Oscars Missed a Good One in Calvary

Last updated on: January 16, 2015 at 9:52 am By Paul Asay

Nominations for the Academy Awards came out yesterday morning. Among the eight Best Picture nominees, the Academy lauded the creative triumph Boyhood, the artistic weirdness of Birdman, the inspirational story of Selma and even the very Anderson-esque Wes Anderson movie The Grand Budapest Hotel. All the nominees make sense, I suppose, even as pundits from across the Interweb lament some obvious snubs. But the worst snub, in my opinion, was one that not many are discussing: The complete shutout of... Read more

Selma: The Fearsome Power of Faith

Last updated on: January 12, 2015 at 7:36 am By Paul Asay

The late Christopher Hitchens once wrote a book called God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. He was quite serious about it. Hitchens was a smart man and, often, a brilliant writer. But on this matter, he was blind. His overreach here is obvious. Yes, religion does have sins to answer for. But when someone insists that “religion poisons everything,” I don’t even need to have a rebuttal ready. I’d just need to point to the movie marquee of... Read more

Stuart Scott Won His Battle

Last updated on: January 6, 2015 at 8:27 am By Paul Asay

Stuart Scott was as cool as the other side of the pillow. Scott worked for ESPN for more than 20 years, coining catchphrase after catchphrase, inspiring countless wannabe sports broadcasters and, in his own seemingly effortless way, changing the face of television sports journalism. He died Sunday morning at the age of 49. He was a fantastic journalist, tireless professional, dedicated father and, apparently, a Christian. He didn’t make a big show of his faith, I don’t think, but he... Read more

What Boyhood Says About Marriage

Last updated on: January 5, 2015 at 8:21 am By Paul Asay

Paul’s Note: Last week, I put Boyhood on my “best of” list, just as so many other critics have done. It’s a pretty weighty movie, and I may unpack some of its themes in a few weeks. But in the meantime, I just had to share a dynamic take on Boyhood from friend and fellow blogger Esther O’Reilly. O’Reilly has been a guest contributor for Christ and Pop Culture, The Retuned and Patheos Evangelical, and you can read more of... Read more

Into The Woods: Evil Beans

Last updated on: January 2, 2015 at 3:26 pm By Paul Asay

In her look back on the year in pop culture, Christianity Today’s Alissa Wilkinson deftly discusses the many, many ways in which 2014’s movies and television shows have grappled with the concept of evil. And while our entertainment offers lots of different sources for evil, Wilkinson says, one of the biggest is disturbingly close to home: We make our own problems. She writes: We moderns feel comforted by the idea that evil is something we create or choose through our own... Read more

Good Art. Good Stories. The Best Movies of 2014

Last updated on: December 31, 2014 at 1:39 pm By Paul Asay

We’ve only a few hours left to enjoy 2014, and I admittedly have a few more movies to watch before I’m in tip-top shape for awards season. Plugged In (my day job) will be trotting out its own movie award nominees in a couple of weeks, and the Denver Film Critics Society (to which I belong) will unfurl its own “best of” list soon, as well. I don’t think there’ll be a lot of overlap. Good art (which the DFCS... Read more

Unbroken: The Rest of the Story

Last updated on: December 29, 2014 at 12:19 am By Paul Asay

In a Plugged In interview with Luke Zamperini, real-life son of Unbroken’s Louie Zamperini, Luke called his father’s life a “five-act play.” Movies run three acts, Luke said, which makes it impossible to tell Louie’s story in full. Of Angelina Jolie’s big-screen retelling of the Zamperini story, Luke says, “I think she did a masterful job.” I’d mostly agree. In Unbroken (released this Christmas), Jolie got all the big cinematic elements in: Louie’s wayward youth, his Olympic glory, his harrowing... Read more

A Screen Full of Christmas Joy

Last updated on: December 23, 2017 at 1:35 pm By Paul Asay

Bah. Humbug. It’s easy to get a little cranky around the fourth week of December. Oh, I know. The Christmas season is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year. Andy Williams says so. But it doesn’t always feel so. In fact, the holidays tend to be a little draining. We’re not quite as busy as the common elf, but we still have shopping to do, parties to throw, ugly sweaters to wear … it can all leave us... Read more

Finding Christmas Light in Dark Movies

Last updated on: December 19, 2014 at 10:49 am By Paul Asay

The winter solstice—the darkest day of the year—is Sunday, and I think most of us will be glad when we’re on the other side of it. We don’t like the dark much. I’m not talking about long-walks-in-the-moonlight or sing-around-the-campfire type of dark. We’re fine with that sort of stuff. Heck, all of you probably appreciate a nice, darkened movie theater as much as I do. But walking down a black, unfamiliar alleyway? Knocking around a shadowy old house? Even if... Read more

Thank Goodness We Can Watch ‘The Interview.’ (Whether We Should is Another Matter.)

Last updated on: December 17, 2014 at 2:50 pm By Paul Asay

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, was released today. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 continues to make a mint. A slew of Oscar hopefuls are springing up in theaters across the country. But no matter. Everyone’s talking about The Interview—a film nobody’s seen yet. I could think of a better movie to become a rallying cry for free speech, but here we are. A little background: The Interview is an R-rated comedy starring Seth Rogen and... Read more

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