Joel Mayward
@jmayward.bsky.social
Associate Professor of Christian Ministries, Theology, and Cinematic Arts @ George Fox University, OR • PhD, St Andrews • Pastor-Theologian • 🍅 approved Film Critic • Author (books on Christopher Nolan, Sufjan Stevens, Dardenne brothers) • Human (he/him)
Happy book birthday, @jmayward.bsky.social! Go get Religious Cinema for Non-Believers! I liked it so much I blurbed it!
Joel Mayward@jmayward.bsky.social · 11h agoMy latest book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice" is now available! It's a collection of my longform film criticism essays written over the span of the past decade. wipfandstock.com/979838524740...
Congrats Joel! My official plug: "If you’re unfamiliar with the film criticism of Joel Mayward, Religious Cinema for Non-Believers is a handy way to correct that grievous error. He’s one of those rare critics who almost, almost makes it unnecessary to watch a movie once he’s written about it."
Joel Mayward@jmayward.bsky.social · 11h agoMy latest book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice" is now available! It's a collection of my longform film criticism essays written over the span of the past decade. wipfandstock.com/979838524740...
Just noticed an aesthetic pattern with recent faith-and-film book covers: my book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers" @abbyolcese.bsky.social "Films for All Seasons" @ginadalfonzo.bsky.social "The Screen and the Mirror" ...and then @overstreet.bsky.social "Lost and Found" breaks the mold!
Joel Mayward@jmayward.bsky.social · 11h agoMy latest book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice" is now available! It's a collection of my longform film criticism essays written over the span of the past decade. wipfandstock.com/979838524740...
My latest book, "Religious Cinema for Non-Believers: Film Criticism as Spiritual Practice" is now available! It's a collection of my longform film criticism essays written over the span of the past decade. wipfandstock.com/979838524740...
Religious Cinema for Non-Believers- Wipf and Stock Publishers
Religious Cinema for Non-Believers is a collection of longform film criticism essays written over the span of a decade by theologian and film critic Joel May...
wipfandstock.com
Sent off three chapter drafts of my "Theocinematics" book to the editor. Only nine more to go. 🫠
It's been a full movie-watching year
Letterboxd@letterboxd.social · last wk.how many films have you watched this year so far? 🤓
I rewatched THE ODYSSEY this weekend, which prompted this reflection on recognition. boxd.it/fRfRgN
A ★★★★★ review of The Odyssey (2026)
This review may contain spoilers. Visit the page to bypass this warning and read the review.
boxd.it
Out of the many criticisms levied at the film, the claim that the Trojan beach in Nolan's ODYSSEY was too "pristine" is really reaching.
The Blu-ray of the latest film from the Dardenne brothers, YOUNG MOTHERS, is now available for pre-order at @vinsyn.bsky.social vinegarsyndrome.com/products/you...
Young Mothers
2026 Subscribers: This is NOT included in your Subscription. If you'd like to purchase it, you will need to login to view your special 50% off SRP pricing. This special limited edition slipcover (desi
vinegarsyndrome.com
Empire of the Sun Matewan The Heartbreak Kid My Darling Clementine Come and See Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom The Piano Teacher sex, lies, and videotape Blue Heron The Odyssey
Letterboxd@letterboxd.social · 4w agoPost your favorite first-watches of July 🍿
This. I'd write this. amzn.to/4yIUyGi
Stop Calling Me Frank@stopcallingmefrank.bsky.social · 4w agoYou have a month to write a 33 1/3 book about the album of your choice. Which record are you going to write about? (No previously covered albums allowed; new shit must come to light: see below.) (For all books in the series: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33_1/3) (H/t @monostich.bsky.social
Terribly sad news. Seeing The Swell Season in one of their first performances after winning the Oscar for "Falling Slowly" remains one of the best concerts I've ever experienced.
NPR@npr.org · last mo.Glen Hansard, the Irish singer who won an Oscar for the musical movie Once and the led the bands The Frames and The Swell Season, died on Wednesday. He died following a motorcycle crash in Dublin. n.pr/44R2Yhg
The LRB review opens by claiming an undisclosed number of Nolan's films are "boring" and THE ODYSSEY is "family-friendly," and frankly, it's hard to take the rest of it very seriously.
If you appreciated how certain scenes in THE ODYSSEY delve into the horror genre, seek out Nolan's first short film, TARANTELLA, which is purely horror and features a young Christopher Nolan in front of the camera.
"[The Odyssey] will be an epic blockbuster film featuring crosscutting, a fragmented narrative structure which leaps about in time, an immersive musical score, massive awe-inspiring visuals shot on IMAX film, and a central character, Odysseus, wrestling with questions of identity and selfhood."
My book "Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan" will be available on paperback in spring 2027 at the much more affordable price of $39.95. Pre-order the book on Amazon today: amzn.to/4woI6tj
Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture)
Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture) [Mayward, Joel, Callaway, Kutter] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture)
amzn.to
My book "Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan" will be available on paperback in spring 2027 at the much more affordable price of $39.95. Pre-order the book on Amazon today: amzn.to/4woI6tj
Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture)
Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture) [Mayward, Joel, Callaway, Kutter] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture)
amzn.to
Happy 250th birthday, America. Remember: we're all gonna die.
Sufjan Stevens, "Fourth Of July" (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Asthmatic Kitty Records
youtu.be
Apropos of recent national news, I have found Hanna Reichel's "For Such a Time as This: An Emergency Devotional" to be genuinely hopeful and encouraging (as in, generating courage) amidst the ongoing quasi-dystopian reality in this country. www.eerdmans.com/978146747057...
For Such a Time as This
A guide for ordinary Christians seeking to live faithfully in extraordinary times“This is not the first end of the world. Many worlds have ended.”In an e...
eerdmans.com
Apropos of nothing, particularly any movie ticket sales happening today, I wrote a book on Christopher Nolan's entire filmography. amzn.to/4x9uumR
Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture)
Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture) [Mayward, Joel] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Theology and the Films of Christopher Nolan: Cinematic Transcendence (Theology, Religion, and Pop Culture)
amzn.to
Oh dear, Marty. "DeMille would have his production designers do oil paintings. This is that, in a sense." It is not that, in a sense.
Culture Crave 🍿@culturecrave.co · 3mo ago“I recently tested this out on a scene, and the ability to visualize and immediately share the storyboard was creatively freeing. During the preproduction process, time costs money, and this allowed us to move faster without sacrificing quality or craft" www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/b...
Today, May 30, is both the feast day of St. Joan of Arc and the birthday of filmmaker Agnès Varda. TIL Varda made a film featuring Joan of Arc: "Jane B. for Agnès V."
