If you asked me about my top 10 favorite films of all-time, Casablanca would be on the list. It’s romantic, witty, adventurous. It is both ahead of its time and incredibly timely. The doomed romance between Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman) is … [Read more...] about Reviewing the Classics: Casablanca
The Fixer: HAIL, CAESAR! and the Pastoral Vocation
Eddie Mannix is a good man. At least his priest thinks so when Eddie visits him only a day after his previous confession. "You're really not that bad," the priest mutters, a bit exasperated at the film producer's self-deprecation and religious fervor. There are two scenes in this … [Read more...] about The Fixer: HAIL, CAESAR! and the Pastoral Vocation
The Year in Liturgical Cinema: Ash Wednesday and Lent
The second essay in The Year in Liturgical Cinema was posted at Christianity Today. (You can read the first essay on Epiphany here). This is a series exploring the theological themes of the Christian liturgical calendar and finding those themes within films. I explored Ash … [Read more...] about The Year in Liturgical Cinema: Ash Wednesday and Lent
5 Great Football Movies
With the big game coming up this Sunday, some cinephiles may find themselves with little to watch if they're not sports fans. Here are five great films spanning genres and decades, all about football (in alphabetical order): Brian's Song (1971, Kulik). Based on a true … [Read more...] about 5 Great Football Movies
My 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2016
We're almost a month into the year of 2016, so I better post this list before, y'know, the year is over. Here are the films I'm most eager to see in 2016, in order of release date: Hail, Caesar! (Joel and Ethan Coen). With their darkly comic narratives and … [Read more...] about My 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2016