I went to see the new Jesus movie – Son of God – over the weekend and have been torn about what sort of review I should post in this space. On the one hand, I’m a committed Christian who relishes any opportunity my faith gets on the national pop-culture stage. But on the other hand, like George Washington and his cherry tree, I cannot tell a lie when I am confronted with sub-par storytelling.

Young, religious conservatives like myself want to support their side, but many of us are tired of having to pretend that we enjoy everything our elders produce. We like good stories, compelling acting, and perhaps a little artistic flair for good measure now and again. But we also (rightly) feel an allegiance to those of good will who create art with the stated intent of furthering the message of where our hope comes from.

The truth…

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Ellen DeGeneres, host of the Academy Awards on Sunday, made a sarcastic joke during her opening monologue about the level of education in Hollywood: “I did a little bit of research and between all the nominees here tonight, you’ve made 1,400 films,” pausing before adding, “and you’ve gone to a total of six years of college. I’m kidding. Kids, stay in school.”

With a small amount of Internet research on the top five individual categories—25 nominees for Actor, Supporting Actor, Actress, Supporting Actress, and Director—it’s clear she was kidding. This year’s nominees are no dummies: Seven nominees of the 25 I’ve reviewed have graduated college from a traditional college or university, four of whom received degrees in a liberal arts degree not related to entertainment or acting (one in Philosophy; two in English; and one, a director, who earned a double degree in Spanish and History). Of the…

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Is nastiness more dramatically compelling than niceness? I wondered about that recently as I considered my TV watching habits. A number of my regular TV dramas have been on an extended winter break, and their absence has not made my heart grow fonder. In fact, I’ve realized that I can live quite comfortably without them.

While I’ve regularly watched Scandal eager to learn the next plot twist, I haven’t missed the gratuitous torture scenes, Fitz and Mellie’s maintaining one of the world’s iciest marriages, or Olivia’s suffering as she pines for a man she can never have (at least, not while he’s still president). On Grey’s Anatomy, I’ve waited for April and Jackson to reunite, but I haven’t missed seeing gory accident victims or the combustion of Meredith and Cristina’s friendship. As for Revenge, must the characters always be cruel to one another? Daniel’s sterilizing Emily post-wedding without her…

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“When you’ve got God, you’ve got a friend.”

These aren’t words from a pastor on Sunday morning at Church.  They’re from actor Matthew McConaughey who quoted the late Charlie Laughton upon winning Best Actor at the 86th Academy Awards. The 44-year-old native Texan bested Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Bruce Dern, and Chiwetel Ejiofor for his performance as HIV sufferer Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club.

Upon taking the stage, he delivered the expected “thank yous” to the Academy and to his DBC colleagues – Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner and Jean-Marc Vallée.

But then things took an unexpected turn when he said, “There are three things that I need each day.  One of them is something to look up to. Another is something to look forward to. And another is someone to chase.”

McConaughey said that he looks up to God because, in his words, “He has…

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Last night Ellen DeGeneres hosted the 86th Academy Awards on ABC, and it seemed that she, too, felt she needed to play a part – that of unkind comedienne.  Throughout the years and no matter the forum – sitcom, stand-up, or talk show – she has offered audiences a welcome diversion from the trials of real life, through her silliness, physical comedy, and ability to be joyfully optimistic. Last night, she offered nothing of the sort.  She vacillated between unkindness and dullness.  Perhaps her toned-down approach was in reaction to tastelessness of years’ past, but it felt unoriginal and stale.

Willa Paskin at Slate commented:

Ellen DeGeneres’ performance as host was a kind of low-key reaction to MacFarlane and even Hathaway-Franco and the Academy’s every other year interest in going in a riskier direction. Ellen is not an offensive persona; she is safe hands. And if her performance was surprisingly, maybe even overly…

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The four fashion capitals of the world – London, Paris, Milan and New York – have concluded their respective fashion weeks that showcase upcoming fall 2014 styles.

To the lay observer, these shows may seem outright ridiculous.  For example, who would actually buy one of Jeremy Scott’s McDonald’s-inspired designs showcased at the Moschino show in Milan?

What woman outside of the Arctic would wear Jenny Packham’s “Muzzy”- or “Where The Wild Things Are”-inspired fur coat?

How about Joshua Aponte’s Caterpillar-inspired coat?

With the exception of Lady Gaga, the answer is “no one.”

So, what’s the point of “Fashion Week?”  And more importantly, why should we care about it?

The impractical attire makes a fashion show just that – a show.  Like actors in a Broadway musical who exaggerate their gestures and articulate their recited…

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“Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues but the parent of all others.” – Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC)

Los Angeles experienced flash floods over the weekend heading into Sunday night’s Oscar ceremony, and I’m sure some were convinced that someone was tampering with the rainwater: Last night’s Oscars ceremony was inspiring to watch. The event played host to some of the cleverest, sincerest, and, in my opinion, most grateful acceptance speeches of all time. This, of course, is not always the case.

Hollywood acceptance speeches have seemed, for some time, to represent more of a burden than an opportunity to many winners. Even the show’s producers went so far as to limit speeches to 45 seconds starting in 2010 in order to eliminate what one producer termed “the single most hated thing on the show.”

Indeed, early Sunday morning, the New York…

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Neil Young’s “The Needle and the Damage Done”… Minor Threat’s “Straight Edge”…  De La Soul’s “Say No Go”…  U2’s “Bad”… The Clash’s “Hateful”.

These are all great anti-drug rock and roll songs. But will America’s increasing trend towards decriminalizing drugs mean the end of these anthems?

I can only hope not. Most reasonable people can agree that our drug laws should reflect reality and be based on prudential judgment. Putting a twenty year-old who was caught with a joint in jail with hardened criminals is not a great idea, not to mention a waste of resources. Taking drugs should be discouraged, but in ways that are sensible and effective.

However, people who want more lenient sentences, and even decriminalization, have their own naiveté. They downplay the devastation that is caused by drugs, and ignore the spiritual hunger that leads to drug and alcohol abuse.…

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Want to offend a lot of sensitive TV watchers? Run an ad about how hard work is superior to taking an annual month-long vacation. Add a dash of American-style braggado and watch your too-sensitive audience boil over.

Let’s start with the facts: The ad is for the new luxury, Cadillac electric car, the ELR. It began airing during the Olympics. It features actor Neal McDonough staring out over his immaculate pool asking ““Why do we work so hard? For what? For this? For stuff?” The rest of the commercial is McDonough striding through a gorgeous home, high-fiving and greeting his family while discussing the nature of the American work ethic, innovation, materialism, and how different our culture is from countries where people take off the whole month of August. He repeats that part, looking at the camera and raising his eyebrows on the word “off.”

Here’s the rest:

…

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Just last week, an NBC article described Olympic gold medalist David Wise as living an “alternative lifestyle” for training for the Olympics as a young, married father. Not long ago, being a married 20-something father wasn’t an “alternative lifestyle.”

Turn on the TV in the evening and you will find a number of shows with men who eschew traditional family responsibilities. And conservative values are often the butt of the jokes. Well, for all of the conservatives out there looking for a comedy with a more traditional man as the lead character, check out Last Man Standing on ABC.

Full of lines pointing out some of the fallacies in leftist thinking today, Last Man Standing allows conservatives to finally be part of the inside jokes.

Playing Mike Baxter, actor Tim Allen reprises his role as father—only this time in a house full of women. In the pilot episode, he…

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