Posted in Movie Reviews, New Release, Poetry, Saved by Cinema on October 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Diving into Poetry:
A Review of Bright Star
by S. Randall Toms, Ph. D.
Since my Ph.D. is in English literature, and John Keats is my favorite poet, I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Bright Star, a film about the romance between Keats and Fanny Brawne. Keats, one of the most famous of the Romantic poets, [...]
Posted in Movie Reviews, New Release, Saved by Cinema, Virtual Reality on October 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Living through Our Machines: A Review of Surrogates
By Rev. S. Randall Toms, Ph.D.
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
What if you could always be young, strong, attractive, and have any experience you wish without the possibility of personal injury? Considering our obsession, particularly in the United States, with health and beauty, most people would jump at the [...]
Posted in Movie Reviews, New Release, Saved by Cinema on September 29, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Stitchpunk Saviors: A Review of Shane Acker’s 9
by Rev. S. Randall Toms, Ph.D.
Warning: This review contains spoilers.
One of the most popular film genres of the last 30 years has been the dystopia, those movies that depict apocalyptic disasters and nightmarish societies of the future. Though religions, politicians, and various philosophies promise that adherence to their [...]
Posted in Movie Reviews, New Release, Saved by Cinema, The Narrow Road on June 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Preached on January 18, 2009, by the Rev. Dr. S. Randall Toms
At St. Paul’s Reformed Episcopal Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is [...]
Posted in Movie Reviews, Movies on DVD, New Release, Saved by Cinema on June 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Another Failed Utopia
A Review of M. Night Shyamalan’s “The Village” by S. Randall Toms
Warning: This review contains “spoilers,” so you may want to watch the movie before you read this review.
When one watches a movie by M. Night Shyamalan, one expects an incredibly surprising twist at the end, such as the conclusion of one of his [...]
Posted in Movie Reviews, New Release, Saved by Cinema on June 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Shut Up the Box and the Puppets
A Review of Mira Nair’s Film, Vanity Fair
Some people like to read the book before they see the movie, but I prefer the opposite. After I’ve read a book, especially a masterpiece such as William Thackeray’s 1848 novel, Vanity Fair, I always have the feeling that everything in the [...]
Posted in Movie Reviews, New Release, Saved by Cinema on June 1, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Is the Sword the Only Answer?
A Review of Zhang Yimou’s Hero
by S. Randall Toms
This film is rated PG-13 for violence and a scene of sensuality.
Hero is one of the most visually stunning films I have seen in quite a while. The cinematography, with its changing color schemes, incredible Chinese landscapes, cast of thousands, and [...]
Posted in Movie Reviews, New Release, Saved by Cinema on May 30, 2007 | Leave a Comment »
Screaming at the Abyss: A Review of “Garden State”
This film is rated R for language, nudity, sexual content, and crude sexual humor.
Since Garden State has been compared by some to The Graduate, I felt as though I must see it. It is always a dangerous thing to compare a new movie to a film that [...]
