It seems that there are two types of biblical films. The first is the type that we’ve seen a glut of over the past year: Heaven is for Real, God’s Not Dead, Left Behind, Saving Christmas, etc. These movies pander hard to their respective (usually Christian) audiences, telling them how right they are and propping up straw man figures for them to tear down together. On the other hand, you have the type of movie that tries to tell compelling stories for a wider, sometimes-secular audience. Here, you’ve got your Ten Commandments, your Last Temptation of Christ. Every once in a while a film becomes a crossover success (you could argue this happened with The Passion of the Christ), but Christian and biblical films generally must decide which audience they wish to please.
Category: Reviews
Reviews of Movies, TV, and Games
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Noah Review
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Shadow of Mordor: All About the Execution
When choosing a property to adapt for a video game, it’s a good idea to select something with a large, well-realized universe in which to pull content. Given this, it’s somewhat surprising that we don’t see more Lord of the Rings themed games. The Lord of the Rings MMO is still going strong (apparently; I’ve never known anybody who actually plays it), the Lego Lord of the Rings game was plenty of fun, and there were some respectable hack and slash games that came out around the time of the LOTR movie trilogy, but most games that have come from the property have been shoddy-at-best. So it was something of a surprise this year when Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor released, and was one of the best games of the year. With solid and easy-to-pick-up combat and stealth mechanics, Shadow of Mordor is a game that should be enjoyable regardless of one’s familiarity with Tolkien. -
Transformers 4: Age of Extinction Review
“I don’t change my style for anybody. Pussies do that.”The above is a quote from a GQ article with Michael Bay*, and it’s fairly representative of his body of work. Say what you want about Bay’s shortcomings (which I fully intend to do below), but he’s one of the few filmmakers working today that you can truly refer to as an “auteur.” The same article quotes several filmmakers and actors, including Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, and George Lucas, who all state that Michael Bay’s style is unmissable, that he stages large action sequences like nobody else, and that you can easily ascertain that a film is directed by Michael Bay from only five minutes of footage.
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Whiplash Review
Being passionate about the arts often precludes a certain degree of obsessiveness that must seem odd or off-putting to those without said passion. There’s a way that our appreciation for artists or our desire to enter the canon of great artists ourselves can creep into our heads at the least opportune moments, or cause us to temporarily lose sight of the things that ultimately matter in life. The film Whiplash, written and directed by Damien Chazelle, focuses on a young man who exhibits these tendencies. The film examines the degree of obsessiveness which may, in fact, be necessary to achieve greatness in the arts.