Our nearest grocery store has RedBox, a $1 per night DVD rental vending machine. Surprisingly, the box is stocked with adequate amounts of new releases each Tuesday. If you already belong to a home-delivery service like Netflix or Blockbuster and don’t feel like spending that extra dollar, you can sign up on their website and [...]
World War II has inspired at least 600 films; the Vietnam War around 100. As the American occupation of Iraq continues, I am curious to see how many films will emerge from this experience and what kinds of stories they will tell. On the heels of the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, Paramount [...]
I loved Deadwood. I think I watched all three seasons in a matter of two weeks, or maybe less. Last summer, I was excited to see a David Milch follow up with John From Cincinnati. I’m not even going to pretend that it was as good as Deadwood. Few shows could be. Most critics were [...]
Here is a list of Jesus movies (forgive the whiteness) for your Easter viewing pleasure. Most of these should be available at your local video store or through Netflix. From the Manger to the Cross (1912) Intolerance (1916) The King of Kings (1927) Ben-Hur (1959) King of Kings (1961) The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) [...]
Last weekend, TCM aired the cult classic, Night of the Lepus, a B-horror movie about a failed science experiment to curb rabbit overpopulation. I decided to celebrate Easter weekend, in part by seeing just how terrifying the Easter Bunny could be. Unlike the birds in Hitchcock’s The Birds, the rabbits in Night of the Lepus [...]
As an active participant in popular culture, I am constantly barraged by violent images. From “humorous” cartoon fights to domestic abuse, violence pervades popular culture and sparks heated religious debates about spectatorship and the effects of pop culture on our physical, spiritual, and emotional well being. Far from avoiding popular culture or justifying it on [...]
Anthony Minghella, director of The English Patient, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Cold Mountain, suffered a fatal hemorrage today at the age of 54. Here’s the article from The New York Times. Anthony Minghella, Director, Dies
Thanks to Andy Karlson for pointing out this hilarious comic from Salon.
The Big Lebowski‘s celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. If, like me, you can’t get enough of the greatest comedy ever made, if not one of the greatest films (although I doubt El Duderino is big on lists), share your favorite moment or quote. One of mine: The Big Lebowski: Are you employed, sir? The [...]
As the previous post makes clear, religion and media interact in contemporary culture in complex ways. Not only does media struggle to represent religion, religious folk face the often daunting task of participating in a media culture that does not understand their value system or directly contradicts it. If Henry Jenkins can analyze convergence culture [...]
