About this blog

Several times a week I will be posting film reviews, both those opening in theaters and those released as DVDs.
I have been writing film reviews and articles for a number of years, but this is my first entry for Blogger.com, so I want to explain some of the reasons for starting this. My main efforts go into writing, editing, and formatting Visual Parables, a film journal dedicated to exploring film and theology and provide materials to use films in groups. Located at http://www.visualparables.com/, the site includes film reviews posted weekly and a bi-monthly journal that includes the reviews with the added feature of discussion questions plus articles, book and DVD reviews, and materials to help preachers integrate films into their sermons. The reviews are available free, but the journal is open only to subscribers.

I partner with the editor/publisher of the print journal LectionAid, to which I contribute. He serves as my webmaster for free, but is often so busy that my reviews are often delayed. Thus this blog is intended first for Visual Parables readers, who will be notified via the Face Book Visual Parables Group as soon as new reviews are posted here. Second, I hope that the casual viewer who comes across this blog might find something of interest. Most people go to the movies for entertainment, or for the reason implicit in the name of a cinemaplex near me--I love its name:

And this is okay--we all need escape at times. Apparently lots of people do, as most of the summer blockbusters are thrillers and such that provide a good 2 hours of escapist enterainment. But these are not the films that make me wonder about life or stretch and challenge my set ways of thinking, nor do most of them stand out in my memory. Instead most of them blend together in one big blurr of computerized action. Most of the films that I will be dealing with at any length will deal with films such as The Descendants, Incendies, War Horse, or Another World, to name a few recent ones. Recently I saw Martin Scorcese's Hugo and fell in love again with movies at their best. So please join me as we explore the magic of films and what they mean for our lives.

It takes me a while to learn the ropes, but I will keep trying--and will look forward to suggestions and ideas from others who also who love movies.