Posts

Pastor's Kid - So This is What Real Life Looks Like?!

Image
Every so often you come across a film that is different.  You are not really sure what or how to label it.  It is  more than a drama, walks deeply into the waters of personal value or worth, and dares to traverse the divide between the secular and the Christian world.  Is it a Christian movie?  If so, can it exist under the banner of an “R” rating?  And can a Christian film really portray the depth and darkness of the sin that encompasses the individual caught in the chaos of life while arriving at a moment of personal salvation devoid of a “field scene” with outstretched arms towards a cross in the clouds? So what is this film considered?  Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with Benjamin Koppin and Courtney Bandeko, the director and lead actress for the movie Pastor’s Kid (to be released March 15, 2024).  How would they describe this movie they just created?  Well, Ben used the descriptive title, “Arthouse Christian Film.”  This is a type of movie that strays from the mainstr
Post a Comment
Read more

Shooting Stars: Perspective When Looking Back

Image
    Sometimes in order to gain perspective you have to step back.   Maybe you have to step way back.   I used to have an engineer friend who called it the “30,000 Foot View” - when looking down from on high you can see the whole picture - and, in a very real way, when we have left our high school days in the past we need the gift of time to gain perspective on who, how, and why those people and events were important in helping us become who we are.   In the new movie, Shooting Stars , released on Peacock/NBC, LeBron James does exactly that!  Co-authored with Buzz Bissinger and brought to the big screen by director Chris Robinson, LeBron James gives to us a glimpse of his perspective of his life as he looks back on his days as a baller growing up in Akron, Ohio.  A child being raised by a single mother, LeBron found friendship, family, and community with three inseparable friends:  Lil Dru, Sian, and Willie.  The four together would go on to play basketball together at St. Vincent-St.
Post a Comment
Read more

Like Father: Forgiveness and Community is Far Better Than Division and Isolation

Image
  We have never been more "connected" as people than we are right now - digital communication has changed the entire landscape of the world.  Not too long ago, I read that more than 50% of the world is "connected" by way of cell phone/smart phone.  This means we have access to the internet and that serves as a gateway to the world - and people - and individuals...whether we want to be or not!  With that thought in mind, I stumbled across the movie Like Father  starring Kristen Bell and Kelsey  Grammer.  The premise of the movie is very real - an estranged Father follows his daughter from afar by way of the internet and discovers she is getting married.  He shows up to the wedding, hiding among the faces of those gathered, only to see his daughter left at the altar by the groom because she is too engrossed in her work and cannot electronically detach from her job (the groom looses it when her cell phone falls out of her bridal bouquet).  And this is where our story b
Post a Comment
Read more

Top Gun Maverick: Pushing Against the Rules (To Our Detriment or Benefit?)

Image
 How do you define “blockbuster?”  I suspect that in Hollywood the simple answer is determined by the box office - how much money did the movie make?  In the case of Top Gun Maverick there are $1.493 Billion reasons to consider it a blockbuster.  This long awaited sequel (35 years) that endured release delays (thanks to Covid) finally made it the big screen on May 27, 2022 and it did not disappoint.  It is everything we have grown to know and love about movies - big stars, excellent cinematography, an easy story to follow, and in some quirky way…relatable.  That’s right, relatable.  I suspect most of you reading this have not been a naval fighter jet aviator who had the privilege of participating in the Top Gun school.   Burt maybe you have found yourself coming up against the curb of expectations, rules and regulations, not to mention societal and familial norms that may have rubbed you the wrong way. And when you consider all of this you find a kindred spirit in the main character, C
Post a Comment
Read more

Praise This - Singing from the heart of Faith

Image
  Every so often I have the good fortune of being asked to preview a movie for a Hollywood Studio - call it a perk of having a weekly podcast called “Christ, Culture, and Cinema.”  The Hollywood studios don’t typically come knocking on my door for the next horror movie or thriller…but, when it brushes up against the Christian faith, they must figure a podcast that starts with the word “Christ” might have something to say about the movie.  Now to be honest, my partner Michael Popp and I are typically open to every genre of movie and usually avoid the Christian themed movies - maybe we don’t want to be accused of picking “low hanging fruit” for our podcast.  But when asked to watch a movie in advance, Michael and I are all in!  Well, maybe Michael and I need to start paying more attention to movies like Praise This .   Set in the backdrop of Atlanta and the large non-denominational African American churches - as well as the hip hop and rap music scene, this movie was slightly out of this
Post a Comment
Read more

Bullet Train: Divine Providence (Necessity and Contingency)

Image
  There are moments in life when all of the puzzle pieces come together and you have a complete picture.  At that moment everything makes sense - you understand why certain things happened the way they did and the reason why certain people were involved.  The problem is that most of the time we don’t really see the big picture.  Call it what you will - we are wearing the “lenses of the moment.”  We tend to only see what is going on right in front of us - through our unique and specific lenses.  We are not acutely attuned to the happenings and circumstances of others that may be sitting in the seat across from us on a plane or train, living in the house next door, or working at the desk across the sea of cubicles in our office.  We see what we see because that is what we are experiencing.  We fail to realize that what others are doing and experiencing may have a critical intersection point with our own life.   Enter the movie Bullet Train (directed by David Leitch).  This is a movie of
Post a Comment
Read more

Father Stu: Authenticity and Faithfulness to WHO YOU are...

Image
  Life is messy - not a little messy - it’s very messy.  Families aren’t all they are supposed to be.  Parents let down their children; children fail their parents.  Hopeful and bright futures can become clouded and darkened by poor choices and ever-changing circumstances.  What we expect is not necessarily what we get in the end.  And then to compound matters the unreasonable expectations and beatific images that those around us expect cause us to be crushed under the weight of unrealistic expectations.   Maybe this is why the movie Father Stu resonated so much with me.  His life is messy - divorced parents, a mother who is co-dependent with her son, a father who is an absentee hardened alcoholic; a family trying to cope with the loss of a child in every inappropriate way possible.  Everyone seemingly is on their own left to their own devices to cope and manage their way through life.  Stuart Long (played by Mark Wahlberg) is at best a dreamer, but probably society would consider him
Post a Comment
Read more