Here is the current (but occasionally updated) list of my favorite films from the 1950s. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about this decade. But give me a break, I was born in 1970 and didn’t start exploring movies much until I was in college. In order to understand the purpose and meaning of this list, please read my introduction to the Looking Closer Favorite Films lists here. • 1950s Treasures: Ordet (1955), Tokyo Story (1953), Ikiru (1952), The Red Balloon... Read more
Here is the current (but occasionally updated) list of my favorite films from the 1940s. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about this decade. But give me a break, I was born in 1970 and didn’t start exploring movies much until I was in college. In order to understand the purpose and meaning of this list, please read my introduction to the Looking Closer Favorite Films lists here. • 1940s Treasures: The Red Shoes (1948), Pinocchio (1940), La Belle et la... Read more
Here is the current (but occasionally updated) list of my favorite films from the 1930s. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about this decade. But give me a break, I was born in 1970 and didn’t start exploring movies much until I was in college. In order to understand the purpose and meaning of this list, please read my introduction to the Looking Closer Favorite Films lists here. • 1930s Treasures: Make Way for Tomorrow (1937), Snow White and the... Read more
Here is the current (but occasionally updated) list of my favorite films from the 1920s. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about this decade. But give me a break… I wasn’t born until 1970, and didn’t start really exploring cinema until I was in college. In order to understand the purpose and meaning of this list, please read my introduction to the Looking Closer Favorite Films lists here. • 1920s Treasures: The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Favorites:... Read more
After a month of feeble-to-failed writing sessions, I made myself sit down to write yesterday morning. I was pretty sure nothing would happen; I was tired and my head was full of practical matters. But I’ve been taught to show up, so, somewhat begrudgingly, I did. The coffee shop was crowded and noisy. The table was too small. There were too many interruptions. And yet… (more…) Read more
It’s been a long time since I’ve written music reviews. I started out writing more music reviews than movie reviews online, but the interest in movie reviews proved to be much more intense, and I adjusted, desiring to go where the lively discussion was happening. But lately, I’ve been missing the pleasure of “finding out what I think” about music, something that happens best when I write about it. So, I’m going to pick a few hightlights from my listening... Read more
Big news. Good Letters, the daily blog hosted by IMAGE journal, where many of my favorite bloggers (including Sara Zarr, Bradford Winters, A.G. Harmon, Allison Backous, and others) contribute inspiring work every month, and where my film reviews are posted twice a month, is moving! Good Letters will still be hosted by IMAGE, but it will be published on a larger platform that will bring us many new readers (and probably a much livelier circus of comments). Where is this... Read more
Today is the fourth anniversary of the day I joined Twitter: my favorite social networking site. And, as if in celebration, Twitter is serving up one exciting link after another. Here are some of the highlights that I’ve discovered there today… (more…) Read more
A Looking Closer Film Forum is an evolving “conversation” among critics… a “round-table” review of perspectives from critics I regularly consult as I revise my list of viewing priorities. In this case, I’ve seen the movie, but didn’t emerge with much to say about it. I think I need to see it a second time. Either Damsels has a lot of good things on its mind that never cohere into a satisfying comedy for me, or I just need more... Read more
More than a decade ago, when I was writing for Christianity Today‘s movie-review website, I quickly grew weary of hearing from moviegoers who believe that we should condemn films in which characters cuss. So, I invited a variety of Christians who write film reviews to offer their opinions on “foul language” and whether or not Ted Baehr’s Movieguide and other “morality checklist” review sites are justified in their blanket condemnation of movies in which expletives occur. You can revisit that... Read more
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