The streets are music and the stars are made of fireworks; the coffee isn’t coffee but it’s love con leche, and sueñitos of the peoples in these ordinary places come alive in Washington Heights. You just have to see the…

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In the year 1939, two blockbuster movies burst onto the big screen in brilliant technicolor, forever changing the face of American film: Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. On the surface, the heroines of both films have…

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Three years ago, I was mortified when my teenage daughter became obsessed with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s award-winning Broadway musical Hamilton, with its suggestive lyrics and revisionist history. Hamilton’s brilliant hip-hop soundtrack and talented, racially-diverse cast eventually won me over, especially as…

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Paul Williams was on quite a roll in the early 1970s. He’d written monster hits for groups like The Carpenters (“We’ve Only Just Begun”) and Three Dog Night (“An Old Fashioned Love Song”) and become a near-regular on The Tonight…

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On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: While wildly popular with audiences, Bohemian Rhapsody, the latest Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, is also gathering its detractors. There are a number of reasons, from historical inaccuracies, conveniences, and in the way…

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I have a confession to make. I haven’t seen any of the previous A Star Is Born iterations. I watched the 2018 version in a vacuum and without the context of the previous versions (five to be exact). Whether that…

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On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: After a trailer that brought cheers (and even possibly tears), it felt like the excitement level for A Star Is Born could not be any higher. We talk about our expectations…

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On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: It’s that wonderful time of the year when we get to enjoy a new Edgar Wright film! We take some time talking about what it is Wright brings to his films…

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If you expect your films to have narrative complexity, don’t go see this film. If you expect your films to break apart common cinematic tropes and characterizations, don’t go see this film. If you want your musicals to contain characters…

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On this episode of the Reel World Theology Podcast: Disney has been on a hot streak with their live-action imaginings and remakes. Next up is Beauty and the Beast, one of the most beloved animated fairytales of all time. By…

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