Something Borrowed, Something Blue: Avatar and the Myth of Originality
Avatar is now officially the top-grossing movie of all time, but that’s not because it shows us something entirely original (in 3D no less). Like all good myths, it is a mashup: a mix of well-tested stories, presented in an unfamiliar way.
Ending With a Bang: 2012, Media, and Exploding Worlds
When filmmakers blow up a city, a planet, it’s called apocalyptic. But what if apocalypse is not a grand event but a continual revealing, happening every moment, as worlds arise and die?
A brief tour through some forthcoming films.
Jennifer’s Body and Why I Like Buffy’s Body Better
Has a hotly anticipated new horror film about a murderous cheerleader subverted the mythos of woman as the source of evil or just the opposite?
Pop-Eye: Global Jesus on Film
In this invitation to inter-cinematic dialogue, S. Brent Plate offers a Lenten season roundup of Jesus films from all across the world, and not a blue-eyed protagonist among them.
The Happening and the Gospel of Bruce Springsteen
M. Night Shyamalan’s much-maligned new movie sounds much more interesting if read as an extended argument for religious faith in general and intelligent design specifically.
