Robert Redford’s new film is a study in how media and politics reinforce the other and the tragic results of journalism’s failure to ask questions in the current war. Parallel to this storyline skillfully played by Tom Cruise as the arrogant and ambitious senator and Meryl Streep as the veteran journalist in an hour-long conversation, are two more. One of these is a storyline about a political science professor played by Redford, who is trying to get a student to... Read more

Primo Levi’s Journey – (not rated) Primo Levi (1919 – 1987) was an Italian Jew, a writer and scientist, who spent about a year in Auschwitz before liberation by Russian troops. He survived but before he could reach his home in Milan, Italy, he made a journey of 1,000 miles to get there. This unique documentary re-traces Levi’s eight-month journey through Russia, Poland, and Romania. These months coincided with the brief truce between the end of World War II and the beginning of the... Read more

I am receiving many email requests for information on the upcoming release of the book-into-film The Golden Compass. The novel on which the film is based is part of a trilogy by Phillip Pullman called “His Dark Materials”, said to come from a line in Milton’s Paradise Lost. The first volume was originally titled Northern Lights in the UK when it was published in 1995.         According to some sources, about two months ago the Catholic League... Read more

Written by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde, Patrick Million, Leo Severino. Directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde.www.bellathemovie.com Bella: Life is BeautifulBy Sr. Rose Pacatte, FSP “My grandmother used to say,‘You want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans.’” Jose (Eduardo Verástegui) is a soccer star who accidentally runs over a child in New York and is sent to prison for four years. When he is released he goes to work for Manny (Manny Perez),   his type-A personality  brother, who owns a restaurant in Queens. Jose keeps... Read more

American & Canadian Media Educators Share 2007 Media Literacy Honors On the 20th anniversary of the award, two media educators share this year’s annual Jessie McCanse Award, given to individuals for their outstanding sustained contribution to the field of media literacy. The award is given by the National Telemedia Council (NTC) based in Madison, Wisconsin. “This year’s recipients exemplify the high principles of excellence, dedication and innovation that The Jessie McCanse Award for Individual Contribution to Media Literacy represents. Both... Read more

Hi everyone, I have finally created a My Space account; here is the link: http://www.myspace.com/srrosegoestothemovies Now all I need is time! YouTube is next! Watch this space! Blessings R Read more

  Bella is a  lovely film about Jose (Eduardo Verástegui), a soccer star, who accidentally runs over a child in New York and is sent to prison for four years. When he is released he goes to work for Manny (Manny Perez),   his type-A personality  brother who owns a restaurant in Queens.Jose keeps his head down as the cook and lives as invisibly as he can. Nina (Tammy Blanchard; The Good Shepherd) a waitress, arrives late for work two days in a row and Manny... Read more

I am pleased to send you the slate of panelists for the Catholics in Media/Open Call sponsored event at The Directors Guild of America, Los Angeles, Sunday, October 28, 2007, 11:00am – 1:00pm. You may obtain tickets at the door ($15.00; $8.00 students) or if you have an all-festival pass for the City of Angels Film Festival, you will be admitted to this event at no extra charge (www.cityofangelsfilmfest.org).   Event: Where’s the Love? The Film Critic vs the Religious... Read more

Director David Cronenburg (A History of Violence) once again gives us an in-depth look at an ultra-violent dimension of the world and we are probably not familiar with. Viggo Mortensen is Nikkolai, a chauffeur for the head of London’s Russian mob, Semyon, credibly played by Armin Mueller-Stahl. Naomi Watts is Anna, a midwife who tries to find the family of a newborn whose mother, aged 14, died in childbirth. Nikkolai is more than he seems – in actuality and morally – even... Read more

Let me the first to say that Hal Holbrook ,who plays Ron Franz in Sean Penn’s interpretation of Jon Krakauer’s book “Into the Wild”, deserves an Oscar nomination. (I think the cinematography does as well, and possibly the script, direction, and editing.) Holbrook is so believable and plays the role of a lonely old man who shares kindness with Emile Hirsch as Christopher McCandless, the young Emory University graduate who gives away all his savings and goes off the grid to... Read more