Is Indiana Jones relevant any longer? I ask because the fifth installment of the series, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, was released last week. As of an article in Variety published July 2, it’s made $71 million domestically. That’s a problem since the estimated budget of the film was around $294 million. It’s too early to say it’s bombing as hard as The Flash, but those numbers ain’t good. Everyone knows about the adventures of the iconic archaeologist/grave robber/Nazi puncher. Everyone can hear the familiar Raiders march in their heads, or hear the distinctive THWACK sound... Read More

We live in an age of miracles. It doesn’t always seem that way, though. When a maniac opens fire on a country music concert and the citizens of our country are locked in an ideological battle, it can feel like we’re hurtling toward the abyss. I don’t think we are. Not really, anyway. The miraculous surrounds us, we just have to remember to see it. When we think about the events of Las Vegas, we can’t help but be confronted by the numerous acts of heroism that inevitably overshadow the attack itself. When we consider politics, we have to remember that, as citizens, there’s... Read More

Back in the old days of 2009, you might remember that J.J. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise. Abrams took a series that had lain dormant and supercharged it. When we think of Star Trek, we think of sci-fi that’s a bit cerebral, that’s a little stately, and that’s focused more on exploration. “Screw that,” Abrams said. Instead, his Star Trek was filled with finely cast actors and rapid pacing (with some glaring plot holes). It had a breathless, gee-whiz sense of wonder. It didn’t want to screw around with long tracking shots of the starship Enterprise, it... Read More