I have been less than impressed by Disney’s animated films since the Lion King. [Please Note: None of the following criticism appertains to the Pixar films, which I do not associate with Disney, despite the corporate structure]. Not only have the originality of the storylines, the creativity of the dialogue, and the quality of the [...]
Archive for the ‘Movies Music Media’ Category
The Princess and the Frog
Posted in Movies Music Media, Philosophy and Theology on 27 June 2011 | 2 Comments »
Subtitles: Why you should watch movies that have them
Posted in Movies Music Media on 13 April 2011 | Leave a Comment »
CH and I wrote an article on foreign film for April’s issue of The Examined Life. Here’s an excerpt: … When we go to see Iron Man, we know where it is coming from (whether or not we know the comic book source), and are enabled to sit back and enjoy the impact. No blindsiding [...]
The Arts & Faith Top 25 Horror Films
Posted in Movies Music Media, Philosophy and Theology, tagged Horror films on 16 February 2011 | 1 Comment »
http://artsandfaith.com/t100/25_horror.html “But horror movies can do more than just frighten us. They can ask us to move beyond terror into contemplation, where fear of separation from God becomes the beginning of wisdom. Filmmaker David Cronenberg says, ‘I think of horror films as art, as films of confrontation. Films that make you confront aspects of your [...]
The Limits of Renewal
Posted in Literary, Movies Music Media on 14 February 2011 | 2 Comments »
The following excerpt is from an article I wrote for this month’s The Examined Life (an online publication of Wheatstone Ministries) on Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games Trilogy: … On a cultural and social level, we need the warnings of the dystopian novel. It says: if you continue on your present path, this is [...]
The Other Classical Music
Posted in Movies Music Media, Personal, Teaching on 14 February 2011 | 2 Comments »
Today I am confined to the sick bed. CH informs me that I am funny when I am sick–I do become rather cynical and punchy and my hair stands up on end. Maybe I should take the act on the road. Thankfully it’s a non-school day in my district, so I and the fifth grade [...]
Song List for the Loss of a Child
Posted in Movies Music Media, Parenting, Personal, tagged grief, loss of a child, miscarriage on 31 January 2011 | Leave a Comment »
On October 26, 2010, I lost my unborn daughter, Madeleine Grace. I found these songs helpful as I struggled to articulate my grief and wrestled with God. “Precious Child” by Karen Taylor-Good “Held” by Natalie Grant “Glory Baby” by Watermark “You Wouldn’t Cry (Andrew’s Song)” by Mandisa “All I Can Say” by the David Crowder [...]
January in LA: Theater Recommendation
Posted in Literary, Los Angeles, Movies Music Media, tagged Cormac McCarthy, The Rogue Machine Theater, The Sunset Limited on 3 January 2011 | Leave a Comment »
CH and I don’t see much theater these days, mostly due to lack of funds; but, we did make it out to one stage production in December: Cormac McCarthy’s The Sunset Limited. We’ve both enjoyed reading McCarthy over the past couple years (CH more extensively than I) and a production of one of his two [...]
The 10th Annual Year in Ideas
Posted in Aesthetics, Business, Fashion, Food and Wine, Literary, Movies Music Media, Philosophy and Theology, Politics on 17 December 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Interesting feature from The New York Times Magazine: For the 10th consecutive December, the magazine has chosen to look back on the past year through a distinctive prism: ideas. Our digest of short entries refracts the light beam of human inspiration, breaking it up into its constituent colors — innovations and insights from a spectrum [...]
Zadie Smith
Posted in Literary, Movies Music Media on 29 November 2010 | 11 Comments »
Sometime last spring I read several of Zadie Smith’s novels (The Autograph Man & On Beauty). They were fantastic. But, as often happens these days, it’s Ms. Smith’s articles that made me interrupt conversations to read aloud brilliant, piercing observations about the state of humanity. Smith, daughter of a Jamaican and a Brit, stands between [...]
The Walking Dead
Posted in Movies Music Media on 10 November 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Sometimes I am more than a little bashful about some of my tastes. This would be one of those times. CH & I finished watching Angel (a five season commitment completely worth the time, if only for season four) several weeks ago– we usually have some TV show in progress along with our ever increasing [...]
