We are story-tellers by nature, and so stories speak to us with a unique power. So it should be no surprise that stories can be, among other things, marvelous catalysts for exploring important theological and philosophical concepts. With that in mind, the other day I posted the following tweet: What is your favorite movie for exploring […]
movies
Is it wrong for Christians to watch films containing graphic sexual content?
The other day I posted a survey about the ethics of Christians viewing movies containing “graphic sexual content.” Here are the results: Today's survey: "Christians may watch movies that include graphic sexual content." — Tentative Apologist (@RandalRauser) November 18, 2017 So a plurality of respondents believes Christians should not watch films with graphic sexual content. […]
The Best Movies of 2016 You Probably Haven’t Heard Of
One of the many purposes of this blog is to raise awareness about valuable cultural products (books and movies, mostly) which are worthy of your attention. I see more than one hundred movies every year. Most are soon forgotten. Many others are worthwhile but you already know about them since they have big budgets and are […]
Is “God’s not Dead” a modern classic?
Over the last two days I have receive some substantial backlash for my criticism of the current domineering popularity of middling superhero movies at the box office. The primary charge seems to have been that I am elitist in my opinions. But there is an ironic twist to this story. After some discussion with my two […]
Is it elitist to lament the popularity of superhero movies?
My lament over the enduring popularity of superhero movies (“Who can save the box office from superhero movies?“) was met by some incredulous responses. Chief among them was “Bryan L” who offered a stinging rebuke: “Who checks box office numbers? And who cares? Go see what you want and stop fretting that others don’t have […]
Who can save the box office from superhero movies?
I woke up this morning, checked the box office numbers for the weekend, and saw with horror and disappointment (but not, I admit, surprise) that the new Spider-Man film (the second in a shamelessly rebooted series) is going to pull in $90 million at the North American box office. Amazing Spider-Man? You want to see […]
Finding Jesus at the movies, but not in the Jesus movies
One month ago “Son of God” premiered in the theaters, the latest milquetoast retelling of the greatest story ever told. Since I couldn’t sit through the trailer without lapsing into a boredom-induced coma, I decided to give it a pass. Growing up, I would have been extremely apprehensive about making such a seemingly impious admission for fear I […]