In his first three feature films, Steve McQueen has addressed an infamous prison hunger strike, sexual addiction, and slavery in the American South. Like his first two films, Hunger and Shame, 12 Years a Slave (releasing Friday, 10/18) juxtaposes beautiful cinematography with horrific human behavior. The result is a demanding viewing experience that must be seen. (more…) Read more
No big surprise, but the photo above is of Guillermo del Toro’s house, which he calls Bleak House. Director del Toro had one of the biggest hits of the summer with Pacific Rim. He recently directed the spectacular title sequence for this year’s installment The Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror, with multiple horror and fantasy movie references–both old classics and recent classics from del Toro. Due out just before Halloween is Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities: My Notebooks, Collections,... Read more
“We’re believers in the Lord. We think he set this all up for us.” – Phil Robertson Apparently, Phil Robertson, patriarch of the Duck Dynasty clan, was the hardest sell when his son Willie came to him with the idea of promoting the family business on a reality TV show. With characteristic gruffness, Phil responded, “I’m already as famous as I want to be.” Willie explained to him that the show would give him a broader “platform to talk about... Read more
The Set-Up: Willie and Si have a fender bender in the Duck Commander parking lot, causing Si to show up for work riding a scooter because of his “injuries.” Miss Kay loses her turtle, Mr. T, and expects Phil to go down to the swamp and catch her another one. Hilarity Ensues: What Si describes as a serious accident, which will force Willie to replace the bumper guard on his pickup, Willie describes as a “light bumper kiss.” Willie suggests... Read more
In the over-reactionary times in which we find ourselves, few films demand our attention like Prisoners, which released widely last Friday. It’s a tightly-woven narrative that critiques American religiosity, our rush to condemn violators, and our insatiable desire for swift and often violent justice. (more…) Read more
Of all the new series premiering over the next several weeks, this nerd’s excited about two, one of which is Fox’s Sleepy Hollow (the other’s that little Marvel series you might have heard about). Last week’s Sleepy Hollow pilot exceeded my expectations with an intriguing narrative that draws heavily from Biblical imagery. (more…) Read more
The Set-Up: The oldest of Willie’s kids, John Luke and Sadie, get their wisdom teeth removed. Jase and Jep have to clean rotting meat out of a broken freezer. Hilarity Ensues: Phil comes over to the warehouse and finds Jase and Jep gagging over the rancid deer parts, ducks, and shrimp they’ve pulled out of the freezer. Phil has a job for them, which seems to involve killing dangerous Cottonmouths. But first they have to find a way to get... Read more
Editor’s Note: Guest blogger Jeremy Hamilton-Arnold writes about the dangers of bad religious artwork. Jeremy lends his expertise as a Christian art historian and adds his voice as a Millennial to our continuing discussion on what attracts or repels young people about church. By Jeremy Hamilton-Arnold A pastor friend of mine asked me the other day if I knew of any good examples of art that depicted God as not an old white dude. Just going off the top... Read more
The Set-Up: The Duck Commander warehouse is infested with termites. As the place is fumigated, the boys move the office to Godwin’s house. Willie has to go off to be the luncheon speaker at Miss Kay’s Golden 60’s club. Hilarity Ensues: The work brigade, led by Jase and Jep, ends up at Godwin’s house (because he has snacks). Sitting around in easy chairs and sucking on Fla-Vor-Ice popsicles lends itself to the usual intense Duck Commander “working” environment. As is... Read more
The Set-Up: Jase is having his house renovated. This of course means he and his kids must stay over at Willie’s place. Si, Jep, and the Duck Commander employees continuously make “gentlemen’s bets” of one dollar on increasingly ridiculous situations. Hilarity Ensues: Jase staying at Willie’s house leads to a classic sitcom trope of taking advantage of a family member’s hospitality. The family member who’s providing the hospitality... Read more
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