Films have to ability to take us into unknown worlds?maybe through science fiction, or a setting in a different culture or time period. When I?m in a theater (ah, those were the days!) and the lights go down I feel a bit of excitement about where we will travel to...
Sometimes what is going on around us colors what we see when we watch a film. For example, today (I?m writing on January 6, 2021) I chose to watch the wonderful documentary John Lewis: Good Trouble. Part way through, my wife came out and told me to turn on the news,...
Some stories and the worlds they bring to us are too big for a single film. Sometimes that means trilogies or ongoing sequels without end (like Star Wars). But for Steve McQueen to bring us a vision of the world he grew up in, it required the Small Axe anthology. This...
?Don?t most hotels have the courtesy to leave you in the drawer? Jesus Christ!? Sometimes, I miss those all-night bull sessions I would have with roommates in college. We would delve into deep questions about God, morality, and the meaning of life. We would sometimes...
?No matter how rocky and dry the soil, there?s a chance for life.? Ron Vignone?s Two Ways Home has won a slew of awards at various festivals around the country. It is a story of broken people and broken relationships. It is also a story of healing and new life. Kathy...
?We must become the shepherd of our own destinies? Mangrove, the opening film of Steve McQueen?s Small Axe anthology, is a tale of racial struggle against police abuse. It is based on the true story of the Mangrove Nine, a group of men and women put on trial in...
?You can?t crush a soul here; that?s what life on earth is for.? Since Pixar?s Soul is coming to us on Christmas Day, I can?t help but compare it to a present. This is the largest present under the tree. It has the most amazing wrapping paper and beautiful ribbons. We...
?I think God gives everyone the same gift. Most people don?t unwrap the gift.? Rafal Zielinski?s Tiger Within is a study of brokenness, fear, hatred, wisdom, forgiveness, and healing. It is the story of two very different people who manage to find a connection they...
Amy Miller Gross?s Sister of the Bride has all the ingredients of a romcom, but it never gets the mix of those ingredients right. So instead of a story of finding sweetness, love, and happiness, we get a story with far too much bitterness, malice and pain. Audrey...