Recently Added
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Coming to Fox News and The Catholic Channel: Reel Faith! Well, not permanently or anything. (Not yet, anyway.) But in the next 24 hours or so David DiCerto and I will be appearing on both venues to talk about Reel Faith and movies in theaters.
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Hat tip to Stephanie Zacharek (Village Voice) for the perfect use of that beloved critical device, the reapplication of a movie quote as auto-criticism of the film, in her review of Baz Luhrmann’s
The Great Gatsby.
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The fourth season of Reel Faith premieres this week — and we’re growing!
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This evening, Friday, May 17, I'll be appearing on the first hour of “
Catholic Answers Live” (6pm–7pm EDT). Next week, tune in for the summer season premiere of Reel Faith!
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B+ |
*** |
+1-1|
Teens & Up
Star Trek Into Darkness outdoes its predecessor in most respects, except creative ambition.
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When I set out to make a list of great movie moms in honor of Mother’s Day, I knew it wouldn’t be easy — but I soon found it even harder than I thought. Let’s face it: Great mothers in short supply in the movies.
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Pain & Gain in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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Iron Man Three in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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Iron Man 2 in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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Iron Man in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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C+ |
**½ |
-1|
Teens & Up*
It’s a potentially promising setup for a slam-bang finale to what has been, despite its flaws, one of the brightest and most entertaining franchises around. Unfortunately, the slapdash plot is pretty much a disaster. A string of miscalculations hamper the fun. And a late revelation, when you stop and think about it, undermines most of the preceding drama.
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Studio Ghibli’s
From Up on Poppy Hill in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review (see also
show dates and locations).
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42 in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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To the Wonder in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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Evil Dead in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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Jurassic Park in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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Just over a month before his death on Easter Thursday, Roger Ebert wrote a blog post titled “
How I Am a Roman Catholic” — a follow-up of sorts to a 2009 post called “
How I Believe in God.”
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The Croods in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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The Incredible Burt Wonderstone in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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The Call in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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Oz the Great and Powerful in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.
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The release of DreamWorks Animation’s new caveman comedy
The Croods seems as good an occasion as any to spotlight my 2010 blog post “
Junior Knows Best,” about one of my least favorite trends in family filmmaking.
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This evening, Friday, March 22, I'll be appearing on the first hour of “
Catholic Answers Live” (6pm–7pm EDT).
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C |
** |
+1-1|
Kids & Up*
Oz the Great and Powerful is brightly colorful, sincere and meant for children. That doesn’t make it good, exactly, but at least it’s basically the right
kind of movie, which is saying something these days, alas.
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It’s spring break, or summer vacation, and the grandkids are visiting. Or you’re looking for a DVD for a birthday present. You want three things: a) something worthwhile (not junk); b) something they’ll enjoy (not just high-minded or educational fare); and, crucially, c) something they haven’t already seen to death.
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A+ |
**** |
+4|
Teens & Up
Here is a film that will break your heart, fill it with hope and challenge you to say Yes to God and to your neighbor, all at once.
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What does this year’s Best Picture front-runner
Argo have in common with
Grand Hotel (1932) and
Driving Miss Daisy (1989), both recently released on Blu-ray?
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B+ |
*** |
+2|
Kids & Up*
Jan Struther, who created Mrs. Miniver for a series of newspaper columns later published in book form, was also the author of a number of Anglican hymns, including “Lord of All Hopefulness” (a staple in our family’s evening devotions). That biographical detail puts an interesting light on the religious elements in William Wyler’s Oscar-winning adaptation,
Mrs. Miniver.
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B |
*** |
+0|
Teens & Up
Grand Hotel was the first film in history to fully realize the power of the Hollywood star system — the first all-star ensemble Hollywood film.
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Have today’s movies lost religion? Not necessarily — but sometimes it helps to know where to look. For instance, mainstream films are more likely to include sympathetic depictions of religious faith in period pieces than in stories set in the present day.
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