As many of you know, FIREPROOF opened this past weekend. My review is available at the St. Anthony Messenger website: http://americancatholic.org/Messenger/Oct2008/Eye_On_Entertainment.asp#F3 Kirk Cameron in FIREPROOF I have seen several other reviews and the emphasis is on how the film deals with a Christian marriage on the brink of divorce and the causes: lack of communication, selfishness, etc. But the strength of this film is its willingness to look at the impact of pornography on a … [Read more...]

Here's my theory about the film that opened the Venice International Film Festival in late August (I posted something about this film earlier). The Coen Brothers were sitting around one day, shooting the breeze, basking in the impending glow of an Oscar after working so hard on NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, thinking of the political landscape and wondering what kind of mischief they might make between the US, its citizens and Russia before the election - with as little money - and effort - as … [Read more...]

The 2008 – 2009 MASTER TEACHER IN MEDIA LITERACY certification course is set to begin on September 20th at the Pauline Center for Media Studies, 3908 Sepulveda Blvd.,  Culver City, CA. Full details and a registration form are available at www.PaulineCMS.org or you can obtain a form at the Pauline Book & Media Center, 3908 Sepulveda Blvd., Culver City, CA. 90230. Since 2007 more than 30 catechists, teachers, and pastoral ministers have been certified. This certification is recognized … [Read more...]

  The SIGNIS Jury has awarded its Grand Prize  to Kathryn Bigelow’s anti-war film THE HURT LOCKER. According to the jury’s statement, the motivation for this choice is the filmmaker’s uncompromising approach to the Iraq war and its consequences seen through the experience of the bomb diffusion specialists for whom war is an addiction rather than a cause. “The film challenges the audience’s view of war in general and the current war in particular because it demonstrates the … [Read more...]

Last Day at the Venice Film Festival   Well, almost the last day. It is Friday afternoon. There was to have been a screening last night ... The Seed of Disconent ... an Italian sex comedy, but the print didn,t arrive on time for the 7pm screening, so I missed it as there was no way I was going to a 10.30pm screening. The other members of the jury who did go told me the film didn-t meet our criteria anyway. Then this morning we saw THE WRESTLER.   Then our jury met at the Excellsior … [Read more...]

Nuit de chien   This stylistic theatrical (as on the stage) film is a walk on the dark side of politics where everyone must make a choice. And everyone dies, the point is when. The theme is political manipulation in a an imagined fascist state. For me, it was not so easy to watch. But then I had the pleasure of meeting one of the executive producers who came to the ecumenical round-table yesterday on the human and spiritual values of contemporary Chinese film (how’s that for a topic?). We … [Read more...]

Tuesday, September 2   Teza   This is the first film I have ever seen by an Ethiopian filmmaker. It tells the story of a young man, Teza, who is caught up in the Marxist revolution that replaced Haile Selassie around 1970. He is sent to study medicine in East Germany, and then returns in 1980 and finally in 1990. It is a very long film (it could have used a better editor) and for the most part, artfully made. Although the people are Coptic Christians (and religion plays a big, … [Read more...]

This is the official logo or graphic of the festival this year and I couldn't find it on google images (!) so I took a photo of a billboard... :-) They are big on piracy issues this year here. Digital cinema is also a hot topic. Here are some photos I have taken from the festival so far... No, there aren't any of anyone famous (yet). I haven't been going to the press conferences and the journalists have finally figured out which door the celebs enter and exit from (in 2000 there were only two … [Read more...]

 Monday at the Venice Film Festival September 1   Today is quite warm and humid – but it’s Venice and there is water, water everywhere! I don’t think I mentioned the mosquito mutants that come out at dusk here. They are like flying chiggers and they attack as a mob. Bring OFF if you ever come to Venice (or any part of Italy for that matter….)   Tomorrow is the presentation of the Prix Bresson, a Catholic prize. I will have more information on it tomorrow or on Wednesday. … [Read more...]

Today is Sunday, and a bit overcast, hot and humid. Mass is this evening at the parish of Santa Maria Elisabetta right near the hotel. Fr. Dario Vigano, a priest from Rome who works with the Italian Bishops, Conference for communication, just took our jury to lunch at a lovely Italian restaurant on the far end of the Lido island. Neither Peter Malone nor I are fish-eaters so we look in awe over our mounds of prosciutto to the very beautifully arranged antipasto dishes of the others… albino … [Read more...]