IT Floats to the Top
Pennywise is dollar rich. IT pulled a truly staggering estimated $123.1 million into its dark sewers and, ironically, breathed a little life into a moribund the box office. The R-rated horror flick (based on the bestselling novel by Stephen King) also notched a few records on its bloody board: It (IT?) scared up the highest […]
Why Do Christians Struggle to Make Good Movies?
Christians can make good movies. No doubt about it. Most of us have seen one. But I think that most of us, even most Christian moviemakers, would say that overall, Christian movies aren’t all they could or should be. We Christians believe we have the greatest story in the world to tell, but sometimes we […]
Culture Clips: Clowns Taking It On the Red, Squeaky Nose
It’s not even October yet, but already our Culture Clips blog is taking on a rather frightening hue. First up: clowns. The World Clown Association is bracing for the release of IT, a horror flick featuring a diabolical clown. The association, still reeling from last year’s spate of scary clown sightings, has put together a […]
Hitman’s Bodyguard Threepeats During Drowsy Labor Day Weekend
It’s a bit fitting that the weekend’s only major “new” release was the 40-year-old Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Given the woefully slim box-office receipts, this was a distinctly retro weekend. The top 12 movies collectively cashed a paltry $51.5 million, making it the worst extended Labor Day weekend in 17 years. That’s right: […]
A Lesson From the Game of Thrones. (No, Really.)
HBO’s Game of Thrones wrapped up its seventh season last Sunday, gearing up for a frenetic, likely salacious sprint to the finish next year. But for all its many weaknesses, the show sometimes offers—albeit unintentionally—a kernel of truth. And I found one this week. Despite all the criticism for its penchant for titillation and its […]
Culture Clips: The Dragon and the Swift edition
On Sunday night, two television titans squared off against each other in a clash of old and new, awards-show glitz against prestige-TV glam. It wasn’t even close. Despite going head-to-head against MTV’s once-vaunted Video Music Awards show, HBO’s salacious sensation Game of Thrones set yet another high-water ratings mark, drawing 12.1 million viewers for its […]
Hitman’s Bodyguard … Wins?
In 2015, Alabama Bibb County and Brookwood high schools decided to treat their fans to arguably the most boring basketball game of the 21st century. The final score was 2-0. Seven shots were taken during the whole match. One team held the ball for the entire first quarter, taking one unsuccessful shot at the buzzer. Who […]
Culture Clips: Total Eclipse of the Charts
Where were you during the eclipse? We all know where singer Bonnie Tyler was: aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas, singing her 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” in that raspy way of hers. Let me guess what she’s doing today, too: Counting all the new moola she’s earned from this relatively ancient […]
Hitman’s Bodyguard Becomes a Hit, Guards No. 1
Forget the typical gold medal for a first-place finish. This week, the prize was full of lead. The Hitman’s Bodyguard, the Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson frienemy flick, went to No. 1 with a bullet, banking an estimated $21.6 million—or about 50 cents for every profanity used. Does that make Hitman a hit? Well, a win’s […]
The Power of Yesterday
My 30th high school class reunion is this weekend. That’s right, I graduated before a single president had the last name of “Bush.” When mullets were cool. When the world’s very first laptops weighed nearly 20 pounds. For a lot of you, the world of 1987 would seem as unfamiliar as a foreign planet, as […]
