There were several movies about Jesus in 2016, each of which tapped into a different genre—the detective work of Risen, the family road trip of The Young Messiah, the spiritual drama of Last Days in the Desert, the epic action of the Ben-Hur remake—but the first and arguably most interesting Read More …
Claims that modern-day systems are rigged against the average guy have replaced “the Devil made me do it” as the go-to justification for why someone should not be held responsible for bending or even breaking the rules. Toby and Tanner Howard may not be wrong Read More …
Jeff Nichols’ Loving tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, whose story led to the 1967 Supreme Court decision invalidating state laws against interracial marriage. While this story could have been played as a pulse-quickening beat-by-beat historical drama, Nichols decides instead to paint a picture of Read More …
Empowering movies about women don’t have to tell stories about women overcoming circumstances, oppression, or violence; the most empowering narrative is often about overcoming ourselves. Queen of Katwe was one of the most effective feminist films of the year, recounting the true story of Phiona Mutesi, a Read More …
Fourteen-year old Lewis MacDougall gives one of the 2016’s best performances in a film that is compelling and beautiful. A Monster Calls explores faith, letting go, and the search for healing. Based on the award-winning book by Patrick Ness, J.A. Bayona directs a story that takes audiences Read More …
In a year of excellent documentaries—Cameraperson, The Witness, O.J: Made in America—Tower is a film of immense emotional heft. The film serves as a formal exercise in collective memory, a memorial recording both the horrors of human depravity as well as the redemptive courage that can emerge out Read More …
Set in the early 1970s on the north coast of Scotland, Breaking the Waves nevertheless feels strangely timeless. With its bleak backdrop and its puritanical locals—who attend fire-and-brimstone sermons, of course—it recalls the stark environs of Carl Dreyer’s films. When Bess, a woman of what seems Read More …
Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but when offered up within movies, it’s usually piping hot. Such is the case with The Virgin Spring, a quiet film that slowly builds to an explosion of violence. Inspired by a thirteenth-century ballad, director Ingmar Bergman and Read More …
If Jesus were alive on Earth today, and if he had been born in an African slum, what kinds of things would he care about? How would the era and culture shape his ministry? Son of Man seeks to explore these questions. Working with the South Read More …
Two school boys, one a son of a privileged French family, the other a Jew with an assumed name, accidentally separate themselves from their schoolmates in the woods during a spirited game of capture the flag. Julien Quentin experiences the rush of fear as he Read More …