Heinrich Himmler — the Nazi Gestapo chief, head of the German police in the Third Reich, head of the Reich Main Security Office, and Reich Minister of the Interior — was born to a Catholic family Oct. 7, 1900, in Munich. His father, Gebhard Himmler, was a tutor to Prince Heinrich of Bavaria, who in turn was young Heinrich’s godfather. Heinrich was a good student but poor athlete, and his father used his influence with the royal family so... Read more
Tonight at Fox Studios, Sr. Jennifer and I got to see clips from the upcoming December 12 release, Ridley Scott’s epic “Exodus: Gods and Kings.” The first scenes they showed us were the usual “sword and sandal” story and battles; Moses was wearing black and riding a black horse; his “cousin” Rhamses (Joel Edgerton) wearing silverish garments and riding a white horse. The conflict is signaled early on. The film became interesting quickly when Moses (Christian Bale) tours the quarries... Read more
Catholic moral theology teaches that it is never acceptable to lie. It also teaches that there is no such thing as a “good lie,” so the title of the film is unfortunate. But it is in literary reference to Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer, as the film demonstrates. During the Second Sudanese Civil War (1983–2005), thousands of boys and girls were orphaned when their parents were killed. Some of them were recruited to be child soldiers; others marched hundreds of... Read more
Note: C. Alexander won the “give away” bag of Dolphin Tale 2 loot! It’s been a few years since Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble) rescued Winter, a bottlenose dolphin. Winter was caught in a trap off the coast of Florida and had part of her tail amputated. Sawyer, Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr.), his daughter, Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff), and the crew of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium are now faced with another challenge. The dolphin that had been Winter’s companion,... Read more
From over at Fox411 (Fox News) on Facebook comes an encouraging interview with the actor Michael Harney: By Sasha BogurskyPublished September 24, 2014FoxNews.com Actor Michael Harney plays prison counselor Sam Healy in “Orange Is the New Black.” (Bryony Shermur) Michael Harney is best known for his roles on “Deadwood” as the drunkard Steve Fields and Det. Mike Roberts on “NYPD Blue.” He now stars in “Orange Is the New Black” on Netflix as corrections officer Sam Healy. The veteran actor... Read more
This is a “guest post” x two actually because it is my friend and Catholic media colleague Jesuit Father Eddie Siebert’s weekly column for the National Catholic Reporter online and I want to share it here. The article explores faith-based programming and people of faith working in TV and film. Eddie features an interview I had with writer/musician/producer and show creator of such favorites as “Judging Amy,” “Joan of Arcadia.” and now “Madam Secretary”. Enjoy! ______ “Faith-based vs. faith-filled in... Read more
Last Sunday night, September 14, PBS began airing a 7-part, 14-hour documentary series about two U.S. presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor Roosevelt. This is another masterpiece by Ken Burns, that is, if you like interesting and lengthy stories based on extensive research and seamlessly stitched together for our viewing pleasure. All I really want to say here is that if you want to understand much about politics and economics in the United... Read more
“Dolphin Tale 2” continues the story of the 2011 film “Dolphin Tale” about an injured dolphin named Winter. The female bottle nose dolphin was caught in a lobster trap off the coast of Florida and part of her tale had to be amputated. Dr. Mc Carthy (Morgan Freeman), who made prosthetics for wounded soldiers, created a new tale for Winter. Sawyer (Nathan Gamble) works at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium along with the director, Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick, Jr.) and... Read more
“The Identical” is an odd film. The fictional story is that identical twin sons were born to a poor young couple in the rural south in the middle of the Great Depression, William (Brian Geraghty) and Helen Helmsley (Amanda Crew). That night, William attends a tent rally where the preacher, Reece Wade (Ray Liotta), teaches “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Then he asks for prayers for his wife, Louise (Ashley Judd), because she has... Read more
As I prepare to write a couple of columns for Christmas (deadlines in October), I would like to know if the experience of seeing a Christmas film ever did anything for you. In other words, did a reconciliation scene in a movie ever move you to make peace with someone, to say you’re sorry? Did you ever see a Christmas film, or one that takes place at Christmas, that seemed actually “real” to you? Did seeing such a film... Read more
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