The remarkable, costly life of a secular saint
Film
In reality it’s pretty boring—and very important.
The Black church isn’t in the pot; it is the pot.
It is the nature of a creature—or toy, or movie franchise—to outgrow its context and move on.
The Rise of Skywalker reduces a powerful theological symbol to a family drama.
Incitement shows the roots of political fractures that remain.
In Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, the director delights in both cinema and blood.
Some white Christians have complained that Ava DuVernay’s film is not faithful to Madeleine L’Engle’s book. A lot of people of color, however, have been feeling this movie deeply.
Low-wage jobs don't stimulate communities. They just keep them afloat, transient, and in need of $38 motel rooms.
Baldwin’s words in Raoul Peck’s film indict us, but they also help us envision a new future.
There is a danger in responding to a film like Hidden Figures by congratulating ourselves on how far we’ve come.
I was delighted to see Annie remade with an African American girl in the title role. But the new version doesn't do justice to the original's progressive vision.
I’ve never seen a film that translates grace to the screen like Babette’s Feast. As one of the rare films that focuses on the lined and battered faces of real people Babette’s Feast challenges viewers to love real life. The film embraces God’s love for the embodied, the ordinary and the value of the extraordinary, and a love that wastes nothing.
Son of God is a dud. Just don’t tell that to the film’s producers, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett. They found evidence of divine favor in the “truly miraculous” support they received from Catholic and evangelical leaders. It brought in $26.5 million its first weekend. Burnett and Downey’s marketing approach makes good business sense and has plenty of precedent.
Goin’ nowhere
Llewyn Davis lives a decidedly nonromantic existence as a starving artist. He’s a good musician, but there are thousands like him, and they can’t all succeed.