Cooling Twilight

Category: Movies

  • And It Wasn’t Very Good

    And It Wasn’t Very Good

    Twilight

    It’s nice to see that my site is on the first page of Google search results for “list of biblical principles that twilight the movie is against.”

    So, since you asked, here’s the list (it’s a short one):

    1. “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” (Gen. 1.31a)

    In case that’s not clear enough, the principle here is that just as what God made was very good, we also, as bearers of the imago dei, should also strive to create what is very good. Twilight, in both its written and cinematic forms, is not “very good” and thus violates that foundational biblical principle. 

    I hope you, whoever you are, found that list helpful. And should you ever need more guidance on such issues, please don’t hesitate to ask.

  • Review: The Revisionaries

    Review: The Revisionaries

    The Revisionaries

    The Revisionaries is a 2012 documentary film about the Texas State Board of Education and its recent battles over science and U.S. history curricula. Director Scott Thurman explores the intersection of politics, religion and science as seen through the school board debates, spending considerable time with school board member, full-time dentist and conservative Christian Don McLeroy. 

    Thurman gives fair time to all sides of the debate and presents a largely impartial account of the issues. Although I wished he would have provided a more in-depth examination of the issues themselves, that wasn’t the focus of the film. This movie isn’t about evolution, it’s about the politics of educating our children. Who decides what makes it into textbooks? And more importantly, what reasons do they have for making those decisions?
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  • Zombie Kingdom

    Zombie Kingdom

    zombie-kingdom2

    A critical exploration of the cinematic work of Fleischer and Anderson and its function in American mythopoeics.

    I recently watched the 2009 horror-comedy Zombieland (directed by Ruben Fleischer) and the 2012 comedy-drama Moonrise Kingdom (directed by Wes Anderson). 

    Moonrise Kingdom is classic Anderson, a carefully cultivated cornucopia of kitsch that unwinds into a surreal coming-of-age fable. Zombieland is a rollicking and witty commentary on the zombie genre — though its “zombies” aren’t the classic living dead, but merely the virus-infected living.
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  • Review: With God On Our Side

    Review: With God On Our Side

    With God On Our SideOver Christmas I had the chance to watch the 2010 documentary With God On Our Side. This film provides an insightful, provocative and emotional look at Christian Zionism, exploring historical, religious, political and social aspects of the Jewish/Palestinian conflict. The film doesn’t settle for easy answers but instead seeks to uncover the truth behind the rhetoric. It allows Christian Zionists to speak for themselves and explain their reasoning, but also offers a decisive refutation of that misguided position. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to gain a better understanding of the problems in the Middle East from a truly Christian perspective. Below is the trailer:
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