My interview with Katherine Paterson, author of Bridge to Terabithia, is now up at CT Movies. Read more

Here are the figures for the past weekend, arranged from those that owe the highest percentage of their take to the Canadian box office to those that owe the lowest. Pan’s Labyrinth — CDN $3,442,953 — N.AM $26,591,000 — 12.9%The Queen — CDN $6,181,024 — N.AM $49,035,000 — 12.6%Smokin’ Aces — CDN $3,123,667 — N.AM $30,854,000 — 10.1%Epic Movie — CDN $2,944,602 — N.AM $35,474,000 — 8.3%The Messengers — CDN $1,889,219 — N.AM $24,724,000 — 7.6%Because I Said So —... Read more

Yet another unofficial sequel to The Passion of the Christ (2004) is in the works. Variety reports: German producer Roland Pellegrino, who financed the “The Red Baron,” is leaping from the aerial battles of World War I to the streets of ancient Rome. He’s teaming with Canadian duo Jakob de Boer and Bess Fotopoulus to bring the life of Jesus’ most influential disciple to the big screen. The English-language “The Sword of Peter” tells the story of the Galilean fisherman... Read more

In one of his recent political columns, Mark Steyn mentions the song ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside’ and then casually observes that “Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalban introduced it in the film Neptune’s Daughter.” Indeed, not only did they introduce it; it went on to win the Oscar for Best Original Song in 1950. But still … Ricardo Montalban!? Yup, turns out he was playing a character named José O’Rourke. Which is kind of funny, because Montalban went on to play... Read more

Water, the Oscar-nominated film by Deepa Mehta, opens in India two weeks from now — and it’s stirring up protests once again. The Hollywood Reporter reports: According to media reports, demonstrations were held Wednesday in two parts of the city [Varanasi] by activists of the Congress party demanding a ban on the movie on the grounds that the film includes derogatory comments about Mahatma Gandhi. The protests saw activists burning an effigy of Mehta while demanding that “Water” — which... Read more

Carmen Andres at In the Open Space notes that the Fox Faith Movies website now lists a film called The Final Inquiry that is due to come out April 6, i.e. on Good Friday. No films with that title are currently listed at the IMDB, but the plot synopsis — the Roman emperor sends an agent to Palestine to disprove rumours of Jesus’ resurrection — sounds an awful lot like that remake of The Inquiry that premiered in Italy just... Read more

My review of The Last Sin Eater is now up at CT Movies. Read more

And it won’t be directed by John Lasseter. Variety has the scoop. Read more

It turns out Ghost Rider might be screened for critics after all — at least in Los Angeles — though I still haven’t got my invitation. In the meantime, it looks like Daddy’s Little Girls, which opens six days from now, will also pretty much be giving critics the cold shoulder. Ryan Stewart at Cinematical reports that they “recently received an invitation to screen the upcoming film from the ludicrous Tyler Perry — the day the film opens, and not... Read more

Jeffrey Overstreet is taking a break from doing the CT Movies Film Forum for a couple weeks, so I’m filling in for him, and the second round-up is up today, covering the reactions of Christian critics to The Messengers, Because I Said So, Factory Girl, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, Smokin’ Aces and God Grew Tired of Us. It felt a little weird to write this summary, since I have seen only one of these films myself... Read more