This review was originally featured at RELEVANT Magazine. Click here to read it! I’ve got a confession for you: I’m a pretty cynical person. I know. You’re shocked, right? Big surprise these days, when skepticism is the norm. We’ve seen it all (on YouTube, at least). Nothing catches us off guard anymore. If you get […]
Category: Pop Culture
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My George McFly Moment
One of my favorite movies of all-time is Back to the Future. Yet for all the memorable scenes in that movie, today I’m thinking of one of the more obscure parts. Just about everybody loves George McFly, Marty’s father who goes from whipping boy loser at the beginning of the film to successful author at […]
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Summer 2012 Blockbusters
This summer was one of the most anticipated in movie history, thanks largely to The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises. But quite a few other blockbusters debuted this summer. Here’s my take on each of the films, along with links to my original reviews, if I did one. These are only the big-budget blockbuster […]
Is it ever appropriate for Christians to kill in the name of Jesus? Church history has a long tradition of debating this, with everyone agreeing that mostly the answer is No. We diverge at the question of war: many Christians ascribe to some version of Augustine’s Just War theory, which claims that under some circumstances, […]
Maybe it’s time we all quit trying to outsmart the truth and let it have it’s day. — Alfred In Act I (Batman Begins), we meet a Gotham overcome by corruption. The city rots, and crime runs rampant. The few good Gothamites are to afraid of organized crime to make a stand. This fear takes […]
This town deserves a better class of criminal. — The Joker The Dark Knight is Nolan’s second act in a masterful classic three-act story structure. Building on what Act I established, Act II brings the conflict into the open. The main character tries to solve the problem, only to find his situation worsening. He learns […]
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Act I – The Setup: Batman Begins
If you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can’t stop you, then you become something else entirely… A legend, Mr. Wayne. — Ras al Guhl By now it’s undeniable that Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy joins the elite ranks of masterpiece cinematic trilogies. Why? What […]
One of the more common criticisms of The Dark Knight Rises revolves around the apparent ease with which Detective John Blake discerns that Bruce Wayne is Batman. Those defending the film point most often to Robin #3, Tim Drake, who in the comics figures out that Bruce is the Batman and more-or-less argues his way […]
“You think this is part of some revolution?” — Jim Gordon One major criticism of The Dark Knight Rises is the film’s perceived stance on politics. Specifically, despite repeated denials by director Christopher Nolan and writer David Goyer that the film is not an intentional commentary on on the Occupy movement, people as notable as […]
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Is Catwoman the Bride of Christ?
“You’ve made some mistakes, Miss Kyle.” – John Blake Last week, I explored how Bruce Wayne’s Hero’s Journey establishes him as a Christ-figure in The Dark Knight Rises. A further excellent parallel my friend Anthony Mako pointed out to me is that if Bruce is Jesus, the Selina clearly parallels the Scriptural presentation of the […]