High Life

MPAA Rating: R Rating: ★★★★
Release Year: 2019
Director: Claire Denis

Ad Astra

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Rating: ★★★½
Release Year: 2019
Director: James Gray

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood

MPAA Rating: R Rating: ★★
Release Year: 2019
Director: Quentin Tarantino

I Love You, But You Don’t Know What You’re Talking About: On ‘Moonrise Kingdom’ and Adolescence

Think back to when you were 12 years old, likely the age you were in the sixth grade. It might help to pull out an old photo album or yearbook to see what you looked like then, drawing you back into the memories of your past self. What were your relationships like with your friends, your family? Who were the people most important to you? Were you attracted to anyone romantically? What were your favorite movies, books, music, and clothing? …

Bright Wall / Dark Room – Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Silence’

For Bright Wall / Dark Room’s Issue 70, “Going Long,” I wrote about Martin Scorsese’s 2016 masterpiece of religious cinema, Silence. The long-form essay was also chosen to be published at RogerEbert.com. Here’s an excerpt: In the beginning, there is only darkness. Crickets chirp and cicadas buzz. There is some small comfort in the auditory, a living hum in the blackness and blindness. Through the void, the sounds of nature build and crescendo, peaking to an almost unbearable cacophony until… …

A Film Critic Pastor-Theologian On The 2019 Oscars

I wrote a blog post for Portland Seminary (I’m an alumnus, 2017 MATS grad) on being both a film critic and a pastor-theologian, as well as my predictions and recommendations for the 2019 Oscars. People often ask me if being a film critic doing a PhD on cinema and theology takes all the fun out of watching movies. I can understand the sentiment. Film-watching is supposed to be an enjoyable diversion, an escape from reality for 90-120 minutes into an …