Movie Reviews

The Iron Giant was created as The Iron Man, a sci-fi novel by British Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. The original setting for this science fiction fairy tale was rural England. However, the film adaptation takes place in Rockwell, Maine, in 1957. This is at the beginning of the space race and at the height of Cold War tensions between the ...

The year is 1941. The place is Casablanca in French Morocco. Casablanca is a stepping-stone for immigrants fleeing enslaved Europe for the freedom of America. But the passage is expensive and often dangerous. Casablanca: An Overview The film’s protagonist is Rick Blaine, the cynical, hard-boiled owner of a popular nightclub. Rick is an isolationist: “I stick my neck out for ...

The Secret of Kells (2009) is the story of Brendan, a young monk. Brendan’s heart and imagination are captured by a famous, special book. Other monks say that it turns darkness into light. But Brendan’s uncle, the abbot of Kells, forbids Brendan to work on the book. To the abbot, the threat of a Viking invasion is more important than ...

Kubo and the Two Strings is a stop-motion animated movie created by Studio Laika. As a children’s fantasy story, it draws heavily from Buddhist myth. It distances itself from God’s universe but still draws on themes key to God’s story, such as love and sacrifice. As with all pagan worldviews, viewers will see no hope of resurrection or redemption. The story ...

The Incredibles and Moral Absolutes DC and Marvel comics often use genetic mutation or magic to explain the existence of superheroes and their powers. The Incredibles offers no explanations. This is fantasy, and the film simply asks us to suspend disbelief. Far more central to a good analysis of the film are the ethical standards it assumes and the ethical ...

The First Question   As we watch any movie, we ought to ask ourselves, is this story set in God’s universe? The issue here isn’t realism as such. God approves of fiction and fantasy. Furthermore, we can cite Jotham’s story in the Book of Judges. The young man Jotham tells a story about talking trees who decide to make themselves ...

Wade is a technology-crazed teenager living in a technology-crazed world. Sound familiar? This world, though, is much different from modern-day America. The year is 2045, and Wade is fighting for survival in a depressing, dystopian world where people have forgotten how to work.

Dave Hill is co-pastor of a thriving, historical church that’s a lot like any other congregation today. It stands firm on God’s Word. It reaches out to the downtrodden. It provides hope for a lost world. Sunday after Sunday, Hill tells his members that “God is good, all the time,” but lately, he’s struggled with his faith.

The movie Paul: Apostle of Christ (PG-13) opens in theaters this weekend, starring James Faulkner (Downton Abbey) as Paul, Jim Caviezel (The Passion of The Christ) as Luke, British actress Joanne Whalley as Priscilla, and Irish actor John Lynch as Aquila.

The film I Can Only Imagine (PG) opens this weekend, detailing how MercyMe’s Bart Millard became inspired to write the 2001 song In Can Only Imagine, which remains one of the most popular tunes in the history of contemporary Christian music.