Madeleine L’Engle’s book Walking on Water: Reflections on Art and Faith is one of the most important books in my life. Every artist should read it… every believer should read it… and anyone who’s ever been tempted to believe should read it. My passion to encourage artists toward excellence was largely inspired by L’Engle’s work. (more…) Read more
Want a glimpse of the next revelation from the director of Donnie Darko? (more…) Read more
Mel Gibson’s Icon Productions plans to unveil the video release of “The Passion of the Christ” on Aug. 31. It’ll cost you… (more…) Read more
It’s true. (more…) Read more
…who I had the pleasure of meeting unexpectedly on Sunday at Elliott Bay Bookstore, while standing in line to have a book signed by another author. DeFrees is the first recipient of the Denise Levertov Award from Image. If you want to know why… (more…) Read more
[Some of this material was previously published in March 2004 at Christianity Today.] – My review of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind led to an unexpected opportunity: a chance to interview the two creative masterminds of this remarkable film. It was a privilege to meet Charlie Kaufman, writer of Being John Malkovich and Adaptation, and director Michel Gondry, and to ask them why they are so attracted to unconventional stories. The following conversation does include a discussion of the... Read more
Why not kick off this blog with something that looks like news? It’s starting to look official. Tilda Swinton looks like she may indeed be The White Witch of Narnia. Read more
This review of Hellboy was originally published at Christianity Today in April 2004. – Some superheroes focus on settling a score. Some learn lessons about responsibility, talent, and weakness. But for some, like Hellboy, being a superhero is just a job. For director Guillermo Del Toro, the job of bringing the comic book hero Hellboy to the screen was a labor of love—love for comics, and especially for the work of artist Mike Mignola, Hellboy’s creator. Del Toro effectively recreates Mignola’s flair... Read more
[Here’s my own original review, which was first published at the original Looking Closer website on January 21, 2001. I also covered the Christian media coverage of Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone in Christianity Today’s Film Forum.] – For the record, I’m not a big fan of the Harry Potter books — So already I’m in the minority. And many will immediately disqualify my opinion of the film because of it. But Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a film now, and... Read more
Jeffrey’s review of Man on Fire was published at Christianity Today in April 2004. Read more
Looking Closer
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