movies
“Sorry About the Mess”: Star Wars and the Virtues of Garbage
I learned to love Star Wars through my Gen-X brother’s stories, his scuffed Kenner toys, and worn VHS tapes with the originals recorded off of HBO. I wasn’t there in ’77, ’80, or ’83, but I had a homemade Ewok costume in ’86. I was an eager convert. I was there at midnight for the…
Sadness Is My Favorite
“Sadness touch my memories, Mama.” My two-year-old repeats this sentence like it’s his mantra. We’ve been watching Inside Out on heavy rotation at our house. He and his seven-year-old sister find the film about feelings enchanting. They quote lines. They pick favorite characters. They beg to watch it one more time. I tend to let…
Cinderella: The Magic of Kindness
I grew up with Disney princesses: Ariel, Jasmine, Snow White, Aurora, and Cinderella. I watched and rewatched these fairy tales on-screen, not just as entertainment, but also as possibilities for the world I inhabited. I fervently wished that magic was real and that all princes were charming. Particular princesses resonated more than others. Ariel and…
Kingsman: The One-Percent Apocalypse
I went to watch Kingsman: The Secret Service the day after Valentine’s Day. My husband and I were eager to see a movie, any movie really, that didn’t involve talking animals. The choices were limited for those us who refuse to engage Fifty Shades of Grey, so we settled upon Kingsman because it was the…
KtB Religion News Roundup
The AV Club reports that, what with Captain America taking over the box office from Noah, comic books have reasserted themselves as “America’s favorite religion.” Let’s look at the numbers: apparently there are 24 million self-identified comic fans in the U.S. Number of registered Catholics? 69,436,660. Clare O’Connor writes in Forbes about how some companies…
It’s All Fun and Games Until Odin Gets Eaten by a Wolf
You may have seen the links going around. Certainly I have, though I guess I’m an obvious target. “Vikings of the World Unite: The Apocalypse is Upon Us.” “Viking apocalypse: End of the world predicted to happen on Saturday (but don’t cancel your weekend plans yet.)” Word on the street is that Ragnarök is scheduled…
Happy New Year from KtB!
Herewith, in the spirit of the season, a highly subjective New Year’s Eve countdown of our favorite KtB moments of 2013. 10 Illustrated posts by Communicant Mary Valle. 9 New books by Buddha-killers. 8 hot tips on new Buddha-killing movies by Becky Garrison. 7 Habits of a Highly Effective Philosopher. 6 Pieces of original reporting…
Southern Baptist Sissies
For those like me who hail from the Bible bet, Southern Baptist Sissies serves as a painful reminder of a legacy that still lingers despite the passing of Jesse Helms, Strom Thurmond, and others of their ilk. This is a film of the GLAAD Award-winning theatrical production from Del Shores that follows four childhood boys…
The Act of Killing
In The Act of Killing, coming to theaters July 19th, documentarian Joshua Oppenheimer adopts a novel approach to documenting death squad atrocities. He challenges Anwar Congo and other leaders of Indonesia’s Pancasila Youth paramilitary movement, who were behind the 1965-66 mass murders, to reenact the mass killings in the style of the American movies they…
SxSW: I Am Divine
Post SXSW, I downloaded a selection of films that I could not catch during the actual festival. Following are a two flicks worth tracking. I Am Divine I AM DIVINE – Teaser from Jeffrey Schwarz on Vimeo. As I was never cool enough to turn into any underground scene, I never caught on to John…
SxSW: Bitter Buddha
My quest to connect with comic Eddie Pepitone, aka the Bitter Buddha, in person at the 2013 South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival proved to be quite the challenge. First off, the North Door, where he performed on two nights, wasn’t exactly situated in a “desirable” location. Catching Pepitone in the act required missing a sizable chunk…
SxSW: Searching for Sayles
When I got an email announcing that my favorite film director, John Sayles, would be taping an interview at SXSW, I dropped my previous plans to catch him in action. Fortunately, he proved to be as gracious in person as he was back in 2008 when I interviewed him via phone for Honeydripper. His 18th film, Go…
SxSW: Tell-A-Vision
South by Southwest (SXSW) Armed with a gold (film/interactive) press badge, Becky Garrison set out to explore the evolution of storytelling in this ever-evolving digital world. This week we’ll share some of her discoveries from her stay in Austin earlier this month. March 8, 2014 Signs of Spirituality from Chuck Lorre Pictures taken at WB…