The Fear of God: Alien
23 May
Archive by Author
The Finest, by Bob Connally
21 May
“We want the finest wines available to humanity! We want them here and we want them now!” I had that put on a t-shirt at a specialty store once. It’s a quote that only a relatively small number of people will recognize (certainly in the United States). But I had to get it because it’s the definitive quote from one of the most quotable movies of all-time, Bruce Robinson’s cult comedy classic Withnail & I. It now comes in at number 7 on my list but at that time Robinson’s essentially autobiographical look back at 1969 Britain was my favorite movie. So why would a film about two out of work actors living in squalor and living to get drunk and high in late ‘60s London resonate with me so much? I don’t drink much- and not at all when I first saw it at age 20- I don’t take drugs, I’ve never been an out of work actor, and I’ve never been British in the ‘60s. Or in any other decade now that I think of it. But from the first time I saw it, Withnail & I spoke to me in a way few films ever have. I came for the quotes but I came away with so much more.
In Space, No One Can Hear You Shrug, by Bob Connally
20 May
In 2012, Ridley Scott returned to the world of Alien 33 years after directing the original film. Prometheus was a fairly entertaining but decidedly incoherent movie most notable for an outstanding supporting performance by Michael Fassbender as an android named David. Wisely, Scott and the rest of the creative team behind Alien: Covenant decided to bring Fassbender back but in terms of storytelling, we’re given a largely derivative mess. What’s maddening is not that the audience won’t be able to figure out what’s happening in the film. It’s that this is a movie that presents things in a needlessly complicated way in an attempt to make it appear deeper and more complex than it really is. After taking a slight step back and piecing it together, it’s very simple. There is nothing wrong with simplicity. But don’t try to trick us into thinking there’s more to it when there isn’t.
It’s the End of the World as We Know It, by Tim Acheson
19 May
Have you ever wanted to watch Mad Max without the madness? Then Revelation Road: The Beginning of the End is for you.
When it comes to Christians movies, I know the hearts of the filmmakers are in the right place. And, perhaps this is envy speaking, but I wish I could do what they do: Have the talent and equipment to put their story on the big screen. My point is, Christian filmmakers, keep doing what you love.
Unfortunately, good intentions can only carry one so far. And as is the case with many movies made by Christians, Revelation Road is another example of this truth.
Episode 192: Brooklyn
18 May
In this episode, Tyler and Robert discuss John Crowley’s Brooklyn and Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris.
EPISODE BREAKDOWN
00:00:50- Intro, Worth Watching
00:05:45- Film criticism
00:22:46- Brooklyn
01:18:10- Midnight in Paris
02:02:30- Episode wrap-up
The Fear of God: The Howling
16 May
Heartbreak Hotel, by Reed Lackey
5 May
This is the story of a boy and his mother. Perhaps you’ve heard it before, but never like this.
I must confess that when I checked out the first episode of Bates Motel, it was with more suspicion than excitement. Psycho has been a top-five, all-time favorite film of mine for nearly as long as I can remember watching movies. I had been burned pretty badly by the misfire of Gus Van Sant’s shot-for-shot remake in 1998 and although I’m a rather big fan of Psycho II, the prospect of taking things back to the beginning for Norman Bates and his mother seemed more born of hubris than of inspiration.
Thankfully, I was mistaken. Bates Motel aired its final episode last night, checking out after a mere 50 chapters in what proved to be a riveting, emotional, and immensely rewarding reimagining of the story first conceived in Robert Bloch’s best-selling novel and immortalized in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 masterpiece.
