Jesus told us to give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, give to God what is God’s. In War for the Planet of the Apes, we get a story concerned with both: Caesar, the intelligent, charismatic chimpanzee leader of a troop... Read more
Jesus told us to give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, give to God what is God’s. In War for the Planet of the Apes, we get a story concerned with both: Caesar, the intelligent, charismatic chimpanzee leader of a troop... Read more
TV has never been better, no question. The television landscape is so saturated with prestige shows right now that it’s turned into a veritable bog of quality—capable of sucking us in and forcing us to binge watch for weeks at a time. Obviously, with all that television excellence bouncing around the telly, a few worthy shows are going to get snubbed around Emmy time. Only a few programs will find that secret elixir that’ll put them in the running for... Read more
Years from now—nay, decades—film historians will look back at 2017, rub their graying goatees, adjust their monocles and say, “Man, what was up with all those sequels? Who in their right mind would think anyone needed another Transformer movie?” Their next thought would surely be, “But those superhero movies were sure awesome.” And they’d be right. We’re unquestionably living in the golden age of cinematic superheroes, this year’s been the 24-karat cherry on top. We’ve yet to see Disney/Marvel’s Thor:... Read more
The day my son was born was the scariest day of my life. He was so small, so quiet. Born a couple weeks early, his lungs were so small he didn't so much cry as mew. His face was already... Read more
After the director gave us us a tortured Superman who kills, a sadistic Batman who uses guns and a couple of superhero movies that fell well short of super, Snyder turned the reins of DC's extended universe to director Patty... Read more
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far—no, wait, in our galaxy—there was a little boy who saw Star Wars. And then he saw it again. And again. And again. He couldn’t afford any Kenner Star Wars playsets, so he made his own action figures and built a Millennium Falcon out of corrugated cardboard. When the family station wagon squeaked, he’d pretend it was R2-D2. He was given a plastic lightsaber for Christmas; it ran out of batteries... Read more
Director Ridley Scott hates religion, or so he says. He told Esquire Magazine that it was “the biggest source of evil.” He loves his rebels—men and women who push against authoritarianism be it government, business or church. Individualism, not faith,... Read more
Ridley Scott’s latest Alien movie, Alien: Covenant, is officially hitting American theaters tomorrow. And it has religion on its mind. Don’t take my word for it. Well, do take my word, actually: I’ve seen the film, and I’ll be talking more about its many faith themes next week. But promotional materials for Alien: Covenant already make the movie’s spiritual leanings quite clear. Take a look at the poster. Creepy, right? Alien beasties (protomorphs, we’re told, not full-fledged, vaguely mechanized xenomorphs) are... Read more
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword isn't exactly Oscarbait. Director Guy Ritchie is known for two things: His visual flourishes and his narrative indifference. From his relatively gritty early crime films to the silly Sherlock Holmes franchise (with Robert Downey... Read more
MTV doled out its annual MTV Movie and TV Awards last night, and Beauty and the Beast’s Emma Watson accepted the award for “Best Actor in a Movie”—the first major gender-neutral acting award. “MTV’s move to create a genderless award for acting will mean something different to everyone,” she said. “But to me, it indicates that acting is about the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. And that doesn’t need to be separated into two different categories.” The... Read more
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