Posts in Entertainment
‘Agatha All Along’ Gives An Unusually Accurate Picture Of Witchcraft

(REVIEW) Despite its flaws, “Agatha All Along” gives a refreshingly honest look at grief, relationships, the false promises of power and selfishness. In a world that churns out superhero movies with nothing to say, this is a welcome thing. In a world that tries to idealize the witch lifestyle, this show gives a far more accurate take than most forms of media have the guts to. The world of “Agatha” is one without hope in the face of death.

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Inside A Secret Process: Papal Drama ‘Conclave’ Shares An Unconventional Message Of Unity

(REVIEW) “Conclave,” the fictional thriller that outlines the Catholic process of selecting a new pope, does the audience the service of stating its intended message outright. In a controversial homily that begins the proceedings, Cardinal Thomas Lawrence declares that “certainty is the great enemy of unity.” The movie also goes on to demonstrate that lesson in a variety of ways, as conspiracy abounds and tension grows.

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How A Legendary Church In Sleepy Hollow Stays Faithful In A Halloween Mecca

Along the Hudson River, about an hour north of New York, is a church perched atop a hill in a village called Sleepy Hollow. When Washington Irving immortalized the Old Dutch Church with its Headless Horseman in “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” it became a literary mainstay. For 300 years, the ghost who haunts the churchyard has frightened people. These days, a new force distresses the locals.

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‘Hellboy: The Crooked Man’ Espouses Christian Values In The Fight Against Evil

(REVIEW) Hellboy is an odd character with a bumpy cinematic history. Based on a comic book series, Hellboy is the son of a demon and a witch who was brought from hell into the world by Nazis. He was rescued and raised by Professor Broom of the BPRD (Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense) who became his surrogate father and trained to help save the world from monsters. 

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‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’ Wrestles With The Correct Religious Questions

(REVIEW) Forgiveness is widely considered one of the most difficult things to do in life — particularly when it comes to the relationship between parents and children. This is probably why so many films deal with the idea of reconciling with one’s parents. “Exhibiting Forgiveness” does a great job of honestly wrestling with the hardest questions around forgiveness.

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From ‘Shrimp Jesus’ To Fake Portraits, AI-Generated Images Latest Form Of Social Media Spam

(ANALYSIS) If you’ve spent time on Facebook, you may have noticed photorealistic images that are too good to be true: children holding paintings that look like the work of professional artists, or majestic log cabin interiors that are the stuff of Airbnb dreams. Others, such as renderings of Jesus made out of crustaceans, are just bizarre.

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‘Salem’s Lot’ Brings Satisfying Classic Vampire Tropes — And Half-Cooked Themes

(REVIEW) Unlike exorcism movies, which have largely gone unchanged since the 1973 film ‘The Exorcist,” vampire films have gone through interesting cycles of evolution. While vampires originally were portrayed as evil, alien creatures, franchises such as “Twilight” and “The Vampire Diaries” showed them as hot antiheroes and even — at times — as wholesome and misunderstood. 

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‘Rings Of Power’ Season 2 Review: Dramatic Finale Offers Up A Mixed Triumph

The second season of “Rings of Power” is far from perfect. But the finale pays off its themes in surprisingly satisfying ways, making it far more faithful to J.R.R Tolkien than its most ardent detractors will admit. To say that “Rings of Power” is controversial would be an understatement. Since its premiere, the series has fallen afoul of the culture wars online.

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‘The Chosen’ And ‘Am I Racist?’ Now Typify Success For Faith-Based Movies

(ANALYSIS) Two recent events have made major headlines in the faith-based film industry. The first was the dominance of faith-based, politically right-wing films at the domestic box office. The second was Dallas Jenkins’ announcement that his “The Chosen” TV series about Jesus was expanding into a whole “The Chosen” universe of shows.

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‘Beetlejuice’ And The Afterlife: Tim Burton Offers Up Confusion About The Dead

(REVIEW) The “Beetlejuice” sequel shows that Tim Burton continues to present religious themes, such as when Beetlejuice makes the sign of the cross and immediately catches on fire. Also, the movie expands the afterlife and shows how there are places beyond the waiting room and hallways we were shown in the first movie.

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‘Kaos’ Turns Out To Be An Unusually Insightful ‘Rage Against the Gods’ Comedy

Most religious mythologies reflect how various peoples experience the world. Mesopotamia had really bad weather and tribal warfare, so its people tended to portray the gods as deeply chaotic and unreliable. Meanwhile, their Egyptian neighbors had stable weather and an equally stable government. As a result, their gods were largely stable and benevolent as well.

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‘Without Faith, Life Is A Predictable Tragedy’: Q&A With Singer Andrea Bocelli

Bocelli is often referred to as the most world-famous Italian national alive, which is not surprising if you think that he has managed to sell more than 90 million albums worldwide in a career that spans over 25 years. Motivated by his Christian faith, Bocelli's ability to connect with audiences worldwide has made him an international star.

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‘Maxxxine’ Concludes Horror Trilogy With A Useless In-Your-Face Religious Message

(ANALYSIS) Audience members may walk away from the first two movies in the “X” trilogy believing they’re meant to have picked up on a meaning. Maybe something about purity culture, womanhood or aging; maybe a warning about the perils of chasing stardom. But even the intended message is unclear. 

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What A Horror: ‘The Front Room’ Is ‘God’s Not Dead’ For Feminist Pagans

(REVIEW) “The Front Room” tries to say something important about faith, but its social commentary is too silly to take seriously and the thrills aren’t good enough to be silly fun. In a post-Christian society, it’s inevitable that movies will increasingly find creative ways to reflect and wrestle with this religious change. Hopefully, more of them will do so in a more intelligent (or at least entertaining) way than “The Front Room.”  

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The Power Of Christ Compels Them: Why Hollywood Is Making So Many Exorcism Movies

(ANALYSIS) Exorcism movies are making a comeback — and the reasons are more interesting than you might think. The likely reasons actually say a lot about the present and the future of religion in America and its intersection with the future of mass media. Here's a deeper look at why Hollywood is going all in on the genre.

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Adam Sandler’s New Netflix Comedy Special: Usual Schlock Updated For The 2020s

(REVIEW) Adam Sandler has gotten better at guitar since “Chanukah Song.” In his new Netflix comedy special, "Love You," the comedian plays a long, honestly impressive, flamenco riff before bursting into a song in which he complains about mowing the lawn, and also whinnies like a horse. Guitar skill, it seems, is the only thing that’s changed about Sandler.

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When Fiction Parallels Reality: Is Every War Movie About Israel And Gaza Now?

(ANALYSIS) When the second installment in the blockbuster “Dune” franchise came out, it was hard not to see it as a not-very-subtle metaphor for the Israel-Hamas war. It was starnge to watch scenes of guerilla warriors in headscarves when I saw the same images on the news. Lately, people have been finding those same parallels in other movies or TV series about conflict.

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‘Rings of Power’ Season 2 Strongest To Date With Its Expansion Of Tolkien’s Mythology

(REVIEW) “Rings of Power” tries to square the circle between the “The Lord of the Rings” wider Middle Earth treatment of religion, and it often is more confusing than anything. While the second season opener is far from perfect, it’s a giant leap forward toward the kind of show that “Lord of the Rings” fans deserve. It also honors J.R.R. Tolkein’s legacy and the way he imagined the world.

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