LeavittLens’ Top 10 Films of 2022
In a post-2020 world, the landscape of the film industry continues to evolve: streaming remains the dominant form of film consumption, with many of our most accomplished filmmakers opting for straight-to-VOD releases all year long; theatres have nearly fully transformed into event-hubs, centers for a few large-scale, theme-park like experiences rather than for the discovery…
The Banshees of Inisherin
Release Date: October 21st, 2022 Director: Martin McDonagh | MPAA Rating: R | LeavittLens Rating: 9/10 “If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good…
Nope
Release Date: July 22nd, 2022 Director: Jordan Peele | MPAA Rating: R | LeavittLens Rating: 9/10 *Spoilers ahead in the review* “The task of prophetic ministry is to nurture, nourish, and evoke a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.” -Walter Brueggemann, “The Prophetic Imagination” When we…
Bullet Train
Release Date: August 5th, 2022 Director: David Leitch | MPAA Rating: R | LeavittLens Rating: 6/10 When I finally heard the news of the release of Bullet Train (after multiple delays) in 2022, it seemed that the blockbuster summer might be making a real comeback. In an increasingly franchise-riddled world, where inconsequential CGI Marvel films…
Top Gun: Maverick
Release Date: May 27th, 2022 Director: Joseph Kosinski | MPAA Rating: PG-13 | LeavittLens Rating: 8/10 In an early scene in Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski’s follow up to the 1986 memorable, albeit problematic, classic (see: overt misogyny and American exceptionalism), Admiral Cain (Ed Harris) waxes prophetically to Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) a…
The Worst Person In The World
Release Date: February 4th, 2022 Director: Joachim Trier | MPAA Rating: R | LeavittLens Rating: 8/10 “Who are we, really?” This is the question that rhetorically rings from the modern skylines and picturesque horizons of Oslo in Joachim Trier’s The Worst Person In The World. The epitome of James Joyce’s now famous maxim, “In the…
LeavittLens’ Top 10 Films of 2021
While 2021 hardly provided the reprieve many of us hoped for following a tumultuous 2020, the return of movie theatres and theatrical releases proved a welcome gift for many, including myself. While the future of theatres is still very much unclear at this point, there remains some ecstasy in sitting down with a bag of…
Don’t Look Up
Release Date: December 24th, 2021 Director: Adam McKay| MPAA Rating: R | LeavittLens Rating: 7/10 During the early 18th century, a wave of poverty had struck the nation of Ireland. The Industrial Revolution was looming, and social and political class divisions had intensified, reinforced by religious associations to and honor for the upper class. The…
A Wednesday Word | 8/4/2021
“The church’s warfare involves purposefully growing into communities that become more faithful corporate performances of Jesus on earth…this is good news for the world.” -Tim Gombis, The Drama of Ephesians Text: Ephesians 6:12-18 Devotional: When reading Paul’s words in Ephesians, particularly his mentioning of the “cosmic powers” in 6:12, I am often reminded of the…
A Wednesday Word | 7/28/2021
“Jesus made it clear that His kingdom had no place for power seekers, for His was a kingdom of servants. The Christian never asks, “How can I be master?” Instead, they ask, “How can I be servant?” The Christian never asks, “How can I be number one?” Instead, they ask, “How can I be the…
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