Meet the Staff - Drew Regensburger

Hi, I’m Drew Regensburger, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Revolve21, and I have no idea what to say.

I’m a writer, film buff, music geek, romantic, thinker, gamer, student, etc., etc.

With film, Zak finds beauty in the message… I find beauty in the journey to that message, because I don’t always think there is a message. With music, it’s much the same: I find beauty in the path to the end, rather than that end. However, I think that, with media, the beauty is always the sum of its parts, even if the beauty itself can be individual and wonderful in its own sense.

I don’t hole myself in genres. Anything that catches my eye, my ear, my thumb, I try out. Sadly, this has left me with such gems (and what follows is sarcasm) as The Decemberists’ pretension (seen in The Crane Wife, an album bloated on its own literate inadequacies), Rockstar’s sublimely terrible Manhunt 2 (which decided that gore was a substitute for story, much like Hostel) and Mirrormask, the movie that could’ve been so much more. But that policy has also left me with things that blow my mind, from the rough, garage rock of The Strokes’ Room on Fire, to the amazing and ultimately disappointing story of Indigo Prophecy (a game that held me captive until the last half hour, then wouldn’t let me go even though it devolved into a wintry love story rather than a compelling mystery). Film is a little harder for me, since I tend to follow it very loosely. But it is what it is.

For me, meaning is derived, not from circumstance surrounding the creation of the thing, but from the thing isolated and taken apart by itself, then put back together as I see fit. This way, I can arrive at a meaning unaffected by outside sources, a meaning that is completely personal to me, yet completely apathetic at the same time.

So in my reviews, you’ll often see me taking a route that tells you, the reader, that someone might be offended by this or that, simply because I’ve looked past the possible offense for me to find the meaning. It’s not that I think it’s okay; it’s that I’m driven to understand why. If there’s no why, then there’s no closure.

However, I respect and understand that a lot of people don’t think like this. This, in part, is why Rev21 was created. Yes, we want to provide a next-gen Christian experience. But that’s shortchanging us. We also want to provide a place where anyone—Christian or no—can get good, accurate reviews that are completely unbiased. I’m never going to tell you not to play Grand Theft Auto. I like those games. How hypocritical would it be of me to do so? This is the fundamental idea behind our reviews, and the fundamental idea behind my criticism.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns, hate mail, whatever, send me an email: Drew@revolve21.com. Hope to hear from you.

--Drew Regensburger

Drew’s Five Favorite Albums
1. The Battle for Los Angeles-Rage Against the Machine
2. Automatic for the People—R.E.M.
3. Superunknown-Soundgarden
4. Year Zero—Nine Inch Nails
5. Time Out of Mind—Bob Dylan

Drew’s Five Favorite Films
1. Blade Runner
2. Heat
3. Ronin
4. Requiem for a Dream
5. High Fidelity

Drew’s Five Favorite Games
1. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
2. God of War
3. Alpha Centauri
4. Resident Evil 4
5. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
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Meet the Staff - Zak Mellgren

Greetings, salutations, and various hellos. I'm Zak Mellgren, and I'm currently serving this site as a film critic. I have an intense love for films that surpasses most of my interests, making watching movies somewhat of a hobby for me. It seems shallow at first glance, yes; but there is so much more to be had in a film than simple entertainment. I watch them partly to be entertained as every other bloke. But I also try to study every movie I watch. I study the characters, I study the story, and most of all I study the message. I have been inspired by movies more than anything else, and that's partly why I continue to watch them. There's so much truth to be found in this form of storytelling if you dig deep enough.

If you're worried by now, fear not. I do indeed have a life outside of Hollywood. I am currently enrolled at a local community college.  This is my freshman year, so there are many new experiences to be had and I'm enjoyed most of them immensely.  I will be slaving over the books for some five or five and a half years to acquire a masters in Social Work so I can become a therapist, with an English minor.  Naturally, I love spending time with family and friends.  

At this point in my life where so many changes are being made, I feel a strong pull to be making changes spiritually - changes that I hope are for the better. I feel God calling to me at this time, and I'm doing my best to connect with him at a much stronger level and, as such, with a much stronger effort than I have put forth it the past. And I feel that this site and this ministry is one of the ways that I can make that effort.

So please, enjoy my reviews. I hope you find them both informative and encouraging. God bless.

Zak Mellgren

Zak's Five Favorite Albums:

1. Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight

2. relient k's Mmmhmm

3. My Chemical Romance's Welcome to the Black Parade

4. Coldplay's Viva La Vida

5. Jason Gray's The Better Part of Me

Zak's Five Favorite Films:

1. Collateral

2. Fight Club

3. The Legend of Bagger Vance

4. Minority Report

5. It's a Wonderful Life

Zak's Five Favorite Games:

1. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

2. Blitz: The League

3. Super Mario Bros 3

4. Halo 3

5. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

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Meet the Staff - Kenny Yeager

Hey, I'm Kenny, a part of the Rev21 staff. I play a bit of an administrative role here along with Drew (being the result of unexpected inspiration showing up in a series of our many late night conversations, responsibility for Revolve21 landed on our shoulders). I work to keep things moving in a forward direction. Right now, that means providing media reviews, touching up other reviews, rallying support for the project, and planning the next steps for Rev21 to take. Though I love being involved in media press, I'm very much excited about the upcoming theological elements of Rev21.

Regarding who I am, I'm a Bible college student with 21 years of age behind me. In spite of my tendency to use very formal written language, and my enjoyment of dress shirts and neckties, I'm actually a rather relaxed guy. As a rule, I'm more interested in relationships with other people than just about anything else. Still, I do have a great interest in theology, music, gaming, and a bunch of other things. The idea of using my natural interests and talents to serve God and draw others to Him appeals to me more than anything else.

In regards to what I've done, my experience is a bit diverse. In the realm of technology, I have served as part of a megachurch's technical ministries in their worship services and internet ministries. I have also worked as a server administrator for the large community college I attended. In internet ministries, I have been involved (in some capacity or another) the work of Christ Centered Game Reviews as a game critic, as a part of the editorial panel, as an on-call assistant to technical matters of website administration, and as a forum moderator and administrator. Further along the game journalism road, I was a volunteer staff writer for upstart Christian magazine Family Friendly Gaming for two years. In the church ministry realm, I have been involved in youth group leadership (in varying capacities) since the middle of my time in high school. I have also been involved in music-based ministries in churches and other venues for the last several years. Though my formal Bible, theological, and apologetic, education only began a year ago, I have pursued understanding in these realms for years.

I look forward to working with Revolve21 as it continues to branch out and take flight. I also hope to get to know you while serving with this project.

-Kenny Yeager (kenny@revolve21.com)



Kenny's Five Favorite Albums
1. Thrice's The Artist in the Ambulance
2. Emery's The Question (Deluxe Edition)
3. Five Iron Frenzy's Our Newest Album Ever
4. Spoken's A Moment of Imperfect Clarity
5. Blue October's Foiled

Kenny's Five Favorite Films
1. Schindler's List
2. Momento
3. The Phantom of the Opera
4. Star Wars Original Trilogy
5. The Godfather Trilogy

Kenny's Five Favorite Games
1. Chrono Trigger
2. Super Mario Bros. 3
3. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
4. Phantasy Star Online
5. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
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Welcome to Revolve21!

Welcome to the current form of Revolve21, an ambitious website that aims to become a theocentric 21st-century approach to worship, discipleship, fellowship, and media. As with many ambitious projects, Revolve21 must start small and work towards its goals. With that in mind, this simple blog-based website represents our humble beginnings. Initially, we will begin with reviewing popular media in the form of movies, music, and video games. As we gain experience and viewers, we will expand into the more community- and theology-driven aspects of our website.

At Revolve21, we hold that it is important to be in the world without being of the world. We understand this to mean that we are to be separate from the immoralities of the world. When coupled with the understanding that our influences affect our behavior, one significant way for us to be distinct from the world is to be mindful of our entertainment intake. As such, we review various media with an appreciation for technical and artistic merit while still taking into consideration a Biblical basis by which to judge the moral content within.

Please check out our full design document to better understand our vision, and feel free to check out the guidelines used in our reviews.

Enjoy your stay. Feel free to contact us at any time.

-Revolve21 Staff
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