Catholic Explorer - Entertainment

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

John McCarthy (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:10:48 UT

"You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember," the dwarf Trumpkin warns the four Pevensie children on their return to the magical realm in "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (Disney). He speaks the truth.

Baby Mama

John Mulderig - Catholic News Service — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:53:32 UT

"Baby Mama" (Universal/Relativity) is a frequently funny but morally problematic romantic comedy about one woman's obsession with having a child.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Harry Forbes and John Mulderig (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 14:53:10 UT

"Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed" (Premise/Rampant) is a provocative documentary that focuses on the conflict between adherents of what is called today Neo-Darwinism, which denies any such purposeful providence, and proponents of the alternate theory of intelligent design, known as ID.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:57:17 UT

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (Universal), the latest romantic comedy from the producer of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up," is often touching and funny. But, like its predecessors, it is also frequently vulgar.

88 Minutes

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:54:11 UT

"88 Minutes" (TriStar) is a shoddy, strictly B-level thriller set in Seattle about Jack Gramm (Al Pacino), a forensic psychiatrist whose testimony leads to death sentence for serial killer Jon Forster (Neal McDonough).

Be Kind Rewind

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:49:04 UT

This modest little film is just endearing enough to earn some sort of cult status before long.

Vantage Point

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:44:00 UT

As a wise man once said, it all depends on how you look at it. The aptly named "Vantage Point" (Columbia), a propulsive thriller about an attempted assassination of a U.S. president (William Hurt), gives us the same events in the same time frame from eight disparate perspectives.

Charlie Bartlett

John Mulderig - Catholic News Service — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 14:40:30 UT

"Heart speaks to heart." This motto, popularized by the great Victorian churchman Cardinal John Henry Newman, establishes the ambitious theme of "Charlie Bartlett".

The Spiderwick Chronicles

John Mulderig - Catholic News Service — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:31:20 UT

In an unseen world of goblins, sprites and ogres, an ordinary family gets caught up in the epic struggle between good and evil, discovering the need for teamwork along the way. Such is the worthy theme of "The Spiderwick Chronicles"

Jumper

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:26:17 UT

Imagine yourself in a terrible scrape, your life about to end, and in no time flat, you can disappear and re-emerge safely in Paris, Tokyo, among the pyramids, or in your very own bedroom.

Life for early 20th century Oregon farmers was gritty

Mary Breslin — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:55:37 UT

Using Martha as the lead rider, author Molly Gloss canters down a literary trail along the valley of the Little Bird Woman River in Elwha County, encountering families and individuals who face the gritty reality of life in 1917 that is both raw and often deeply painful.

Historical fiction underscores pain of discrimination and intolerance

Mary Breslin — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:20:24 UT

In a book written with a teen-age audience in mind, author Libby Sternberg projects an “unsinkable Molly Brown” quality in the protagonist, 15-year-old Carl Matuski, whose contagious energy is certain to maintain the interest of today’s multi-tasking young adult readers.

An analysis of faith professions inside the Oval Office

Mary Breslin — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 17:42:48 UT

In a charged environment where primary presidential hopefuls such as Mitt Romney, a Mormon, and Mike Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, acknowledged their religious beliefs while at the same time made it plain that for them church and state are sacred but separate entities, Randall Balmer’s book, “God in the White House”—an examination of the U.S. presidents’ responses and reactions to religion from 1960 until 2004—is a timely release.

Rambo

John Mulderig - Catholic News Service — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:50:06 UT

"Rambo" (Lionsgate), the latest offering in a franchise begun in 1982, is remarkable only for the toxic level of graphic violence enabled by recent advances in special effects.

Untraceable

Harry Forbes (Catholic News Service) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:41:27 UT

"Untraceable" (Screen Gems) is a grimly unpleasant thriller concerning an Internet killer who tortures kidnapped victims on a Web site he calls "killswithme.com."