Say you wanted to get up to scratch as a thinker in Theology and Film - where would you start? It’s a question I’ve been asked a few times. Back in mid 2001 I proposed a Masters level module for theology and film and what follows below is adapted from the paper I wrote in support of that...

I’m calling these preliminary thoughts because the distribution of films here in Hong Kong means that I’ve been unable, as yet, to see many of the films nominated for key awards. Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, Frost/Nixon, Rachel Getting Married, Okuribito, The Wrestler and Frozen Rive...

I'm more interested in the Oscars than usual. I've always liked watching them. But this year, with its wave after wave of depressing news, seems to call for collective celebration of our capacity to distract ourselves from the world's problems. I was going to write, "distract ourselves from what rea...

As part of some writing for 2009 I’m creating a few lists of films; especially lists of five or ten films that deal with specific themes like religious conflict, women in the workplace, third-culture childhood and spiritual expression through music. This naturally leads to the general question...

“Not enough gets said about the importance of abandoning crap.” Ira Glass A while back, Garr posted an excellent summary of Ira Glass’ presentation on creating content for new media. Ira is the host of the consistently excellent “This American Life” radio show (and podc...

Merry Christmas! Ho ho ho. For many the mere thought of the holiday season is enough to send chills down your spine. Christmas films expose our anxieties and our desires around the pressure from both our families and society which urges us to spend, spend, spend. Whether it’s time or money, we...

“My community has a problem with homophobia, but we aren’t the only ones. African Americans are but 12 percent of the population. We have neither the numbers nor the power, given our history in this country, to disenfranchise another group. Blaming us for what is an American ill–as...

The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Richard Ford - Reviews of this film are split concerning the narration, which plays a prominent if patchy role in the film. For me, it was a massive distraction and together with the uneven pace and fitful dialogue undermined what could have been a grea...

Here’s a roundup of the films I saw in January On First Release Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (AVP 2) - Dire; really dire. The original Alien films, especially the first two, were amongst the best treatments of feminism in popular film. Fast forward to AVP2 and it’s as if feminism, Ripley and...