On Media

A screen at a library

Reviews of film, TV, and more

In the holiday movie blitz, one live wire unites two very different films: Christian Bale, who plays the lead in both Out of the Furnace and American Hustle.
January 6, 2014
I was prepared to enjoy the theological heart of Catching Fire. But my moviegoing experience was bizarrely affected by all the ads.
January 2, 2014
Twelve Years a Slave pulls no punches. As a white southerner, I found myself objecting that it couldn't have been as bad as this all the time. But these horrors happened, and we have yet to face them squarely.
December 9, 2013
Orphan Black is so suspenseful and addictive, you may not realize that it's examining deep questions about the meaning of selfhood.
December 6, 2013
Don Jon is not about a porn addict saved by a good woman. It's about the unhealthy collision of two people who are ready only for broken relationships.
November 19, 2013
In case you haven't noticed, Duck Dynasty is ruling the world. And the popular reality show has a prayer in every episode.
October 18, 2013
My school-aged self was intrigued by the Purple Pie Man. Since then, kids' TV has spun off in two directions: more violence for boys, threatless universes for girls.
September 25, 2013
Fruitvale Station is a powerful, meditative exploration of one ordinary life that met an extraordinary and tragic end.
August 21, 2013

Victims in collars

Lloyd Rediger's "clergy killer" premise is, in some senses, indisputable. Yet put so baldly, the kvetch seems odd.
July 25, 2013

Much ado in Santa Monica

Joss Whedon's adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is an enchanting modern take on the 16th-century romance and a nearly perfect movie.
July 15, 2013

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