Here are clips from a few intriguing things I’ve overheard at the movies this week, regarding Woody Allen’s new movie; my favorite Michael Mann film; Disney’s latest talking-vehicle adventure; and the latest fantasy from Eternal Sunshine‘s Michel Gondry… (more…) Read more
Didja hear? Disney’s asked the writer of Transformers to pen the script for a live-action version of… Dumbo. Seems to be the thing to do now: Turn animated classics into live-action versions that nobody wants. Along the same lines, remember Dreamworks’ animated epic The Prince of Egypt? Well… doesn’t this look an awful lot a live-action version of that? (Here’s a better high-rez version of the trailer.) Yes, Ridley Scott — director of Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, and Prometheus — is... Read more
This summer, Amazon is offering you Auralia's Colors — both the paperback edition and the Kindle edition — for less than $5. Read more
This summer is the fifth anniversary of the theatrical release of Up, and it is standing the test of time as one of Pixar’s greats. If it weren’t for the “dogfighting” at the end, which took things a bit too far for me (talking dogs — okay, I’ll go there, but talking dogs that fly airplanes?), I’d be tempted to call it a masterpiece. Here’s my original commentary on the film, which was originally published at Good Letters, the blog... Read more
Just so happens that the first two contestants in the 2014 Looking Closer Beauty pageant were Polish. Now it's time to meet the third contestant. She's from Chile... Read more
Scott Derrickson, Alissa Wilkinson, Sara Zarr, Steven Greydanus... listen to all of these inspiring Christians talking to each other about art and criticism! Read more
Share this with your family and friends. Make a copy for your pastor. And start your own church-basement movie club! But be sneaky about it. The first rule of Sight Club is this: Don't talk about Sight Club. Read more
"The Immigrant" is going to bless those who love cinema more than entertainment, who want something to think about and talk about instead of something to pass the time. Read more
Welcome to the 2014 Looking Closer Beauty Pageant. So far this year, I've found four compelling contestants who manifest a different definition of beauty than the one embraced by popular culture. And it should come as no surprise that these characters appear in movies that have barely made a blip at the box office. Read more
We're about halfway through 2014, and as I look at the Top 20 Box Office hits so far, something troubles me. Where are the substantial leading roles for women? I'm not talking about wicked queens in fairy tales and Hunger Games-style action heroes. I mean women. You know... women who inhabit worlds like ours. Read more
Looking Closer
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