’s ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ (1988) and Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ’ (2004)] were often more interested in what they wanted to see in these works than in what their makers actually... Read more
I’m rather excited about this. Anybody want to make a guess as to why I’ve watched this trailer several times? Read more
We know that Godfather Al “Scarface” Pacino is in talks to play the power-mad King Herod for the film Mary, Mother of Christ. Today, MTV’s MovieBlog reports that he’s about to play another heavy-handed leader (although in this case, that heavy hand will be held, um… “closer to the vest”)… (more…) Read more
My review of Eldorado, a bizarre comedy from Belgian filmmaker Bouli Lanners, is published at Filmwell. Read more
Is there any better big screen actress working today than Juliette Binoche? I’d like to hear your idea of who you think has a better record of great performances… in great films. Last year, she showed up in Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Flight of the Red Balloon and astonished me again. This year, it’s Oliver Assayas’ Summer Hours, which a few friends have already highly recommended to me. I can’t wait. Fans of the Dardennes Brothers should note: Jérémie Renier is in... Read more
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