“The Shack,” based on the 2007 best-selling novel by William P. Young, is now a major motion picture starring Sam Worthington and Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer. In wide release today, the film, in my humble opinion, far surpasses the novel. As anyone who reads my reviews knows, I am not a fan of the “Christian” genre, because most of those movies lead with a message rather than the story. I prefer to figure out what the movie means rather than... Read more
2016 was a very good year for Hollywood. Disney made more than $1 billion — again — before the year was half over (the first studio ever to reach that amount in just over four months) and the hits just kept on coming: “Finding Dory,” “The Jungle Book,” etc. I only saw 56 films in 2016, far fewer that my usual 100. However, the quality of those that I did see was certainly worth the time and effort. Of the... Read more
This is the cover of St. Anthony Messenger for March 2017 and here is the link to my story The Shack: Hollywood Drama with a Catholic Touch Read more
Due to the limited amount of television shows I can record, my DVR didn’t start recording “Ransom,” a new CBS drama, until the fourth episode, “Joe,” which aired Jan. 28. But I was traveling and when I got home I had three, then four episodes to watch. Wow. I’m impressed. The drama revolves around the character of a former FBI agent, Eric Beaumont (Luke Roberts) who leads a team of crisis and hostage negotiators that private citizens and governments call... Read more
2017 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress Film Showcase FEBRUARY 24 7PM Coffee and dessert 7:45 – 10PM event Anaheim Convention Center (Room 101) 800 W Katella Ave, Anaheim, California 92802 The LMU Center for Religion & Spirituality and the LA Office of Religious Education invite you to the 2017 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress Film Showcase at the Anaheim Convention Center on Friday, February 24. Sponsored by LMU School of Film and Television, National Catholic Reporter, the Pauline Center for... Read more
A provocative new one-hour documentary, An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story, directed by Martin Doblmeier (Chaplains, Bonhoeffer, The Power of Forgiveness) is airing on PBS stations in April. The film explores the life and continued legacy of the influential Niebuhr, who spent most of his life on the FBI watchlist and whose writings influenced political figures including Pres. Obama, Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Jimmy Carter, civil rights leaders Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Andrew Young, and many... Read more
My feature story on the new film “The Shack” is now live at St. Anthony Messenger! Be sure to click through to read the entire story. (I have posted just a few opening paragraphs here.) The film opens on March 3, a great film – and just in time – for Lent. In 2007, Canadian author William P. Young, with the help of two minister friends, self-published The Shack, a novel that he had written as a Christmas gift for... Read more
Actor Liam Neeson plays the apostate Jesuit priest Fr. Ferreira in Martin Scorsese’s new film “Silence.” I interviewed Neeson by phone on Jan. 18. It was a short interview (about twelve minutes). You can read my interview with Matt Malek, an executive producer on the film and my review at Sister Rose Movies and at the National Catholic Reporter. NCR: Have you seen the film? Neeson: Yes, twice in fact. What did you think of it? When you’ve worked on a film and... Read more
Patriots Day Most people will remember April 15, 2013, when brothers Tamerlan (Themo Melikidze) and Dzhokhar (Alex Wolff) Tsarnaev set off two homemade bombs at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. It was Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts, the day of the Boston Marathon, held annually to commemorate the first two battles of the Revolutionary War: Concord and Lexington. Click here to continue reading at St. Anthony Messenger, February, 2017 (scroll down). P.S. I am adding this today, January 12: I was... Read more
Sister Elizabeth “Liz” Thoman, CHM died on December 22, 2019. She was a media literacy education pioneer, advocate, and educator. Here is a link to her obituary: Sr. Elizabeth Thoman, Media Literacy Leader Dies Here is a link to my essay about her, written in gratitude for her life, work, and influence on my life: Sister Elizabeth Thoman Altered the Course of My Life To RSVP for the Memorial Service, click here (or copy and paste): cml@medialit.org If you come,... Read more
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