Well, I didn't think I'd be able to see this movie until it was available to rent. But praise the Lord, I was able to watch it in theaters for my birthday, and thus am able to deliver my analysis, as requested by Miss Runyan, while it is still relevant. Overall, I'd give this movie... Continue Reading →
I really enjoy Christopher Nolan movies (those I've seen.) Inception is my all-time favorite standalone movie, and I love the deep themes and fascinating situations of Interstellar and The Prestige. A movie automatically earns points in my mind if it made me think. After all, those movies are getting harder and harder to come by... Continue Reading →
I know -- I'm very late to the game to talk about this movie. But, our family doesn't usually watch movies until they are available with ClearPlay. Thus, I didn't see it until this September. Before I do a deep-dive into it, I'll give you my general thoughts. I'd give Thunderbolts* around three-to-three-and-a-half stars out... Continue Reading →
Why are we drawn to things that challenge our intellect and our conception of the world? Why are stories like Inception and Interstellar so successful? Well, I think, simply put, the answer is wonder. But it's deeper than that. It's wonder at the storytelling. Wonder at the plot twists. Wonder at the cinematography. At the... Continue Reading →
I watched The Matrix for the first time this February. I know -- I'm quite behind. However, I was never too interested in the movie, because I'd heard its premise already and knew about the various cultural tie-ins, like the red-pill blue-pill thing. And to be honest, I found it kind of cheesy, with the... Continue Reading →
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a very special surprise today -- a guest post from Mara Scudder, co-writter of the Story Fortress blog! They do absolutely great work there, analyzing popular movies, books, and television and explaining just how writers can imitate the techniques that make our favorite stories work. Mara is a Christian artist,... Continue Reading →
The perfect man is blond, immature, and likes sparkly unicorns. The perfect man is dark, broody, and has skeletons in his closet. The perfect man defies authority, drives a fast car, and is loose with the ladies. Any of these messages sound familiar? They're inserted into a lot of popular fiction these days. It's pretty... Continue Reading →
Christmas is all about cheer, goodwill, and remembering childish innocence... right? One would have thought, for all the effort they put into their ad campaign and promoting how much 'audiences are loving' Red One, that Hollywood had actually put out a decent movie. They had big-name actors, incredible amounts of CGI, and Henry Jackman composing... Continue Reading →
What happens to a culture when you take its heroes and change them -- subvert them? What happens when readers and viewers see their childhood role models presented differently, buying in to woke agendas or radically altering their behavior or discarding the beliefs they were built on? I'm not talking about heroes from history --... Continue Reading →
Every child who's grown up on fairytales or Disney has heard the refrain, 'and they lived happily ever after.' It's a theme of every fairytale -- not counting the Grimms', naturally. Why? Why were stories finished with this line or something like it? Because it was convenient? Perhaps. But why are stories that don't end... Continue Reading →
