Ken and Todd tackle Ben Lewin’s The Sessions. Can a priest ever give you permission to sin? Does calling something therapy change what it is? Is God a bully who hates us and wants us to be miserable? Is it possible to be compassionate while still having standards?

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro, summary. "Not a prostitute."

05:15 - "God will give you a pass on this one..."

11:32 - Erring on the side of love.

14:20 - Sinning against conscience and Mark’s religious life.

23:00 - Of course sex has consequences.

29:00 - The great hubris of intellectualization.

31:00 - Overall assessment.

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Ken and Todd revisit William Friedkin’s horror masterpiece, The Exorcist, and use it as a springboard to talk about whether or not Christians should watch horror movies. Does the film imply that evil is stronger than holiness? Who is the main character? What does the film say about the spiritual condition of the late 20th century?

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro, summary of Scott Derrickson keynote address on horror.

06:42 - Historical significance: real evil in an age of unbelief.

11:35 - Mechanics of fear vs. true horror.

15:20 - Gothic vs. Horror.

18:17 - Impressions on a new viewing: soundscape, pace, and performance as theme.

29:00 - Does the exorcism fail?

39:51 - Defending the ending.

53:00 - Thumbs up to the devil? Esteeming vs. recommending.

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Ken and Todd look at Rian Johnson’s sci-fi, time-travel hit, Looper. Is changing the future the same as "playing God"? Is there anything theological about the film’s depiction of addicitons? What verse in the Book of Genesis makes Ken doubtful that time-travel is ever really possible? Just what exactly is soul annihilation, and why does the way we interpret the film have consequences for the way we conceptualize hell?

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro, endorsement, and plot summary

03:50 - Moral choices and how we justify them.

11:20 - Old Joe vs. New Joe.

17:07 - Violence, addiction, and moral deterioration.

26:30 - Soul annihilation and playing God.

33:00 - Changing the world vs. changing yourself.

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Guest host Andrew Johnson joins Ken at the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss Mike Newell’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’s classic novel. What is the difference between grace and random acts of kindness? Which character reminds Ken of the rock opera Chess? Warning: some profanity in this episode.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro. What is grace?

05:12 - Grace vs. random acts of kindness

07:25 - Class conflict, Puritan work ethic, and deserving success.

12:20 - "Pity the child, but not forever," the problems with economic determinism

17:40 - Miss Havisham and the culture of victimhood

25:00 - The circle of (moral) life and the film’s resolution.

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Director Julia Haslett makes a documentary that is part biopic, part self-reflection. How should we respond to human suffering? Do Simone Weil’s writings give us a road map for answering that question?

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro. Self-reflexive vs. biography

10:06 - Understanding vs. Acting On

18:10 - "I feel like there’s something you want me to say..."

20:48 - "Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity."

27:00 - Is "attention" the same as being a Christian "witness"?

31:45 - Global vs. local; not burning out.

34:22 - A philosophical dead end?

42:25 - I go to extremes...

49:30 - Concluding remarks.

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Critics polled by Sight & Sound magazine in 2012 ranked Vertigo as the greatest film of all time. What does that ranking say about the spirit of the age? Is the greatness of a film measurable? If not, why do we keep trying? What causes our obsession with lists? Ken and Todd discuss Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece and the poll that thrust it back into the limelight.

Warning: Spoilers for Vertigo and Sunrise: A Story of Two Humans.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro. The Sight & Sound poll and canon making.

6:47 - Two views of lists: corporate wisdom and platonic ideals.

12:26 - The function of criticism at the present time.

18:13 - "I’ve seen Vertigo..." Great vs. The Greatest.

22:21 - Can people change?

27:51 - Obsession vs. Love

31:55 - Melancholia and the spirit of the age.

36:00 - Critics vs. directors; Vertigo vs. Kane.

46:22 - Concluding remarks.

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

How Batman is not a "Christ figure" but Bane is reminiscent of...Willy Wonka!?! It's the summer's most anticipated film as only The Thin Place can cover it. Ken and Todd discuss whether Christopher Nolan's trilogy is telling us "you can't handle the truth" or simply isn't clear in its own mind about what it wants to say. Warning: Spoilers!

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro and outlining spiritual themes.

3:54 - Our obsession with back stories and the nature/nurture debate.

14:21 - What is a "Christ figure" and why Batman isn't one.

20:03 - To escape is better than sacrifice...

29:12 - Well intentioned lies.

35:00 - Metafiction and (intentional?) ideological fuzziness

40:54 - Yes, but is it entertaining?

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Few films are more beloved in Christian circles than Chariots of Fire. Todd and Ken ask why this is the case, and whether the film that beat out Raiders of the Lost Ark for an Academy Award has stood the test of time.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Intro: Why Do Christians Love this Film?

5:00 - Is it idealized? Shaping a true story.

10:13 - What is the story?

18:03 - Does God care who wins sporting events?

26:30 - Affinity vs. Judgment

30:08 - Better and Worse Than I Remember

34:36 - Tim Tebow, Identity Politics, and Incarnational Christianity

44:45 - Overall impressions and conclusion.

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

Ridley Scott’s return to science fiction is not only one of the most anticipated films of the year - a prequel to Alien - but it also attempts to address deep philosophical and religious questions. Can a film be an action blockbuster and a successful cosmological treatise?

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Show intro. Who is Robert Bresson?

4:43 - Bresson’s style: acting, visual style, and sound

8:28 - Editing and elliptical narration

15:44 - Defamiliarization and a tale that’s been often told

20:22 - Confusion and doubt as a motif

25:55 - Historical romances as comments on the present age

30:51 - Questioning assumptions and filling in gaps

37:00 - Exit comments

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!

As a touring retrospective and the reissue of a famous anthology revive interest in the enigmatic and critically revered Robert Bresson, Ken and Todd examine the French director’s Lancelot du Lac.

SHOW NOTES:

0:00 - Profile, persuasion, or historical account?

7:00 - Talking past each other and retrofitting theology

13:33 - Theological argument or social justice argument?

19:13 - How heterosexuals are portrayed; leadership vs. laity

24:12 - The lack of a theological argument

31:30 - Social justice vs. the integrity of the church, part 2

35:19 - North Carolina Amendment #1 and Unintended Consequences

40:24 - The film as film; humanizing gays AND Christians

DON'T FORGET: You can contact us by emailing [email protected]. Thanks for listening!