On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 18, Pope Francis outlined a program for Lent in his homily, using for his inspiration the readings of the day from Book of Joel, Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, and the Gospel of Matthew. Some of the themes correlate well with films that tell stories that foster reflection, conversation and spiritual growth. Lent is a journey that calls for prayer, fasting and confessing of sin. Emilio Estevez’s 2010 film “The Way” tells about Tom (Martin... Read more
OK, so I got distracted. Remember the brilliant scene from “The Devil Wears Prada” when fashion editor Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep) gives a lecture to fashion magazine newcomer Andy (Anne Hathaway) about the pile of stuff that her lumpy take-yourself-too-seriously-to-care-what-you-put-on-your-back cerulean blue seater came from? Here’s the clip if you don’t recall: Anyway, was I was watching these stunningly colorful previews from Disney and director Kenneth Branagh’s new “Cinderella” coming out this Friday, I thought, on my! She is wearing... Read more
I am having a hard time posting the image so it looks good, but just click on it and all will be made clear! Final Flyer_22nd Annual CIMA Awards Read more
“Russell Madness” will be released direct to DVD on Tuesday, March 10. The film comes from the kid and family friendly imagination of Robert Vince and Anna McRoberts who brought us the “Air Bud” and “Buddies” franchise. Russell, a talking dog, lives in a pet store in Portland OR with other puppies. Russell is very cute but no one wants to adopt him because he has a bad habit of peeing on anyone who picks him up. He doesn’t mean... Read more
Artist Margaret Ulbrich (Amy Adams) and her daughter head for San Francisco after her marriage fails. Margaret is just beginning her painting career, which features waiflike children with big eyes. As Margaret struggles to support her daughter, she attracts the attention of another artist, a smooth operator named Walter Keane (Christoph Waltz). They soon marry. Keane convinces her to sign his name to her paintings because they will sell more. They become wealthy because Walter’s idea to make prints of... Read more
Dr. Alice Howland (Julianne Moore) is a 50- year-old linguistics professor at Columbia University. She is married to John (Alec Baldwin), and they have three grown children. Lydia (Kristen Stewart), their youngest child, has a contentious relationship with her mother because she has chosen acting over a college education. Alice begins to notice that she’s forgetting the little things until one day she goes for a run and gets lost. She goes to the doctor and is diagnosed with a... Read more
In June 2011 an article by John M. Glionna ran in the Los Angeles Times about a Christian pastor, Lee Jong-rak, who had built a depository, or “drop box” outside his home for desperate mothers to leave their unwanted babies. Lee and his wife, Chun-ja, had seen so many discarded babies around South Korea’s capitol city Seoul, that they wanted to do something to save their lives. Thus they founded an orphanage at his church for about twenty children. And... Read more
A new docudrama series premieres this Sunday on CNN: “Finding Jesus: Faith, Fact, and Forgery” that focuses on “six holy objects that tell the remarkable story of the Gospels.” The series is based on a book by the same title by David Gibson and Michael McKinley (St. Martin’s Press, 2015). I was able to preview the first episode on The Shroud of Turin and the Sudarium (it is the final chapter in the book.) While the Shroud is well known,... Read more
Here are some pictures from The Razzie Awards last Saturday night. It was so much fun. I was so honored to be asked to present the first ever RAZZIE REDEEMER AWARD (to Ben Affleck who didn’t show). See the 5 minute video below. My sister caught my presentation on her iPhone from the mezzanine. There are also links to various online publications that posted articles about the Razzies. Remember, the Razzies are low budget, not low brow! The Razzie motto... Read more
(If you want to know who I hope will win, you have to come to our awards party!) The U.S. film industry’s celebration of self at the 87th Academy Awards takes place on Sunday and there are many good films and some great, if not, outstanding, performances up for recognition. For the most part, the films nominated for Best Picture are not box office successes, “American Sniper” being the exception. And while everyone bemoans the fact that no African-Americans have... Read more
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