Joel Mayward

1 month ago | cinemayward.com | Joel Mayward

The Oscars are happening this weekend, so here are my own Academy Awards (winner in bold, other nominees listed in alphabetical order): Best Picture: Hundreds of Beavers Anora Challengers Conclave Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Good One Nickel Boys Sing Sing The Substance Best Director: Mike Cheslik (Hundreds of Beavers) Sean Baker (Anora) George Miller (Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga) India Donaldson (Good One) RaMell Ross (Nickel Boys) Best Actress: Lily Collias (Good One) Mikey Madison (Anora) Zendaya...

Jan 21, 2025 | brightwalldarkroom.com | Joel Mayward

St. Augustine’s Confessions presents us with a man in crisis seeking The Good Life. Arguably the first autobiography in Western culture, Confessions—written between AD 397 and 400—chronicles Augustine’s spiritual and existential journey from being a horny young man wracked with guilt to a horny middle-aged man wracked with guilt but saved by God’s grace.

Dec 28, 2024 | cinemayward.com | Joel Mayward

I watched over 400 films in 2024. This is an average of 8.3 films per week. I do not know how this happened. It was one of the fullest years in recent memory—I taught overload every semester, and taught summer courses too; my wife, Katie, completed a master’s degree from the University of Edinburgh; my eldest son began high school, which meant having three kids in three different schools and all the activities therein; and I entered into the next decade of midlife: my forties.

Jan 21, 2024 | cinemayward.com | Joel Mayward

As the official nominees for the Academy Awards will be announced tomorrow, January 23, I’m posting my own list of nominees. These are not predictions (some of these films don’t even qualify for the actual Academy Awards; some categories are of my own making) but rather my own celebration of the true, the good, and the beautiful in cinema from 2023. Nominees are listed in alphabetical order by film title, excepting winners in bold. Best Picture: OppenheimerAnatomy of a FallAre You There God?

Jan 1, 2024 | cinemayward.com | Joel Mayward

I didn’t write any film reviews in 2023. It’s not because I’ve given up on film criticism. It’s because I was busy being a professor, writing another book on theology and film, and attempting to be present with my family. And yet, I still managed to watch 300 films in over the past year, 82 of which were 2023 releases. It’s the most I’ve watched since returning to the US after living in Scotland. I hope to watch even more in 2024. The following films are my top 20 films from 2023.