-
Eighth Grade
Anyone who says they loved eighth grade is lying. It’s the perfect storm. Bullies, hormones, rejection, fear, doubt, and self-loathing. Rinse, repeat. But what was hell on earth is cinema heaven. Enter stand-up comedian Bo Burnham. Eighth Grade is Burnham’s feature film debut, and he couldn’t have picked a time in our lives more rife…
-
Annihilation
Our podcast this month was originally on A Wrinkle in Time. Then we saw the movie… Tune in to the beginning for Jon’s epic rant, and then stay for a discussion of a movie that’s actually worth talking about: Annihilation. Alex Garland is a prolific writer, ranging from novels (The Beach) to screenplays (28 Days…
-
Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner is a classic. That’s undisputed. The 1982 film, directed by Ridley Scott, is a breathtaking blend of noir and science-fiction that offers us a glimpse of the future we desire and dread. Harrison Ford shines as Rick Deckard, a “Blade Runner” tasked with hunting down and killing a group of rogue replicants. Replicants…
-
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
In post-war Japan, rebuilding quickly meant embracing new technologies. Every decade brought more advancements and a deeper integration of burgeoning computer power. The high-tech future, always a part of Japanese popular imagination, became a source for hope, international competition, and national pride for a people still under the thumb of Western powers. In the 1980s Japan experience a…
-
Her
The film opens with a man’s voice. It’s a sincere voice, affectionate, sensual yet caring. The camera slowly pans over the man’s face, and he’s reading an intimate letter, a letter that (we assume) is written to the person he loves. The man’s words are tender and earnest, and it is instantly familiar and soothing…
-
Oscars 2016 – Who Should Win? (Part One)
-
The Theology of Artificial Intelligence
To begin with I must confess that I am a pastor who is a huge fan of science, especially physics and theoretical future science, which also makes me a pretty big geek on sci-fi movies. Secondly (or fifthly), I’m also incredibly fascinated with the thought of artificial intelligence. That is – the possibility of “robots”…
-
Ex Machina
What is it that makes us human? Our anatomy? Our emotions? Our morality? If all these things could be reproduced, what would be left to distinguish the artificial from the flesh and blood? Those are the questions raised by writer/director Alex Garland’s new film Ex Machina. This is the latest addition in a long history…
