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Well, the movies everybody wants to see a review of right now like “Exodus” and “The Hobbit” are still under embargo in my market, so for Aleteia this week I decided to check out another piece of Oscar bait instead. The Stephen Hawking biopic, “The Theory of Everything,” is a pretty decent melodrama as long as you don’t care about delving too deeply into the man’s theories and philosophies.

If you do want all that sciencey talk, though, you’d be better off going to see “Interstellar” which is loaded to the gills with the stuff. Yes, I found “Interstellar” disappointing, but it’s still worth a watch. In fact, noted author John C. Wright’s has declared "Interstellar" the greatest science fiction film ever made. I disagree (always a dangerous thing to do with Wright), but he makes some good points. As always, be sure to read the arguments which ensue in Wright’s combox as they’re always worth the time. I even worked up the nerve to leave one of my own…

“For what it's worth, I'm in a bit of agreement with both sides here. Of course, Mr. Wright is correct that the future Them in the movie, even though they are human (which I thought the movie made quite clear), can be seen as an allegory of Christ. If we couldn't find such messages even in the most secular of movies, I'd pretty much be out of my job as a faith-based movie reviewer. But I do agree with Falcon that the movie does its best to insist we not make that interpretation. Can we? Yes. Does Nolan want us to? Not from the dialog I heard. That's one of the reasons why I was extremely disappointed in the movie.”

I eagerly await Mr. Wright unleashing his inner lawyer and eviscerating me for my meager contribution to the discussion. Until that happens, let’s take the time to see what else is out there in the blogosphere. Back over at Aleteia, Joseph Bottum asks the pertinent question, “Why Write Christmas Carols in the Zombie Era?” Interestingly, part of his answer…

“The problem with art in our time is, quite simply, the problem of disenchantment. We need what we lack, here in late modernity — a living connection with the past, a density of reference, a thickness of vocabulary, and an external world that glows with cosmic meaning.”

…is a criticism I believe could be applied to the ending of “Interstellar.” Just saying.

Okay, I’ll quit picking on Nolan’s movie. After all, it’s not like it’s easy finding “enchantment” in most modern movies. So, kudos to the esteemed Fr. Dwight Longenecker, whom we don’t often have the opportunity to link to on this blog, for recently discovering some supernatural signs in “I Am Legend.” Who knew?

Speaking of surprises, K. V. Turley from Crisis Magazine believes he’s found one in Alfred Hitchcock’s final macguffin. Apparently the great director was laughing at us all up until the very end.

If you’d like some laughs of your own, then you might want to drop on by Acts of the Apostasy where LarryD wonders what it would be like if characters from Star Wars went to confession. Inspired by Larry’s efforts, The Curt Jester has a couple of additions of his own. Of course, I can’t just let it go at that. What about some of those minor characters from the movies who might need a trip to the confessional?

Gold Leader: “Forgive me father, I have sinned. I just can’t seem to stay on target.”

Random Storm Trooper: “Forgive me father, I have sinned. I have played hooky from my basic marksmanship classes for the fifth week in a row.”

Lobot” “Forgive me father, I have sinned. I pretended to be listening to my boss, Lando, but was in fact tuned into the football game on that big-*** transistor radio attached to the side of my skull.”

And though he’s not a minor character, how could they forget…

Chewbaca: “Aguhwwgggghhh uughghhhgh huurh wrrhw raaaaaahhgh huuguughghg uuh huuguughghg aaaaahnr huurh uggguh huuguughghg raaaaaahhgh huurh huuguughghg uughguughhhghghghhhgh huurh aarrragghuuhw aaaaahnr.”

Translation: “Forgive me father, I have sinned. I got angry and ripped the arm off a droid after loosing a game of Dejarik.”

Okay, that’s enough of that. Before we go, though, how about a little something seasonal? The Crescat brings you The Cthulhu Nativity.