Articles
Violence and virtue: How Christian is The Revenant?
Whether one sees The Revenant as a spiritually rich, profound meditation on good and evil or an overwrought attempt to transmogrify atrocity into transcendence, Christians should recognize that when it comes to media depictions of violence, there are two potential dangers, not just one.
Make Mine Marvel
The modern era of superhero movies was arguably inaugurated by two films: Bryan Singer’s 2000 X-Men and Jon Favreau’s 2008 Iron Man.
Whit Stillman and the discreet charm of the Urban Haute Bourgeoisie
He’s been called “the WASP Woody Allen,” but I prefer my friend Ron Reed’s moniker for Whit Stillman: “the Jane Austen of indie film.”
“That’s a crucifixion!”
But the Crucifixion was not only on Calvary, and if Christ is on the waterfront, he can also be found in a medieval prison cell, a cheap, penny-ante building and loan in a crummy little town, a Russian shtetl (a small Jewish town in Eastern Europe), a Belgian trailer park, or the slaves’ quarters of a 19th-century Louisiana plantation.
“A person’s a person”: Animation and the cultures of life and death
Clearly Horton can be called a “pro-life” hero in a broad sense, and even in a sense that resonates in some striking ways with the pro-life cause. And his isn’t the only animated adventure with pro-life resonances.
What’s Catholic response to Spotlight been like? Mostly positive, actually.
Why has Catholic response to Spotlight been so positive? One key reason is the film’s shrewd choice of point of view.
Silent rage against the machine: Metropolis and Modern Times
Metropolis is an operatic, dystopian science-fiction parable with roots in various sources including biblical and medieval Christian imagery, while Modern Times is a satiric comedy at times recalling Dickens and anticipating “Dilbert.” Yet the two films converge around political, economic, social, and technological themes.
Jesus movies and antisemitism: Jesus of Nazareth and The Passion of the Christ
While concerns around “Jesus of Nazareth” were short-lived, The Passion of the Christ remains controversial, beloved by many and condemned by many others.
Interview: The Young Messiah filmmaker Cyrus Nowrasteh
The director of my favorite movie this spring about Jesus and a Roman soldier talks about working with Sean Bean, Jesus’ human consciousness, and bringing the biblical world to life.
Alfred Hitchcock’s two most Catholic films
Intriguingly, although I Confess was made first and The Wrong Man closely follows its true story, there are a number of notable convergences between the two films.
Mardi Gras and movies: Easy riders, anthropomorphic frogs
New Orleans’ legendary Mardi Gras celebration has been depicted or used as a backdrop in scores of films, though surprisingly few depictions are of any great or enduring note.
Mercy and movies: Lenten viewing for the Year of Mercy
Six years ago I put together a list of movie recommendations for Lenten viewing, six titles for the six weeks of Lent. This year, for the Year of Mercy, here’s a new list: one that puts particular emphasis on mercy, charity, and active concern for one’s neighbor.
The fairest of them all
23 years ago I had the privilege of catching Walt Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in theatrical re-release. At the time I was acutely aware what a privilege it was, because about five years earlier, in a history of animation class at the School of Visual Arts, I had written a research paper about that very film, and in those days there was no easy way for me to actually watch the film I was writing about!
Before Spotlight and Brooklyn: Priests, religious, and the Academy Awards
Two of this year’s eight best picture Academy Award nominees, Spotlight and Brooklyn, present dramatically different depictions of Catholic clergy — though neither gives a clerical character more than a few minutes of screentime.
Abortion, the sanctity of life, and movies
43 years after Roe vs. Wade, Americans remain about as deeply conflicted over abortion as ever… The nation’s divided conscience on this subject is reflected on the screen.
Alan Rickman, Brian Bedford, and their Robin Hood movies
This week the world lost three English performers who were all film actors … Bedford’s best-known film role was in Disney’s animated Robin Hood, in which he voiced the legendary outlaw. Rickman, who died the next day, had played the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, starring Kevin Costner. David Bowie, alas, never made a Robin Hood movie.
2015: The year in reviews
The most celebrated films in any given year are often laced with dark or harrowing themes, and 2015 was no exception… There were also films with uplifting themes, though it’s possible they were harder to find than in past years. In part for that very reason, I treasured them more.
Good Denzel, bad Denzel: Malcolm X
Lee has called Malcolm X the movie he was born to make; in some respects it may be the role Washington was born to play.
The subversive non-subversiveness of “Phineas and Ferb”
There are at least a half dozen reasons “Phineas and Ferb” never should have existed, and how fortunate for viewers of all ages that it does.
Is Star Wars Gnostic?
Is the Star Wars mythos Gnostic? If so, how Gnostic is it? The question is complicated by confusion over exactly what Gnosticism is.
Recent
- Ethan Hunt’s second act and Tom Cruise’s third: The unending impossible mission
- Indiana Jones movies and Raiders of the Lost Ark: Why the original still stands alone
- The Lourdes Effect: The Miracle Club director Thaddeus O’Sullivan on Irish trauma and miracles
- An Elemental misstep: Does Pixar still need — or benefit from — anthropomorphic fantasy?
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is an incomplete triumph
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