NOW SHOWING AT A BLOG NEAR YOU

With so much of the world gleefully falling apart right now, I doubt very many people have noticed my general lack of blogging over the past few weeks. Just in case you have, though, it’s because two broken down cars, a HVAC on the fritz, and a furnace pouring smoke into the house caused me to temporarily set aside blogging so as to earn a few extra bucks. Apparently, nobody trades repairs for cartoons or movie reviews. Fortunately, everything is almost fixed now (my broken stuff, that is, not the world), so I can get back to blogging soon.

Of course, while I’ve been preoccupied, others have more than taken up my slack when it comes to discussing faith and movies. For instance, while it’s still close to a year away, folks are beginning to wax philosophic on the upcoming Batman v. Superman movie. Over at Crisis magazine, Sean Fitzpatrick views the clash of titans as a “contemporary mythical sign of a contemporary educational disparity.” Meanwhile, Catholic Skywalker links to a priest’s perspective on the inherent heroism he hopes will emerge during the story.

Catholic Skywalker also has some words to say on the differences between the atheism of Woody Allen and that of Joss Whedon and how one of them manages to leave open the window to hope. Along those same lines, Joe Wetterling from The Baptized Imagination continues his examination of Whedon’s first big television hit and the things Buffy got right.

As long as I’m on the topic of TV, I may as well give a nod to one of the more fun new shows from last season, The Flash. Writing at Speculative Faith, Adam Graham ponders the two father figures who helped shape the titular hero, while the Aspie Catholic serves up his wish list for season 2.

All that is good fun, but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring things down a little and acknowledge the passing of Sir Christopher Lee. It’s hard to imagine this blog existing without the steady stream of Lee’s Hammer Films output I partook in as a kid. And I’m hardly the only one, as evidenced by Jason Dietz’s ode to Horror of Dracula over at the Non-Modern blog. As for Thomas L. McDonald from God and the Machine, he’s appears to be partial to The Devil Rides Out, considering it to be Lees best work (I discussed it here). As for my own fave, that’s like choosing between my children, but for today, I’ll go with The Wicker Man, which Lee himself apparently considered one of his finest performances.

And finally, just because it’s been such a rough month, I think we could all use a little cheering up, so here’s Godzilla and some pals doing a jig.