M.S. Smith

Susan Sontag and the Making of Souls

The number of film critics who have indelibly shaped my understanding of the cinema is relatively small, perhaps a half dozen, maybe a dozen at the most. Susan Sontag is chief among them, although I’ve never thought of her as a critic per se. During a youth spent at academic institutions in Berkeley, Chicago, Cambridge […]

M. Leary

Brand Managing the Church: The New Christian Film Industry

(Ed. Note: Originally published at Film-Think.)   “Christian filmmaking is coming of age. Christian filmmaking is coming of age!” (Doug Phillips, SAICFF organizer) “…not all things are profitable.” (1 Cor. 6:12) So I was sitting there in my car early on Saturday morning listening to NPR and all these Christians start talking. It was disorienting to […]

M. Leary

What is Redemptive Cinema?

(Ed. Note: Originally published at Film-Think.)   Parallel to a different Top Ten of 2008 films, Christianity Today has posted a 10 Most Redeeming Films of 2008 list. Intrigued by the idea that I could also create two lists this year, I have gone ahead and written one as well: my 10 Most Redeeming Films of […]

M. Leary

Wendy and Lucy (Reichardt, 2008)

(Ed. Note: Originally published at Film-Think.) Well I hope that someday buddy We have peace in our lives Together or apart Alone or with our wives And we can stop our whoring And pull the smiles inside And light it up forever And never go to sleep My best unbeaten brother This isn’t all I see […]

M. Leary

Ten Alternating Theses on Art

(Ed. Note: Originally published at Film-Think.) Posted on December 16th, 2008 A few days ago Ben Meyers posted 10 Theological Theses On Art, which were then creatively responded to at This Blog, which posted 10 Alternative Theses on Art. I would like to respond to both, as I find it difficult to fully identify with each […]

M. Leary

Criticism and the Gospel of Ugliness

(Ed. Note: Originally published at Film-Think.) “According to a new gospel of ugliness, there is already more Junkspace under construction in the 21st century than survived from the 20th…” “God is dead, the author is dead, history is dead, only the architect is left standing.” – Rem Koolhaas Junkspace, a term coined by architect Rem Koolhaas, […]

M. Leary

What on Earth is Christian Film Criticism?

(Ed. Note: Originally published at The Matthew’s House Project.)   There is a gaunt literary cliché that perfectly describes the state of what can only problematically be described as “Christian film criticism”: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. For lack of a better term, self-professed Christians have been writing film […]