Why is this sort of stuff so much fun? Why do we sometimes enjoy knocking down sand castles more than building them? Why do preschoolers spend minutes on end creating a tower out of blocks, all in anticipation of those glorious seconds when they’ll come crashing apart and scatter across the room?
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In many years the short films nominated for Academy Awards are more affecting and polished than their feature length counterparts. This year is no exception…
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Revisiting the series as an adult, I’ve come to appreciate the weight and depth of The Twilight Zone, especially its philosophical, ethical, and spiritual themes…
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“God is a great narrative architect, and I tend to believe that the only way human beings actually learn and change is through story.” – Kevin Marks
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The movie abounds in humor, but it is the kind that is understated and ironic, also serving a larger narrative purpose. Intelligent, poignant, heartfelt, real – this imaginative fable invites our personal introspection. We will all die – that is a given. The question is rather, how should we live?
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Reel Spirituality co-directors Eugene Suen and Elijah Davidson discuss the 2013 Academy Award nominees.
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The Oscar nominated short films are, in come cases, the richest films highlighted by the Academy…
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Would you risk the fear of closeness and death to be able to offer to others, specifically children, a fully embodied love? Are you willing to choose to be uncomfortable for the sake of love? Blood Brother speaks to these questions…
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“Faith gives us permission to be comfortable with complexity. It gives us confidence to seek a greater understanding of God and to approach each ‘big question’ with humility.” – Ryan Pettey
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Here is what happened to me when I saw Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner, a story of betrayal, cowardice, and redemption. Somehow the characters in this movie invited me to test my responses and actions against theirs. As I watched, I was challenged to think about who I am and what I might/should do…
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See Side Effects, both because it’s Soderbergh’s last theatrical release and because it’s just a very good movie. More importantly though, see as Side Effects sees…
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My recommendation in this Oscar month is that we take note of the nine films nominated by watching the best one, and doing eight other things instead of obsessing about gold statuettes. My modest proposals follow…
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Each year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences chooses five documentaries to highlight in their yearly awards ceremony. Are these the “best” documentaries of the year? Critical consensus suggests not, but the Oscars aren’t about what’s “best,” no matter what their category names claim…
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An interview with producer Eugene Suen.
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This movie is violent enough to be a trigger to many kids, and there are particular reasons why it might be troubling to children adopted from foster care. However, for older kids and teenagers struggling with misplaced guilt, this movie offers some hope…
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Of Gods and Men’s director, Xavier Beauvois, shows an instinct for depicting the detail of monastic life with sensitivity and a strong awareness of what it means. His technical advisers have offered expert information which he has absorbed. And the casting is perfect. The actors look, move, speak and act as if they were authentic monks…
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Pi is born Hindu, attaches to Christianity (not “converts” in the traditional sense), and is a practicing Muslim. There are even hints that he is also a Talmudic scholar. The film is clear – Pi is meant to represent all humankind’s search for the divine…
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Both Sgt. James and Maya are the by-products of war, and the filmmakers, through their stories, both fictional and based-on-fact, put forward those deep questions about meaning that ought wake us up in the middle of the night…
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We’ve become so accustomed to high action, high romance, and high drama. The truth is that much of life is slow, mundane, and unremarkable. It may only be in accepting this reality that we are able to avoid the depression caused by chasing the “fake love” that can never be obtained…
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