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Books and Arts
The Good, the Bad, and the Cranky: A Review of Gran Torino
I tend to be cautious about movies produced and directed by their stars. Turning the camera on oneself begets temptations to egotism that few can completely resist. The worst of such films fetishize their leading men, and even the best, like Braveheart, feel a bit top-heavy. Mel Gibson might have been manly and epic enough… more »
Seven Swans: Elliott Smith Transfigured?
“Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.”
Matthew 4:11
When indie folk artist Elliott Smith committed suicide in 2003, his restless ghost stayed behind. A vacancy opened in music, awaiting a new poet-savant of introspection.
In life, Smith’s imprint on acoustic music was unique. On record, his most memorable contribution was his Oscar-nominated song… more »
Historic Faith in a New Age
The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Tim Keller. Dutton Adult, 2008.
“Doubt and belief are each on the rise,” claims Dr. Timothy Keller, author of The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.[1] As the title suggests, Keller’s new book is an open invitation for rational dialogue on Christianity-both… more »
Child of War, Child of Grace
WARchild by Emmanuel Jal. Sonic360, 2008.
Anger. Hatred. Bloodshed. Violence. Perversion. Corruption. The true nature of evil. Innocence defiled, tossed to the ground and trampled by those who should know better. A broken childhood, no time to appreciate the sun streaming through the trees, no spirit to laugh and sing. Only death and attempted escape from… more »
The Call to Creation
Culture Making by Andy Crouch. InterVarsity Press, 2008.
There are many things wrong with this world of ours. Licentious sex and violence are seen as great entertainment, time for eating and sleeping is swallowed up by time spent working, and personal success, defined by fortune or fame, takes precedence over the well-being of the community. As… more »
The Knocked Up Family
Knocked Up. Dir. Judd Apatow. Universal, 2006.
Knocked Up, writer/director Judd Apatow’s follow-up to 2005’s wildly popular The 40 Year Old Virgin, was no disappointment. It opened this summer to box office success and, like its predecessor, delighted critics as much as fans. The success of both films can be attributed to Apatow’s fresh combination of… more »
The Indie Bible
Neon Bible by Arcade Fire. Merge, 2007.
I must confess that I had absolutely no intention of liking Neon Bible. Indie rock, that non-genre with which the Montreal-based Arcade Fire is usually affiliated, often strikes me as self-important and musically uninteresting, and as such I was beyond skeptical of their critically acclaimed sophomore release. To make… more »
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