Culture
Faith learned young has lingering hold on emerging writer
Novelist Julie Courtney Sullivan drifted from her Catholic faith in her 20s. But an encounter with cloistered sisters changed her. Now she is raising a family, writing novels and has become "the most Catholic person in our family" because "no one has wrestled with (faith) in the family like I have."
PBS presents intriguing tale of 17th century ‘Samurai in the Vatican’
The series "Secrets of the Dead" tells the largely forgotten tale of a Japanese samurai, hoping to rehabilitate his family name, and a Spanish Jesuit visiting Mexico, Spain and Italy in a diplomatic gambit that ended with Christian persecution in Japan.
Large-scale ‘Eternals’ a mixed bag; seems to run eternally
Only some of this sci-fi adventure's values are on target. There's the occasionally laugh, but overall, there's more space than substance despite lavish production values over two and a half hours.
Writers offer tools for hope in post-COVID-19 times
During our current mental health pandemic comes three helpful survival guides from the pope, a cardinal and lay people reminding us about where our hope in anchored.
‘Deathloop’ keeps violence on spin cycle
Despite its innovative design, the gritty action-puzzle game featuring a band of reveling criminals circles harsh terrain and morally shaky ground.
‘Ron’s Gone Wrong’ gets a lot of things right
The animated comedy about a wayward robot toy teaches valuable lessons about the nature of friendship, and the dangers of consumerism and peer pressure.
‘Dune’ brings beloved sci-fi saga back to the big screen
The latest adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic novel blends costume drama, an against-the-odds quest and a parable into a mysterious and gripping film for older teens and adults.
Virtuous knights nowhere to be found in ‘The Last Duel’
The grim historical drama emphasizes the brutal and the bawdy aspects of medieval European life. But if the explicit sexual content weren't enough, a rape scene gets retold through three perspectives -- three times -- before a gory duel.
James Bond has ‘No Time to Die’ but plenty for romance and revenge
For those content to skim along the surface of this long, sprawling, action-packed and unapologetically escapist fantasy, consideration of moral issues will remain as remote as that interminable question: Why shaken, not stirred?
In ‘Mass,’ a school shooting’s aftermath opens wounds, and healing
While set in a religious school, the movie does not place its principals within a religious context. But the choice of title implies that God is present with the protagonists' anguish and willingness to forgive.