Episode 15: The Sound of Movies

John Wayne as a Dickens character, the end of the Patriarch's presidential career, Marco Rubio's love of rap, and the portrayal of the South in film. Also, we breakdown the new Star Wars and Batman vs. Superman trailers, and talk about movie scores, including The New World, Midnight Run, and Empire of the Sun.

Jonathan Crombie - Gilbert Blythe

If you were a teenaged, female Christian homeschooler in the 90′s or early 2000′s, it’s pretty much inevitable that you had a crush on Gilbert Blythe at some point (right after Mr. Darcy).

I recently fell in love with Gil all over again as I introduced the films to my little sister. The stories were unusual enough to feature a strong heroine who didn’t really need a romance to make her life interesting. When romance was there, it was secondary to the story of Anne's many harebrained adventures. Gil - and Jonathan Crombie, by extension - was gracious enough to never chew the scenery, never try to show anyone up, never try and be the leading man. He was more than happy to play second fiddle to the extraordinary Megan Follows. But in this graciousness, his gentle influence on theatrical, fiery Anne resulted in one of my all-time favorite romances.

 RIP Jonathan Crombie (1966-2015).

Star Wars Trailer Breakdown - Good and Bad

It was one of the great shocks of my young life to find out Darth Vader's true identity. I followed my dad around, badgering him with questions. How could that be? Anakin is dead! He's not dead? Obi-Wan said he was. He LIED? Why didn't Obi-Wan tell Luke the truth? I thought Obi-Wan was a good guy!

Episode 14: In the Beginning was the Word

Ordet. We talk about faith, miracles, theology, what we'd say to Alistair Begg if we met him, Hugh Jackman as Paul, William Goldman's review of Saving Private Ryan, and the hoot level of movies. What is a hoot level? Listen to find out. Also: the Patriarch discusses his bid for the presidency.

High Noon - Movie Review

Until recently, I thought all Westerns consisted of a simple, boring formula - a man, a gun, a frontier. I was wrong. All Westerns do consist of a simple formula - a man, a gun, a frontier - but it's far from boring. Like the murder mystery (a genre of which I am a devotee), the formula has been buffed and polished till it nearly loses its originality, but given the clearly defined parameters, it can be spun into infinite varieties.

For instance, you have The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance which is a Western - but with ideas and a cameo from George Bailey. You have The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, which is a Western - but with black humor, eccentric music, and an edgy moral ambiguity setting it apart from the more stolid John Wayne fare. You have The Man From Snowy River which is a Western - but in Australia. You have Life on Mars which is a Western - but in 1980s Manchester. The formula is effective, but far more flexible than I imagined.