Manvë and Tulkas as God’s Warriors
Two most outstanding of the male Valar were Manvë and Tulkas. Manvë is the mightiest of all the Ainur and Ilúvatar’s dearest. He was chosen to administer Arda and is therefore called its King. This…
Category: Literary & Media Analysis
The Psychology of Creativity
“There is one thing stronger than all the armies of the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.” - Victor Hugo The creativity of man has been a monumental force through the…
J. R. R. Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings: “The Prayers at the Foot of the Altar” and The Dark Night of the Soul
The landscape and illumination of J.R.R. Tolkien's mind exposes far more than a vast and expansive fantasy world, but also a glimpse into a Catholic mind which understood implicitly that 'The Conqueror’s Weapon is the…
Movie Review: Falling Inn Love
Falling Inn Love (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falling_Inn_Love) This charming little film was quite a nice surprise for me, and I actually enjoyed it a lot more that I thought I would. Full of funny and quirky characters, and…
Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1559547/) is a fantasy movie based in a small Southern American town called Gatlin. It follows the lives of a girl and a boy as their two totally different worlds collide. This film…
“Unplanned” Movie Review
I’m sitting in my car, having just walked out of the theater after seeing Unplanned. I decided to write this review now, before I turn on my music, before I drive 20 minutes home to…
The Inklings – Who They Were
For two decades - from the early 1930s to late 1940s - the Oxford-based Inklings met in C.S. Lewis’s rooms at Magdalene College. An informal gathering of male academics and writers, the Inklings served as…
“May He Live Forever!”: A Casual Muslim Reader Reflects on the Christian Fantasy Works of Lewis and Tolkien
I am a Canadian of Pakistani ancestry and a practicing Muslim. Not a perfect Muslim, as I swear like a sailor, but practicing as best I can. I was born in the 1980s and spent…
Why I Don’t Like Lord of the Rings: A Candid Review
Before I start, I’d like to get one thing very clear: I am not here to trash Lord of the Rings. I am not here to criticize its artistry. I am not here to say…
Virtuous Venturing: The Hobbit
Every life is an adventure. It is a perilous journey from this life of shadows on earth to the splendorous treasure of Heaven. In order to get to Heaven successfully, Jesus Christ revealed that we…