More Than One Lesson

In this episode, Tyler interviews actor and writer Barlow Jacobs.

BARLOW JACOBS is an actor and writer. He has appeared in such films as Great World of Sound, Shotgun Stories, and That Evening Sun. He wrote, produced, and starred in Low and Behold, which was screened at the Sundance Film Festival.

The tragedy that rocked our nation on January 8^th has left everyone looking for answers. People with full lives and potentials ahead of them are dead, and for no good reason. It’s a serious tragedy, and one that is unfortunately becoming increasingly familiar in the United States. But just as the sympathies of the country go out to the victims and their families, there is a mad rush to find someone to blame. And it’s no surprise to find fingers once again pointed at Hollywood.

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In the church bulletin yesterday, there was an interesting quote from author J.I. Packer. I thought it was very relevant to modern Christianity.

If I were the devil, one of my first aims would be to stop people from digging into the Bible… How? Well, I should try to distract all clergy from preaching and teaching the Bible, and spread the feeling that to study this ancient book directly is a burdensome extra which modern Christians can forgo without loss. I should broadcast doubts about the truth and relevance of the Bible, and if any still insisted on reading it I should lure them into assuming that the benefit of the practice lies in the noble and tranquil feelings evoked by it rather than in noting what Scripture actually says. At all costs I should want to keep them from using their minds in a disciplined way to get the measure of its message. Were I the devil, taking stock today, I think I might be pleased at the progress I had made.

Hey, everybody. As seems to be my tradition, I am going to list a few movies that are now officially ten years old.

LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER’S STONE
MEMENTO
DONNIE DARKO
THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS
OCEAN’S ELEVEN
IN THE BEDROOM
A BEAUTIFUL MIND
BLACK HAWK DOWN
MULHOLLAND DR.
MOULIN ROUGE
GOSFORD PARK
TRAINING DAY
MONSTER’S BALL
SHREK
MONSTERS, INC.
GHOST WORLD
SEXY BEAST
ZOOLANDER

If you’re like me, you tend to define your life by the movies that you saw, using them as a sort of signpost for a specific moment. I saw many of these films my first year living away from home, in Chicago. To think that these films are now ten years old really reminds me of just how far into adulthood I really am. High school is way behind me and college is starting to fade into the distance. It’s strange to think back on how different my life was back then. I had not yet lost anybody very close to me, nor had I met my now-wife. These movies represent, to me, a much more innocent time in my life, in which the future lay bright and shining before me. To me, the most important thing in the world was seeing as many movies as I could and trying to crank out some good work in school. As much as I still love movies, it is fascinating to see just how much my priorities have changed. It occurs to me that this may sound slightly mournful, but, I assure you, it’s not. Despite some major setbacks in my life, I’d venture to say that I’m the most content I’ve ever been. Maybe in another ten years, even more so.

Happy New Year, everybody.

In this episode, Tyler discusses the themes of various classic Christmas movies.

Ben Gilbert over at Panels on Pages has written a very nice review of the show. You can read it below.

Those who have known me on the PoP! Message Boards for a while know that I am a “person of faith,” but I’m not one of those crazy Bible-thumpers that everyone likes to make fun of. I believe in the basic tenets of Christianity, but I also love secular art and popular culture and have never felt any conflict between my beliefs and my interests. Sure, some of the movies, books, TV shows, and comics that I enjoy have a fair amount of sex and violence, but so does the Bible. While some so-called Christians are quick to dismiss non-Christian works of art, I at times can find deep spiritual meaning in a work of popular art that contains material that some may deem questionable. That’s why I was so relieved and delighted to find a podcast named More Than One Lesson that finds spiritual and/or intrinsic value in secular movies. Each weekly episode is hosted by Tyler Smith, a Los Angeles-based film critic and enlightened Christian, who usually contrasts and compares two films based on a similar theme. The films he talks about aren’t always considered “Christian-friendly,” but he manages to find things in nearly every film that people of all faiths and beliefs can find value in and challenges all his listeners to take a closer look at works of art from all points of view.

The films that Smith chooses to talk about range from big-budget studio pictures to smaller indie flicks. Most of them are films that Smith himself enjoys and finds value in, but every once in a while he will talk about some films that he does not enjoy from an artistic standpoint and contrast it with a film with a similar theme that he finds more successful. His enlightened reviews of such films as Superbad, The Hurt Locker, Iron Man, and the Hellboy films are enlightening and encouraging to open-minded people of faith who enjoy a well-told story on screen, no matter the subject. Surprisingly, though not inaccurately, Smith finds a lot of Christian-themed films such as Fireproof and The Passion of the Christ to be too simplistic and poorly structured to be considered great art. In other words, he holds “Christian films” up to the same standards of quality that he would for any other movie, and it’s that objectivity that makes his show such an intellectually pleasing listening experience.

Even though More Than One Lesson maintains a predominantly Christian point of view, it is never condemning or disrespectful of people with different beliefs or no belief at all. Smith expertly combines his passion for film with his unwavering faith in a way that even those who don’t share his beliefs can respect, and the show consistently provides an entertaining and intelligent hour or more of quality discussion about the medium of film. Just like our awesome selection of podcasts on the PCN, it can easily be found on ITunes, but it can also be downloaded directly from Morethanonelesson.com, which also features print reviews and blogs from a number of contributors. More Than One Lesson is highly recommended for anyone, regardless of their faith, who wants to hear a unique and well thought-out discussion about movies.

In this episode, Tyler discusses what we can learn from Ben Steinbauer’s Winnebago Man.

EPISODE BREAKDOWN
00:00:42- Intro/Podcast Awards
00:02:00- Winnebago Man
00:20:25- The Browning Version
00:25:15- What we can learn from these films
00:34:20- Episode wrap-up

In this episode, Tyler discussed Oren Moverman’s The Messenger.

THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996)
Written and Directed by: Anthony Minghella
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Willem Dafoe

If you’re like me, the first thing you remember when you think of The English Patient is an episode of “Seinfeld.” In it, Elaine is forced to see the film several times, consistently hating it. Everyone around her seems dead-set on proving to her that it’s a great film until she finally explodes in the theater and yells at the screen, “Quit telling your stupid story about the stupid desert, and just die already! DIE!” Is that an overreaction? Two hours into the movie, watching it for a second time, my answer is no.

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