Tag Archives: Sir Ian McKellen

Why I Don’t Think Jesus Was a Soccer Dad…

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

Or that Mary Magdalene was a redeemer goddess. Or that Christ was an invention by the aristocratic elite to sooth the masses. Or that he never existed. Or that anything is really factual on the page that Dan Brown titles … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Thoughtful Essays | Tagged Audrey Tautou, conspiracy theory, Dan Brown, History, Jesus, Jesus Seminar, Karen King, manuscript history, Mary Magdalene, Michel Faber, Simcha Jacobovici, Sir Ian McKellen, The Da Vinci Code, The Lost Gospel, Tom Hanks | 12 Comments

“What Have We Done?” A Review of The Desolation of Smaug (Hobbit Part 2)

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

These words are breathed in the dying moments of the second installation of The Hobbit adaptation, The Desolation of Smaug. Inevitably, this is the question that true Tolkien fans expect Peter Jackson’s adaptation team to be asking of themselves right … Continue reading →

Posted in Reviews | Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, fairy tale, fantasy, film, film adaptation, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature, Martin Freeman, myth, Orlando Bloom, Peter Jackson, Sir Ian McKellen, The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings | 52 Comments

Telling it Slant: The Problem With Writing Conversions

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Brenton Dickieson

Oranges and Archie I never went to church much growing up. There was a little white church a mile or so from my house that gave out free oranges and Christian Archie comic books at Christmastime, so sometimes I would … Continue reading →