Together Together (2021)
Behold — the invention of the "non-rom-com": a genre for stories about loving-but-platonic relationships between men and women!
1 Comment11 Minutes
Tenet (2020)
Christopher Nolan's movie was meant to restore our enthusiasm for big-screen cinema. So why do I think it's best watched on a laptop?
1 Comment16 Minutes
Lee Isaac Chung Week, Day Five: a review of Abigail Harm
Lee Isaac Chung's strangest film isn't easy to watch. Nor is it easy to forget. But it is well worth seeking out for its cautionary tale of a compromising love affair, mystical visitors from "up there," and the dangers of self-isolation.
0 Comments8 Minutes
Lee Isaac Chung Week, Day Four: two epic conversations with the director of Minari
In June of 2009, I met Lee Isaac Chung for the first time. We talked about his first feature film Munyurangabo. Nine summers later, I sat down with Chung to talk again — this time about his unpredictable and surprising journeys since then. The recording of that interview is now available for you thanks to Image.
2 Comments56 Minutes
Lee Isaac Chung Week, Day Three: reviews of his first two films
I stared writing about the films of Lee Isaac Chung more than a decade ago. Now that Minari is finally earning him the attention he has long deserved, it would be interesting to revisit those conversations and reviews. Here are the reviews. The conversations are coming tomorrow.
0 Comments4 Minutes
Lee Issac Chung Week, Day Two: Retrospectives
Minari director Lee Isaac Chung has a new essay in the L.A. Times. Have you been reading Looking Closer for the decade that has passed since he shared an essay with us? Here it is again: "Retrospectives."
0 Comments7 Minutes
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Compelling, occasionally impressive in its cinematographic finesse, occasionally obvious in its allusions, often too familiar in its form, eventually painful in its truth-telling, this flashy new film is, ultimately, a necessary testimony.
1 Comment13 Minutes
Lee Isaac Chung Week: Day One
This week, I'm celebrating the theatrical and streaming release of "Minari" in honor of filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung. We'll get it started with just a clip from a 2010 interview that will set some of the context for my appreciation of this filmmaker.
0 Comments6 Minutes
In space, no one can hear you scream. But on a podcast?
Listen to the latest episode of Looking Closer, which features a conversation with Sarah Welch-Larson about her new book on the theological implications of the Alien franchise.
0 Comments1 Minute
Overstreet’s 39 Favorite Films of 2020
Consider this a travel journal full of wonders, escapes, thrills, wisdom, and revelation. These are the films that blessed and challenged me most in 2020. Most of them are easily accessible now and you can enjoy them and share them. Take your time and explore.
1 Comment121 Minutes
This Is Chad Hartigan: a conversation with the director of “Little Fish”
In this episode of the Looking Closer podcast, filmmaker Chad Hartigan talks about his new sci-fi love story "Little Fish," its focus on the power of memory, and what it was like to make a pandemic-focused movie just in time for a real pandemic.
0 Comments1 Minutes
Favorite Recordings of 2020: Part 2 (#35–#21)
The countdown continues! Having listed my Honorable Mentions, I move on to my list of 35 favorite recordings from 2020. This post counts down #35–#21.
1 Comment31 Minutes
Favorite Recordings of 2020: Part 1 (Honorable Mentions)
Every year for decades I've posted annual lists of favorite albums here. I'm taking things up a notch, with a longer list and more links to specific tracks than ever before. Here's Part One of three posts on my favorite recordings of 2020. Put on your headphones and make some discoveries!
2 Comments30 Minutes
Oscar-bait extravagance: Mank is a mess
In David Fincher's much-anticipated epic about the origins of Citizen Kane, its political context, and its troubled screenwriter, so much artistry is spent on ambitious and extravagant scenes. But there's no magic happening here.
1 Comment19 Minutes
Letterboxd Spotlight: Glen Grunau on contemplative cinema and Peter Jackson’s war movie
Cinephile Glen Grunau offers a remarkable list of 100 "contemplative films" that will reward those who seek them out. Also: Grunau posts some insights on Peter Jackson's innovative WWI documentary.
0 Comments7 Minutes
Babette’s Feast: The Leftovers!
Thanksgiving leftovers!Listen in on a conversation between Alissa Wilkinson, Sam Thielman, and Jeffrey Overstreet as they celebrate the greatest feast ever filmed.
0 Comments2 Minutes
Wolfwalkers and the Rise of Cartoon Saloon — a conversation with Dr. Lindsay Marshall
Here is a new episode of the Looking Closer podcast, featuring my first impressions of Wolfwalkers, and then my conversation about it with Dr. Lindsay Marshall.
1 Comment1 Minutes
November 7, 2020: Relief, Elation, and Gratitude
I share this as the first in a series of more personal posts, in hopes of expanding the range of subjects I explore at Looking Closer. I hope you enjoy this glimpse of the glory that played out in front of me at the close of this beautiful day.
1 Comment11 Minutes
New adventures in hi-fi: Check out the new Looking Closer podcast!
It seems inevitable: a Looking Closer podcast!
0 Comments1 Minutes
Looking Closer with Jeffrey Overstreet
(now the ears of my ears awake andnow the eyes of my eyes are opened)
– e. e. cummings, “i thank You God for most this amazing”