Culture
Great expectations: Book weakly tells how art relates to Bible
“Sister Wendy’s Bible Treasury: Stories and Wisdom Through the Eyes of Great Painters” by Sister Wendy Beckett. Orbis Books (Maryknoll, N.Y., 2012). 228 pp. $35. Sometimes good ideas don’t click in practice, as is the case with this book. For adolescents and young adults, it could have been an excellent introduction to understanding masterpiece paintings […]
Video game review: New ‘Super Mario Bros. 2’
NEW YORK (CNS) — With apologies to Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump, “Super Mario” games are not at all like a box of chocolates — you pretty much know from the start exactly what you’re gonna get. Yet, while the morally unobjectionable entries in the “Super Mario” series may be predictable as far as their run-and-jump […]
Exploring the power of words as catalyst for controversy
“The American Bible: How Our Words Unite, Divide and Define a Nation” by Stephen Prothero. HarperCollins (San Francisco, 2012). 531 pp., $29.99. Stephen Prothero, a professor of religion at Boston University, has compiled diverse texts and genres — song lyrics, letters, legal documents, essays, proverbs and fiction — into an American bible, a canon […]
Stamp for Christmas season features Holy Family fleeing to Egypt
WASHINGTON (CNS) — The U.S. Postal Service Oct. 10 released a Christmas stamp featuring an image of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt. A ceremony to celebrate the first day of issue of the stamp took place at the Washington National Cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The portrayal of the Holy Family is a change […]
‘Here Comes the Boom’ wrestles with Christian virtues in winning film
NEW YORK (CNS) — Perseverance pays off big time in “Here Comes the Boom” (Columbia), the unlikely yet inspiring tale of an ordinary man who goes to extraordinary lengths to help others. Directed by Frank Coraci and starring Catholic actor Kevin James — who also co-wrote the screenplay with Allan Loeb — “Here Comes the […]
Comic actor Kevin James wants to ‘glorify God in every way’
WASHINGTON (CNS) — He doesn’t exactly advertise it, but the “king of Queens” is a Catholic family man. Kevin James, who played Doug Heffernan for nine seasons on the CBS sitcom and has since branched out into movies, has no problem talking about his values and how it affects his career. “I am involved in […]
‘Looper’ shows violent future; logic is a casualty, too
NEW YORK (CNS) — In the dystopian distant future — and in science fiction, and especially “Looper” (FilmDistrict), dystopian is all there is — there will be time travel, but it will be illegal, so only criminals will utilize it. Dang. In the near future, though, all cars will be electric, we'll have cool flying […]
Even daddy vampires love their daughters
NEW YORK (CNS) — We are used to fables of humans fleeing from spooky ghouls and ghosts, but what if they were as scared of us as we are of them? That is the premise of animated comedy “Hotel Transylvania” (Columbia) — an enjoyable, if slightly rude, pro-family romp in which the infamous Count Dracula […]
How Aristotle would look at today’s parenting challenges
“If Aristotle's Kid Had an iPod: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Parents” by Conor Gallagher. St. Benedict Press (Charlotte, N.C., 2012). 376 pp., $26.95. Conor Gallagher has a gift. He can make the complex seem simple — even enjoyable. He takes the serious writings of Aristotle and other philosophers and applies them to the art of […]
Books tell little-known stories of quiet heroism during World War II
“When Hitler Took Austria: A Memoir of Heroic Faith by the Chancellor’s Son” by Kurt Von Schuschnigg with Janet Von Schuschnigg. Ignatius Press (San Francisco, 2012). 306 pp., $24.95. “Road to Valor: A True Story of World War II Italy, the Nazis and the Cyclist Who Inspired a Nation” by Aili and Andres McConnon. Crown […]