The Tree of Life (2011) – 2
Written and directed by Terrence Malick. 139 mins. PG-13. Starring Jessica Chastain, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Hunter McCracken. It’s one of the best scenes in a very remarkable film, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life (2011). A mother (Jessica Chastain) plays and cavorts with her three boys, and what we see, all set to Smetana’s…
The Mission (1986)
Written by Robert Bolt, Cinematography by Chris Menges, Music by Ennio Morricone, Starring Jeremy Irons, Robert De Niro, and Ray McAnally. 125 mins. Rated PG. There’s more than one way of catching Jesus, meaning the deep-core of Him, a hard task in any setting, to be very sure. Words go only so far, especially when…
The Innocents (2016)
The Innocents (French title Agnus Dei). 2016. Directed by Anne Fontaine. Written by Peter Bonitzer and Anne Fontaine. Starring Agata Buzek, Lou de Laâge, and Vincent Macaigne. 115 Mins. Rated PG-13. In Poland during the last days of WW II a young French physician-in-training (Lou de Laâge) finds herself in a very difficult, and wholly…
The Godfather: Part III (1990) – 1
The Godfather: Part III (1990). Written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia, and Sofia Coppola. 162 mins. Rated R. CONFESSION The first and last and only time we ever see Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) in a church is at the end of…
The Godfather: Part III (1990) – 2
The Godfather: Part III (1990). Written by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Starring Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, Andy Garcia, and Sofia Coppola. 162 mins. Rated R. Redemption So at last, after decades of dire criminality, including the murder of his inept, needy brother Fredo (John Cazale), Michael Corleone (the…
The Tree of Life (2011) – 1
Written and directed by Terrence Malick. 139 mins. PG-13. Starring Jessica Chastain, Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Hunter McCracken. Hugely successful architect, Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn) slogs through his life in a trough of despair. Through the center of his soul runs a crevasse cut by contention with his harsh father and, even more so, lasting…
Tender Mercies (1983) – 2
Tender Mercies (1983). Written by Horton Foote. Directed by Bruce Beresford. Starring Robert Duvall, Tess Harper, and Wilfred Brimley. 92 Mins. Rated PG. Notions of what exactly is meant by the kingdom of God have regularly shifted vastly ever since the phrase came into being. A lot of that fuzz continues still, needless to say,…
John 6:51-58
Proper 15B
Comments and Observations: In her short story “The River,” Flannery O’Connor depicts a child who actually drowns when trying to baptize himself in a river. After this startling story was published, someone asked O’Connor about this grotesque depiction of baptism. O’Connor’s critics thought this story was too extreme. But her goal was to remind her…
John 6:51-58
Proper 15B
In her short story “The River,” Flannery O’Connor depicts a child who actually drowns when trying to baptize himself in a river. After this startling story was published, someone asked O’Connor about this grotesque depiction of baptism. O’Connor’s critics thought this story was too extreme. But her goal was to remind her readers of how…
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Epiphany 4B
A few years back a colleague of mine was a pastor in the Greater Toronto Area. The Lectionary called for a sermon on 1 Corinthians 8 and so my friend did his level best to translate these ancient words into a contemporary setting. Mostly he worked hard to take the “food sacrificed to idols” line…
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