(REVIEW) Comedians frequently take shots at taboo targets, but that wasn’t what Norm Macdonald was doing when he addressed Down syndrome while recording what became the new “Nothing Special” stand-up special on Netflix.
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(ANALYSIS) After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion is a more divisive topic than ever. These abortion movies share three key insights about the debate and hopefully increase empathy on both sides.
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The fourth season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” once again teleports audiences back to the 1980s — and this time, that includes the historical background of the satanic panic. When the small town of Hawkins succumbs to the blind hysteria common in that period, it brings the show’s heroes additional difficulty. It also offers the audience a “God’s eye view” of the actual satanic panic and proves it did nothing but create irrational fear.
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“Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey” tells the story of Warren Jeffs’ rise in the FLDS church after the death of his father Rulon and the way women were treated as property under the practice of polygamy. ReligionUnplugged.com talked to Rachel Dretzin about the series and why she focused on the heart-wrenching stories of women who left the church.
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Mark Dowdy was a band director at Morningside, the community where televangelist Jim Bakker broadcasts tapings of his show, in 2011. When he began, he hoped he would be able to do good through Bakker’s ministry — but his view quickly changed. He talked to ReligionUnplugged about his time at Morningside and what he thinks of Bakker.
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Andrew Garfield is a beloved actor of his generation, known for playing Spider-Man in the franchise’s first reboot and Eduardo Saverin in “The Social Network.” The majority of roles in his career have involved playing devout religious characters. We’ve taken a look back at the major ones.
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(REVIEW) “Under The Banner of Heaven” wants to be both a thrilling true crime drama and a faith-shaking takedown of the religious right, but so far its treatment of the topic is too shallow and too un-self-aware to challenge anyone who doesn’t already agree with it.
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(OPINION) Will more Americans — from the right and the left — untangle their bizarre fantasy with a misappropriating, rather cowardly, cult-like entertainment industrial complex? Has Disney going woke finally caused Americans to wake up from their slumber like Rip van Winkle? Mickey Mouse can’t have his cake and eat it too anymore.
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(ANALYSIS) It’s understandable that reviewers are entitled to their opinions. After all, that’s the job of a critic. But the coverage around “Father Stu,” however, has been framed in a certain way, offering up lopsided and negative takes among many mainstream news sites.
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(REVIEW) “Theirs Is the Kingdom” follows the painting of a fresco mural inside the sanctuary of a North Carolina Methodist church. This is a painting not of the rich and powerful, but of people battling homelessness, addiction, and mental illness.
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(REVIEW) “Father Stu” nails the faith-based formula better than maybe any other faith-based film. But it remains to be seen if audiences will come out to see a faith-based film with so much cussing — or where the hero leaves the girl to pursue God.
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If you don’t know much about the Jewish holiday of Passover and are looking to learn more, you might want to consider watching a movie about it. There are many movies that air on television around Passover, but you can also find them on streaming services year-round.
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(OPINION) This year’s Oscar nominees for Best Picture deal explicitly and intelligently with religion in ways that Hollywood movies rarely do. But the blind spots they reveal about Hollywood’s thinking on religion are equally as telling.
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Throughout Japan, there is a mixture of Buddhism, Shintoism and Taoism, which are easily recognized within the culture. Respect for nature, as well as reverence for “bodhisattvas” can even be seen in Japanese animations, teaching children and even adults. Here are five animations that have Buddhist themes and references.
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(REVIEW) In Ridley Scott’s sci-fi television drama, two androids are sent by atheists to planet Kepler-22b to raise human children after Earth is destroyed by a war with the ruling religious group called the Mithraic. The Mithraic arrive on Kepler 13 years later, forcing the two groups to live together on yet another planet and face the same problems they did on Earth — and more.
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(REVIEW) “A Journal for Jordan,” a new movie directed by Denzel Washington, tells the true story of a family whose father died while serving in Iraq while his son was still a baby. The son gets to know his father through journal entries addressed to him and of his mother’s love even during grief.
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(REVIEW) “Lincoln’s Dilemma,” a new four-part documentary series streaming on Apple TV+, chronicles the trajectory of Lincoln’s morality and political ideology from his early career to his death.
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(REVIEW) A new documentary shows 23 years of behind-the-scenes footage with Kanye West, including his faith journey, from his first days as a Chicago producer to where he is now. Conceptually, the documentary is genius. Kanye is one of the largest public figures in the world in almost every possible way: his music, his politics, his shoes, his celebrity family.
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(REVIEW) “The Power of the Dog” became the most-nominated movie for the 2022 Oscars with 12 nominations. A slow-burn Western that explores power, masculinity and forbidden love, the movie gets its title and conclusion from a notable psalm prayed by Jesus.
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(REVIEW) In a push to create a conservative alternative to Hollywood, the conservative news outlet The Daily Wire produced its first film, premiering Feb. 10 on YouTube. “Shut In” is a solid home-invasion horror film that seamlessly integrates faith with thrills. ReligionUnplugged talked to producer Dallas Sonnier about how his parents’ murders influence his portrayals of violence and faith.
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