Archive for the ‘Movies’ tag
Golden Compass Tanks at the Box Office
It’s a dud, folks. I went to see it today and it’s just not that good of a movie. Aside from Pullman’s atheistic agenda, this movie is mostly a bore. Seemingly, not many folks are rushing out to see it. Check this out. It only made about 9 million bucks [...]
I Agree with Philip Pullman…
… about one thing. And that is that stories teach. They, in fact, often teach more effectively than any other method I could name.
Here is what the controversial author of The Golden Compass (vol. 1 of His Dark Materials) had to say when accepting an award for it in 1996: [...]
Pullman’s "The Golden Compass"
Many of you have seen the spectacular preview for the upcoming movie, The Golden Compass, which is based upon the novel by Philip Pullman of the same name.
The Golden Compass is the first volume of the well-known and rightfully controversial His Dark Materials Trilogy. I’ve read the books and expect the movies to be [...]
Born Into Brothels
Don’t let the title of this amazing documentary film confuse you. This is not a movie about prostitution. It is a movie about real children. Amazing children.
Originally planning to reveal the plight of women in Calcutta, India, documentarian Zana Briski found herself unexpectedly charmed by the children of prostitutes who were literally [...]
The Value of Shock Value
Can horror films serve a useful purpose? Jeffrey Overstreet thinks so. And I agree. Oh most horror films are probably, at best, merely entertainments for adrenaline junkies. Rather, most of them are harmful gore-fests that desensitize the viewer to human suffering and feed a broken sadistic appetite to see people cut [...]
Laughing at Ourselves: Through a Screen Darkly 2
As part of my preparation for a youth retreat I’m speaking at this weekend in Marshall, Michigan, I’ve been studying a new book by Jeffrey Overstreet called Through a Screen Darkly. I’ve long been a reader of his blog.
Yesterday, I read his comments on a film I actually have not seen. It’s called [...]
Through a Screen Darkly 1
Even though I started to read Jeffrey Overstreet’s Through a Screen Darkly this summer, I had to set it aside for a while. But now I’m enjoying it full speed once again. Right now, I’m about half way through it. I’ve read a lot of books on movies and religion, but this [...]
The Devil is Your Friend
300 came out on DVD today, the new film based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller. It’s a pretty riveting action film inspired by the ancient battle between 300 Spartans and about 80 zillion Persians.
As much as I enjoy the film with it’s stylish action sequences, a better rendition of the story is [...]
Dial M for Metaphysics
In 1948, Alfred Hitchcock directed the unusual thriller Rope starring Jimmy Steward and Farley Granger.
I say “unusual” because it is not typical for Hollywood to include drawn out philosophical reflections in its productions.
Entirely played out in two rooms of a single apartment, the opening scene shows two men at the final moments of strangling a [...]
God in the Ghost Movie
I went with a couple of chums last night to a late showing of 1408, the current film based on a story by Stephen King. It starred John Cusack, one of my all-time favorite actors.
I really appreciate a well-written ghost story. This one was better than average but not stellar. A good [...]
