This I Know…

Of course, I knew I would back track on my list of 2007’s most spiritually significant films and inevitably watch a film on DVD that I missed in theaters that should have made the cut. Like Michael Moore’s Sicko, but for the religious set, Daniel Karslake’s documentary, For the Bible Tells Me So, deals with one of the most pressing, divisive issues facing the Christian church today. The church’s stance(s) on gays and lesbians is a point of contention between believers that is not likely to settle down any time soon. Moreover, Karslake gets at the heart of the debate, the argument over Biblical inerrancy that fuels so much of this controversy. Here is a trailer…read on for the review.

[Read more]

2007’s Top 10 Spiritually Significant Films…

An Oscar list this is not. There are enough of those floating around magazines and the internet. Below is Pop Theology’s Top 10 Spiritually Significant Films of 2007 with a brief description of why each film made the cut. Feel free to praise, berate, or shrug. [Read more]

One Reader’s Top 20…

Faithful Pop Theology reader and movie guru, Ernest Myers, recently created his top 20 (well Top 20 1/2) movie list for 2007. I love how awards season sparks these conversations! I may not necessarily agree with his order, but he certainly has great things to say about each of these films. From 20 (and 1/2) to 1, here they are… [Read more]

It’s That Time of Year Again…Maybe…

The Oscar Nominees have been announced, even though the awards show hangs in the balance. Hopefully your favorite movies and performances made the cut. If not, always remember these are bogus anyway. They totally missed Zodiac and left Eddie Vedder out of Best Original Song, giving three nominations to Enchanted, a bit much I think. Read on for more and check back soon for Pop Theology’s Best Of list. [Read more]

Facing Controversy…

In my research on the resurgence of contemporary religious cinema in the United States, one film stands out among all the rest. Facing the Giants is an interesting case study not because it is some remarkable film and vastly better than other films like The Nativity Story, One Night With the King, etc. In fact, from a cinematic standpoint, the film is quite awful; however, we must take into consideration that this film was funded, produced, directed, and acted by members of Sherwood Baptist Church (Albany, GA) and reserve harsher criticisms for other films. Facing the Giants is in the news again, and it’s not due to awards season. Americans United for Separation of Church and State have responded to a complaint over the film being shown in a Tuscaloosa school. Churches have flocked to this film: when purchasing the film online, customers (presumably other churches) have the option to by the DVD by the 1,000’s. I knew it would only be a matter of time before a school system picked it up as well. Follow the link to the controversy. Where would we be without Roy Moore?

Group rebuts ‘Giants’ critics

Takin’ It To the Streets…

Talk about the relationship between religion, film, and pop culture. Two Welsh brothers have taken it one step further. Follow the link for more.

Brothers set up Jedi ‘church’

Apparently, they have a website as well: www.jedichurch.com.

There Will Be Blood, But No Revelations…

P.T. Anderson’s (Boogie Nights, Magnolia) latest film, There Will Be Blood, opened to mixed, though mainly positive, reviews. A fan of his earlier works, I highly anticipated this film, thanks in no small part to the casting of Daniel Day-Lewis in the lead role as Daniel Plainview, an aspiring oil baron in 1800s western America. As expected, Day-Lewis gave yet another breath-taking performance. I was also intrigued by the other lead character, Eli sunday (a vocal Paul Dano as opposed to his mute role in last year’s wildly successful Little Miss Sunshine). I thought the interaction between Dano’s charismatic Pentecostal preacher, healer, seer and Day-Lewis’ brooding, gritty, foul-mouthed prospector would be the stuff of cinematic legend. There can be no mistaking the power of the scenes they share; however, where Anderson could have taken one more step in his portrayal of religion (taking Dano’s character seriously, perhaps), he seemed ot rest on these performances and not necessarily would they could have signified. [Read more]

An Extra Special Series…

Whoever says there’s nothing good on television must not have a DVD player, a local video store, or access to HBO. Between multiple seasons of The Wire and Extras available on DVD, the writers’ strike be damned. Hot on the heels of their wildly successful, critically acclaimed series, The Office, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant tackle the quest for fame and artistic control in their newest series, Extras, which recently concluded with a Christmas special that aired on both the BBC and HBO. The series’ two seasons are both available on DVD now and will most likely be packaged with the special finale (like The Office) in the near future. Extras, most specifically in its second season, presents a character embroiled in a deep personal, professional controversy that smacks of spiritual issues as well, though the creators might cringe at this suggestion. [Read more]

First Generation Films…

For a class on religion, race, and American film, I watched several movies that dealt with immigrants and non-Christian religions, with the recognition that American religion is anything but monolithic. Nearly all of these films dealt with the tension between immigrant parents and their children (whether born in the United States or not) as the children seek to rectify their parents’ traditional culture with American culture. So once can potentially see films as diverse as The Jazz Singer (1927) and Dim Sum (1985) telling virtually the same story. Seeing Dim Sum piqued my interest in director Wayne Wang’s films, and so I recently watched his 1982 film, Chan is Missing. Along with this film, I also saw Mira Nair’s The Namesake (2007), based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri. Though both involve immigrant cultures, their differences make for two unique films. [Read more]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

HERE’S WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY 2008 FROM POP THEOLOGY!