Climate Change and Apocalypse in Mokoto Shinkai’s Weathering with You
Mokoto Shinkai is not an anthropologist of human sacrifice. He is a storyteller and an artist. But storytellers and artists who are faithful to their mission of…
The German Lesson (the Movie): Scapegoating for Peace
Before getting to the The German Lesson, extensive prefatory remarks are needed. All mythology is sacrificial and originates with a real-life scapegoat; a claim René Girard knew…
28 Years Later: Death and Rage in the Satanic Wilderness
28 Years Later is a film of which the founding father of the zombie horror film, George Romero, would have been proud. Unlike most modern zombie films,…
Without a Sacred Context: Human Exceptionalism is Enough in the Mission: Impossible Franchise
We must necessarily be modest about what we can achieve without a sacred context. - Carl Trueman In his D.C. Lecture “The Hour for a New…
Reagan’s Hope
Ronald Reagan was a steadfast man of God who stood up for America and the American people against the Soviet Union and international communism during the Cold…
Hope and Optimism on the Planet of the Apes
The rebooted Planet of the Apes movies must be among the bleakest and strangest Hollywood blockbusters of the past decade and a half. The three entries before…
Cinema is Reborn with “Dune: Part Two”
Several years ago, Hollywood briefly released a slate of medieval-themed films coming from sizable and talented directors. Films like Green Knight, The Last Duel, Benedetta, and The…
“Maestro” and the Misuse of Culture
Writers for the movies, I have found, don’t seem to know how to deal with the arts as a dramatic subject. Perhaps due to a lack genuine…
Napoleon Undressed: Ridley Scott’s Imagination Rules the Screen
Napoleon Bonaparte is the one dictator that the world has a love-hate relationship. More than petty kings and emperors of the past, Napoleon forcibly seized political power…
Irrational Fear of fhe Self: The Creator and Oikophobia in Science Fiction
Among the more interesting original movies to come out this year was the newest film from Godzilla and Rogue One director Gareth Edwards. It didn’t turn out…
Barbie: A Confused Postmodern Masterpiece
It has been a curious and exciting thing to watch Greta Gerwig’s Barbie turn into one of the largest and most discussed films of the past decade…
Why is the Sound of Freedom so Controversial?
Even amidst major releases like Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Indiana Jones, the most talked about movie of the summer is a low-budget indie actioner that has broken every…
Oppenheimer’s Nihilism: Where Is Christopher Nolan?
In March of 2001, Memento was released in US theaters. The film, initially having a difficult time securing a distributor, became a financial and critical success. Memento…
Saying Goodbye to an All-American Hero
Indiana Jones is an All-American hero. He is the embodiment of everything America dreams about itself: suave and sophisticated with an adventurous, romantic, and individualistic spirit. He…
Space Operas and Human Folly—Pandora, Perelandra, and the Fall of Man
I’m old enough to remember when James Cameron’s Avatar was a surprisingly controversial topic of discussion. My Evangelical Tea-Party supporting family regarded the film with relative disdain,…