Looking Closer
You may wish to say the Lord’s Prayer — particularly the part about “Lead us not into temptation” — before you visit this link. (more…) Read more
You may wish to say the Lord’s Prayer — particularly the part about “Lead us not into temptation” — before you visit this link. (more…) Read more
If you invited me to a seminar led by brain scientist John Medina, New York Times-bestselling author of Brain Rules and Brain Rules for Baby, and told me he was going to talk about the brain and its need for narrative, I would sign right up. Medina, a developmental molecular biologist who is also the director of the Brain Center for Applied Learning Research at Seattle Pacific University, blogs at Brainstorm. (I happen to be that blog’s editor, but I often... Read more
I’ve been curious, but not enthusiastic, about the idea of a feature film about Janis Joplin. (more…) Read more
[July 2012 Update: In the buzz of recent Hollywood news, we’ve learned that Jennifer Connelly will reunite with Russell Crowe for Darren Aronofsky’s epic retelling (reinvention?) of the story of Noah, the Ark, and the Deluge. That inspires me to look back at Crowe and Connelly’s last collaboration, the Academy Award-winning film A Beautiful Mind, directed by Ron Howard. Here’s my original review—perhaps “rant” is a more appropriate word—with some minor revisions. It’s almost ten years old now, but my... Read more
Today, I welcome a special guest contributor to Looking Closer: Anne M. Doe Overstreet, who is one of my favorite poets, a sharp-eyed editor, and a skilled gardener. And these are only a few of the reasons I married her. Anyway, she brings us a review today of a new book of poetry that has been dazzling her imagination of late. So, Anne… take it away! (more…) Read more
I hate to say, “I told you so.” Especially when the person I’m addressing is myself. I told myself not to spend full ticket price on The Amazing Spider-man. But I did anyway. And yeah, now it hurts to realize I put down more than $15.00 to see it. I don’t regret this evening’s moviegoing experience: I got to spend the evening with my friend Danny Walter, who has probably seen more movies with me than anybody on the planet.... Read more
Here’s a flashback to my review of Sam Raimi’s Spider-man 3, which I liked better than a lot of moviegoers, even though it was, yes, something of a letdown. This review was originally published at Christianity Today in May 2007. • “You are such a nerd,” says Mary Jane to Peter Parker. In most movies, that would be a put-down. But Mary Jane, played again in Spider-Man 3 by the radiant Kirsten Dunst, says it with such affection that she’s... Read more
Of Gods and Men made Steven Greydanus say that he felt like he had become a critic in order to be prepared to review that movie. I've only felt that way about a few films. Moonrise Kingdom is one of them. Here is my review, which was originally published at Good Letters, the blog hosted by Image. Read more
Here’s a 2012 flashback to my original review of Spider-man 2, with a few small repairs and a couple of revisions for the sake of clarification. Lately, I’ve been lamenting the overabundance of superhero movies, their predictability, their over-seriousness, their revelry in excessive action and their lack of substantial storytelling. Revisiting my original reaction to Sam Raimi’s super sequel, I find that my feelings haven’t changed much. Spider-man 2 remains one of the few superhero films that I’m happy to... Read more
What’s your favorite Fourth of July movie? If crowds and traffic will keep you away from big fireworks shows — those stressful ordeals turned me away from public places on the Fourth a long time ago — then I recommend you consider spending some time with Jim Sheridan’s 2004 film about a family of Irish immigrants called In America. You can read an abridged version of my In America review at Paste. Or, if you want my in-depth look at the film,... Read more
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