The movie Room tells a story that rips at the heart of any parent of a young woman. We see a mother (Brie Larson), parenting a son, Jack (Jacob Tremblay), in the tiny confines of a yard shed. As we…
No Oscar nominations for non-whites: Time to change the membership
By Michael Parnell The 2016 Academy Awards nominees were announced on Jan. 14 and for the second year in a row there were no actors of color nominated. That is 20 nominations and not one for an actor or actress…
The myth of redemptive violence and ‘The Hateful Eight’
By Michael Parnell I step onto some shaky ground here, but I will admit it: I love Quentin Tarantino. Yes, I know his movies are filled with violence and terrible language. But there are few directors working today that fill…
‘The Big Short’ will make you mad — and it should
By Michael Parnell “The little guy always gets screwed.” That was the comment the gentleman who sat next to me said after watching The Big Short. After seeing this movie I was mad. It was not because I was ill informed…
This generation can lay claim to latest ‘Star Wars’
By Michael Parnell Being old has its advantages. When Star Wars (Because it was not chapter four then) came out, I was 19 years old. I remember the experience of going to the movie at Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville,…
‘Spotlight’ tells important story about the church and journalism
By Michael Parnell One of the backbones of Baptist doctrine is the concept of the separation of church and state. Historically Baptists have held that there needed to be a clear wall between the interests of the church and the…
‘Creed’ follows its mythic roots well
By Michael Parnell Because we now have movie franchises and every studio wants, not a hit movie, but a string of movies based on one hit, there is developing a mythology within the universes that these movies create. Some of…
‘Our Brand Is Crisis’ offers good acting, bad story
By Michael Parnell Movies are supposed to be about something. They should have a guiding focus, an idea about themselves. Good movies can be described in a sentence. An example: The Godfather is a movie about family. Bad movies forget…
No character transformation in ‘Steve Jobs,’ just a really unlikeable guy
By Michael Parnell The Bible makes it clear. We are all sinners. We all have come short of the glory of God. In the new bio-pic, Steve Jobs, the tagline for the movie reads, “Can a great man be a…