Culture
Showcasing autistic physician, ‘The Good Doctor’ leads fall’s TV offerings
The inherently pro-life theme of the show about a highly functioning autistic surgeon will resonate with Catholic viewers and others committed to the dignity of the disabled. We review three upcoming network TV series.
Translator’s expertise brings readers to new appreciation of Bible
Throughout "The Face of Water," Sarah Ruden brings her translator's expertise in the languages and cultures of the ancient Mediterranean world to discuss the Bible. She shows how for ancient literature "form and content are inseparable, and equally important."
‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ spoils the fun it’s trying to make
This stylish action movie sequel eschews restraint with its cartoonish yet gruesome mayhem and a distasteful bedroom sequence that push the film beyond the boundaries of acceptability.
‘Mother!’ gets its main topic, religion, horribly wrong
This chaotic and puzzling allegory on faith is relentlessly negative and briefly sacrilegious. Viewers enduring the two-hour ordeal will scratch their head and recoil from the grotesque caricatures of the Passion of Jesus and the Eucharist.
You get one guess about the topic of ‘American Assassin’
The most obvious film title of the year goes to this action thriller requiring a strong stomach and extreme patience. By its end the movie finally comes to its senses, and good triumphs over evil.
How to build youths’ character? A senator proposes the unconventional
In his book, Sen. Ben Sasse of Nebraska keeps sex and politics off limits but blames contemporary approaches to education, the workplace, media, travel, child rearing and more for contributing to a culture of "endless adolescence."
Power of faith, compassion evident to ‘Good Catholic’ writer, star
Writer and director Paul Shoulberg's father had been a Catholic priest. He left the priesthood to marry a nun he had met, but he never left his faith, Shoulberg said in an interview to promote "The Good Catholic."
There was more to ‘Boys Town’ than meets the screen
As the real Boys Town celebrates its centennial, its big-screen counterpart -- captured in the eponymous 1938 film -- invites fresh consideration.
Like the conflict itself, ‘The Vietnam War’ is disturbing but unresolved
Filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynne Novick weave strikingly evocative visuals of the era as well as astounding, remastered archival footage to create a comprehensive, fair-minded history of the war in an 18-hour series on PBS starting Sept. 17.
‘Home Again’ may be good excuse to hit the road
Unsound but not obnoxious, this film's kindly characters follow the misguided marital and sexual dictates of contemporary society. The entertainment value is slight at best.