Saints and Cinema

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim chat with JT Rees, writer and director of the short film  White Room  about making fiction out of personal experience, grief, and making his first film. Then we talk about the 2026 Newport Beach Film Festival (October 15-22) and the films we're looking forward to seeing.  White Room  is playing twice at the festival, in the short film block "The Short List&qu...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay dig into Lars and the Real Girl with Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer. Join us as we talk about what this cinematic parable can teach us about life, community, and grace. Find Scott at Flesh and Blood Bioethics . Scott's piece on Lars and the Real Girl .  We've also talked with Scott about FRANKENSTEIN , AFTER YANG , THE AMUSEMENT PARK , and horror movies . Some of...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim have a not-very-serious discussion of  The Beastmaster  (1982) and  The Rescue (1988) and other movies from their childhood and whether or not they hold up 40 years later.  Some of the films we mention in this episode:  The Beastmaster ,  The Rescue ,  The NeverEnding Story (1984), The Last Unicorn (1982), Flight of the Navigator (1986), Masters of the Universe  (1987)...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay discourse on the discourse and how we should think about the difference between books and movies, ancient and modern. We talk about what we liked about The Odyssey and what we didn't, and where it might fall on our top movies of 2026. We also ask, Why do we connect with some stories and not with others? What is worth discussing and what are worthless proxies for c...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk about relationship horror movies Together and Obsession . What does it mean to be "one flesh"? What does it mean to love another person? What kinds of truth can horror expose? (Also, just give Inde Navarrette all the awards.) Warning: spoilers for both films. Some of the films we mention in this episode: Together , Obsession , Hereditary . Come find us:...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay had the opportunity to talk with Brett Neveu, playwright, professor, and screenwriter of (the play and) film Eric LaRue , directed by Michael Shannon. We talk about the differences between writing for the stage and writing for the screen; the absurdity of grief, pastors trying to help, and good intentions. Along the way, Brett gives us great insight into crafting a com...

Send us Fan Mail We finally get around to talking about our favorites of last year. Did we mention yours? Do you have a favorite we didn't mention? Let us know! Some of the films we mention in this episode: Sentimental Value , Sinners , Frankenstein , Never Get Busted , Train Dreams , Weapons , and a lot of other films that came out in 2025... Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay take up our top Duvall films and then discuss The Apostle , depictions of preachers, what makes a character sympathetic, and the nature of redemption. Some of the films we mention in this episode:  The Apostle ,  Apocalypse Now ,  The Godfather, Part I ,  The Godfather, Part II ,  Tender Mercies ,  Calvary ,  On the Waterfront ,  Romero ,  Diary of a Country Priest , ...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk to Ryan Tinetti, professor at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, about the newest Knives Out mystery, Wake Up Dead Man . Religion in movies, Christianity, pastors, and culture war in the church and in the world. Check it out! Also, Ryan has a new book out (which we should have mentioned!), Quiet Ambition , which you can find here . Some of the films we mention in th...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay watch  Christmas with The Chosen - Holy Night and continue the discussion from episode 85 on what works well and what doesn't work as well, along with what comes from the Gospels and what does not. Choices were made. Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube  (starting with Episode 81) Opening music: "Let's Start at the Beginning," Le...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk about Frankenstein , being human, technology, death and life with professor, pastor, and bioethicist, Scott Stiegemeyer, as well as a few horror films from Newport Beach Film Festival. Scott teaches at Concordia University in Irvine, California.  Some of the films we mention in this episode: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio , Loud , Pontypool , Men , The Bride!...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk to the writers/producers/actors of Theater Is Dead , Decker Sadowski and Olivia Blue . Their film premiered at Fantastic Fest, and is coming to Newport Beach Film Festival in less than a month. We talk about the filmmaking process, how it works to write, produce, and act in a film, and Washington State. Then we look at a few of the films coming to NBFF October 16-...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk about what they like and don't like about Season 5 of The Chosen . Interpretation, the Bible, Jesus, religious art--and the band Whiteheart. (Stay to the end for a long outtake where Tim takes the episode completely off the rails.) We pretty much stick to The Chosen in this episode. Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube  (starting with Epis...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk a little about what might end up on their best-of-2025 lists at the halfway point, and what they still want to see. What's on your list? Some of the films we mention in this episode: Life of Chuck , Nobody 2 , Eddington , Together , No Other Choice , One Battle After Another , Caught Stealing , Black Phone 2 , Materialists , Omaha , Werwulf (2026), Frankenste...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk zombies, the  28  franchise, and the father-son/generational inheritance theme that runs through  28 Years Later . Thanks for listening! (Or watching!) Some films we mention in this episode:  28 Years Later ,  28 Days Later ,  28 Weeks Later ,  Train to Busan ,  Night of the Living Dead ,  Sinners . Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube  (starti...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk about a few animated movies that seem to offer resonance with the Bible or Christianity. What are some Christian themes? What makes a theme  Christian ? How would someone outside the Christian faith interpret the themes in these movies? We talk about that, and more. Thanks for listening! Some films we mention in this episode:  Croods: A New Age , The Iron Giant , ...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk to Pastor Jason Swan about the film  Sinners and all the theological resonance we can muster: vampires, music, liturgy, worship, vocation, and how Christians should watch movies. Some films/shows we mention in this episode:  Midnight Mass ,  Nosferatu ,  Sinners. We're on YouTube! Not sure why you would want to look at us for an hour or so, but if you do, you...

Send us Fan Mail In our 80th episode, Tim and Jay talk about how much film viewers want or need to know; what makes some people love a film, and others hate it; and, is over-explaining really new? Do you like having a movie explain itself, or would you rather put things together yourself?  "The New Literalism" article at The New Yorker We talked about some movies.  Come find us: Website...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk about what the Academy Awards got right and what they got wrong. We talk about Hollywood, agendas, propaganda, and Oscar surprises. Some of the movies we mention in this episode are: Oscar nominees. Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube  (starting with Episode 81) Opening music: "Let's Start at the Beginning," Lee Rosevere Closing...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim get into the films they saw from 2024, their favorites, and their less-than-favorites. Some of the films we mention in this episode:  The Brutalist ,  Gladiator II ,  Challengers ,  The Substance ,  Joker: Folie á Deux ,  Civil War ,  Trap ,  Hard Truths ,  Smile 2 ,  Heretic ,  A Complete Unknown ,  Conclave ,  Hundreds of Beavers ,  Monkey Man ,  Dune II ,  Long Legs...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim reconnect with Thomas Torrey about his film  Long December , new to streaming. We talk about the creative process, music and film, marathon running (well, Jay and Thomas), and how new projects come together when things fall apart. Long December Long December Instagram Register for a Zoom watch party on December 15 with cast and crew! Our first episode with Thomas about...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk about the new movie Heretic , true belief, and playing games with choice and control. Some of the other movies we mention in this episode: Hard Truths , September 5 , Small Things Like These , Saw , Nosferatu , and some others that I forgot about. Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube  (starting with Episode 81) Opening music: "Let's S...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk with Travis Garcia, the co-director of the features programming team for the Newport Beach Film Festival, two weeks out from its 25th anniversary. We hit some of the films we've already seen, as well as some we're looking forward to. Come and join us, October 17-24! The Newport Beach Film Festival See the schedule and get tickets here . Some of the films...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk about vocation, doing the right thing, how do you know what the right thing is, ambulances, and cigarettes...plus far too many outtakes Some of the films we mention in this episode: The Insider,   Bringing Out the Dead, Fight Club , and probably some others that Tim forgot to write down Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube  (starting with Episo...

Send us Fan Mail Tim gets echoey in his new house as he and Jay talk documentaries, history rhyming, and the life you make when you're trying to make something else. Some of the films we mention in this episode:  One Day in September ,  American Movie ,  Coven ,  Buena Vista Social Club ,  Who Took Johnny ,  Liberated ,  Abducted in Plain Sight ,  Love Me ,  Karl Marx City.   Come find us: We...