Culture
Big-set Hollywood musicals get a revival in ‘La La Land’
This over-the-top fantasy sets its song-and-dance numbers in present-day Los Angeles where drivers exit their cars on a freeway overpass and burst into song, and lovers float in the air in a planetarium.
‘Hidden Figures’ reveals the courage of women in space race
Along with insights into the injustices in American society in the early 1960s, this fact-based drama centers on three gifted African-American mathematicians working for NASA in a field dominated by men in pre-integration Virginia.
Gently paced ‘Manchester by the Sea’ takes unflinching look at suffering
A naturalistic portrait of a shattered individual, flawlessly embodied by actor Casey Affleck, emerges against the backdrop of a lovely seaside town. The film's tremendous performances delve the struggle to recover from a grave mistake.
Theologically complex ‘Silence’ rewards viewers’ intellectual investment
Martin Scorsese has crafted a visually striking drama that's also deeply thought-provoking and emotionally gripping, with remarkable performances. But the paradoxes of the narrative demand careful sifting by moviegoers well-grounded in their beliefs.
Denzel Washington enlivens ‘Fences’ on the screen
Suffering is a leitmotif in any of August Wilson's plays, but there's also brutal honesty and joy in unexpected moments. Moral decisions, and the consequences of immoral ones, lurk at every turn in the plot.
Movie review: Why Him?
The makers of "Why Him?" (Fox) evidently couldn't decide whether their film should be a raunchy sex comedy or a tamer tale about the clash between established family values and the often bereft behavior of the untethered newly wealthy.
Book on parish leadership may be required reading
While there is no "silver bullet" for successful parish ministry today, businessman William Simon Jr.'s "Great Catholic Parishes" lays out four ways parishes can be great, based on 244 interviews with Catholic pastors across the U.S.
A new reading list for a new year, one day at a time
See our list of 12 books that each offer daily meditations to get you through 2017.
‘Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly’ to sign off after 20 years
The last installment of more than 1,000 episodes of the newscast will make its way to PBS stations the weekend of Feb. 24.
Movie review: Passengers
Science fiction becomes the springboard for a study of selfishness, sin and the possibility of forgiveness in "Passengers" (Sony).