May 7, 2022
Weekender: New Twitter. Doctor Strange’s Multiverse. Faith in musicals. SDG on The Northman.
Looking Closer has a new Twitter account! Also: Here are my first impressions of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of…
May 6, 2022
Arcade Fire’s big noise is back, and so are the sermons
Arcade Fire's seven-track tapestry of anxiety, alienation, and disillusionment sounds epic, but it can be a bit…
April 29, 2022
Catch the rare treasure Petite Maman on the big screen if you can
Like Jacques Doillon's Ponette and John Sayles's The Secret of Roan Inish, Céline Sciamma's new film is about very…
April 23, 2022
Conflicted about The Northman’s conflict
With full respect for arguments to the contrary, I'm of a mind to say that Robert Eggers's The Northman, while very…
April 17, 2022
Weekender: Allison Russell, Philip Yancey, and Enchanted Journey II: Ex-vangelical Boogaloo
In this edition of The Weekender, a miscellany of podcast highlights, insights on faith and race, a prayer worth…
April 15, 2022
Alas, it may be too late for you to see one of 2022’s most enthralling cinematic experiences
The greatest films are becoming the most difficult to see in a theater. Memoria — the third transcendent cinematic…
April 4, 2022
Jon Batiste’s “We Are” — a Looking Closer Top 20 of 2021 favorite — wins Album of the Year.
One of my favorite records of 2021 won the Album of the Year award: Jon Batiste's We Are.
March 27, 2022
Favorite Films of 2021 — Part Three: The Top 30
March 22, 2022
Favorite Films of 2021 — Part Two: Honorable Mentions
March 19, 2022
Favorite Films of 2021 — Part One: It’s Complicated
March 6, 2022
Favorite Recordings of 2021: Part Three (#15–#1)
You are arriving at the summit of my 2021 Music Mountain. These are my fifteen favorite albums of 2021
February 4, 2022
Favorite Recordings of 2021: Part Two (#25–#16)
January 23, 2022
Weekender: Fourth Weekend in January — Dark on Power of the Dog; Wilford on Licorice Pizza
After a few "Weekenders" away, here are a few highlights from the last few weeks.
January 20, 2022
Favorite Recordings of 2021: Part One (Honorable Mentions and #36–#26)
It has finally begun! On January 20, Looking Closer's look back at favorite recordings of 2021 has begun! Keep watch…
January 12, 2022
Newsic: New song from Tom Skinner, Thom Yorke, and Johnny Greenwood
This isn't an easy song to sing along with. It shouldn't be. But it represents a meaningful anger, a broken heart, a…
January 8, 2022
Joel Coen’s Macbeth adaptation is visually striking — but unaffecting
Did social distancing influence this Joel Coen production of the Scottish play? It has some great actors in it, but…
January 1, 2022
Weekender: 2022 film calendar; Luci Shaw’s latest poems; C’mon C’mon; Azor; Licorice Pizza
This week: An astounding 2022 preview. The upcoming poetry of Luci Shaw. And some initial thoughts on C'mon C'mon, Azor…
December 25, 2021
The Weekender: Christmas Edition 2021
This week: Malick's rollercoaster ride through the eons of history. Mia Hansen-Løve's film Bergman Island. All hail…