Constantine's Sword

Here's an excellent, thought-provoking documentary. Based on James Carroll's book of the same name, Constantine's Sword came out in 2007.

There are three subjects intertwined in this movie: the indictment that the Air Force Academy was trying promoting Evangelical Christianity and turning a blind eye toward the discrimination of others, especially Jewish cadets; James Carroll's fall from grace (or faith), a former Catholic priest; and a history of the Christian church's anti-semitism.

This is way too much to cram into one documentary. It's just a precursory view of the history. But an actual in-depth investigation would take days. 

It is good at what it does. It gives a well researched, far-reaching history, and actually takes you to the places it talks about. And it leaves you with a wanting to learn more. (I really want to read his book now!)

My favorite quote from Constantine's Sword: "If you want to make religion a constructive force in society, religions must begin with an honest admission of those moments when they haven't been a constructive force...when they've been a DESTRUCTIVE force."


I have very different politics, but I certainly agree on the last two thirds of that statement.

The Orphanage

I'd never heard of The Orphanage until it was suggested to me about 2 weeks ago. I liked it so much, I'm blogging about it. So thank you for the suggestion, Sezduck!


This is a 2007, subtitled movie from Spain (original title: El Orfanato), which is a nice mix of thriller, drama and a tiny bit of horror. It's produced by Guillermo Del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth), but that's the limit of his involvement.


It's about a family who moves into the abandoned house that used to be the orphanage where the mother grew up. Soon, the son is playing with invisible friends... You know that means plenty of strange things are afoot.


First, my only complaint: it does start a bit slowly. But stick with it. It gets interesting!


If you're worried about having to read a subtitled movie of this genre... Don't be. It works.


All the actors do fantastic jobs, as does the director. But my favorite part of this movie is how well this is written. 


Sergio G. Sanchez makes it realistic and plausible enough. Very little suspension-of-disbelief in needed. There's a fair amount of drama (done well) incorporated to make this work. But where he really shines is making it a throw-back to older, and I dare say, better horror movies. Incorporating little gore and more suspense. And best of all, attention to detail!

Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns)

In the spirit of taking things lightly for the summer...
Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (2002) is an entertaining and educational look at the band They Might Be Giants.

If you are not already a fan of tmbg I'd suggest you skip this. But if you like the band - anyone from a die-hard fan who owns all their albums, to the (very) casual fan - this is a must.

I should point out that this documentary was made before they started doing albums aimed at children. (When tmbg lost my interest.)

For me, this documentary was a welcomed trip down memory lane. But I also learned a lot. Gigantic - employing interviews with band members, colleagues and fans, as well as concert footage and videos - gives a history of tmbg, including their tumultuous relationships with record companies, their instant fame and influence on MTV, and especially the friendship of John Linnell and John Flansburgh

And then they delve into the depths. Looking at how freakishly dedicated some of their fans actually are. This is entertaining too.

Speaking of freaky fans. About 56 minutes into the film you need to pay close attention. There's concert footage looking out into the crowd... And you can see one especially unfortunate guy who has the eerie and uncanny resemblance to a clean-shaved, yours truly, minus glasses.

Anyway, back to topic. This documentary not only seeks to explain tmbg's quirky sense of humour, they employ it. And this is why Gigantic is perfect for any fan.