Warm Bodies (2013)
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
June 6, 2013
Well, it could be that zombie movies have finally eaten my brain, but I think this movie has an honest-to-goodness heartbeat.
4 Comments4 Minutes
Has the Power of the Ring Corrupted The Hobbit’s Filmmakers?
June 5, 2013
Today's Entertainment Weekly story about The Hobbit's new character played by Evangeline Lily has dealt a heavy blow to my hopes that this series will improve.
1 Comment3 Minutes
Want to Go to Jerusalem with Benedict Cumberbatch?
June 1, 2013
There's a documentary tour of Jerusalem on the way. But I suspect that a lot of people will tune as much for the tour guide as for the subject of the tour.
5 Comments2 Minutes
What Do 2013’s Most Stylish Vampires Have in Common with Johnny Depp, Tom Waits, and Bill Murray?
June 1, 2013
What do 2013's most stylish vampires have in common with Tom Waits, Johnny Depp, and Bill Murray? A director: Jim Jarmusch.
2 Comments11 Minutes
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
May 28, 2013
Five years ago this week, I was so excited about seeing Harrison Ford return to the role of Indiana Jones — and even more excited about seeing Karen Allen return to the role of Marion Ravenwood — that I had a great time watching Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Then I saw the film again...
3 Comments15 Minutes
Hey, Steven Spielberg, Nicole Kidman, and Ang Lee: What’s Your Verdict?
May 26, 2013
What film prize means more to filmmakers around the world than an Oscar? Somebody won it today. And most American moviegoers — munching popcorn and slurping corn syrup as they watch disposable, factory-made films — won't even notice that it happened.
2 Comments8 Minutes
Happy Birthday, Bob Dylan!
May 23, 2013
In honor of Friday's birthday boy, here's Andy Whitman's post about the man of many musical identities...
1 Comment10 Minutes
I Love Luci… and Levertov
May 22, 2013
This year, IMAGE presented the tenth annual Denise Levertov award to someone who is more than an inspiration to me.
2 Comments12 Minutes
Podcast: What Do Tony Stark, Bruce Wayne, and Jay Gatsby Have in Common?
May 21, 2013
Two posts back, I gave you a challenge: Close your eyes. If I say the word “masculine,” who is the first familiar face that you see? Who’s the man? In this podcast on masculinity and action heroes, one of the panelists was particularly enthusiastic about a certain actor who's been seeing a lot of action...
0 Comments2 Minutes
Sometimes There’s a Man: Who’s the World’s Most Masculine Guy?
April 24, 2013
Close your eyes. If I say the word "masculine," who is the first familiar face that you see? Who's the man?
13 Comments3 Minutes
Scorsese’s Interest: What About the Soul and the Heart?
April 21, 2013
Martin Scorsese is soul searching as he prepares (again) to film Shusaku Endo's masterpiece — "Silence."
1 Comment5 Minutes
Upstream Color — Don’t Miss It
April 19, 2013
I’ll write a full review of "Upstream Color" in time. But it will take time. Consider this just a first-impression burst of enthusiasm. Believe me, you don’t want reviews to explain this movie to you before you see it. So, here are a few fumbling attempts to describe it without spoiling it…
5 Comments4 Minutes
Look! An April Shower of Distractions — Six Links
April 17, 2013
Just in case you missed them, here's a list of six distractions from the past few days. It's a parade of bizarre attractions starring... Quentin Tarantino, Steve Taylor, Donald Miller, Roman Coppola, Wes Anderson, Andrew Sullivan, Steve Martin, Edie Brickell, and a feast served by somebody named Babette. If you have work to do, avoid the following links at all costs...
2 Comments12 Minutes
To The Wonder (2012): An All-Thumbs Review
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
April 12, 2013
I’ve been dreaming of trying out a new venture in long-form film criticism — reviews as fiction. I plan to write them as speed-writing exercises, fiction published in first-draft form. And I’m dedicating this first episode to… well, you’ll see when you read it.
18 Comments49 Minutes
Roger Ebert and Todd Rendleman: An Unexpected Friendship, A Remarkable Memoir
April 5, 2013
“We started up an email friendship,” says Todd Rendleman, who teaches film history and aesthetics at Seattle Pacific University. He’s talking about his new book "Rule of Thumb: Ebert at the Movies," and how the book’s subject — legendary film critic Roger Ebert — came to write the forward.
1 Comment6 Minutes
A Coen Brothers Easter
March 31, 2013
Does God believe in the Coen Brothers? Join me and legendary film reviewer Matt Zoller Seitz as we wrestle with this question in an Easter Sunday special event.
0 Comments1 Minutes
Before Sunrise (1995)
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
March 30, 2013
Watching Richard Linklater's "Before Sunrise" in preparation for the trilogy's upcoming conclusion, I found a reason to love this movie that I'd never thought about before.
3 Comments12 Minutes
O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000)
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
March 29, 2013
It's been more than 12 years since "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" opened. But the movie is on my mind on this Good Friday in 2013. And, given its theme of "dead men" who are "raised" through the influence of the Gospel (well, Gospel music, anyway), maybe it's a good movie to revisit the weekend of Easter.
3 Comments15 Minutes
Sorry! (A Temporary Blog Malfunction)
Overstreet's Books,Blog,The Auralia Thread
March 29, 2013
If you've been checking this blog recently, then you may have seen something strange: Old blog entries suddenly reappearing as if they were brand new, with no explanation. I can explain what's happening, but only in part...
0 Comments1 Minutes
Why I Want to Be George R. R. Martin’s Neighbor
On Books & Writing,Overstreet's Books,Blog,The Auralia Thread
March 21, 2013
There is a place... a magical place... where J.K. Rowling, Neil Gaiman, George R. R. Martin, Patricia McKillip, and J.R.R. Tolkien stand side-by-side...
19 Comments15 Minutes
Like Someone in Love (2012)
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
March 15, 2013
The last film that enthralled me as much as this one? It may have been "Certified Copy," the last Kiarostami film, which I've revisited almost ten times since its release.
1 Comment17 Minutes
Oz the Unfortunate and Underwhelming?
March 15, 2013
In which Steven Greydanus talks me out of spending money on Sam Raimi's Oz movie. "It’s not awful. It’s misguided and uninspired, but competent and watchable..."
4 Comments8 Minutes
Musical Highlights of 2013, So Far…
March 9, 2013
I've been hearing voices. They've been haunting my earphones, roaring through car stereo speakers, rumbling in the hardwood floor of my living, rattling the windows of my house. Thom Yorke. David Bowie. Zach Williams. Ashley Cleveland. And more. What are you listening to in 2013? I'd love to hear your recommendations.
3 Comments14 Minutes
Quentin Tarantino, America's Competition Addiction, and Movies That the Oscars Overlooked
March 6, 2013
This story stars a gunslinging hero, some Trappist monks, a French chef, and a little golden statue called Oscar...
0 Comments8 Minutes
Amour (2012)
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
February 22, 2013
Michael Haneke's "Amour" is taking a beating from religious-media film reviewers. I think the accusers are wrong. In Haneke’s movies, the lives of civilized, sophisticated, well-educated people are disrupted, reducing them to beastly behavior. It's a theme prevalent in his work: the capacity for evil in all of us. That's just one of 10 reasons why I think "Amour" deserves a closer look.
29 Comments44 Minutes
How "Downton Abbey" Should End
February 18, 2013
I don't care to know how "Downton Abbey" really ends, because I can't think of a better ending than this one...
1 Comment1 Minutes
Valentine's Day Special: Are These the Top 25 Films About Marriage?
February 14, 2013
When I think of great big-screen testaments to the challenges of lasting love, three films jump immediately to mind. And they're on my mind today as I peruse a new list of "The Top 25 Films About Marriage" from the Arts and Faith community, which is hosted by Image.
7 Comments12 Minutes
Side Effects (2013)
On Movies & Media,Blog,Film Reviews
February 8, 2013
This story is full of the sort of surprises that a reviewer is likely to spoil if he says much. I won't spoil them. And yet, I feel compelled to say that the surprises aren't much to get excited about. They come from the Magic 8 Ball of Hollywood Plot Twists, as arbitrary as they are implausible.
2 Comments7 Minutes
In Space, No One Can Hear You Have a Mid-Faith Crisis
February 3, 2013
It's a beloved science fiction novel, full of adventure, suspense, terror, and questions about the existence of God and the problem of evil. Would it make a good television series from the makers of "Mad Men"?
1 Comment4 Minutes
Looking Elsewhere: February 1, 2013
On Movies & Media,Overstreet's Books,Looking Elsewhere,The Auralia Thread,Blog
February 1, 2013
These links caught my attention today, for one reason or another. Check back later. I may add more look-worthy links as the day goes on.
0 Comments5 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”