Tag: Violence

  • The Irishman

    The Irishman

    Christmas movies are overrated. Why not spend the holidays with a film full of sociopaths instead? That was Netflix’s gamble when they released Martin Scorsese’s latest offering on their streaming platform in December. According to them, 26 million people have streamed the movie to date. Clearly, the gamble paid off. Scorsese has made a lot…

  • Joker

    Joker

    No film in recent memory has been as polarizing as Joker. A scroll through Rotten Tomatoes reveals a spectrum of reactions ranging from the highest praise of the year to anger that the movie was even made. One thing’s for sure though: everyone has seen it. Joker is officially the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time…

  • Mandy

    Mandy

    Who is Nicolas Cage? Oscar-winning actor? Charming leading man? The king of rage? The answer of course is all of the above. His nearly four decade career has run the gamut. He’s been acclaimed and panned. He’s made hits and straight-to-DVD misses. But through it all, Cage is still making movies and we’re still talking…

  • The Innocents

    The Innocents

    Faith is twenty four hours of doubt, and one minute of hope. Serene liturgical music fills the ears as the film opens, the voices of women, nuns in a contemplative convent. And we are held there, just long enough, long enough to feel the way a sacred space can open something within us, can deepen…

  • Hacksaw Ridge

    Hacksaw Ridge

    Sometimes it’s easy to wonder if Mel Gibson wants to find redemption in his work as a filmmaker. Gibson’s shortcomings are clearly documented: some will tell you he’s a drunk, an anti-Semite and a clinically insane person. Others will tell you he’s a broken man seeking to honor God in his craft. And I think…

  • Birth of a Nation

    Birth of a Nation

    Few films arrive with as much controversy as Birth of a Nation. A promising run on the festival circuit (complete with a standing ovation at the Toronto Film Festival) gave way to scandal when disturbing details emerged about writer/director/star Nate Parker’s past. The movie is here now, but is it any good? Birth of a…

  • Seven Days in May

    Seven Days in May

    “The writer’s role is to menace the public’s conscience,” Rod Serling, the adaptor of Seven Days in May, addressed the Congress in 1968. “He must have a position, a point of view. He must see the arts as a vehicle of social criticism…”* Serling’s vehicle was a bulldozer, through which he endeavored to level the…

  • Concussion

    Concussion

    As a youth growing up (a long time ago), I never played football for two reasons. First, I was reared in Indiana where football was relegated to a minor sport far behind basketball — in fact my high school didn’t even have a football team at that time. Secondly, I was incredibly untalented when it…

  • The Hateful Eight

    The Hateful Eight

    There are few filmmakers as polarizing as Quentin Tarantino. Some celebrate him. Others revile him. Now Tarantino is back with his latest film The Hateful Eight — a fitting title considering this is the eighth film of his career. Listen to this month’s podcast as we ask: Is there truth in the works of Quentin…

  • The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

    The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2

    If you have ever seen a movie about someone being stranded at sea, you may know the popular phrase: “Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.” As I left the theater after watching the finale of the Hunger Games “trilogy” I felt like I was stranded at sea…adrift…seeing what looked like hope all…