Saints and Cinema

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk with Pr. Mark Pierson of St. Paul's Lutheran Church (Long Beach, CA) about the first in our 25th anniversary series of films from 1999. We talk about where we were in 1999, and then get into free will, chance, fate, God, confession, forgiveness, salvation...and frogs. Some of the movies we mention in this episode are: Boogie Nights , Sidney/Hard Eight , There...

Send us Fan Mail Obviously we haven't seen all of the Oscar-nominated films. Who do you think we are? But we have fun talking about the ones we have seen. 96th Academy Awards air on Sunday, March 10, at 4 pm (Pacific). Some of the films we mention in this episode: Oppenheimer , Poor Things , American Fiction , The Holdovers , Killers of the Flower Moon , Parasite , The Zone of Interest , Barb...

Send us Fan Mail First episode of 2024, we talk about our favorites of 2023. These might be our most divergent best-of lists so far. Is your favorite on our lists? Are our favorites on your list? Let us know! Some of the films we mention in this episode: Past Lives , Beau is Afraid , Anatomy of a Fall , Sisu , John Wick 4 , Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1 , Oppenheimer , Poor Things , In...

Send us Fan Mail In only our second-ever joint episode, we spend some time with Philip Marinello of The Substance discussing whether movies are serious or frivolous. Are they just entertainment or something more significant? How seriously should we take them? Then we each offer up our own frivolous and serious picks. Enjoy! The Substance Special thank you to Dave Hallahan of The Gospel According T...

Send us Fan Mail On the last day of the 2023 Newport Beach Film Festival, we finally catch up with Phillip Yaw Domfeh, NBFF alum, filmmaker, producer, and Senior Manager of Disney's Launchpad short film incubator. We talk about all sorts of things, from music, to his films, including Cary in Retrograde (which he made with his wife, Priya), to the films he's working on now for Disney&apos...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim preview their favorite week of the year, the Newport Beach Film Festival. We talk film festival programming, feature films, short films, what we've seen, and what we're looking forward to watching. See the schedule and get tickets here: NEWPORT BEACH FILM FEST (Use the code URSpecialNBFF for $5 off a ticket!) Some of the feature films we mention in this episo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode Tim and Jay talk about  The Equalizer 3 and what's going on with some of the symbolism and religious references in the movie. Then we talk about other action franchises, and what sets some apart from others. Some of the films and franchises we mention in this episode: The Equalizer ,  John Wick , James Bond ,  Jason Bourne , Mission: Impossible , Taken , Nobod...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk about Christopher Nolan's latest, and where it fits among our favorite Nolan films. Some of the films we mention in this episode: Barbie , Oppenheimer , The Dark Knight , Memento , The Day after Trinity , Paper City , The Prestige , The Dark Knight Rises , Tenet , Dunkirk , Following , Inception , Interstellar . Wendell Berry's essay, "The Way of Ig...

Send us Fan Mail In our 60th episode, we talk with Josh Larsen of Think Christian and the Filmspotting podcast about his new book Fear Not! A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies. We talk about what Christians can learn from horror movies about themselves and about the world, and then we give our top 3 horror films. Fear Not! Movies are Prayers Think Christian Filmspotting Brehm Film at Fuller...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk to cinematographer (and fellow Lutheran) Ryan Spacone about Jesus Revolution , Christian movies, cinematography, and how Lutherans understand vocation with respect to film. What does a cinematographer do? How does Ryan choose the jobs on which he's going to work? What makes a film "Christian," and is Jesus Revolution that? What would make a good Chr...

Send us Fan Mail We're not going to lie; the episode gets a little weird. But so is the movie. Tim and Jay talk Beau Is Afraid, the new neurotic nightmare from Ari Aster. There are spoilers. See the movie first. Do not read anything about it before you go! Some other movies we mention in this episode: MidsomMAR , Hereditary , You Were Never Really Here (sort of; we couldn't remember the...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk about what they liked and didn't like about Russell Crowe's new movie, The Pope's Exorcist . How much is Fr. Amorth's story and how much is Hollywood invention? What is it about priests that they make regular appearances in horror movies? Why do exorcism movies continue to get made?  Can anyone make an original exorcism movie after The Exorcist...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk about all sorts of things stemming from The Whale . Does Aronofsky intend Charlie to be a Christ figure? What kind? Are people naturally good? What is religion good for? What does the ending signify? And more. We also mention Noah , Mother! , The Purge , The Wrestler . Song clips: Hard To Be | David Bazan | Pedro The Lion John Wayne Gacy, Jr. | Sufjan Stevens Come...

Send us Fan Mail Bonus episode! Tim and Jay talk about the Academy Awards, the movies they would like to see win, and the movies they think will win. Then they mention a few movies that were robbed of nominations and awards.  Some of the movies we mention in this episode: Everything Everywhere All At Once , The Banshees of Inisherin , Top Gun: Maverick , Women Talking , Triangle of Sadness , The F...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim forget to say who they are, and then talk about Lenten-themed movies. (With an outtake because Tim can never figure out how to end things.) Some of the films we mention in this episode:  Hunger ,  Silence ,  Last Days in the Desert ,  The Last Temptation of Christ ,  The Passion of the Christ ,  The Gospel According to St. Matthew ,  Of Gods and Men ,  Into Great Silen...

Send us Fan Mail In the first episode of the year, Tim and Jay share their top 10 favorite movies of 2022 (as well as a few honorable mentions); Tim tries to prevent Jay from sharing his top 2 (just kidding); and we talk about a couple movies we're anticipating in 2023. Some of the films we mention in this episode: Guillermo del Toro's Pinnochio , Corsage , Barbarian , Nope , Top Gun: Ma...

Send us Fan Mail In our final episode of 2022, we revisit our very first episode and our top-100 lists with friend and fellow NBFF programmer, Marco Montenegro. And what is the point of making lists, anyway? Then we talk about the once-a-decade Sight and Sound movie poll, and the top film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles . Time for you to make your own list!  Marco's Top 1...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk with the writer/producer, Mokotsi Rukundo, and director, Brian Lucke Anderson, of the newly available (and Newport Beach Film Festival alum!) film East of Middle West about sons repeating the sins of the fathers, forgiveness, and the possibility of change. Website Rent or Buy East of Middle West : on Amazon Prime Video on iTunes on Google Play on Vudu Tim wrote so...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay resolve to make no more promises about recording episodes at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Instead, here's a recap of what we saw and what we liked.   Some of the films mentioned in this episode:  Broker ,  Influencer ,  Banshees of Inisherin ,  The Moon and Back ,  A Little White Lie ,  All Quiet on the Western Front ,  Bardo ,  Empire of Light ,  The Good Nur...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim preview their favorite week of the year, the Newport Beach Film Festival. It's happening October 13-20 (less than a month away!) in beautiful Newport Beach, California. Jay says this is the best program in the history of the NBFF, so take a listen and find out what we're looking forward to watching. (There's even a movie that was filmed in Wenatchee, Was...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Tim Badly Pronouncing French, we look at the 1989 film Jesus of Montreal by Denys Arcand. We talk about efforts to update Jesus and make Him relevant to modern times--and how He refuses to be so. Tim wrote something about Jesus of Montreal for The Jagged Word . Opening music: "Let's Start at the Beginning," Lee Rosevere Closing music: "Découv...

Send us Fan Mail All five Winterstein brothers are together in Olympia for the celebration of their parents' 50th wedding anniversary, so what else would we do but record an episode with all of us? (Excuse the microphone bumps, as we were sitting around a card table...) We reminisce about first theater experiences and movies we remember from our childhood. Then we talk about marriage movies,...

Send us Fan Mail Tim and Jay talk about Father Stu , "Christian" movies, and where Mark Wahlberg's labor of love fits, both in the cinematic and theological landscapes. Some other films (and TV series) we mention briefly in this episode: Goodfellas (again), War Room , The Passion of the Christ , Fireproof , God's Not Dead , Uncharted , The Americans , Yellowstone . Tim wrote so...

Send us Fan Mail Jay and Tim talk with Pastor Mark A. Pierson about the men's movie night at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Long Beach, California. We also say requiescat in pace to Ray Liotta, Jay sounds like he's in a cavern, Tim badly pronounces French movie titles, and a lot of movies get mentioned. Some of the films we mention in this episode: Silence ,  Calvary ,  Field of Dreams...

Send us Fan Mail It's the third week of Easter, so Jay and Tim make a list of films where resurrection shows up: Ordet (1955), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Silent Light (2007), The Kid with a Bike (2011), and Happy as Lazzaro (2018) . Some other movies we mention briefly: Halloween , La Promesse , The Child , Young Ahmed Come find us: Website Instagram Facebook Twitter YouTube  (starting with Episo...