The papacy is ripe fruit for any filmmaker. As actors played the role of the pope, so each man who was elected pope stepped into a role that was bigger than himself… With the HBO series The Young Pope (reviewed by Tyler Blanski) the world has been taken once again into the irresistible intrigues of [...]
A rotten culture that has long taught men that “everything goes” is now turning on those who pursued this norm with great passion… The spectacular fall of Harvey Weinstein represents more than just the rejection of the appalling behavior of a Hollywood mogul. Rather, it is the unsurprising confirmation that Hollywood is rotten. The behavior [...]
Utilizing the keen wit and boundless creativity all filmmakers should possess, Mr. Anderson provides fantastical tales, but never neglects to include accessible examples of human longing… Through the unique directorial vision of Wes Anderson, audiences have seen truly unforgettable, delightfully odd stories spring to life. His genius may be indicated first by his settings—fictitious locales, [...]
Bruce Timm’s Batman is a critical marker for modern Western civilization, reminding us that the war is always worth waging, even in the twilight… Bruce Timm Twenty-five years ago, on September 5, 1992, a very young Bruce Timm aired the first episode of a self-contained but what would become an expansive universe, now [...]
The story of Beauty and the Beast is the oldest story in the Christian world. It’s the story about love, sacrifice, and redemption… Several nights ago, I reluctantly watched Disney’s 2017 live version of Beauty and the Beast. I must admit three things before I get into the heart of this essay. First, I’ve never [...]
The perennial moral that Wonder Woman learns is that evil, and the war which is one of its manifestations, can never be finally destroyed in human history… It’s been many years since I’ve been in the habit of watching films. It’s not because I’ve turned my back on the motion picture as an art form; [...]
Star Wars is an icon of the modern idol of distraction that has become the destiny of a generation of lost souls. Modernity’s enchantment with the film is rooted in a religious hunger for transcendence—but God has been left off the modern menu. And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the [...]
High Art is not going away. There are people who require an art of greater complexity than popular culture usually affords them, who hunger for something deeper, more complex, something that reflects the human experience… There is nothing more American than the Three Stooges throwing a pie in the face of a soprano warbling “Voices [...]
The upholding of tradition reflects a belief that even the individual is uncertain about what is best, and so should accept direction from the age-old wisdom encoded in our traditions. In this way, conservatism is consistent with humility in the face of life’s mysteries… In a famous scene from the movie Conan the Barbarian, Conan [...]
12 Angry Men is a film connected to the Western moral imagination, speaking to us on a primal, even a classical level, with themes that are as old as the Bible and Greek tragedy. The characters of the twelve jurors are archetypes representing the virtues and vices of all of us, and their search for the [...]
Ostensibly about the Second World War, Foyle’s War actually concerns the war against the encroaching doom of the modern world… From time to time I am asked, “Father, how do you get so much done? You write books and essays, maintain a blog, run a parish, build a church, lead pilgrimages, and go on speaking tours and [...]
Given the choice, people would rather watch flat-out conflict and crosstalk rather than a more plodding format of elevated discourse and sober deliberation… The documentary film Best of Enemies (2015) is not just a compelling chronicle and contextualization of the famous 1968 television debates between William F. Buckley, Jr., and Gore Vidal. As the sequence [...]
Director Whit Stillman understands that America is dominated by a culture that was imported from Europe and is expressed in European tongues and nourished and maintained by contact with Europe… “Amerika, du hast es besser!” Goethe exclaimed. For him America was a land free from the ancient traditions that are Europe’s heritage and curse. For [...]
One way to celebrate the Christmas season and the New Year is to relax with family and friends by coming together around a movie. Here’s a list of suggestions: 1. Rogue One To enjoy this film, you have to go into it realizing that you are not going to see a Star Wars episode. It [...]