Today is my birthday, so it seems like the perfect moment to share this wonderful gift DK Canada gave me. Director John Landis has overseen the compilation of a new anthology, Haunted Houses, and it is perfect reading for the Halloween season. It’s a fantastic collection, and DK Canada arranged for me to speak with…
Tag: christ
Jesus Christ Superstar (1973) – Norman Jewison
It’s time to dig into some of the previously un-reviewed (for me) recommendations in the Musical section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, and I was rather surprised with how much I enjoyed Norman Jewison’s anachronistic adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic rock opera. Christian theology has never really been my…
Ordet (1955) – Carl Theodor Dreyer
The next film from the What Else to Watch category of DK Canada’s The Movie Book following my screening of The Passion of Joan of Arc is another Dreyer film, and it is becoming more than evident to me that he was fascinated by the ideas of religion. Ordet follows the trials and tribulations of…
Whistle Down the Wind (1961) – Bryan Forbes
As I return to the Family Genre in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, I come across a number of recommendations from a screening for E.T. which I’ve previously covered Whistle Down the Wind is a British film that focuses on a group of young children, including Charles (Alan Barnes), Nan (Diane…
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) Martin Scorsese
Paul Schrader adapts Nikos Kazantakis’ powerful novel about the life of Christ (portrayed powerfully by Willem Dafoe) comes to life under the sure hand of Martin Scorsese, bringing the Christian character to life in a way unseen on the screen before this. Raising questions not only about the concept of Christ, as well as…
Monty Python’s The Life of Brian (1979) – Terry Jones
I was looking forward to this recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of The Ten Commandments; the gang from Monty Python taking on religion. Brian (Graham Chapman) was born on the same day as Jesus, just in the stable next door, and consequently, spends his life…
Hot Docs 2015: Jesus Town USA – Julian Pinder and Billie Mintz
Screening today at the Isabel Bader theatre at 9:15pm is this documentary that plays more like a feature film in its construction than a documentary, it has that wonderful mockumentary Christopher Guest feel to it. The setting is a small town in Oklahoma, not so very far from the Holy City of the Wichitas, a…
Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Through the Ages (1916) – D.W. Griffith
The next section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book is Historical, with the first one being this epic-sized film, running three hours, that interweaves four stories through the ages. This is a lavishly produced, but lumbering film that was one of the first films that seemed like a real trial…
Man of Steel (2013) – Zack Snyder
A disappointing mess. That’s what Warner, DC Comics, Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder have served up. I love the character of Superman! I’ve got comics piled in my apartment featuring the familiar red cape and blue suit, I liked Superman Returns, there are even moments in III that I enjoy (even I won’t touch Quest…
Carrie (1976)
Brian DePalma’s classic from 1976 finds its way onto the 101 Horror Movies and I was more than happy to revisit it. I watched it a long time ago when I was a teenager going through my Stephen King phase, which every teen seems to go through (Salem’s Lot is still my favorite King book)….
The Mind Reels 