Category: Essay

  • True/False Film Festival 2018 Preview

    True/False Film Festival 2018 Preview

    Only once a year do I find it acceptable to be running full-speed through the back alleys of Columbia, Mo., a heavy backpack strapped on my shoulders and a floppy slice of pizza slinging grease all over my shirt as I attempt to corale it into my mouth. That’s right: it’s True/False season. I’m a…

  • Oscars 2018 – Who Should Win? (Part One)

    Oscars 2018 – Who Should Win? (Part One)

    The 2017 Oscars will be a hard year to top. Not only did the two best movies of the year duke it out for Best Picture, but they were both handed the award in an unprecedented envelope mix-up. Unfortunately for La La Land, Moonlight was the true winner of the evening. But for those of…

  • Soundtracks: The New Music of Religion

    Soundtracks: The New Music of Religion

    It was just a normal Sunday in 1963 in the town of Greenville, South Carolina, when “the last pocket of resistance to secularity in the Western world gave in and served notice that it would no longer be a prop for the church.” So begins the now classic book Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and…

  • Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

    Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

    Grief happens on a spectrum between two poles. At one extreme, painful memories and raw emotions are stuffed deep inside and buried under layer after layer of thick callous. Any twinge of sadness that manages to work its way through is quickly strangled, along with whatever part of our humanity it attached itself to. On…

  • Apologia for Malick

    Apologia for Malick

    Not that Terrence Malick needs a defense, but it seems that he has taken some heat from the forum of critics (including some of our own) as of late. This is understandable; Malick films tend to move against the grain of traditional narrative and shooting style. Anything we are unaccustomed to or unacquainted with, that…

  • 5 Truths About Christian Film Festivals

    5 Truths About Christian Film Festivals

    I recently attended a Christian film festival. My short The Lost Keys was named a semi-finalist there, so I thought I’d go and find out what we were the semi-finalist of, and get an idea of the landscape of Christian film at the grassroots level. I’m not going to name the film festival, since I don’t…

  • Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Wrap Up

    Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Wrap Up

    [Ed. It has been a pleasure to follow Ron’s exhausting coverage of the festival. We’re blessed to have him on the team! A quick note: all feature photos were used from the official Traverse City Film Festival Flickr account which has 1000s of beautiful images of the event over the years. All copyrights belong to their…

  • Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Day 5

    Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Day 5

    My last day at the Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF) was an important one with one major film being viewed and several more having to do with events that shook America 50 years ago and continue even now to shape our policing and justice systems for the better and the worse.  In addition there was…

  • Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Day 4

    Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Day 4

    I saw some standout movies today (and a big miss), and we had another day of beautiful Traverse City weather. The King’s Choice 2016 (117 mins) Norway [Narrative Feature] Highly lauded in Europe, this much anticipated film is soon to be released in this country. Portraying a relatively unknown chapter in WWII history, it tells…

  • Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Day 3

    Traverse City Film Festival 2017 Day 3

    Another beautiful day in Traverse City and another day of mostly good movies at TCFF. After the Storm 2016 (117 mins) Japan [Narrative Feature] This highly thought of Japanese film has generated buzz and awards for the last year and I was excited to be able to see it on the big screen. A delicate…