Sara Zarr’s “This Creative Life”

Last updated on: January 4, 2013 at 5:00 pm By Jeffrey Overstreet

This morning, as the caffeine was just beginning to take effect, Anne and I appeared as guests on This Creative Life, a podcast hosted by young adult novelist Sara Zarr. (more…) Read more

Overstreet’s Favorite Films: 2012

Last updated on: September 3, 2013 at 1:23 pm By Jeffrey Overstreet

So, here they are: The films that inspired, moved, challenged, and intrigued me in 2012. Read more

Overstreet’s Favorite Recordings: 2012

Last updated on: January 12, 2013 at 3:54 pm By Jeffrey Overstreet

I'd invite you all to a New Year's Eve Listening Party, but there are just too many of you. So allow me to deliver this party to your doorstep. Here is some music from my favorite recordings of 2012. Read more

Django Unchained (2012)

Last updated on: December 31, 2012 at 11:35 am By Jeffrey Overstreet

"Django Unchained" stands in stark contrast to traditions of American storytelling that have covered up the suffering slaves endured. When a culture tells stories that excuse its own evils long enough, the pendulum is sure to swing the other direction to reveal, even exaggerate, what has been left out. Read more

The Best Films of 2012? Here’s the Indiewire 2012 Critics Poll

Last updated on: December 22, 2012 at 6:37 pm By Jeffrey Overstreet

So… was The Master a good movie, or not? What about Lincoln or The Avengers? What about This is 40 or Zero Dark Thirty? 204 film critics voted in this year’s Indiewire critics’ poll. Their choices do not resemble the Box Office Top 10 or the movies likely to be honored by the Golden Globes. Why is that? Who's right? Read more

Les Misérables (2012)

Last updated on: January 14, 2013 at 9:14 pm By Jeffrey Overstreet

I suspect that this testimony will earn me a lashing from fans. The power of Les Misérables' narrative, the force of its music and lyrics, and the enthusiasm of its fan base are considerable, and anyone who criticizes the film is probably going to look like a monster. Read more

Matthew Dickerson on “The Hobbit” – Part 2

Last updated on: December 21, 2012 at 4:00 pm By Jeffrey Overstreet

Did you read Part One of Matthew Dickerson’s reflections on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? If so, enjoy Part Two… (more…) Read more

Matthew Dickerson on “The Hobbit” – Part 1

Last updated on: December 21, 2012 at 3:59 pm By Jeffrey Overstreet

In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit. And on a wooded hillside in Vermont lived a writer who loved Hobbits, their homeland, and their author: J.R.R. Tolkien. I am blessed to know Matthew Dickerson and his wife Deborah as dear friends. I’ve been blessed by Matthew’s writing, and also by the maple syrup he boils on his own. He’s an instructor at Middlebury College. He directs the New England Young Writers Conference at Breadloaf, the Gove Hill Christian Writers... Read more

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)

Last updated on: December 21, 2012 at 8:54 am By Jeffrey Overstreet

"The Muppet Christmas Carol" was about as faithful an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic story as the Muppets could make in the midst of their typical mischief. Nevertheless, fans could feel that something was missing. The regular cast of characters seemed to have lost their personalities... Read more

Margaret – The Extended Cut (2012)

Last updated on: December 18, 2012 at 11:06 am By Jeffrey Overstreet

I'm grateful to the good folks at The Brehm Center for inviting me to contribute to their film site Reel Spirituality. And my first contribution there is about a movie I've been eager to see for several years. I can't believe I'm finally reviewing it. Read more