westerns; movies; stories; evil Archives

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a movie written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen (2018), may certainly be viewed at a number of levels. (Spoiler alert: Watch the movie before reading this blog.) On the one hand, it is a collection of entertaining stories woven together into one movie. At another level, it is…

The Music of the Ainur

J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion is widely recognized as a great writer. He was also a faithful Catholic whose theology appears in his writings in poetic ways. His description of the way evil came into the world, as seen in the opening chapter of The Silmarillion is a work of art…

Silence

In Romans 9:3, Paul the Apostle expresses the emotion that, “for my people, my Jewish brothers and sisters. I would be willing to be forever cursed—cut off from Christ!—if that would save them.” A great many commentators and writers have attempted to understand just what Paul meant by these words. We do well to note the…

The Greatest Showman

The Greatest Showman (2017) (Directed by Michael Gracey; written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon) (Spoiler alert: if you want to be completely surprised by the themes contained in this film, see the movie before reading this blog.) Those who regularly read this blog will not be surprised to hear that I enjoyed another musical. The…

A Note About Privacy

A recent article in Wired Magazine reviewed and critiqued the various Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered devices known as home assistants or homebots. Tucked into the innocuous article was “A NOTE ABOUT PRIVACY.” It is perhaps the most relevant part of the article and reminds us of something we have all been thinking for more than a…

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange (2016; Directed by Scott Derrickson), has just become available on Netflix. I decided I would watch it and went in without high expectations. I expected too many fight scenes and not enough metaphor. Perhaps the former was true, but I also found sufficient metaphor and story to keep my interest. I did not…

Hansel and Gretel

As I walked to the repair shop to pick up my car, I noticed a roadside sign for the local community theatre group. They were performing Hansel and Gretel. I thought about this story and silently wondered why a group would choose this play to perform in Calgary at this time of year. As a…

No Where’s Good

The television series Hell on Wheels continues to intrigue me. The writers and director have done a great job of creating interesting questions for us to ponder. This scene from Season 4, Episode 11 is a good example. Cullen Bohannan has just walked into the room where Sydney Snow is recovering from being shot by…

Cullen Bohannan

The AMC original television series, “Hell on Wheels,” is the new “Breaking Bad.” Both feature anti-heroes: men for whom we cheer and hope will survive, at least until the next episode, even as they leave a trail of death behind them. Both Walter White (“Breaking Bad”) and Cullen Bohannan (“Hell on Wheels”) are men who…