audio reviews

You Can’t Stop What’s Coming…

May 20th, 2008

Audio Review of NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN by Pastor James Harleman The COEN BROTHERS adapted Cormac McCarthy’s novel into this film of the same name, After writing No Country in 2005, the 75 year old McCarthy has won a Pulitzer Prize for his novel “The Road” in 2006, once again exploring his familiar themes [...]

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We ALL want Happily Ever After…

April 16th, 2008

Fairy Tales: Folly or Faith? An audio exploration of Enchanted by Pastor James Harleman Enchanted intrigued me as it hit squarely on one of my favorite narrative dichotomies in Hollywood storytelling… what I affectionately call “Life Under the Sun” and “Life Beyond the Sun” films. These worlds collide in Enchanted in what I think is [...]

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Redundancy, Rebellion, and Staplers…

April 9th, 2008

Whether you cross decades or cross the pond, you can find shared shenanigans, duplicated drudgery, synchronized self-absorption, and facsimilied foolishness. Office politics and the cubicle life play themselves out in some amazing comedies which don’t try to hide that they’re dipping in the same office pool. From Peter to Tim to Jim, we feel a [...]

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Audio Exploration of BEOWULF’s Boasts…

March 14th, 2008

LEGENDS AND FALLEN HEROES AUDIO REVIEW by Pastor James Harleman “The time of heroes is dead: the Christ god has killed it, leaving nothing but weeping martyrs and fear and shame.” – Beowulf, from the 2007 film The tale of Beowulf in 2007 differs greatly from the epic, ancient Anglo-Saxon poem. What of Beowulf’s claim [...]

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Bourne Three Takes Three, Targeting Audio Awards

March 6th, 2008

I was excited to see The Bourne Ultimatum get three Oscars, which I would say are well deserved. Of course, if you asked me what the differences are between “Best Achievement in Sound”, “Best Achievement in Editing”, and “Best Achievement in Sound Editing”, I would be hard pressed to differentiate between them. Fortunately, Director Paul [...]

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More than Meets the Eye… and Ear

February 13th, 2008

Anyone who’s perused this site and added up the number of posts knows that I’m a Transformers fan. I mean come ON, I was an eleven year old boy when they debuted; it was inevitable. Whether it’s my commentary on the fatherly nature of Optimus Prime, my musings about fan favorites Bumblebee and Starscream, or [...]

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Is it fate or chance that haunts the Children of Men?

February 5th, 2008

Alfonso Cuarón’s film adaptation of the P.D. James’ book Children of Men is an incredible work of art marked by some of the most amazing cinematography I have seen. Opening on Christmas day in 2006, critics compared the characters of Theo and Kee with Joseph and Mary, calling the film a “modern day nativity story”. [...]

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Batman Vs. Superman…

January 16th, 2008

Transcending pulpy paper and kiddie-comics, these global cultural icons have invaded nearly every entertainment medium since the 30s, from radio programs to billion dollar films. As a younger man, I resonated with Batman and the underlying angst of the character. I never really “got” Superman until I was nearly 30. After I became a Christian, [...]

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Sometimes Truth…

June 21st, 2007

Is your life a comedy or a tragedy? When Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) hears the narrator of his life while brushing his teeth, he panics with the realization that his fate may not be his own. What ensues is a fascinating character study of a tax collector looking at his life – his time, his [...]

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Illusion of Good Intentions

June 7th, 2007

I keep expecting director Christopher Nolan to swing and miss. He gave us a stirring Memento, wrestled with Insomnia, ensured that Batman Begins, and capped things off with The Prestige, my pick for greatest film of 2006. (In 2008, he’ll give us the next Bat-installment with The Dark Knight.) This 37 year old Brit not only seems to [...]

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