Hey, Moviegoers: You’re Invited to a Secret Seattle Q&A
If you could meet and interrogate your local film critics, free of charge, would you do it?
0 Comments2 Minutes
TEN YEARS! Pt. 2: The Best of Looking Closer – 2005
This blog turns ten years old on May 11, 2014. And this post is Part Two of a ten-post series in which I'm celebrating by reflecting on some of my favorite experiences from Looking Closer's first decade.
0 Comments2 Minutes
Podcast: Listen as a Theology Professor, an English Professor, an Ordained Minister, and a Film Critic Talk About That Noah Movie
Did the theologian think the movie was "un-Biblical"? Did the English professor think the "rock monsters" in the movie were "stupid"? Did the ordained minister think that God was absent in the film? Did the film critic think it was "the worst Christian movie ever made"?
1 Comment3 Minutes
TEN YEARS! Pt. 1: The Best of Looking Closer – 2004
This blog is turning ten! Let's look back a whole decade. What were the highlights here ten years ago?
2 Comments12 Minutes
Listen Closer: Joe Henry; Peter Gabriel & Elbow; The Secret Sisters; Hiss Golden Messenger; Belle & Sebastian; Beck Covers Arcade Fire
Sample new music from Joe Henry, Elbow, Hiss Golden Messenger, The Secret Sisters, Belle and Sebastian, and Beck.
3 Comments7 Minutes
Under the Skin (2014)
Feel free to eavesdrop as I argue with myself upon exiting the theater after seeing Jonathan Glazer's troubling new sci-fi horror film Under the Skin...
3 Comments12 Minutes
Q&O = Question & Overstreet! On Muppets, Korean Cinema, U2, God’s Not Dead!, and more.
Q&A time! If you're interested in MFA programs, Korean cinema, Muppets, God's Not Dead, U2, or my dubious opinions... here we go!
3 Comments10 Minutes
God’s Not Dead (2014): A Looking Closer Film Forum
Now, two of the finest film critics in Christian media agree: There's something quite contrary to the spirit of the Gospel at the heart of the smash-hit "Christian Movie" God's Not Dead.
7 Comments7 Minutes
I’m Singing On the Radio. Forgive Me.
This weekend, I'm a guest on "Tapestry with Mary Hynes" on CBC radio and, in some places, on NPR. Also, on Monday I'll join a panel discussion on "Noah" at The Kindlings Muse. You're invited!
0 Comments4 Minutes
Noah (2014): Part Two of a Two-Part Commentary
In which two very different moviegoers wrestle with Noah, and with some of the questions that the movie asks.
22 Comments30 Minutes
Noah (2014): Part One of A Two-Part Commentary
Darren Aronofsky made an epic Old Testament movie in which he wrestled with some of humankind's most difficult questions. And Christians responded with admirable attention, grace, intelligence, and humility. Right? No? That didn't happen?
7 Comments14 Minutes
Is It Dangerous? Biblical? Gnostic? Awesome? — Here’s All The Noah That’s Fit to Print
Let's focus on the reviews of Noah that demonstrate an actual love for movies, an interest in our neighbor Darren Aronofsky, and a willingness to engage his ideas.
26 Comments8 Minutes
Three Years Ago Today, We Raised Our Glasses to the Ale Boy
"This is my favorite fantasy series," says the latest Amazon reviewer of The Ale Boy's Feast, the fourth and final book in my series of fantasy novels called The Auralia Thread. "I recommend it to everyone 13 through 120."
1 Comment6 Minutes
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Every scene was like a spectacular frosted pastry with a sharp object baked into the middle of it.
3 Comments21 Minutes
Seven Films That the Oscars Forgot
Now would be a great time to catch up with what the Oscars missed. And they missed a lot. Good news: Most of those titles are now easily accessible for you to enjoy at home.
0 Comments1 Minutes
The Passion of the Christ: Revisited
Would I now disagree with the review I wrote ten years ago? Would I flinch to read what I wrote back then?
4 Comments38 Minutes
What’s So Funny? – Part 2
When movies make fun of religious characters, should we laugh?
1 Comment31 Minutes
What’s So Funny? (Or: Christianity and Comedy are Not Exclusive)
A criminal steals a baby. Are you laughing? A rabbi uses Jesus's name in vain? Is that funny?
3 Comments26 Minutes
The Incredibles (and Other 10-Year-Old Films); Jesus Films; Matt Zoller Seitz; Scott Cairns
This week, special thanks go out to Brad Bird, Matt Zoller Seitz, and more. Find out why.
0 Comments6 Minutes
Not Gonna Bow: Notes on the Oscars
It appears that a lot of people have completely misunderstood what cinema is for, concluding that it's all some big cockamamie competition.
7 Comments5 Minutes
The Great Beauty (2013)
I've just seen "The Great Beauty" and I'm still a little bit drunk on its imagery. It's a feast for those with big appetites for beauty on the big screen. But alas, the meal is soured by a bitter syrup.
4 Comments9 Minutes
Listen Closer: St. Vincent, Beck, Neneh Cherry, Lost in the Trees… and U2
Got headphones?
0 Comments8 Minutes
Hard to Be a God — The Science Fiction Film of the Decade?
This film first won my attention when one of my favorite film critics rated it a perfect "10." I began to dig for information. What is this movie? Why such a bold title?
6 Comments12 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”