Culture
‘Facing the Screen Dilemma’ helps navigate ‘media-saturated’ culture
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Every time you ask a question about your TV, even if it doesn’t answer back, you’re doing the right thing. You are becoming more media literate. It’s perfectly fine to ask questions about the pervasive influence of commercials, the content of programming, and the seductive spell cast by the glow of the […]
‘Killing Them Softly,’ and gruesomely, and cynically
NEW YORK (CNS) — Though ambitious and well-acted, the crime drama “Killing Them Softly” (Weinstein) is also brutally violent and deeply cynical. Taken together, its explosive gore and jaundiced view of the world make it unsuitable for audiences of any age. That’s all the more unfortunate since, like some of its best Depression-era predecessors, writer-director […]
“First Freedom: The Fight for Religious Liberty,” to air on PBS
NEW YORK (CNS) — As numerous church leaders have warned in recent years, the rights of believers are increasingly under threat — not only around the world but within the United States as well. So the documentary “First Freedom: The Fight for Religious Liberty” — a look at the origins of the religious guarantees enshrined […]
Visually impressive ‘Life of Pi’ problematic with multi-religion adherence
NEW YORK (CNS) — Religious themes are central to director Ang Lee’s visually artful screen version of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel “Life of Pi” (Fox). Indeed, this exotic 3-D fable bills itself as a story calculated to make the agnostic reporter (Rafe Spall) to whom its unlikely events are recounted “believe in God.” Regardless of […]
With ‘Breaking Dawn 2,’ Twilight saga comes to an undead end
NEW YORK (CNS) — Those tears glistening in the eyes of teenyboppers everywhere are a sure sign that a franchise beloved by their demographic is coming to an end. Yes, folks “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 2” (Summit), the fifth installment of the blockbuster series, is also its finale. The wrap-up finds our […]
‘Lincoln:’ Blockbuster movie of the season
It's hard to imagine that any actor has ever inhabited the persona of the legendary rail-splitter quite as convincingly as Daniel Day-Lewis does in director Steven Spielberg's splendid historical drama "Lincoln" (DreamWorks). Day-Lewis' bravura performance is undeniably the highlight -- though by no means the only asset -- of this engrossing profile.
More than flash, 007 battles weighty issues in ‘Skyfall’
NEW YORK (CNS) — Don’t be misled by the Chicken-Little title, “Skyfall” (Columbia) is high-flying entertainment, a rousing return for James Bond and a much-needed injection of vitality into the 50-year-old film franchise built around him. Director Sam Mendes (“Revolutionary Road”) helms British Secret Agent 007’s 23rd adventure, a smart mix of reverence, nostalgia, and […]
Interviews, diplomats’ archives help clarify Vatican role in WWII
“The Pope’s Jews: The Vatican’s Secret Plan to Save the Jews from the Nazis” by Gordon Thomas. Thomas Dunne Books (New York, 2012). 336 pp., $27.99. Gordon Thomas, the author of “The Pope’s Jews,” is a British journalist who has written numerous works, a number of them on the intelligence services of Great Britain and […]
Considering international adoption? See ‘Somewhere Between’ first
NEW YORK (CNS) — Happily ever after can be an elusive goal when it comes to international adoptions, as the documentary “Somewhere Between” (Long Shot Factory) explains. Eighty thousand Chinese children, most of them girls, have been adopted in the United States since 1991, when China — which imposed a strict, morally unacceptable “one child” […]
‘Wreck-It Ralph’ looks for goodness among video-game bad guys
NEW YORK (CNS) — Cross “Toy Story” with a video arcade game and you get “Wreck-It Ralph” (Disney), a clever 3-D animated adventure that explores the meaning of life inside the machine, once the “Game Over” message appears. Director Rich Moore is a veteran of “The Simpsons” television series, and it shows, for better and […]