reviews by genre
ELM STREET won’t put you to sleep, but doesn’t slice deep
May 9th, 2010
I wasn’t allowed to watch “Freddy” or “Jason” movies growing up, and by the time I watched Krueger on television in the 90s he’d become less nightmarish and more of a self-parody. The 2010 remake promised to bring back the darker tone, and the material certainly provides great possibilities to provoke thoughts and conversations about [...]
Read More...No Man is a (SHUTTER) Island
April 30th, 2010
When my friend and Redemption Group Pastor tweeted that this film was “EPIC,” his high-praise proclamation was even more intriguing to me than Martin Scorsese‘s trailer. Though I’m still not a DiCaprio fan, Shutter Island is a stylish, gripping psychological thriller exposing not only how we suppress the truth in our unrighteousness, but also how [...]
Read More...Going UP?
April 26th, 2010
In Pixar’s UP, an undeniably delicious treat for the senses, Carl Frederickson is chafing against the age-old aging process lamented in Ecclesiastes 12, and sets out to recapture the “spirit of adventure” and honor his late wife Ellie. We find, however, that his motives are mixed, and his mission is missing the mark. This literally [...]
Read More...Does this movie KICK-ASS?
April 23rd, 2010
If someone told me it was possible to make a movie that was part Watchmen, part Superbad, and part Tarantino film, I’d have said they were more deranged than Rorschach. However, although the most tonally-eclectic film I have ever seen, Kick-Ass works artistically… and despite the controversial R-rated content, the film (written by Catholic comic [...]
Read More...BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN’s ponderous ponderosa
April 22nd, 2010
I saw it, and – SHOCK! – I’m not gay. I know that a strange contingent of the conservative Christian community seems to think that by the mere watching of a film like Brokeback Mountain – with its “homosexual agenda” – a straight guy might develop a queer eye, but nothing could be further from the [...]
Read More...How to Train your Content
April 21st, 2010
Things have really taken off with Cinemagogue, from increasing emails to a a few interviews culminating in articles to more connections with writers, pastors and filmmakers. The Mars Hill blog began promoting film and theology events where we capture the audio, and I started blogging for The Resurgence using video. The embedded review of How [...]
Read More...Weak God, Limp Lucifer & Wooden Jesus
April 15th, 2010
Although we discussed imperfect Greek gods, and modern myths of a “more fallible Creator” in the last post, the new Clash of the Titans DOES stray from classic polytheism and polarizes the war between Zeus and Hades; save for a few scenes, the rest of the pantheon is scarce. It’s a much more westernized, even [...]
Read More...Perseus damns the gods (Thank God!)
April 13th, 2010
The gods need US! They need our prayers! – Cassiopeia, Clash of the Titans I mentioned in the first Clash of the Titans post that we’d address one of the film’s taglines: “damn the gods”. The queen of Argos speaks brazenly about the Greek pantheon of “gods” that rules over them in this remake of [...]
Read More...Clash of the CLASH of the Titans…
April 9th, 2010
I was SO not impressed. Why did we need a remake of Clash of the Titans? And what about that inaugural tagline: “Titans will Clash”? Ugh, with a marketing team like that on other films we might have had taglines like “War in the Stars” or “Man will Iron 2″. Besides, the ORIGINAL Clash of the [...]
Read More...DISTRICT 9 showcases (un?)likely hero
April 5th, 2010
As mentioned in my commentary on the Oscars and Cinemagogue’s Top 10 for 2010, the surprising gem District 9 ranked high on the list; although it didn’t make number 1, it DID boast the most unexpected story with the most intriguing character development I’ve seen in film for quite some time. The transformation of Wikus van [...]
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