Tag: Art

  • Synecdoche, New York

    Synecdoche, New York

    The act of creation, if we are truly image bearers of the Divine, is deeply imprinted on our very being. Few films explore the consuming, and neurotic compulsion that is the creative process as deeply (and terrifyingly) as Synecdoche, New York. The 2002 Charlie Kaufman movie follows Caden Cotard, one of Philip Seymour Hoffman’s most…

  • The Gospel According to Batman v Superman

    The Gospel According to Batman v Superman

    Liking Batman v Superman wasn’t part of the plan. I saw the film out of duty, not pleasure. The trailers were soulless, and the critics had already panned it as a debacle. Still, I couldn’t ignore the biggest release of the year so far, so I went to check it off my list. I spent…

  • The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

    The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

    From the start, I must acknowledge the Ben in the review. Not me. Though I am here. Hi there. No, I must acknowledge the other Ben. Ben Stiller. If you are a fan of Stiller – you clicked the wrong link, ‘bye now – or if you are just a fan of movies – you…

  • Are Christian Movies Getting Better?

    Are Christian Movies Getting Better?

    Listen in as we review War Room and ask the question: Are Christian movies getting better?

  • Babette’s Feast

    Babette’s Feast

    Babette’s Feast is the 1987 masterpiece by Gabriel Axel. Masterpiece, in this case, is the warranted term. The film is beautiful. Not just the cinematography — the sparse landscapes, and constant grays and blues that create an intensely happy sort of melancholy — not just the acting, or the script, or any particular aspect. They…

  • Targets

    Targets

    “The terms amok, a Malayan word, and berserk, a Norse word, have been used to describe individuals going on killing sprees,” says Grant Duwe, author of Mass Murder in the United States: A History. “Both terms have been around for centuries, which reflects the fact that mass murder is neither a modern nor a uniquely…

  • Adaptation

    Adaptation

    Deadlines. Creativity. Beauty. Truth. None of these are grammatically correct sentences. I can tell because of the green squiggling line underneath that short section in my Word document. The importance is the emphasis of separating these words from the traditional Subject-Verb-Object structure and leaving them to stand alone as complete ideas. This hints at something…

  • Prelude to a Kiss

    Prelude to a Kiss

    It’s been a decade since I graduated from film school, so maybe I’m forgetting, but I don’t remember studying the opening shot of Prelude to a Kiss. Yet it calls to be studied, much like the common basilisk lizard. You know, the one that walks on water. The camera begins by gazing at an upside-down…

  • A Postmodern Guide to Absolute Truth

    A Postmodern Guide to Absolute Truth

    A few weeks ago, I had a revelation. Age of Ultron just hit theaters as I hit the road for a friend’s wedding, and I found myself discussing the film with some Christians outside my normal circle. Excitedly, I shared my take on the similarities between superhero movies and the Gospel, and why I thought…