(REVIEW) “Napoleon,” the latest historical war epic by the legendary Ridley Scott stars Joaquin Phoenix as the legendary French emperor and Vanessa Kirby as his wife Josephine. The movie details the the historic rise and fall of his empire and marriage. The film has opened to mixed reviews, but an unexpectedly impressive box office over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Read More(REVIEW) Christians have always had a love-hate relationship with Disney since I can remember. Growing up in the Christian culture of the 1990s and early 2000s, all the Christian parents I knew loved watching Disney movies with their kids — but have always had an uncomfortable relationship with some of its messaging.
Read More(REVIEW) There’s a picture-perfect version of Thanksgiving that exists in cartoons of overflowing cornucopias and naively cheerful turkeys. It’s meant to celebrate a bountiful harvest, a good meal and time together with loved ones. The real Thanksgiving is a lot more complicated — and unpleasant. A new movie out now captures just that.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Among the many spooky events happening last month was the biannual “Haunting of Impalas” at Family Business Brewing, a 15-acre brewery in Dripping Springs, Texas, owned by actor and musician Jensen Ackles. Along with Jared Padalecki, Ackles is the star of “Supernatural,” a television series that ran from 2005 to 2020.
Read More(REVIEW) While “The Shift” takes exciting steps in reviving the faith-based science-fiction genre, it never develops its ideas well enough to rise to the level of its own concepts.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Marvel continues its trend of wrestling with the goodness of God — but now has started to tilt toward believing that the Almighty may be good after all. Why the change and what led them to this newfound realization is rooted in both faith and power.
Read More(REVIEW) “Journey To Bethlehem” is a musical heavy on cheesy jokes, but lacks the heart that we expect from a family Christmas movie, including the sacredness we expect from a film about Jesus. Of course, this movie is not without controversy.
Read More(OPINION) Jesus instructs us to be meek and gentle the way our authority figures have always instilled in us, following Jesus can feel like giving into more social conformity. Jesus, it seems, does not seem to be either able or willing to protect us when we need it or to give us a model for how to protect ourselves and those we love.
Read More(OPINION) There’s good reason to believe that at least part of the decline in rom-coms comes from the fact that a large part of the audience just doesn’t believe in romance anymore. Fewer and fewer people are getting married and increasingly people are disillusioned with dating. And this is bleeding its way into people’s viewing preferences.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Persian Version,” by falling into all the familiar cliches around non-White, non-Christian immigrant families, reminds us how Western secular pluralism is not a neutral space for worldviews — but an exclusive worldview in its own right.
Read More(REVIEW) While “A Wonderful Day with Mabel Maclay” doesn’t reach the heights of children’s programs such as “Mister Rogers' Neighborhood” or “Sesame Street,” it is wholesome family entertainment for parents who want alternatives to what’s being offered by Disney or Netflix.
Read More(REVIEW) “Five Nights at Freddy’s” is a storytelling mess, but profoundly illustrates the heart of modern fears around AI that Hollywood is presently exploring. The movie is based on the video game franchise of the same name and centers on Mike, who agrees to work a shady job as a security guard on the night shift.
Read More(ANALYSIS) “The Exorcist” is not a film about a successful exorcism, but about what we do in the face of uncertainty and the cynical grinning face of the demon doubt. It is not a film about a priest, but about a human being.
Read More(REVIEW) Now, Angel Studios is trying to stake its claim in the documentary space with this year’s “After Death” and its upcoming adaptation of the book “Live Not By Lies.” “After Death” is a rewarding — if imperfect — exploration of near-death experiences for the faithful and the curious, and a hopeful step forward for faith-based documentaries.
Read More(REVIEW) It’s deeply fitting and gratifying that the Catholic director’s career-long struggle with God would lead to possibly his best and most Christian film to date. Hopefully his work will inspire others to wrestle with God and imagine the world as well as he does.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Can the faith-based film industry shift from appealing to married women to single women? It’s highly doubtful. It would require a huge shift in talent and genre that I don’t see evidence for. Certainly, the happily-married, evangelical men who now run the faith-based film industry would be unlikely to do it.
Read More(REVIEW) The power of the original “The Exorcist” film was that it helped restore people to faith in an authentic way that existed before them and would exist long after they’re gone. Instead, “The Exorcist: Believer” tries to rewrite faith to fit modern sensibilities. In the end, it only makes itself a hollow thing that will be forgotten sooner rather than later.
Read More(REVIEW) The film follows two parallel stories: One of Mother Teresa’s mission from God to serve the poor and needy in India; the other a young Indian-British woman named Kavita with a secret connection to Mother Teresa whose life is turned upside down when she finds out she’s pregnant. Mother Teresa’s story is so powerful that there is still stuff of value for those who do watch it. This film fails, however, because it tries to make her more relevant to modern audiences, but is too burdened by a mountain of cliches and bad theology to truly succeed.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Often panned both by secular and Christian film critics, faith-based films have been criticized for many things, whether it’s for the writing, acting or for perceived problematic messages. And yet, with all of the criticism, much of it valid (including much of it by me), it can get lost what good things there are in what we call “faith-based films” — movies made by people of faith for people of faith — that cause them to resonate so strongly with so many people.
Read More(REVIEW) The movie is a fictionalized adaptation of the memoir of Carolyn Webber by the same name. It follows brilliant, but emotionally guarded, Caro Drake as she arrives in Oxford with the singular goal of attaining her PhD. Through a turbulent friendship with a charming young man, she begins to open herself up to love and God.
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