Looking Closer
I’m taking a break from my four-day editing marathon to give the editor in my head some rest. In the meantime, I’m meditating on a few quotations from Flannery O’Connor. (more…) Read more
I’m taking a break from my four-day editing marathon to give the editor in my head some rest. In the meantime, I’m meditating on a few quotations from Flannery O’Connor. (more…) Read more
On her MySpace page, Leigh Nash makes it official: Literally a few hours before I was told my father had died, I met up with Matt (Sixpence band mate) for coffee. He got married back in May and had been in Italy for 6 months. I was looking forward to seeing him and hearing about their travels! While he was away we had both been thinking about the band and what we had all those years and what we took... Read more
There is no film critic whose writing I enjoy more than Steven D. Greydanus, even though we sometimes have very different opinions of particular films. (There Will Be Blood, for instance, which didn’t mean much to him, but my head is still spinning with all that I enjoyed about the film). When Greydanus gets passionate about a movie, that itself is an experience worth beholding. And when he shines the ultraviolet light on a beloved blockbuster to reveal its flaws... Read more
Performing Songwriter on Sam Phillips’ Don’t Do Anything, the album I’m most excited to hear in 2008: While Don’t Do Anything retains elements of her early Beatles-inspired baroque pop and her more recent Euro-chanteuse folk, this self-produced (her first without Burnett) album is striking for its uncharacteristically dissonant sonic touches. The distorted guitars and crashing cymbals contrast intriguingly with her fragile, vulnerable vocals, yet they also fit with her lyrics‚ emotional turmoil. … Tunes like “My Career in Chemistry”‚ “Little... Read more
Commenting on yesterday’s entry about “positive portrayals” of Christianity on the big screen, my friend and colleague Ken Morefield gets inspired and blogs a strong opinion on the subject. Thanks, Ken! Among his sharp observations, I see that I’m not the only one to suggest that perhaps the “negative caricatures” of Christians we see on the big screen may occasionally have something to do with the fact that Christians often do behave publicly in despicable ways. (It’s nice to have... Read more
I have occasionally revised, or completely rewritten, my review of a film simply because it took more than one viewing before I could see it clearly enough, and understand it deeply enough, to make a fair assessment. If I could take back the way I rated Spider-man 3 and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at ChristianityTodayMovies.com, believe me, I would. (Instead of 3.5/4 stars, they’d each get 2.5-star ratings.) Peter Suderman wrote passionately about... Read more
“Food for Thought” You’re invited to bring a brown-bag lunch into the Seattle Pacific University Library where I’ll be reading from Auralia’s Colors, talking about the series, and answering questions. Copies will be available for purchase. When: Thursday, January 31, 12:30 to 1:15 p.m. Where: Seattle Pacific University Library Reading Room, Main Floor Read more
I frequently receive mail from readers who argue that we should ignore “Hollywood’s output” because of the ways in which Christians are negatively portrayed. If I dare answer by suggesting that some of these portrayals are actually fair — even deserved — I am quickly swamped by email telling me where I’ll be spending eternity. (Hint: Not heaven.) But I know many Christians who are devoting their lives to developing meaningful art and entertainment. Yes, in Hollywood. And I frequently... Read more
It came to my attention today that at least three of the most celebated foreign films of the year have been snubbed by the Academy this year. Here’s a report from LA Weekly‘s Scott Foundas. In their nine-title list of films that may win the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, they completely ignored not only Cristian Mungiu’s internationally celebrated 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days, but also the French animated feature Persepolis, and Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Orphanage. I... Read more
“The realistic, gritty atmosphere created by screenwriter/director Paul Thomas Anderson and actor Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview is tremendous. It is practically ruined, however, by Anderson’s evil caricature of Eli, the revenge-minded preacher, and the over-the-top, unrealistic performance of Paul Dano as Eli. In fact, THERE WILL BE BLOOD is one of the most mean-spirited, anti-Christian, superficial, and poorly played portrayals of religion ever created in movie history. God knows there have been plenty of insincere, sinful leaders in the... Read more
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