Physicist Stephen Hawking died March 14 at the age of 76. Millions grieved the passing of the brilliant scientist and bestselling author (his book A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, sold more than 10 million copies), who became perhaps the greatest scientific celebrity since Albert Einstein. His death, many noted, came on Pi Day. Just weeks earlier, the world saw the passing of another cultural titan—that of the legendary evangelist Billy Graham, who died... Read more
Madeline L’Engle once famously said, “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” Disney ignores the writer’s advice in its new movie A Wrinkle in Time (based, of course, on L’Engle’s classic 1962 book). It takes L’Engle’s challenging novel and dumbs it down, pushing out elements and themes that might prove difficult or controversial or, perhaps, just not in step with... Read more
Music is order—the most mathematical of arts, crafted in wholes and half and quarters and eighths, in half-steps of A’s and B’s and C’s. It sinks and trills and floats on unseen roads of intricate pattern, a needlepoint of sound. Music is chaos—the stringed rumble of the base, the roar of the guitar, the shimmering chords of the piano, the buttermilk of the clarinet. Diverse and disparate, they twist and parry and, somehow, form into song. Jon Foreman, longtime lead... Read more
The Oscars are practically upon us, and The Shape of Water leads the pack with 13 Academy Awards nominations—including Best Actress (Sally Hawkins), Best Director (Guillermo del Toro) and Best Picture. It’s a visually stunning romantic fairy tale, one that left many a reviewer twitterpated in its scaly wake. I liked The Shape of Water. It was … fine? But I expected more. I generally love del Toro. Pan’s Labyrinth was brilliant. His Hellboy movies were surprisingly great. I would’ve... Read more
Television sitcoms want you to like them. So historically, half-hour comedies have avoided the same topics we do during Thanksgiving dinner: politics and religion. After all, no one wants Uncle Harold to throw the yams again. But as USA Today pointed out recently, the television times are a’ changing. More and more shows are talking about faith and religion. Not just high-prestige niche dramas like Hulu’s The Path or Netflix’s The Crown. No, even some sitcoms are plumbing spirituality for... Read more
Want to know what Annihilation has on its mind? Look no further than Lena’s tattoo. It appears to be an ouroboros—a snake curled in the shape of a figure-eight, eating its own tail. For millennia, this and similar images have been symbols for the paradoxical cycles of existence: creation and destruction, birth and death. We don’t know when Lena (Natalie Portman) had the tattoo done, or why. Seems an odd choice to me. But man, does it fit with her... Read more
T’Challa’s in heaven, or something close to it. The newly crowned king of Wakanda stands under a star-dappled sky—a temporary tourist in the land of his ancestors—and he talks with his father, T’Chaka, who died not long before. “You are a good man with a good heart,” T’Chaka tells him—not as a compliment, but as a warning. “And it is hard for a good man to be king.” Black Panther officially opens today. I realize that a lot of you... Read more
Just moments after the Philadelphia Eagles upset the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, 41-33, Philly Head Coach Doug Pederson stood up on stage in a storm of confetti. When ESPN’s Dan Patrick asked Pederson how he went from coaching high school football to leading a team to an NFL Championship, Pederson deflected the credit upstairs. “I can only give the praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me this opportunity,” he said. Next up: Zach... Read more
Darkest Hour is the only second-best movie made about the Miracle of Dunkirk this year. But it’s still pretty great. This historical drama doesn’t have the sleight-of-hand timeline or pounding soundtrack of Christopher Nolan’s World War II film, Dunkirk. What it does have is tons of drama (endemic to the historical narrative), soaring writing (often supplied by the movie’s real-life inspiration) and a superlative performance by Gary Oldman—the odds-on favorite to win an Oscar for Best Actor. And while it... Read more
Oscar—Hollywood’s very own golden, naked Santa Claus—handed out gifts this morning, and he was especially generous to The Shape of Water. The fantasy romance helmed by monster impresario Guillermo del Toro snagged 13 Oscar nominations, including ones for Best Director (del Toro), Best Actress (Sally Hawkins) and Best Picture. Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan’s riveting war flick, collected eight, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri nabbed seven. But digging deeper into the nominations announced this morning, we find some interesting themes in... Read more
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