Culture
‘Selma’: A rich tableau of people and their ideas in a troubled time
Arriving on screens almost precisely 50 years after the events it portrays unfolded, the fact-based drama "Selma" compellingly recreates a crucial battle in the long struggle for African-American equality.
‘The Imitation Game’ breaks the code of secrets
The new movie about famed mathematician Alan Turing is distinctive for its plucky, aphorism-spouting World War II code-breakers, its chocolate-box Bletchley Park setting and its oblique treatment of sexuality.
Horror sequel is creepy, but mostly just dull
"The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death" tones down the original movie's troubling theme of children lured to suicide, and the screenplay excludes all objectionable language.
Books offer valuable guidance in understanding the Mass
If you "don't get anything out of the Mass," it might help to deepen your understanding of the liturgy, and these two new books can help.
Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured
Along the way to completing her new biography of St. Joan of Arc, Kathryn Harrison renewed her Catholic faith in a way that surprised her: She discovered the Latin Mass.
It’s a sure bet there’s little sympathy for ‘The Gambler’
Perhaps intended as a giddy ride through the gritty world of underground betting, "The Gambler" comes off instead as a bleak drama with a dim human outlook.
Movie review: Unbroken
Positive values permeate the inspirational fact-based drama "Unbroken" (Universal). Despite its admirable qualities, however, the film also represents something of a missed opportunity.
Family Theater makes steps back toward TV production
Family Theater Productions -- the entertainment-with-a-message arm of Holy Cross Family Ministries, was first known in the pre-TV era for its weekly "Family Theater" radio anthology, in which stars of the day acted out radio scripts.
Books explore the changing and evolving reality of marriage
In these months after the first phase of the synod on the family in Rome, we have an important opportunity to reflect and pray about what the bishops have been considering, and we can take this time to focus on understanding what marriage is and isn't and the challenges it faces today.
Books explore the changing and evolving reality of marriage
In their own way, the authors of three books see the picture of marriage changing not necessarily for the better. They use different lenses to analyze why and to attempt to address the problems they see.