Category: Culture watch
Silence raises questions of faith
by Ted Giese Martin Scorsese’s Silence is an adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s 1966 novel of the same name. It is the story of two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Father Rodrigues and Father Garrpe, infiltrating Japan nineteen years after the authorities had banned Christianity and enacted a…
Rogue One: A New Force in the Star Wars Franchise
by Ted Giese With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards goes back to that galaxy far, far away that kids and adults first fell in love with way back in 1977. This new film is another prequel but, unlike the George Lucas’…
Doctor Strange: A dazzling spiritual junk drawer and a jerk
by Ted Giese Doctor Strange introduces the Marvel cinematic universe to magic through Dr. Stephen Strange, an arrogant brain surgeon who becomes” sorcerer supreme.” The general premise of Doctor Strange is summed up by one of the film’s characters, Wong, who observes, “While heroes like…
Ben-Hur: Help! My Chariot is Stuck!
by Ted Giese As expected, Timur Bekmambetov’s 2016 adaptation of Ben-Hur differs from the 1959 William Wyler film starring Charlton Heston. And that begs the question: Is that good or bad? Bekmambetov’s film is about an hour shorter and that alone makes for a different…
Suicide Squad: Dark brooding film in need of salvation
by Ted Giese If the heroes of the DC Extended Universe are flawed characters, then the anti-heroes of the Suicide Squad are damaged losers. They are criminals and killers, deemed unredeemable by society and by heroes like Batman who rounded up most of them for…
Popcorn-Film Faith and Independence Day: Resurgence
by Ted Giese When Independence Day was released twenty years ago it was clear that it was not a very serious movie. Neither is this year’s Independence Day: Resurgence. These are popcorn-summer-blockbuster films. As was the case for the first film, the producers have released…