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Jason Bourne [video] POST

Jason Bourne [video]

You know his name. David Webb. You did know that was his name, right?

 Ghostbusters [video] POST

Ghostbusters [video]

The new Ghostbusters is perhaps more important than good, which isn’t a great place to be.

 Independence Day: Resurgence [video] POST

Independence Day: Resurgence [video]

We had 20 years to prepare. I would have liked more time.

 The Shallows [video] POST

The Shallows [video]

“Blake Lively versus shark” is definitely one of the better pitches of this summer.

 Central Intelligence [video] POST

Central Intelligence [video]

I can’t imagine anyone but Dwayne Johnson making this movie work.

 Love & Friendship [video] POST

Love & Friendship [video]

Whit Stillman and Jane Austen! I couldn’t limit myself to 60 seconds on this one.

Alice Through the Looking Glass [video] POST

Alice Through the Looking Glass [video]

Lewis Carroll is now right side up in his grave, having turned over twice.

 Captain America: Civil War [video] POST

Captain America: Civil War [video]

At last, a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that doesn’t come down to destroying a large urban area while saving the city, planet, or universe.

Why a Mel Gibson sequel to <em>The Passion</em> is probably a bad idea POST

Why a Mel Gibson sequel to The Passion is probably a bad idea

I doubt Gibson is the right filmmaker for the job. First, though, let’s talk about how right Gibson was for The Passion of the Christ.

 Hey, DC / Arlington area! POST

Hey, DC / Arlington area!

Local to the Washington metropolitan area? This Friday, May 13th, I’ll be at the FORUM Arlington talking about cinema and Catholic faith — at least, if the title of my talk, “A Ray of God: Movies and Catholic Teaching” is any indication.

 Is <em>The Jungle Book</em> blasphemous? POST

Is The Jungle Book blasphemous?

A reader writes: “‘The elephants created the jungle’ is not ‘semi-religious’ as you say. It is, in fact, blasphemous. You say such ideas are not ‘often found in a Hollywood family film.’ I disagree. Blasphemy is typical in most Hollywood films.”

 What did Jesus know and when did he know it? POST

What did Jesus know and when did he know it?

There are many things I love about The Young Messiah, as my review elaborates, but the way it depicts Jesus’ consciousness at the age of seven is one of my favorite things about it.

 Best films of 2015: More lists POST

Best films of 2015: More lists

This year my circle of Christian cinephiles converged on the year’s best films more closely than usual.

 The Good Dinosaur [video] POST

The Good Dinosaur [video] (2015)

According to Paul Valéry, art is “never finished, only abandoned.” Maybe so, but this is the first Pixar movie that really glaringly illustrates the point.

 &#8220;Reel Faith&#8221; is back! More&nbsp;news! POST

“Reel Faith” is back! More news!

“Reel Faith” returns to NET TV tonight — with a new feather in our caps: We are now the proud winners of a 2015 Gabriel Award, bestowed by the Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, the U.S. affiliate of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Communication.

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Christians in the Movies: A Century of Saints by Peter Dans

Every serious Christian movie buff should own a copy of Peter Dans’ Christians in the Movies: A Century of Saints and Sinners. First published in 2009, Christians in the Movies was originally available only in an expensive hardcover edition priced as a library reference work; since then it’s been reprinted in an affordable paperback edition.

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Q&A with SDG in America magazine

Recently I had the opportunity to field 18 questions from Sean Salai, SJ for a profile piece in the Jesuit magazine America. I had a lot of fun answering Mr. Salai’s thoughtful, sometimes surprising questions, ranging from how my faith informs my film writing to what I gave up for Lent.

 There&#8217;s only one right order to read the <i>Narnia</i> books POST

There’s only one right order to read the Narnia books

I consider the chronological numbering system a travesty, since I maintain that the only right way to discover the Narnian world is the way Lewis “discovered” it.

 Does the priest in <em>Calvary</em> recommend mortal sin? POST

Does the priest in Calvary recommend mortal sin?

Calvary is full of depraved, troubled characters, and in trying to minister to them Fr. Lavelle sometimes gets his hands dirty. Does he cross moral lines?

 Best Films of 2014: More lists POST

Best Films of 2014: More lists

Looking over the eight lists below plus my own top 10, three films stand above the rest — two starring Marion Cotillard.