‘The Last Station’ and the Gospel of FluffPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 4 March 2010
How Hollywood and the church can screw up a good story.
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Wii Fit Bronze PigPosted in Featured, Games, Headline on 25 February 2010
Carissa Smith mixes her metaphors and tries not to turn the Wii Fit into a golden calf.
‘Up in the Air’: A Meditation on ScriptednessPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 27 January 2010
Why is it so hard to mean what we say?
‘The Road’ Goes Ever OnPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 30 December 2009
Carissa explores the gestures of hope in The Road.
Looking Back: Books and Music in 2009Posted in Featured, Headline, Literature, Music on 17 December 2009
Carissa Smith shares the books and albums that got her through the year.
Why ‘Precious’ Is Actually Too ComfortingPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 4 December 2009
‘Precious’ is touching, but not particularly moving.
FlashForward and the Burden of False GuiltPosted in Featured, Headline, Television on 9 November 2009
FlashForward isn’t so much about the future; it’s about our present inability to cope with guilt.
“The Magicians”: If Harry Potter was DoubtfulPosted in Featured, Headline, Literature on 21 October 2009
It’s been called “Harry Potter for grownups,” but it’s more like “Narnia for the disillusioned.”
‘Bright Star,’ Dim CharactersPosted in Featured, Film, Headline, Literature on 14 October 2009
With a great romantic poet as its subject matter, you would think this film would have been a bit more poetic.
Conference on Christianity and Literature: The City (Part 2)Posted in Featured, Headline, Literature on 1 October 2009
Carissa Smith shares her thoughts and insights on a conference you probably should have attended.
Conference on Christianity and Literature: The City (Part 1)Posted in Featured, Headline, Literature on 30 September 2009
A special treat: Carissa Smith shares her thoughts and insights on a conference you probably should have attended.
Living the ‘Goode’ LifePosted in Featured, Headline, Television on 17 September 2009
Fox’s short-lived The Goode Family finds environmentalists hilarious.
Singing the “I’m the Center of My Universe” BluesPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 18 August 2009
Julie & Julia hijacks a great story for the sake of a mediocre one.
Not That Kind of Girl: Rejecting the Evangelical Narrative, But for What?Posted in Featured, Headline, Literature on 10 August 2009
This is not your typical testimony. Could it be worse?
So You Think You Can Dance: The Naughty Ballerina, the Cancer Dance, and Traditional Forms
Posted in Featured, Headline, Television on 28 July 2009
Melissa and Ade’s breakthrough dance may have felt emotional, but that’s because we were manipulated, not because it was great.
‘The Year of Living Biblically’: What Does True Biblical Literalism Look Like?Posted in Featured, Headline, Literature on 21 July 2009
What happens when one man decides to do what he’s told, even if he doesn’t understand why?
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Already Nostalgic for HogwartsPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 16 July 2009
A flawed but fun film reminds us what we’ll be missing.
‘Son of Rambow’ and the Ultimate Summer FantasyPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 9 July 2009
Carissa Smith encourages us to see a different kind of summer blockbuster.
Revolutionary Road and the Myth of the Suburban TrapPosted in Featured, Film, Headline on 23 June 2009
Frank and April are suffering, but they’re doing it to themselves.
Flannery O’Connor and the Christ-Haunted BiographyPosted in Featured, Headline, Literature on 16 June 2009
Non-Christians like her too!
