Author Archives: davetcourt

I feel like the spirit is doing some stirring in me as of late, although I’m not entirely sure where it’s leading me yet. It’s a topic I’ve come back to at numerous intersections in my life, that of justice and the closely related idea of forgiveness. I have long wrestled with and been deeplyContinue reading “Issues of Justice and the Beginning of a Deep Dive in to Romans”

Movies The Batman (Matt Reeves, 2022) The richness of Reeve’s vision for this reboot of the iconic character is made immediately known through a stunning mix of cinematography and powerful soundscape. Once this is established the film settles in with a measured pace, leaning heavily into the noir and highlighting the Detective motif. The BatmanContinue reading “Month in Review: Favorite Watches, Reads and Listens March 2022”

When news of the slap first started ciculating folowing the now infamous moment between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the 2022 Acadamy Awards I remember perusing my feed and realizing that not only had the Oscars decended into chaos, the world had also seemingly lost its mind. Not long after I penned a responseContinue reading “Where’s the Justice: Will Smith, Chris Rock, and the Court of Public Opinion:”

Some Thoughts on Jennifer Hechts’ Doubt: A History Its rare for me to have such a viceral negative reaction to a book (slightly more common when it comes to film). There is little that bothers me more though than a book (or film or show for that matter) that is less than honest about whereContinue reading “Some Thoughts on Jennifer Hechts’ Doubt: A History”

Two films that have zero chance in the Oscars race but which make a good case for how the Oscar Nominations can also give a boost to films sitting external to the larger discussions. Cyrano is a film that suffered greatly from being postponed multiple times during the pandemic. When it finally did release theContinue reading “Oscars Spotlight: Cyrano and Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”

Oscars 2022 Spotlight: King Richard On the surface this appears to be a stereotypical sports drama all about the power of the American dream. It doesn’t take long for King Richard to reveal itself as something decidedly different. It is, at its heart, a family drama following the trials and successes of Venus and SerenaContinue reading “Oscars 2022 Spotlight: King Richard”

It could be described that Licorice Pizza’s rise and fall in the Oscar race was as brief and fleeting as a Winnnipeg summer. It emerged as an early critical darling powered by the presence of Paul Thomas Anderson. Back when Belfast occupied frontrunner status some pundits thought the release of this much anticipated coming ofContinue reading “Oscars 2022 Spotlight- Licorice Pizza”

Oscars 2022 Spotlight: Nightmare Alley Del Toro, a self professed favorite Director of all time for me personally, is no stranger to awards season. It wasn’t that long ago that Shape of Water defied the odds, perhaps acknowledging the Director more than the film itself, winning Best Picture. Oddly enough Nightmare Alley is the moreContinue reading “Oscars 2022 Spotlight: Nightmare Alley”

Oscars 2022 Sporlight: Being the Ricardos Late in the season Amazon quietly released Being the Ricardos, a film detailing an especially harrowing time for Hollywood stars Lucille Ball and Desi Amaz. Most of the discussion around this faithful, biographical depiction of the famed couple, centered on the year 1952, surrounded Nicole Kidman’s take on Ball.Continue reading “Oscars 2022 Spotlight: Being the Ricardos and The Eyes of Tammy Faye”

Even a small awareness of film releases in 2021 likely means you have heard of Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious take on a classic work deemed to be unadaptable (save for those who actually deem Lynch’s original a success). As the story goes, the acclaimed Director kept waiting around for someone to take it on and whenContinue reading “Oscars 2022 Spotlight: Dune”