Author Archives: davetcourt

Film Journal 2023: Mr. Dress-Up: The Magic of Make BelieveDirected by Robert McCallum There’s not a whole lot to speak of I terms of creativity and structure. This is about as straightforward as they come when it comes to documentaries. That doesn’t really matter though when your subject is one if the truly good humansContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: Mr. Dress-Up: The Magic of Make Believe”

Film Journal 2023: The Fall of the House of Usher Directed by Mike Flanagan Flanqan’s stark and rapid fall from favor in my eyes might be the far more interesting story than this take on an Edgar Allen Poe adaptation. My love for Dr. Sleep met with my general disinterest in the rather tepid andContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: The Fall of the House of Usher”

Reading Journal 2023: Scary Stories For Young FoxesAuthor: Christian McKay Heidicker I loved the premise- a group of young foxes (kits) want to hear a scary story. They are cautioned by their mother about someone called the “storyteller”. The storyteller tells the scariest stories of all. Which of course makes the young kits all theContinue reading “Reading Journal 2023: Scary Stories For Young Foxes”

Film Journal 2023: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour Directed by Sam Wrench If you are not a fan of Taylor and swifties drive you nuts, probably not something you want to invest in. For fans without the means and opportunity to see this tour live, this is a great way to experience it. I’d sayContinue reading “Film Journal 2023: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour”

Reading Journal 2023: Fear Not: A Christian Appreciation of Horror MoviesAuthor: Josh Larsen I hold a deep appreciation for Larsen’s work as a Chicago film critic. He’s known as one of the hosts and critics at filmspotting, and also for his work at Think Christian. And I appreciate him on two levels. First, his approachContinue reading “Reading Journal 2023: Fear Not: A Christian Appreciation of Horror Movies”

https://bigthink.com/thinking/does-japanese-philosophy-exist/?fbclid=IwAR2wCd7jN9_T-j3zdcI9HXETYXPfdDyRYRYW6qgIdCHujYIgGEyr2Rs1jHU This is an interesting article on Japanese philosophy A few years back I did a new years resolution thing and travelled my way around the world through book and film. For each country I would watch a bunch of their films and read a mix of fiction and non-fiction (history, philosophy, culture, religion). ThereContinue reading “Japan, Culture, and Film Travels”

Reading Journal 2023: Silver, Sword and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American StoryAuthor: Marie Arana When one hears the term “America”, generally speaking there is a singular conception that comes to mind, one that centralizes the story of America geographically. This basic truism lies at the heart of Marie Arana’s harrowing history of “LatinContinue reading “Reading Journal 2023: Silver, Sword and Stone: Three Crucibles in the Latin American Story”

Reading Journal 2023: The Night HouseAuthor: Jo Nesbo From the famed voice of the Harry Hole series comes a decidely different kind of story, one that at least protends to delve into straight up horror, albiet with his typical allegiance to crime and mystery/thriller. The book is written in three parts, each part bringing itsContinue reading “Reading Journal 2023: The Night House”

Reading Journal 2023: A Haunted House And Other StoriesAuthor: Virginia Woolf It certainly can get a bit frustrating, especially when you get a few stories in to this collection, for Virginia Woolf’s prose to be as ambiguous and hard to narrow down as it is. There are moments where I wanted, or perhaps needed, someContinue reading “Reading Journal 2023: A Haunted House And Other Stories”

Book Journal 2023: Flood and Fury: Old Testament Violence and The Shalom of GodAuthor: Matthew Lynch The tagline on the back cover poses the question “what do we do with a God who enacts and condones violence”. Narrowing in on two of the most essential narratives in the Bible associated with violence- the flood storyContinue reading “Book Journal 2023: Flood and Fury: Old Testament Violence and The Shalom of God”