Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Prayer in The New Mutants

There is not a lot in The New Mutants film worth mentioning. It's not a good movie. 

However, there is an odd bit in a scene that I noticed. Maisie Williams' character Rahne is presented to us as a character of religious faith. In one scene, she is shown entering an empty church, and confessing her sins, although there is no priest with her. I interpreted this as confirming the sincerity of her faith, engaging in religious practice despite the lack of support. Despite the lack of a priest. 

Which makes a scene towards the end of the film stand out. During the climactic battle, Rahne enters the confessional again, to hide, and begins to pray. There is some editing here, some cutting back and forth, but the totality of her prayer is "Hail Mary, full of grace, blessed art thou amongst women, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death. Amen."

The scene confirms Rahne's faith, enriching her character. And for what it does, it works. It's fine.

However, the prayer cuts out the two most Jesus-centric aspects of the prayer. What she does not say is " ... and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God ... " They eliminated both the words "Jesus" and "God." In a movie that had little interesting in it, THAT stood out.

I saw the movie on HBO, so I believe the version I saw was the full original version. Also, the movie was very short, barely 90 minutes, so I doubt those 14 words for time.



Sunday, March 8, 2020

Podcast #038 - Reviews, Recos, and a Rant

"Reviews, Recos, and a Rant"

Alan and Em discuss some pop culture items they've consumed recently ... TV shows, movies, books, music and more!

Click on the player below to listen to the episode:


You may also subscribe to the podcast through Apple Podcasts or the RSS Feed.

Link: Purchase "daydreamer," by Formerly Bodies
Link: The Book of Ruth graphic novel
Link: Coyote Kid on YouTube
Link: St. Kateri Conservation Center

We would love to hear from you about this topic, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow the network on twitter @DorknessToLight or Alan @ProfessorAlan

Monday, May 7, 2018

Podcast Suggestion: Two Geek Soup

Another show has joined the More Than One Lesson family of podcasts, which promotes "movie talk for the discerning Christian."

Two Geek Soup, hosted by John Viinalass and a revolving crew of co-hosts, has spent it first 20 episodes looking at all of the movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So far, they have delivered an entertaining and thought-provoking look at these popular, popcorn flicks, finding illuminating and insightful things to say about each one.

I am looking forward to what films or franchises the podcast will take on next.

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

Podcast #016: The Prince of Egypt

"Commentary: The Prince of Egypt"

On this sixteenth episode, Emily & Alan observe Passover by talking about one of their favorite animated films, "The Prince of Egypt," one of Dreamworks' earliest movies. Actually, they talk OVER the film. Grab some popcorn and a beverage, and settle in for a commentary episode.

Click on the player below to listen to the episode:




You may also subscribe to the podcast through iTunes or the RSS Feed.

We would love to hear from you about this issue, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow Alan on twitter @ProfessorAlan or the podcast @DorknessToLight

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Adapting "Wrinkle"

From what I understand, the answer to this question from a Christianity Today article seems to be: "Not all that well." In the course of adaptation, some things have to be lost, but according to Madeleine L'Engle, the spiritual themes were the core to the book. It would be a shame to lose that aspect of the work.

How Will Hollywood Handle the Spiritual Themes in ‘A Wrinkle in Time?’



Friday, November 24, 2017

Happy Black Friday

Enjoy your shopping today, if you are fortunate enough to have the day off work. And if you're fortunate enough to be visiting another side of the family today ... 


Sunday, August 27, 2017

Podcast #013 - Justice League Dark

"Constantine & His Amazing Friends!"

On this lucky thirteenth episode, Emily & Professor Alan talk about t
he Justice League Dark. They focus on the recent animated movie, but also talk about the New 52 comic of the same name, and the "Constantine" TV show.

And then for the first time in a long time, they cover listener feedback, most of which is pretty awesome.

Click on the player below to listen to the episode:




You may also subscribe to the podcast through iTunes or the RSS Feed.

Link: The music of Insomniac Folklore

We would love to hear from you about this issue, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow Alan on twitter @ProfessorAlan and the podcast @DorknessToLight 

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Audiofeed 2016 - Saturday Highlight

This Saturday highlight was also the overall highlight of the fest. As I’ve mentioned before, the fest is growing enough to bring in non-musical events. On Saturday morning, the Asylum (Goth) tent hosted a screening of the movie “The Phoenix:Hope is Rising.” This is a documentary by Phil Gioja and Isaac Musgrave about the issue of homelessness in Urbana, Illinois,

Every year, the city hosts the One Winter Night event, a fundraiser for a homeless drop-in shelter. Participants in One Winter Night spend a night on the street, living in a cardboard box, experiencing for 12 hours what it is like to live on the street. Gioja and Musgrave decided to document the event, as well as tell the story of the shelter, The Phoenix. In the course of the filming, changes to the city’s zoning regulations put the future of the shelter at risk. 


For a low-budget movie, the quality is surprisingly high. Interviews are well-lit and have clear audio, and are integrated well into archival and news footage, as well as coverage of city council meeting. It is a compelling film that tells a compelling story. It is hopeful, annoying, and heartbreaking. 

The trailer for the movie can be found here. 

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Another Podcast Recommendation


Author Nate Fleming, of the YA novel Thimblerig's Ark has become Nate Fleming, host of the podcast Thimblerig's Ark. This new podcast has joined Tyler Smith's More Than One Lesson family of shows.

On this show, Nate looks at Christian film, asking hard questions about why they often aren't as good as they could be. He examines each film in a number of areas, such as whether they challenge the audince. He also asks is a film take risks, and recognizes the different between the pulpit and art. It is an entertaining podcast, and represents an important voice in the Christian community,

Over the first few episodes, he has looked at a recent offering (God's Not Dead), and a "classic" in the field ("A Thief in the Night"). He promises to cover movies of various genres, various budgets, and various eras.



Friday, December 2, 2016

Podcast Recommendation

We have mentioned our friend Tyler Smith before. He is a film critic who in addition to being a co-host on the general movie criticism podcast Battleship Pretension, runs the blog and podcast More Than One Lesson, dedicated to providing "movie talk for the discerning Christian." More Than One Lesson spun off a podcast a few months back, The Fear of God, which I recommend.

And their network has grown again! Salty Cinema is a monthly podcast hosted by filmmaker and writer Jacob Kindberg, in which he interviews the film industry's most talented and influential Christians. It is a great idea for a podcast, and the first two episodes have been very enjoyable.

In the first episode, Kindberg interviews Craig Detweiler about the value of mentoring in the entertainment industry and film education. In the second episode, he talks with film marketing specialist Mark Joseph about the extent to which "faith-based" film is a genre.

Saturday, September 24, 2016

Podcast #008 - The Grab Bag

"A Little Bit of This, A Little Bit of That"

In this grab-bag of an episode, we explore the connections between the 4th century churchman Athanasius and new Broadway star Alexander Hamilton. And we ask the important question: whose severed limb was that anyway? We also point out a couple of Christian comedians who are actually funny. And we reply to the lovely things that our lovely listeners have said to us recently.


Click on the player below to listen to the episode:




You may also subscribe to the podcast through iTunes or the RSS Feed.

Link: The podcast "The Fear of God"
Link: Episode 351 of the podcast "Catholic Under the Hood"
Link: More Than One Lesson episode about "Christian Satire"
Link: The band Insomniac Folklore
Link: Comedian John Crist
Link: The Babylon Bee
Link: Anderson Cale's music 

We would love to hear from you about this issue, the podcast episode, or the podcast in general. Send e-mail feedback to dorknesstolight@gmail.com 

You can follow Alan on twitter @ProfessorAlan and the podcast @DorknessToLight

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Podcast Recommendation

I wanted to give a "shout-out" to a new podcast that is taking a look at a genre that many Evangelical Christians are very wary of, to say the least.

A spin-off from More Than One Lesson, the podcast The Fear of God is a show that analyzes the horror genre from a Christian point of view. Hosts Reed Lackey and Nathan Rouse plan to look mostly at movies, but have mentioned that TV and comic books could eventually be discussed, as well. The first few episodes includes coverage of the movie Devil, and discussion of the Conjuring films is coming up soon.

I am not a fan of horror, but I am looking forward to listening to the discussions of horror that this show will bring. Check out their show for a weekly dose of the scary stuff.

Friday, April 22, 2016

Holding Christian Film Accountable

I recently discovered the YouTube film critic "Say Goodnight, Kevin." The premise of the reviews is that Christian movies should be held to the same standards that every movie is held to, in terms of script-writing, production, acting, and effects.

Recently, he posted this video about "How To Make A Christian Movie." Like most of his videos, this one contains a nice balance between insightful and humorous. The mockery is never cruel. His desire to see better quality product come from the evangelical entertainment industry is sincere. And his critique of that industry is completely on-point.



 His YouTube channel contains a range of series beyond this one, and though I haven't seen them all, they do appear to be of similar quality.