I don’t go to the movies much anymore, and neither does anyone really. If video killed the radio star, then streaming killed the big screen. It takes a lot to get anyone interested in actually going to a theater to see a movie these days, but people will still go to the spectacle of the summer blockbuster. As we approached the summer, there were three spectacles that I wanted to see—Mission Impossible, Superman, and Fantastic Four. As I said in my previous reviews, I was disappointed with the first two movies. Mission Impossible was an implausible matriarchal farce, and Superman was vacuous and silly. So perhaps my expectations were a little low before I…
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What You Get When Superman’s Dad is Larry-the-Cable-Guy
I finally saw James Gunn’s Superman over the weekend. If you are looking for a light popcorn movie, then you’re gonna like this one. If you’re looking for a film that is not only entertaining but also stays faithful to the best parts of the Superman myth, this one is probably going to disappoint. What does this film have going for it? If you like over-the-top, immersive CGI, this is your movie. It was a really good cartoon—along the lines of the second Dr. Strange movie. I personally appreciated the throwback to the old Super Friends Hall of Justice. I didn’t see that coming, but there it was in all…
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Malcolm-Jamal Warner (1970-2025)
I just read the news about the passing of Malcolm-Jamal Warner. According to reports, it was an accidental drowning. He was 54. For folks in my generation, Warner lives in our imaginations as Theo, the precocious teenage son of Clair and Cliff Huxtable. Even though it was a fictional family, they were nearly universally beloved. They were a picture of what everyone wished their family could be–loving, committed, loyal, not broken or perverse. They honored the grandparents and hung together. And they made us laugh. Pure joy. It was more than a sitcom. It was an ideal. An aspiration. That is why it was so hard to learn the distance…
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Top 10 YouTubes of 2024
It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific, and I gave up many years ago on limiting it to only ten videos. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s slate of videos has both humor and humanity with some other odds and ends thrown in. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding an “Honorable Mention” category at the bottom. Enjoy! If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous years: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |2020 | 2019 | 2018…
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A podcast about Deception in Matt Walsh’s Film “Am I Racist?”
On Friday, The Bully Pulpit podcast featured a stimulating discussion about Matt Walsh’s new movie Am I Racist? Among other things, the four hosts discuss the ethics of deception in Walsh’s film. Andrew Walker stood alone in arguing that Walsh’s use of deception in the film was not morally justified. I think Walker is spot-on about that. The truth is that—in spite of Walsh’s claims to the contrary—the film repeatedly engages its subjects through deception. Walsh defends the film in a video arguing that his methods were necessary in order to expose the DEI grift. While that claim is disputable, the more important point is the structure of his argument.…
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An Epilogue on My Column about Lying
It has been fascinating to read responses to my column in WORLD magazine about the ethics of lying. The occasion for the article was Robin DiAngelo’s claim that Matt Walsh had lied to her in order to procure her participation in Walsh’s new film Am I Racist? I was asked to write the article last week before the film released and to address the ethics of lying for an ostensibly good cause. There was an online conversation unfolding before the film released as a result of DiAngelo’s statement, and many people were arguing in response that lying and deception are justified whenever waging culture war. For my part, I never…
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The Child Will Never Be Born
My wife and I had been hearing and reading mixed reviews on the Barbie film, so last night we decided to go and check it out for ourselves. I think it’s safe to say that from the jump, the film left us pretty cold. The very first scene shows morose-looking little girls in a dark and barren landscape playing with baby dolls. The desert backdrop and the sullen expressions on the girls’ faces make it clear that playing at maternal stereotypes is oppressive and limiting for a young girl. After all, there is much more to life than the drudgery of motherhood. So the girls smash their baby dolls into…
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Top 10 YouTubes of 2022
It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific, and there’s actually more than 10 videos this time. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s slate of videos has both humor and humanity with some other odds and ends thrown in. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding an “Honorable Mention” category at the bottom. Enjoy! If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous years: 2021 |2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |…
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Top Ten YouTubes of 2021
It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific, and there’s actually more than 10 videos this time. Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s slate of videos has both humor and humanity with some other odds and ends thrown in. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding an “Honorable Mention” category at the bottom. I usually start with the humor, but don’t miss the non-humorous ones at the end. Enjoy! If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous years:…
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Top 10 YouTubes of 2020
It’s time for my annual posting of the Top 10 YouTube Videos of the Year (see last year’s list here). This ranking is totally unscientific, and there’s actually more than 10 videos this time (13 to be exact). Only one person was polled to compile this list—yours truly. This year’s slate of videos has both humor and humanity with some other odds and ends thrown in. If you think I’ve left something out, let me know. I’ll think about adding an “Honorable Mention” category at the bottom. If you’re interested, here are links to lists from previous years: 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |…
