Injustice, solidarity, and violence in <em>The Uprising</em> and <em>The Weight</em> ARTICLE

Injustice, solidarity, and violence in The Uprising and The Weight

The theatergoing experience is in decline for a tangled web of reasons. One factor interacting with the decline is eroding social cohesion and shared trust. In these rancorous times, many Americans no longer feel that they and many or most of the people around them share in a common community, a common story, or that the institutions of society and culture represent us all and belong to us all.

‘Those books created me’: Greta Gerwig on <em>Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew</em> POST

‘Those books created me’: Greta Gerwig on Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew

On Tuesday morning in New York City, Gerwig presented the trailer and some behind-the-scenes materials to a crowd of journalists (myself included) and industry insiders at the Lincoln Square IMAX, and fielded questions posed by interviewer Stephen Colbert

<em>American Martyr</em>: An Oklahoma priest&rsquo;s unlikely bond with persecuted Mayans in war-torn Guatemala ARTICLE

American Martyr: An Oklahoma priest’s unlikely bond with persecuted Mayans in war-torn Guatemala

As with most martyrs, while Fr. Stan may be remembered first of all for how he died, what matters most is how he lived. American Martyr: The Stanley Rother Story is concerned with what matters most.

Father Stanley Rother&rsquo;s gift of presence: Interview with María Ruiz Scaperlanda ARTICLE

Father Stanley Rother’s gift of presence: Interview with María Ruiz Scaperlanda

Catholic writer María Ruiz Scaperlanda is an enthusiastic voice for Blessed Stanley Rother—one you can hear in the documentary American Martyr, which features her prominently.

<em>The Odyssey</em> and the consequences of war ARTICLE

The Odyssey and the consequences of war

Giving a pagan Greek hero a line adapted from later Jewish wisdom is an interesting choice; more centrally, Nolan reinterprets a key theme in Homer’s work in terms overtly drawn from one of the most revered of Jesus’ sayings.

Why <em>Doctor Strange</em> is the best MCU movie: 10 reasons ARTICLE

Why Doctor Strange is the best MCU movie: 10 reasons

The way the film plays with time, space, and gravity make for the most unique action sequences in any MCU movie, and maybe any live-action superhero movie.

Aliens, humanity, and God: In <em>Disclosure Day</em>, Spielberg still wants to believe ARTICLE

Aliens, humanity, and God: In Disclosure Day, Spielberg still wants to believe

Disclosure Day is a heady distillation of just about everything that Steven Spielberg has to say as a filmmaker.

<em>Babe</em> meets <em>Knives Out</em> in delightful, well-made <em>The Sheep Detectives</em> ARTICLE

Babe meets Knives Out in delightful, well-made The Sheep Detectives

The Sheep Detectives is a kind of movie that Hollywood has all but forgotten how to make, if they ever knew.

Hungering for a sense of grace: Interview with <em>Wake Up Dead Man</em> writer-director Rian Johnson ARTICLE

Hungering for a sense of grace: Interview with Wake Up Dead Man writer-director Rian Johnson

Rian Johnson identifies as agnostic today, but clues of his evangelical Protestant upbringing peek through the cracks of more than one of his films.

Benoit Blanc goes to church: Mysteries and faith in <em>Wake Up Dead Man</em> ARTICLE

Benoit Blanc goes to church: Mysteries and faith in Wake Up Dead Man

Wake Up Dead Man is about an impossible murder, among other impossible mysteries; it is also about the sociopolitical implications of two opposing conceptions of Christianity and of Catholicism in particular.