America will once again be invited to the dance floor when Take the Lead opens on April 7th. Starring Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard, the film tells a story inspired by the experience of Pierre Dulaine, an award-winning ballroom dance teacher who believed that dancing could make a difference to New York City school kids. The “Dancing Classrooms” program he began in 1993 has gone nation-wide and was the subject of 2005’s Academy Award-nominated documentary Mad Hot Ballroom, now on... Read more

Media Manifesto’s Aim: Respect for WomenDocument Produced by Congress at European University ROME, APRIL 2, 2006 (Zenit.org).- A congress held at the European University in Rome ended with a “Manifesto for Respect of Woman in the Media.” The international congress, entitled “Woman and the Media,” was organized by the Athenaeum Regina university’s Institute of Higher Studies on Woman, last Thursday. It brought together communicators and experts who synthesized their conclusions in this manifesto. The manifesto reads: 1. We defend and... Read more

A geologist, David McLaren (Bruce Greenwood), arrives at the National Science Foundation’s base in Antarctica to find a meteorite he knows is in the vicinity.  Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is the survival guide for the base and it is with great reluctance that he obeys the orders of Dr. Harrison (Gerard Plunkett), the base director, to hitch up his team of dogs to take McLaren where he wants to go. The dog team is made up of six Siberian huskies and... Read more

After a hurricane hits the west coast of Florida, two young teen girls, Claire (Emma Roberts, Julia’s niece) and Hailey (JoJo Levesque) discover a mermaid in the swimming pool of Claire’s grandparents’ motel. Her name is Aquamarine (Sara Paxton). It’s the last week of summer; Hailey’s mom got a job in Australia and the two best friends are about to be separated. They pray for a miracle, and Aquamarine seems to be it.   Claire and Hailey are sweet on the... Read more

In far off Tibet, in the foothills of the Himalayas, a Buddhist monastery is home to a 300 year-old shaggy dog. A biogenetic company, headed by Dr. Kozac (Robert Downey, Jr.) manages to steal the dog, supposedly to provide a way for the company’s owner to live longer. Actually, he wants to find a way to make himself a very rich man. The smart dog (at 300 years and counting, he must have a lot of life experience!) escapes from... Read more

This will be a short review because the story is short even though it lasts 97 minutes ($8.50 for the matinee here in L.A.!). I can only give the basic premise of the movie or I’d give away the ending (yeah, right.)   A gorgeous, blonde, successful thirty-five year old man, Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) still lives at home. His parents (played by Kathy Bates who provides some maternal insight, and former football player Terry Bradshaw) know it’s the end of every... Read more

Hi everyone, Pauline Books & Media is pleased to announce a new book by Rev. Peter Maolne, MSC and I on movies and the Ten Commandments. You can order from www.pauline.org  . To “search” for the book on the web site, look under “browse all categories” and click on Social Communications Resources. Here’s a description of the book. We are currently working on “Lights, Camera…Faith: The Beatitudes and Seven Deadly Sins.” Publication date has not yet been set. This is... Read more

I was so very pleased to read this article from www.zenit.org today and I look forward to reading Archbishop Foley’s complete remarks. Archbishop Foley’s ideas emerge from the consistent teaching of the Church since the 1930’s when the media (those then in existence) were considered gifts of God. Vatican Council II reaffirmed this with the document Inter Mirifica – which always ends up at the bottom of the list of Council documents, even though it was released first. Our former... Read more

  My hopes vis-à-vis  the winners! Best Actor – Phillip Seymour Hoffman  ***** Best Supporting Actor – Paul Giamatti (This was a difficult call because George is great, but I’d still vote for Paul Giamatti) Best Actress – Reese Witherspoon: Walk the Line ***** Best Supporting Actress – Rachel Weisz: Constant Gardener ***** Best Animated Feature: Corpse Bride Best Cinematography: The New World Costume Design: Memoirs of a Geisha ***** Best Direction: Crash Best Documentary Feature: March of the Penguins ***** Best... Read more

Two young female filmmakers, Kimberlee Acquaro and director Stacy Sherman, have made a deeply stirring film entitled God Sleeps in Rwanda. It is narrated by Rosario Dawson (Sin City; Rent) and nominated for an Academy Award in the category of short documentary. Only twenty-eight minutes long, God Sleeps tells the stories of five women survivors of the Rwandan genocide of 1994; four are interviewed and one tells about her friend who is dying of AIDS. In those 100 days a... Read more