Miracles From Heaven is an atypical typical Christian movie. And that’s a good thing. I watch a lot of Christian movies, and I’ve gotten pretty familiar with what a “typical” Christian movie looks, sounds and feels like. And, at least at first glance, movies don’t get more “Christian” than this. When two of the three words in your title are explicitly spiritual, you know this isn’t a flick trying to attract, say, the Deadpool crowd. The poster looks like it... Read more
ABC’s Of Kings and Prophets (the second episode of which aired last night) was supposed to be a big deal. All 15 episodes, which loosely tell the biblical drama of Samuel, Saul and David, were filmed in South Africa to the tune of $6 million per episode. When the pilot wasn’t quite up to snuff, it ponied up the cash to reshoot the whole thing—just to get everything exactly right. The creators were hoping to lure both Game of Thrones... Read more
We’re in the midst of a cascade of Christian movies right now. Risen. The Young Messiah (just chatted with the director on Friday). Miracles From Heaven is premiering this week. God’s Not Dead 2 releases April 1. But let’s add one more flick to the list: Terrence Malick’s Knight of Cups. Malick is one of the world’s most enigmatic directors. His movies feel like fever dreams or snippets of memory. He often works without a script. He’s a notoriously ruthless... Read more
When do we become ourselves? When do we realize who we are? For most of us, the process of becoming us is a gradual one—one so slow and easy that we don’t even notice it. Oh sure, we’re here, in the world, the moment we’re conceived. We have parents and some sort of place in the world the second we’re born. But who are we, really? Do we already love bacon and hate peas even when we’ve tasted neither? Are... Read more
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will be rolling out to theaters later this month. But before the movie even lands in the local cineplex, there’s already buzz about what’ll be on the home video release: A big letter R. According to ew.com, the “Ultimate Edition” of the movie will bear an R rating when it rolls out on DVD and Blu-Ray. Wolverine 3, due about this time next year, will also be shooting for an R. Many speculate that... Read more
The value of a human life depends on who you ask. If we look at the value of just our raw material, we log in at around $160. But most folks agree that we’re worth more than just the sum of our parts: According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a human life is worth around $9.1 million—a figure they used in asking for stronger (and costlier) environmental regulations. The Food and Drug Administration suggests $7.9 million. Insurance agencies typically... Read more
Jesus’ death and resurrection has been dramatized in countless movies—from 1927’s The King of Kings to 2014’s Son of God and scores in between. But Risen does something none of its predecessors dared do: Remind us that Christianity is predicated on a 2,000-year-old X-File. We sometimes forget that, and understandably so. Even the greatest of miracles can feel rote when we hear about them so often. To many, the Easter story is just one more accouterment of spring—to be neither... Read more
Editors’ Note: This article is part of the Patheos Public Square. This month we’re asking: Has Hollywood Become Our National Conscience? Read other perspectives here. Economics is boring, and there’s really only one way to make the subject sexy: Turn it into an A-list, Oscar-nominated movie. The Big Short tackles subjects that might put even most finance majors to sleep: subprime mortgages, collateralized debt obligations, complicated hedge funds. But when Christian Bale, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie in a bubble... Read more
Deadpool, the latest cinematic superhero movie from Marvel, opened big this weekend, banking around $135 million over three days and blasting past all sorts of box office records. But as he’d be the first to admit, the movie’s red-suited protagonist (played by Ryan Reynolds) isn’t particularly heroic. Near the end of Deadpool (obvious spoiler warning here), our titular protagonist listens to a heartfelt speech from Colossus, a hunk of chrome encouraging him not to kill the enemy staring down the... Read more
I was pretty disappointed with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which was released this past Friday. I had reasonably high expectations going in. As an old English lit major, I love me some Jane Austen. As a card-carrying geek, I love me some zombies. I thought the movie’s source material—Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 retrofit of Austen’s novel—had its moments, and I think Lily James (who played Elizabeth Bennet) is a super-likable actress. But the movie fell flat for me. It felt,... Read more
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