Is the Clown Prince of Crime anything special without his heroic nemesis? No. It’s exciting to see the Joker onscreen because of the problems he creates for Batman. How will Batman escape this death trap, or foil this scheme, or inspire the citizens of Gotham to rise above the fear and cruelty that the Joker would reduce them to? Without the Caped Crusader to combat him, the Joker is just another violent man who finds himself funnier than anyone else does. Don’t we have enoug

"There’s a kernel of an interesting religious film in First Reformed, the new arthouse release from writer-director Paul Schrader (Mishima, Taxi Driver, The Last Temptation of Christ). Unfortunately, it’s buried underneath the grim weight of the terrorist fantasy that Schrader really wants to explore. The film stars Ethan Hawke as a tortured Protestant reverend slowly killing himself with alcohol and self-neglect. His manly grimacing may net him an Oscar; it’s the sort of int

I made another appearance on the podcast God and Comics, this accompanied by my wife Leah Libresco Sargeant, chatting with a geeky priest and deacon about the latest and greatest superhero epic, Avengers: Infinity War. One of the most interesting parts of the conversation was our discussion of the real world resonance of the film's antagonist Thanos, who reflects the despairing anti-natalist bent of many real people. Here's a transcribed excerpt: ME: I really appreciate what

“Star Wars: The Last Jedi is an excellent addition to the Star Wars canon, precisely because it is not cowed by its predecessors. Instead, the new film is a surprising, occasionally subversive continuation of the saga—and a film designed to get at the heart of what makes Star Wars stories appealing, what makes them matter. It seems director Rian Johnson set out to make the essential Star Wars film, and in many ways he succeeded. The film moves forward the stories of classic c

"Now, there are ways that Cushing’s digital resurrection is not so different from techniques used in other Star Wars films. Guy Henry wore the mask of Grand Moff Tarkin; puppets and masks were used to give life to characters in the first three films. Is the 2016 version of Tarkin so different than, say, the Darth Vader of the original trilogy? Darth Vader was embodied by bodybuilder and character actor David Prowse (who, as it happens, once played the Creature in a Cushing Fr

"I am thrilled my younger sister finally got to see a female-led superhero film, one starring the most iconic superheroine in all of comics. Wonder Woman succeeds brilliantly as a course-correction for DC’s cinematic universe, giving us a hopeful and heroic protagonist instead of the travesties of Batman and Superman previously seen on screen. Yet the movie gestures at something even better, hinting that its heroine has a spiritual vocation of peacemaking. Sadly, it ends with

I was the guest on an episode of God and Comics where Fr. Jonathan, Fr. Matt, Fr. Kyle, and I discussed Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2. We talked about the film's humor and its depiction of surrogate space families. We went in-depth into the theology of Ego the Living Planet, a character who claims a god-like mantle for himself. Does he represent inaccurate images of god in the popular imagination? Or pagan ideas of gods as scaled-up humans? Possibly the only podcas

"Enter a mysterious cosmic being claiming to be Peter Quill’s long-lost father. His name is Ego, and he is a living planet—but he creates a humanoid avatar (played by Kurt Russell) to interact with the universe, especially the son he never knew. The Guardians are wary of this self-proclaimed god (“with a lowercase g,” he modestly adds) but they pay a visit to his planet—which, again, is he—so Quill can bond with his divine deadbeat dad. Ego lies at the intersection of two of

"There’s something monstrous about living without responsibilities to others. That’s the clearest theme of Colossal, the new film starring Anne Hathaway as Gloria, an alcoholic piecing her life together while discovering a strange connection to a giant monster wreaking havoc in Seoul, South Korea. The film, written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, uses the kaiju genre (Godzilla and its progeny) to meditate on addiction, self-loathing, and toxic friendships. Yet the film is al

In the second segment of this First Things podcast, my wife Leah and I sit down with Julia Yost to discuss the film Logan and what is says about faith, fatherhood, and the evolution of the superhero genre. We talk about the way the Western-influenced film depicts superheroes not a power fantasies but as broken people trying to do good. Hear why we think this was a moving last hurrah for Hugh Jackman and Wolverine. Listen to the segment at 21:27 in the track below: #Podcast #F