Thomas Hibbs has updated his book Shows About Nothing: Nihilism in Popular Culture in light of films and TV shows of the last decade like Christopher Nolan’s movies and AMC’s Mad Men. He says Nihilism has been the reigning philosophy in Hollywood since the 1960’s. By Nihilism, . . . . Continue Reading »
While the Ryan people were announcing that he wasn’t running for President (sigh), I was out watching FRIGHTNIGHT. Very enjoyable vampire movie that does a smart job of incorporating some of the anxieties of the Great Recession. That is tougher to do than it sounds. The . . . . Continue Reading »
The latest in the series, X-Men: First Class covers the same thematic material as its predecessors. The importance of TOLERANCE is stressed, but not in the classical sense of putting up with objectionable practices, nor Jerry Seinfield’s non-judgementalism (“Not that there is . . . . Continue Reading »
One of the standard interpretations of the Superman mythology goes something like this: Clark Kent is a seeming weakling who is despised by the girl he wants. She is mean to him, but he wants her just the same. He doesn’t just want a relationship with her, he also wants her . . . . Continue Reading »
Over the weekend, courtesy of my friends at Netflicks, the wife and I watched what may be the most under appreciated film in quite some time, The Last Station. Beautifully filmed while adhering closely to period costume, architecture, and environment (1910 Russia) the drama examines both . . . . Continue Reading »
My wife and I went to see Inception Saturday afternoon. I don’t have much ‘good’ to say about the film other than I liked it. It was way to long, and the film itself seemed intent on providing images of some college sophomore’s perspective of T.S Eliot’s ” . . . . Continue Reading »
Eric Rohmer, leading director of the French New Wave, died in January at age 89. During a career that spanned fifty years, he gained international acclaim and some box-office success. But he died having been loved for the wrong reasons… . Continue Reading »
Creation, a film about Charles Darwin’s personal life, is not a rant against God or even a story of the heroism of one man crusading for science against religion. Surprisingly, the movie is not polemical. It doesn’t bother to argue against religion, nor does it spend time arguing for the . . . . Continue Reading »
“I have hidden your Word in my heart,” Psalm 119:11 The above quote gives us the leitmotif of the movie, The Book of Eli. Eli is the messenger of God, who carries the Logos in his “heart” and represents the last hope of mankind. As the movie opens mankind has engaged in what the . . . . Continue Reading »
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