Movie Review: Noah

What better way to end the year than with an ‘end-of-the-world’ film?

The single biggest question I think worth asking about director Darren Aronofsky’s Noah is whether the viewer is willing to appraise the movie in terms of the story it wants to tell, or if its rather wayward treatment of the Biblical inspiration invalidates the whole production out of hand. It’s worked well before. One of the first stories recorded in the ancient text is also one of its most bittersweet, where man and beast alike are wiped from the earth because of the extreme evil filling it, as shown in Genesis 6. The Lord God in his grace is willing to give a few last souls and the animals another chance, but first come the rains …

Mental Wellness in Movies: Saving Mr. Banks

Take a closer look.

Every new day is a chance to remake yourself and the world around you.

This utterly fascinating film tells the story of Walt Disney and author P. L. Travers negotiating over film rights for the latter’s Mary Poppins line of books. (The actual movie turned fifty this year and is in the National Film Registry.)

The movie consists of two or perhaps three stories being told at once (“Pamela” as a young girl, Ms. Travers as an older woman, and to some degree Mary Poppins in itself). All of these stories feel unified and important, leading toward a central purpose that’s more notable for the healing it places in the lives of Disney and Travers than for the famous production they both shared a hand in.

Movie Review: Die Hard

Merry Christmas!

The 1980s were a special time. I was born! Hairstyles looked different, Bruce Willis had hair, and it was a great time to be alive. Then again, any time you’re alive is a great one, which is what the workers in Los Angeles’ Nakatomi Plaza are about to learn, thanks to a group of iniquitous but uncommonly intelligent thugs who storm the building, take hostages, and begin making demands. And just who is the best person to call on when the police and the government rarely seem to know what they’re doing and are being outwitted at practically every turn? He’s a family man (among many), a foul-mouth (among many), and a no-nonsense, all-around hero–ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the one, the only … John McClane!

Movie Review: The Hobbit – The Battle of the Five Armies

Lake-town is burning!

The final installment in the heretofore uneven Hobbit trilogy begins with a bang, keeps a powerful pacing throughout its surprisingly short running time, and for the most part makes for a highly, unexpectedly satisfying conclusion to both its own story and to Peter Jackson’s overall journey through Middle-earth.