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February 2023

February 23, 2023

The Finest Films of 2022: Rise, Roar, and Revolt

I’m worried about the movies. Covid accelerated our attachment to the home screen, where our...

February 09, 2022

Ambiguity, Complexity, and the Finest Films of 2021

I’ve devoted so many hours (years!) of my life to film-going. And yet, increasingly, movies...

February 03, 2022

BEYOND NOSTALGIA: The Best Music Docs of 2021

With Covid still cutting into our concert going, I’ve increasingly turned to documentaries for musical...

March 2021

March 18, 2021

Real to Reel: The Best Documentaries of 2020

What a golden era for documentaries. They are more readily available, more widely viewed, and...

March 03, 2021

Small Films, Big Emotions: The Best of 2020

The finest films of 2020 may have been low-key, but then so were we. They...

January 2020

January 05, 2020

The Finest Films of 2019: Counter-Narratives

How to respond to an era when we seem to have stopped listening? Shall we...

December 2019

December 31, 2019

The Best Films of the 2010s: Transcendent Highs and Sunken Places

What are your favorite films of the 2010s? Mine tend to have a kinetic, visceral...

December 31, 2019

The Best Documentaries of the 2010s: Beauty and Horror

The best documentaries of the 2010s expanded and reimagined the form in surprising ways. In...

December 29, 2018

The Finest Films of 2018: Dignity, Decency, Compassion

What a cinematic year uplifting the underdogs, the outsiders, and those on the margins. Our...

December 28, 2018

Refresh to Impress: The Best Genre Films of 2018

Filmmakers responded to our troubled times with remarkably captivating movies in 2018. Seemingly tired genres...

September 2018

September 07, 2018

Reconciling Cultural Tensions in Crazy Rich Asians

Crazy Rich Asians has become the most popular romantic comedy in years. Not since “Pretty...

August 2018

August 12, 2018

The Fierce Urgency of BlacKkKlansman

Last summer, Get Out took us inside the sunken place that paralyzes those caught in...

October 2017

October 05, 2017

The Florida Project And The Ferocious Glory of Little Rascals

How rare for a movie to allow kids to be kids in all their ferocious...

January 2017

January 04, 2017

Silence: Scorsese’s Spiritual Masterpiece

Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, The Departed, The Wolf of Wall Street, Silence. One of...

December 2016

December 22, 2016

The Best Films of 2016: Empathy in Action

What animated the most enduring films of 2016? While our nation suffered from our inability...

October 2016

October 07, 2016

Spiritual Transformation in The Birth of a Nation

Rarely has such a small, independent film been forced to carry such weight on its...

March 2016

March 31, 2016

Morgan Freeman Explores The Story of God

On the heels of Holy Week, National Geographic presents The Story of God, an ambitious,...

March 10, 2016

THE YOUNG MESSIAH in a World on Fire

Who has time to answer a child’s questions amidst racial strife, religious conflict, and a...

February 2016

February 17, 2016

RISEN Dares to Dabble in Mystery

The Greatest Story Ever Told is also one of the most oft told cinematic tales....

February 11, 2016

Does the Arc In Hollywood Bend Towards Justice?

Editors' Note: This article is part of the Patheos Public Square. This month we're asking:...

November 2015

November 05, 2015

SPOTLIGHT: No More Silent Nights

Spotlight is a throwback to the golden age of seventies cinema. It is a whip...

October 2015

October 16, 2015

ROOM: Expanding Our Empathy

Heartache is an interesting condition. It is usually associated with romance, when break ups lead...

February 2015

February 20, 2015

MCFARLAND USA: An Interview with Legendary Coach Jim White

Do you like sports movies? I cry every time I watch Field of Dreams. The...

February 16, 2015

Oscars 2015: Boyhood, Birdman or Budapest For Best Picture?

The 2015 Oscar race has become one of the tightest and most unpredictable contests in...

February 09, 2015

COMMON BRINGS GLORY TO THE GRAMMYS (AND THE OSCARS): An Interview

What 2015 Grammy moment moved you? Kanye West’s cut in on Beck’s acceptance speech for...

January 2015

January 07, 2015

SELMA: The Fierce Urgency of Now

What does courage look like? Does it come with confidence, the swagger of certainty? Or...

December 2014

December 27, 2014

Buying Time: The Best Films of 2014

So many movies, so little time. Why must Hollywood hold back their most ambitious movies...

November 2014

November 05, 2014

The Theory of Everything: Love in Practice

British accents? Check. Period clothes? Check. Physical demanding role? Yes, The Theory of Everything is...

October 2014

October 21, 2014

Dear White People: Our Daily Microaggressions

Dear White People is a letter (or film) addressed to people like me. I am...

October 14, 2014

How Transformers and Michael Bay Shill for China (& Undercut Hong Kong)

I was so happy to miss Transformers: Age of Extinction in theaters. Director Michael Bay...