Fantasia 2019: 'J.R. "Bob" Dobbs And The Church Of The SubGenius' Movie Review

When I was in high school, a friend sent away a dollar—this is back when mail order was a thing—and received a packet of stickers featuring the clip-art face of a grinning, 1950s-ideal-of-white-suburbabn-American-man clutching a pipe between two rows of perfect teeth. Along with the stickers were various pamphlets and leaflets extolling the virtues of a wingnut religion that, at least at first glance, appeared to be an elaborate joke. This WTF literature was my first introduction to The Church of the SubGenius. To this day, I’m still not entirely certain of the veracity of this particular religious sect, but now, thanks to Sandy K. Boone’s documentary J.R. “Bob” Dobbs and the Church of the SubGenius, we can all bask in the underground strangeness.

'Ben-Hur' (2016) Movie Review

Sweeping biblical Epics have been Hollywood staples since day one. Having fallen out of favor in recent years, the latest attempts haven’t been great (the less said about Exodus: Gods and Kings the better, yeesh), or tumble into heavy-handed religious fare (this year’s Risen was much more watchable than most of it’s Bible-thumping brethren, but it’s still only okay). But worry not, Timur Bekmambetov, the guy who directed Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, is here to attempt to revive the genre with yet another Ben-Hur adaptation. And he’s bringing along the half-faced guy from Boardwalk Empire and an actor best known for being really good at playing a motion capture bonobo in the new Planet of the Apes franchise.

Movie Review: 'The Witch'

Robert Egger’s debut feature, The Witch, may be a horror movie, but it’s more of a folk or fairy tale, a suspense thriller dressed up in supernatural trappings. Steeped in the religious conviction and paranoia of 17th Century New England pilgrim life, this is more dirt-smudged tension and distrustful atmosphere than jump scares and monsters hiding around corners.