Mama, the new horror film from producer Guillermo del Toro opened this weekend. Overall, it’s a great horror film that will definitely creep you out. The film has a lot going for it – the effects are great, plenty of smart, atmospheric tension and scares, and a message about the dangers of helicopter parenting aimed […]
Author: JR. Forasteros
JR. lives in Dallas, TX with his wife Amanda. In addition to exploring the wonders that are the Lone Star state, JR. is the teaching pastor at Catalyst Community Church, a writer and blogger. His book, Empathy for the Devil, is available from InterVarsity Press. He's haunted by the Batman, who is in turn haunted by the myth of redemptive violence.
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Episode 5 – What Wouldn’t Jesus Watch?
In This Episode: 00:00 – Legalized Marijuana and the Death Star 4:00 – What we’ve been reading (spoiler: Stephen King) 8:00 – Back to school with the StoryMen 14:15 – What 2012 film would you use to start a spiritual conversation? (plus the Golden Globes, how The Grey scares us, and why we hated Brave) […]
The end of a story is always a huge clue to how we should interpret that story. Comparing the endings of two films that released (to wider audiences, anyway) against each other this weekend makes for a fascinating comparison, especially since both films are asking the same question. Zero Dark Thirty is the Oscar-nominated story […]
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Top 10 Books of 2012
Here are my picks for the best books of 2012, in no particular order. The titles link to my reviews (if available) or to Amazon : Selling Water by the River by Shane Hipps I haven’t gotten to post my review of this book yet, but it was one of the best surprises of 2012. […]
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Top 10 Films of 2012
The Dark Knight Rises It’s no surprise, so I’ll list it first. I wrote eight separate pieces discussing themes in The Dark Knight Rises, and for good reason. This film is in my top 10 not just because I’m obsessed with Batman, but because it’s easily the most ambitious film of the year. It’s a […]
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New Year, New Stories
In this episode: How we celebrated Christmas (0:00) Find out which StoryMan (men?!) hasn’t read The Hobbit! (4:15) What stories we loved (and hated) in 2012 (13:00) Our writing projects in the New Year (26:45) Balancing busy schedules (37:30) What’s the deal with Resolutions? (43:15) We need your help! (53:00) In the New Year, what […]
Who’s that there stumbling around in the dark? The question, from a slaver’s lips, opens Quinten Tarantion’s newest and most audacious film to date, Django Unchained. The film is shocking and divisive, mostly because of how starkly it portrays the evils of slavery, complete with liberal use of the “n-word” and Samuel L. Jackson’s controversial […]
Vengeance was his and he gave me back my life! Damned if I’ll live in the debt of a thief Damned if I’ll yield at the end of the chase I am the law and the law is not mocked. — Javert, “Javert’s Soliloquy,” Les Miserables Les Miserables is the newest theatrical version of the […]
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Top Posts of 2012
2012 is coming to a close, and as usual looking back over my to 10 posts is mostly an exercise in film reviews. But the few surprises are interesting indeed. Without further ado, here are my 10 most popular posts from the past year: 10. Good News: The Avengers Just Ruined Super Hero Movies The […]
Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes! The StoryMen welcome special guest Tifah Phillips, lead singer & head honcho of Page CXVI and The Autumn Film. In this episode: The results of the cutthroat StoryMen Holiday Wars How you get a song on the Twilight soundtrack Whether those Twilight vampires are actual vampires or not (spoiler: they’re not) […]