Director’s dream began in a Cincinnati Catholic high school

Last updated on: December 17, 2013 at 3:30 pm By Sister Rose

Director Joseph De Francesco never forgot the impression that Stephen Vincent Benet’s epic 1928 Pulitzer Prize-winning poem made when he was a student at St. Gregory’s, a high school diocesan minor seminary in Cincinnati. There he found, and admittedly stole, a recording of the 1953 Broadway performed recitation of the poem by Tyrone Power, Judith Anderson, and Raymond Massey. It was adapted and directed by Charles Laughton. De Francesco still has the record. For his junior year, deciding the path... Read more

San Quentin film highlights human redemption

Last updated on: December 17, 2013 at 3:21 pm By Sister Rose

“’John Brown’s Body’ at San Quentin Prison,” a movie about the making of a play inside San Quentin and starring San Quentin prisoners, premiered last October at the Mill Valley Film Festival in northern California just a few miles from the prison itself. I felt honored to be in the audience with five of the former prisoners turned actors and their families present. All of the former prisoners had, at one time, been sentenced to life in prison, but have now been released.... Read more

“How Sherlock Holmes Changed the World” PBS doc about the world’s first CSI

Last updated on: December 16, 2013 at 2:17 pm By Sister Rose

9 p.m. EST Tuesday, PBS (Check local listings) For fans of Sherlockology, this two-hour BBC documentary will confirm the belief that Sherlock Holmes is the greatest and most influential detective in history, even if he is a fictional character created by a Scottish eye-doctor-turned-writer, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930). The BBC-produced “How Sherlock Changed the World” and its producers are in love with the BBC drama “Sherlock,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson. “Sherlock”... Read more

“Open Mind, Faithful Heart” new book by Pope Francis FREE today on Kindle

Last updated on: December 14, 2013 at 11:53 am By Sister Rose

I just got an email from Sister Jennifer saying that this book OPEN MIND, FAITHFUL HEART: REFLECTIONS ON FOLLOWING JESUS by Pope Francis when he was Cardinal Jorge Maria Bergoglio, is FREE today (December 14) on Kindle on Amazon. The hardcover edition on Amazon is $21.96 Share and spread the word! The book’s publisher is Crossroads. Read more

Is it a good thing Pope Francis was named TIME’s Person of the Year?

Last updated on: December 11, 2013 at 10:11 pm By Sister Rose

Some time ago I was asked to be an expert contributor on film, TV and popular culture to ALETEIA news of the world from a Catholic perspective). Today one of the editor’s asked several contributors to consider four questions and I commented for the first time (I didn’t have a lot of time so I responded to the questions very briefly): 1) Are you surprised Pope Francis was picked? 2) Is this a good thing or a bad thing for... Read more

“Narco Cultura” explores the meaning of the US & Mexico’s war on drugs

Last updated on: December 11, 2013 at 7:16 pm By Sister Rose

“Narco Cultura” 102 minutes, in English and Spanish with English subtitles Just when some think border fences between the U.S. and Mexico are stemming the tide of undocumented people coming north, their status as problem-solvers appears to be that of a managed image to mask the real threat to the U.S: illegal trafficking in guns and drugs that is facilitating a tragic conflict in Mexico. What U.S. citizens are not seeing is how the Mexican war on drugs is fueled... Read more

Traveling Out of this World through Film: finding perspective on human existence

Last updated on: December 11, 2013 at 12:08 pm By Sister Rose

Movies can help us find perspective on our own existence by taking us to infinity and beyond. Hollywood and the film industry have been called many things, including the “dream factory.” Hollywood’s constructed dreams are there for us to see and hear, and for better or for worse they engage our inner world of the imagination. Just as films make invisible realities visible, they give flesh to a person’s subconscious and conscious hopes and desires. If they are effective, narrative... Read more

“Black Nativity” – my interviews with the cast, director and Bishop T. D. Jakes

Last updated on: December 5, 2013 at 12:20 pm By Sister Rose

I truly enjoyed this film. The story is built around the play written by the poet and writer Langston Hughes. inspiring with a BK rating (bring Kleenex). Black Nativity: The INNdustry with Sr. Rose on the INNetwork Read more

“Gimme Shelter” star Vanessa Hudgens on her role as a homeless, pregnant teen

Last updated on: November 28, 2013 at 1:34 pm By Sister Rose

I previewed “Gimme Shelter” yesterday; it comes out in January just around National Right to Life Day. This is based on a true story of Apple (Vanessa Hudgens), one of the thousands of teens and women who are pregnant and homeless helped by a Catholic Christian laywoman Kathy DeFiore (Ann Dowd, who played a nun in the TV series “Nothing Sacred”). Kathy’s work is extraordinary; the homes she has founded have helped women give birth to over 60,000 babies. My... Read more

FROZEN offers lots to talk about (and it’s funny, too)

Last updated on: November 24, 2013 at 5:40 pm By Sister Rose

FROZEN is the new Disney musical animated film opening for Thanksgiving. There are may themes in the film that offer much to talk about with your kids. I am not sure if I mentioned how funny the snowman and reindeer are… very cute. To me, this is a much better movie that “Brave”. Bring a sweater. Not sure if it’s the power of suggestion but … Click here for my of my review on The INNdustry with Sr. Rose on the... Read more