Onward contains a number of 1980s movies. It’s part Goonies, a small part E.T., and a big helping of Weekend at Bernie’s.
Articles published in Culture
Critical reflections on art and culture.
Podcast Review: Dolly Parton’s America
It is this cultural phenomenon of Dolly Parton – the woman, the myth, the legend – that the podcast production team of Jad Abumrad and Shima Oliaee jump into with both feet.
Solace for Sojourners: A Podcast Review of Refugia
On each episode of Refugia, Rienstra interviews various experts of science, religion, music, worship, activism, and more about what refugia means for them and how we as humans—and even more specifically, as Christians—can actively be a part of creating spaces of refugia.
Movie Review: Parasite
By now in February 2020, Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite is one of the most lauded films of the 21st century. It won the coveted Palme D’Or prize at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. It’s also one of the rare foreign-language films (it’s Korean) to receive an Academy Award Best Picture. With all of that acclaim, you’d think that Parasite would be a stunning masterpiece.
Movie Review: 1917
The most striking aspect of Sam Mendes’ new World War I movie, 1917, is the backgrounds. Rare as it is for the backgrounds to shine brighter than the actors and foregrounds in movies, Mendes has achieved it; I believe that was his goal.
Shows that Shape Us: Saved by the Bell
If there’s a TV theme song that immediately brings me back to being an adolescent in the early 90s, it has to be the theme song from Saved by the Bell(SBTB). Every week, if I could, I tuned in (no streaming or binge-watching back then) to see what Zack, Kelly, Slater, Screech, Jessie, and Lisa were doing.