July 28, 2010
Me and Orson Welles
Rated PG
Starring Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay
Orson Welles was a creative genius. He directed and starred in Citizen Kane, regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. He was responsible for the radio adaption of War of the Worlds that was so realistic that it caused mass hysteria because people listening actually thought aliens had invaded. And for most people of my generation or younger, he’s best known for being the voice of Unicron in the 1986 Transformers: The Movie. Okay, that last one might not be a career highlight. But it can’t be denied that Orson Welles was an impressive guy.
Me and Orson Welles is a movie that shows us a snapshot of Orson Welles’ life as he prepares for his 1937 stage production of Julius Caesar at the Mercury Theatre. Zac Efron plays Richard Samuels, a young aspiring actor who finds himself cast in the play and discovers that Welles (played by Christian McKay) is every bit the genius he imagined. However, he grows to realise that Welles also has a dark side.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
June 4, 2010
I’m a big fan of the webcomic The Non-Adventures of Wonderella. I’ve linked to the comic before and I’m sure I will link to it again. The main character, Wonderella, has a connection to the gods of myth, which often brings religious themes into the comic. On top of that, the author isn’t afraid to lampoon traditions that people have that they haven’t properly thought through. That’s not to say that the traditions are bad, just that people take them for granted.
Recently, Justin Pierce (the comic’s author) posted a 3 part comic depicting the second coming of Jesus. It’s well worth checking out and discussing. You can find it here, here, and here.
Jesus would totally win in a rap battle.
Leave a Comment » | Webcomic Reviews | Tagged: Jesus, Justin Pierce, Religion, Second Coming, The Non-Adventures of Wonderella, Webcomic, Wonderella | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
April 16, 2010
When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth
George A Romero’s 1978 movie Dawn of the Dead is considered a horror classic. The dead have dug their way out of their graves and are slowly lurching around as horrific zombies. They’re not quite dead. And not quite alive. When done right, zombies are very, very scary.
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8 Comments | Misc. Culture | Tagged: Jesus, Matthew, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Resurrection, Zombie Jesus, Zombies | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
March 16, 2010
I hear all the cool kids are playing Bioshock 2 at the moment.
I’m not one of the cool kids.
And I don’t like the idea of paying top dollar for new release games.
But I had heard so much about the Bioshock series that I thought I should check it out. So I got my hands on a copy of the original Bioshock game and loaded it up.
And I didn’t regret it.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
March 4, 2010
Avatar (2009)
Rated M
Starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver
I think I’m the last person on the planet to see this movie. I spent the six weeks of the summer holidays in non-English speaking countries. Avatar was so big that it was showing in every country we went to. However my German was no where near good enough to even bother trying to keep up. And life was so busy after we got back to Australia it seemed like we’d miss out.
But because Avatar is one of the biggest movies ever, it was still showing almost every where last weekend, so I managed to get along to a session. I’d heard so much about it, I thought I’d be disappointed. I wasn’t. The movie was visually spectacular and held my attention all the way through, despite being a very lengthy flick.
A lot has been said about Avatar. So instead of giving an in-depth review, I’m going to give my impressions in point form. That way I’m going to cover a lot, but in less detail. If you want to explore any of these ideas further, that’s what the comments are for. Let’s do this thing!
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1 Comment | Movie Reviews | Tagged: Avatar, Imperialism, James Cameron, Jesus, Mission, Movie Review, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
March 1, 2010
Is Jesus the king?
Why should I care?
Why do the crowd get so excited over a man on a donkey?
Why does Jesus go berserk in the Temple?
All these questions and more are answered in my sermon on Matthew 21
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
February 8, 2010
Think back to when you were a kid. For some of you this will be an easier task than for others. Remember how it felt. Did you ever feel like you were ignored? That no one ever paid attention to you? Most of us have felt like that at some stage. Now what if you could harness this “power” for good? Could a kid be the ultimate spy, able to slip around unnoticed and help take down the bad guys?
That’s the idea behind the CHERUB series of books by Robert Muchamore. Sometimes the best spy for the job is a 11 year old.
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Leave a Comment » | Book Reviews | Tagged: Book Review, CHERUB, Children, Jesus, Matthew, Robert Muchamore, Spies, The Recruit | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
September 30, 2009
Heck: Where The Bad Kids Go
by Dale E. Basye
Where do the bad kids go? If a really rotten kid dies, do they go to a) heaven, b) hell, or c) somewhere else? If you answered c, then maybe you’ve been reading the kids book Heck: Where The Bad Kids Go. Welcome to Heck. It’s not quite hell, but it isn’t a pleasant place to be either. Heck is where underage sinners go to be rehabilitated or punished for all eternity – or until they turn 18. Heck is not a place you want to spend any time. Are you in danger of spending time in Heck?
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Leave a Comment » | Book Reviews | Tagged: Dale E. Basye, Dante, Heaven, Heck, Heck: Where The Bad Kids Go, Hell, Jesus, John, Limbo | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
September 29, 2009
Two minutes and seventeen seconds.
That’s how long it took to change everything. One moment, life is going along as normal. Two minutes and seventeen seconds later and nothing will ever be the same again.
Simultaneously across the globe, every single person on the planet blacks out and has a vision of what they will be doing in six months time. In the mean time, cars are crashing, surgery patients are flat-lining, and surfers are drowning. The world is plunged into chaos. No one knows what is happening or why. And even after all the fires are put out, how will people deal with what they have seen in the future? This is the premise of Flash Forward and I’m keen to find out where this is going.
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2 Comments | TV Reviews | Tagged: Flash Forward, Future, Jesus, John, Revelation, TV Review, Visions | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
September 24, 2009
I spent a long time trying to work out if I wanted to watch this show. Musicals can be very hit and miss with me. Set it in a highschool and the chances of me enjoying it drop dramatically. But throw in a level of self awareness, some black comedy and some quirky characters? Now things are looking better.
Glee is the story of a small town high school in the middle of nowhere. You have those at the top of the popularity spectrum – your cheerleaders and football players. And at the very bottom you have those who are in the glee club. Will these kids achieve against all odds? Will they find self esteem through performance? Is this their one and only opportunity to find satisfaction in life? Welcome to high school life Glee style.
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4 Comments | TV Reviews | Tagged: Fame, Glee, Jesus, John, Purpose, TV Review | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
August 11, 2009
Yesterday I wrote a review of a comic called Jesus Christ: In The Name of The Gun. The general gist of my review was that it was inappropriate and disrespectful to Jesus. In a move that I find surprising and commendable, creator Ethan Nicolle has apologised for his work on his blog.
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Posted by Joel A Moroney
August 6, 2009
Every child on the planet, at exactly the same time, stop in their tracks and say in unison “We are coming”. Every single child. And so begins the third season of British science fiction show Torchwood. In five episodes, shown over five consecutive days, a story of corruption, compromise and fear will unfold. Aliens are coming. What will those in power do to secure their future and keep their secrets safe?
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1 Comment | TV Reviews | Tagged: 456, BBC, Captain Jack Harkness, Jesus, Philippians, sacrifice, Sci Fi, Torchwood, Torchwood: Children of Earth | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
July 29, 2009
Jesus All About Life
Written by Murray Smith
This is a book I’ve been waiting a very long time for. I’m often looking for great Christian books that I can put into the hands of a teenager and say “read this, it’s good”. Most Christian stuff out there is pitched at too high a level for your average 14 year old. And once you’ve used up John Dickson’s fantastic books, there’s not a great deal left out there. Until now. Murray Smith’s Jesus All About Life is just the book I’ve been waiting for.
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1 Comment | Book Reviews | Tagged: Jesus, Jesus All About Life, Murray Smith, Youth | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
July 24, 2009
C.S. Lewis was once quoted as saying that in his youth he was “very angry with God for not existing”. It’s a common, though paradoxical, statement. If God did exist, then surely he would see all the suffering and pain in the world and do something about it. The fact that he hasn’t stepped in and got rid of all the bad stuff in the world is surely evidence that there is no God. Isn’t it?
In 1986, the band XTC had a surprise hit with their song Dear God. How much of a surprise? It was released as a B side on another single. (Side note: Do people even remember B sides? Do I need to explain what a B side is? I feel so old.) There was controversy and outrage over this song. How dare they release a song that was so heavily atheistic in nature? “If there’s one thing I don’t believe in, it’s you. Dear God.”
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2 Comments | Music Reviews | Tagged: Atheism, Dear God, Jesus, Music Review, Revelation, Suffering, XTC | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
June 27, 2009
Here’s a comic from Something Positive.
You should never accept candy from a stranger. However, Jesus isn’t a stranger. He is your creator. And he offers you something far better than candy.
2 Comments | Webcomic Reviews | Tagged: Jesus, Something Positive, Webcomics | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
June 17, 2009
Shortpacked is a webcomic that quite often deals with Christianity and Christian pop culture. In a comic this week, we see one possible interpretation of the virgin birth. It’s pretty funny, but I’m glad it isn’t true. It would throw all kinds of things into chaos if Jesus wasn’t sent to earth on purpose. Instead he was promised from the start that he would come to deal with sin. You know you were expected when the entire creation was created for you and by you (Check out Colossians 1:16).
Still, pretty funny!
2 Comments | Webcomic Reviews | Tagged: Colossians, God, Jesus, Shortpacked, Webcomic | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
June 9, 2009
Eye Witness Book 1
by Robert James Luedke
How much evidence would you need to believe in something? Would second hand sources be sufficient or would you need an eye witness account? If you could read a hand written account of the death of Jesus from someone who was there, would that be enough to commit yourself to Christ? That’s the question posed by Luedke’s graphic novel Eye Witness.
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2 Comments | Comic Reviews | Tagged: Eye Witness, Graphic Novel Review, Jesus, Robert James Luedke | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
May 5, 2009
A few years ago I was going through a bit of a Sum 41 phase. As I was surfing the internet for Sum 41 related stuff, I came across the image to the left. Sum 41 had been on King of the Hill and it had some kind of God theme. Interest piqued.
After a bit of searching, I found the episode in question – Reborn To Be Wild. If you’re a youth leader, you really should get your hands on a copy of this episode. Watch it with other youth leaders. The discussions you’ll have afterward will be invaluable.
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10 Comments | TV Reviews | Tagged: Jesus, King of the Hill, Sum 41, Youth Ministry | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
April 30, 2009
Death By Love
By Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears
The cross is the most crucial part of Christianity. If Jesus did not die on the cross and rise back to life 3 days later, then Christianity is a joke. There is so much happening on the first Easter weekend. So many things are being resolved. Things about Jesus’ nature and character. About sin. About death. About our righteousness before God. About our eternal life. About so much more.
There is so much going on when it comes to the cross. And yet at times, when I’m teaching and preaching this most wonderful of events, I find it hard to not get all intellectual about it. I struggle not to turn it into a thinking exercise. To reduce what Jesus did on the cross into head knowledge and nothing else. That’s why I’m so thankful for Mark Driscoll’s and Gerry Breshears’ Death by Love.
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Leave a Comment » | Book Reviews | Tagged: Cross, Death By Love, Gerry Breshears, Jesus, Mark Driscoll | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
April 28, 2009
I’m putting together a list of modern songs that mention Jesus, God or Biblical themes. They have to be by artists who release their work in the secular music world (ie not songs that you can only buy at your local Christian bookshop). The aim is to have one big list that people can go to when looking for secular songs about Jesus etc. It’s also one big list of article ideas for me. The song doesn’t have to revolve around Jesus – a single mention will do.
Here’s what I’ve got so far:
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4 Comments | Music Reviews | Tagged: Bible, God, Jesus, Music | Permalink
Posted by Joel A Moroney
Me and Orson Welles
