CHEAPER IS STILL TOO MUCH I was really rather excited to see the new Cheaper By the Dozen. Starring two of Hollywood’s smart actors, who happen to also be good writers, Bonnie Hunt and Steve Martin, I figured this remake would be a heart-warming and funny family film for the holiday season. Sadly, there are much less than a dozen laughs here, and probably several dozen awkward group hugs between actors whom we never believe have any real bond. Poor... Read more

“You know, in a way, I envy you Charlie. Your daily routine – you know what’s expected. You know the drill. My job is to plumb the depths, so to speak, dredge something up from inside, something honest. There’s no road map for that territory .. . . and exploring it can be painful. The kind of pain most people don’t know anything about. ” (from Barton Fink) Read more

DROWNING IN GOOD MOVIES? So, any list of the best movies of the year will include Finding Nemo, Whale Rider, Big Fish, Master and Commander, Pirates of the Carribbean. Anybody else [“SPLASH!”] sensing a [“GLUG!GLUG!”] pattern here? [“WAVE NOISE!”] It’s WATER, stupid. The common theme of the screens best offerings, breaking over us all year is being wet. Some kind of cinematic baptism going on here? Something primal, maybe, about needing to get clean? Needing to be baptized? Theologians of... Read more

BIG FISH: SOUL (SEA)FOOD I really liked this new film coming from Sony/Columbia Pictures. Based on the book by Daniel Wallace, the adaptation was helmed by Tim Burton and features a daunting school of actors including Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Billy Crudup, Danny DeVito, Helena Bonham Carter and Steve Buscemi — and what’s the name of that French actress who steals every scene she is in?…oh yeah, Marion Cotillard. This film is unlike anything else you... Read more

LIVE, FROM NEW YORK! IT’S SATURDAY AFTERNOON I’m in NYC for the second weekend in a row – this time for the press junket for the upcoming release Big Fish and then for meetings about Act One tomorrow. (Much more about Big Fish later. I LIKED it…) I spent most of the afternoon walking all over midtown grinning like a fool because I love being here so much. I lived in NY for two years a decade ago, and I... Read more

WATCHING BONNIE My latest on Catholic Exchange… I have been getting scads of emails from happy people who concur with my take on Bonnie Hunt. That’s always nice. It’s particularly nice because I have also been getting hate mail from people who are enraged by an article I wrote saying I really don’t like the LOTR movies. One kind and loving Catholic brother sent me the following message in response to my dis of Jackson’s films (I AM NOT MAKING... Read more

BARB IN DC Here is info on two talks I am giving in DC that are open to the public: TALK 1: WHAT HOLLYWOOD NEEDS WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 12 7:00pm-9:00pm WHO: America’s Future Foundation WHERE: Fund for American Studies, 1706 New Hampshire Ave., NW RSVP to: [email protected] TALK 2: TOWARDS A CHRISTIAN AESTHETIC OF CINEMA WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 13 7:00pm-9:30pm WHO: Kairos (Group of High Church Christians interested in culture) WHERE: Common Grounds coffee shop (Private room), 3211 Wilson Blvd.... Read more

SIBLING REPORT My oldest sister, Cynthia, (all bow) is in Rome finishing up her latest degree – this time a doctorate in theology. (Whereas, I am in Vegas, pulling slots and listening to concerts?! rats…..) Afterward, we are all hoping she will come back to the States and teach again. Everywhere I go, I meet some of her faithful former students who basically just come to hear me because I am related to Cynthia. (And none of you better be... Read more

OLD FRIENDS Coming to you groggy from Vegas, to which a few friends and I came on pilgrimage for the Simon and Garfunkel reunion “Old Friends” concert at the MGM Grand. It was an incredible two hour experience of reliving “the soundtrack of my life” (thanks, Jan!) in the company of 16,000 other folks who felt the same way. Art’s once lovely tenor isn’t quite what it once was – but Paul’s seems almost better so they balance out, I... Read more

ELF Bob Newhart actually has the best laughs in this new holiday movie. Newhart (who doesn’t really ever act, but rather just inhabits) plays the Papa Elf character who raises a human baby that has crawled into Santa’s sack and ends up in the North Pole. There are a lot of sight gags in which Newhart’s 2 foot tall character strives to parent Will Farrell’s 6 foot two character, although neither of them seems to notice the height difference. But... Read more