Beefs between musicians and critics aren't new, but that's not to say it isn't odd when an artist responds in kind. Needless to say, I got a little flummoxed when L.A. rapper Childish Gambino—otherwise known as Donald Glover, who plays Troy on NBC's Community and wrote for 30 Rock—called out a criticism I had made of his latest mixtape, Culdesac.

I discovered Glover's rapper alias when a friend posted his first mixtape of 2010, I AM JUST A RAPPER, on her Tumblr. Despite the mixtape's sonic incompetence—it's basically Glover rapping over popular indie tunes with the original vocals intact—RAPPER was an unexpected treat, and Glover proved to be a sharp, witty rapper. And then Culdesac sucked a lot of the energy, voice, and sly wit out of the equation and made for an oft-vapid, over-produced, and mediocre mixtape. Needless to say, I felt a bit disillusioned and wrote a review that—I felt—reflected the issues I had with the album from the perspective of a listener who has enjoyed Glover's previous output.

And then, eventually, Glover responded.

In an interview with the Hip Hip Update, Glover called out some criticisms I made of Culdesac. Namely, my criticism that his lyrics were flawed and formulaic, and that the constant mentions of his mentor, Tina Fey, sounded strange. Beginning at the 1:35 mark of the video, Glover responded to those two criticisms I (and apparently others) made of his album (quote below):

I would read an article, and in the same article, it'd be like, 'this guy raps about the same stuff all rappers rap about,' and then they'd be like, 'you can't rap about Tina Fey.' Which one is it? Is it, like, I can't rap about Tina Fey, because that's not what rap is about? I get mad when people are just like, 'you rap about money and girls.' Money is a tool to do what you want to do, and I love girls.

I'm still baffled by the whole situation. Baffled how a handful of complaints about a musician I kind of enjoy snowballed into a black-and-white image of me as a "hater." Somehow, a humorous quip about how I thought Tina Fey's name is brought up in the album quite frequently translated into a message that I think Glover should not be allowed to do something. Which is probably more dumbfounding than the idea that a rapper name-dropping his mentor and spitting rhymes that fit into hip-hop's status quo are mutually exclusive.

When everyone has an opinion and a PC, some details are bound to get lost in the overflow of information. Misunderstandings aside, I certainly understand how Glover was upset. But, as someone who's enjoyed Glover's work in music and comedy, and someone who admires his creative drive, it was just a bit baffling to be his target.

*The Baby-Sitters Club book series releases a prequel after ten years of inactivity. The original books will also be re-released with updated storylines to match modern times. What's that sound? Oh, just my childhood calling.

*Slash releases a solo album. In true Slash fashion, the disc includes a bevy of guest singers, featuring everyone from Iggy Pop(!) to Fergie(?).

*Wait, Tracy Morgan has normal human feelings? The comedian opened up on Oprah about how much Tina Fey means to him. Too sweet, but I generally prefer my Tracy drunk on morning news shows and calling himself crazier than a box of rocks.

*In the least surprising news ever, Gwyneth Paltrow tells Vogue she has a mean side. (But she seemed so nice!)

*Scrabble changes the rules of their game, now allowing proper nouns. Finally, Yasmine Bleeth has a reason for her name to be in the public eye again.

*J.K. Rowling says she hasn't ruled out writing another book. Don't throw out the wands and capes just yet, guys.

*Somebody on YouTube turns Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog into a faux-Nintendo game. I'd make fun of them, but I'm too entertained.

What if I told you about a major motion picture that said God is a myth? That its main character, living in a world in which people are incapable of lying, soothes his dying mother by saying she’s about to leave this life for a better place, where she’ll have a mansion and see all of her friends and be happier than she’s ever been?

Mum isn’t the only comforted dupe of the falsehood in the story: When her caretakers hear of this wonderful afterlife, word spreads fast, and soon the accidental prophet is telling the masses about heaven and hell—though there are no such terms for them yet—and exactly how you need to behave to avoid eternal damnation. To complete the fib, he preaches about “the man in the sky,” who he says is responsible for good things! Such as saving someone from drowning. But he’s also to blame for bad things, such as cancer.

And the even more subversive cherry? The people who believe him are largely portrayed as idiots.

One would imagine that such a film would generate howls of blasphemy from conservatives and Christians, à la The Golden Compass and The Da Vinci Code before their openings. But the movie described above is The Invention of Lying, released wide on Oct. 2 and seemingly on no one’s radar except fans of the British version of The Office.

Granted, actor, co-writer, and director Ricky Gervais’ film is fundamentally a big-studio romantic comedy—but Golden Compass was merely a big-studio kids’ flick, and it had groups from the Catholic League to the American Family Association drumming up a boycott (author Philip Pullman’s “real goal is to put a positive face on atheism,” the Catholic League said). On his blog, Gervais acknowledges that Lying has a bit of an edge: He calls it a “sweet Hollywood family rom-com; it just happens to be the first ever completely atheistic movie with no concessions.”

So why no protest? Critic James Berardinelli, who runs the Web site Reelviews.net, accuses the film’s distributor, Warner Bros., of intentionally hiding the religion subplot, writing in his review: “In an effort to limit controversy, the distributor, Warner Brothers, has decided to obscure the film’s unsubtle commentary about religious matters. You won’t find anything about it in the trailers; you have to see the movie to be exposed to it.” (Warner Bros. refused to comment.)

Beliefnet blogger Michele McGinty agrees, accusing the studio of “smug condescension” and trying to trick her into “paying to see a movie that insults me as a gullible sap.” (Unlike Berardinelli, McGinty has not seen the film, instead reacting to a review in the New York Post.)

Former church-group leader Phil Petree of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., said in an e-mail interview that Christians likely took a “Don’t feed the monkey!” approach. “The more we respond,” he mused, “the more publicity [the film] will get, and the more people will see that message.…In the end, by ignoring them, movies like The God Who Wasn’t There go largely [unnoticed] by the media and audiences in general and become dismal failures.”

“Dismal” may be a tad strong to describe The Invention of Lying’s initial two-week box office, but it’s not too far off the mark. Even with Hollywood A-listers such as Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Rob Lowe, and Jonah Hill, the film ranked fifth in its opening weekend, bringing in a paltry $7.4 million and dropping approximately 53 percent in its second week. (Its budget was $18.5 million.) Though that’s a slight improvement over Gervais’ first leading-man comedy, last year’s Ghost Town, you still gotta wonder if some pre-release Internet fisticuffs would have given it a Passion of the Christ-–like boost.

Another Beliefnet contributor, Nell Minow (the “Movie Mom”), believes that the film didn’t raise a ruckus because there’s not much for Christians to be upset about. “I don’t think the movie is anti-religion, even though Gervais is an atheist,” Minow says. “It’s not like Dogma or The Last Temptation of Christ, which attack the church head-on. Gervais’ character sort of makes up the idea of religion, and it is his fake religion that is the subject of the film, not an actual denomination. It’s more like Life of Brian.”

Plus, Minow adds, “I have not seen any bloggers objecting to the portrayal of Judaism in A Serious Man, though it is arguably as offensive as The Invention of Lying is to Christians. The Jewish characters are all grotesque—glib, fatuous, irreverent, remote. Is it because [writers-directors Ethan and Joel Coen] are Jewish that this is permissible?”

It’s likely as well that The Invention of Lying’s skewering of religion is permissible because Gervais is not exactly a household name this side of the pond yet. Or could it be we’re just gaining a sense of humor about spiritual questioning? Doubtful. On his blog, Gervais encourages those who do find the film funny to “enjoy it while you can. They won’t show it in Heaven."

Watch the film's trailer: