book & movie
reviews
BOOKS
America’s first saint a compelling story
Here is a masterful work of scholarship that is also a joy to read. Elizabeth Seton: American Saint is a must-read for anyone interested in the saint herself, in the birth of the Catholic Church in America, or what it was like to be a woman in the early years of the country calling itself the United States of America. READ MOREAn archbishop’s guide to being Catholic
If we’re going to be Catholic, it might be useful to know what we’re supposed to be part of and how to be part of it. Archbishop Paul-André Durocher of Gatineau, Que., has written a useful guide to help Catholic communities understand their Christian vocation and mission. READ MOREBook’s journey takes some tedious turns
Joe Gunn’s new book makes an important contribution to telling the story of social justice work by Christian groups in Canada. Unfortunately, it makes for tedious reading. READ MOREBook review: Fire Sermon flames out in tedious detail
Though beautifully written at times, Fire Sermon is raunchy, poorly conceived and rather dull. READ MORE
MOVIES
The Post (2017)
Steven Spielberg is at it again, making solid movies that promote what Americans would consider to be their traditional values: truth and justice, democracy, equal rights. READ MORE
Hidden Figures (2017)
With an amusing script and likeable characters, Hidden Figures is an enjoyable film which saunters along to a satisfying and predictable end, making disappointingly little use of its potential to explore the human condition and the dysfunctions of society. READ MORE
The Space Between Us (2017)
Under a heavy layer of science fiction, The Space Between Us is at its heart a film about teenage misfits: the hard-bitten, world-wise cynic who has spent her life in foster care, and the boy from Mars who knows so little about life on Earth and how to act with people. READ MORE
Sully (2016)
Sully encourages us to re-evaluate our society’s dependency on computers and its resulting denigration of human capabilities. It also drives us to consider at a deeper level our understanding of what it means to be a hero. READ MORE
Free State of Jones (2016)
In 1862, tired of war, tired of death and tired of helping rich landowners defend their wealth, Newton Knight, a medical orderly in the Confederate Army, returns home with the body of his son. Wanted for desertion, he finds refuge from his pursuers in a Mississippi swamp with a group of runaway slaves. READ MORE
In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
In 1820, an American whaling ship was attacked and sunk by a large sperm whale, an event which in part inspired, 30 years later, the writing of one of the greatest American novels: Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick. In the Heart of the Sea recounts the story of the ill-fated last voyage of the whaleship Essex and the subsequent ordeal faced by her crew stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. READ MORE
Bridge of Spies (2015)
Tom Hanks takes centre stage as James B. Donovan, the insurance lawyer and family man who finds himself plunged into the world of international intrigue with only his wits and self-confidence to determine whether he will sink or swim. READ MORE
The Salvation (2014)
As individuals and as nations, we often react emotionally, allowing our anger to take control and letting ourselves be led by our desire to hurt those who have hurt us. In so doing, not only do we make the situation worse, but we also find that we have become the exact reflection of those we so ‘righteously’ set out to destroy: we perpetuate the cycle of violence. Without a true understanding of the origins of our conflicts, there can be no resolution. READ MORE
Noah (2014)
Every once in a while, a film is released that is so agonisingly ridiculous that one leaves the cinema wondering how such a project could have made it so far. With its wacky theology, its lack of imagination and its contempt for attention to detail, Noah is every inch that movie. READ MORE
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Any drama that underestimates the intelligence of its audience is doomed to failure. In this sense, the film is flawed at its very core, and no amount of explosions and rushing around on horses can save an error at so basic a level. READ MORE
Man of Steel (2013)
Man of Steel looks at the origins of Superman and explores this complex relationship between origin and identity. His genetic makeup is Kryptonian, but his upbringing was human, guided by loving parents who gave him a sense of morality and helped him to form his identity. It is the old question of nurture or nature, and in this way the story of Superman explores what it is to be human. READ MORE
Promised Land (2012)
In focusing on the characters of the two gas employees, the film raises an important question: how responsible are we for the consequences of the work that we do? It is easy to condemn faceless CEOs but much harder to judge people further down the ladder, people like us. READ MORECloud Atlas (2012)
The plot lines are fairly simple and, therefore, not difficult to follow across the nearly three hours that this film lasts, but without much to draw the viewers into the various stories apart from idle curiosity, watching the film becomes purely an intellectual exercise. READ MOREHitchcock (2012)
Hitchcock is a splendid film. Anthony Hopkins carries the weight of the role with his customary ease. He turns a familiar name and silhouette into a person. But the star of this film is Helen Mirren as Hitchcock’s wife, Alma Reville. READ MORELincoln (2012)
Abraham Lincoln, at least as portrayed in this film, strikes me as an odd sort of character. His impassivity combined with a perpetually bemused expression makes him appear rather smug, and he gives off an aura of not really grasping the gravity of any situation. READ MORE
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
One of the most moving aspects of the film is the portrayal of mental illness. When it is so misunderstood even today, it is encouraging to see an honest and real portrayal both of what it is like for the sufferer and what it looks like to those around him. Charlie’s illness is handled in a subtle way that never descends into melodrama, making it all the more powerful and frightening. READ MORE
The Words (2012)
The film bumbles along for 96 minutes, revealing nothing of significance which could not have been inferred from the opening scenes. The Words is yet another film with the germ of a good idea which falls flat on its face due to a poor script. READ MORE
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)
While The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is a film about old people, it is not a film for old people. It is a film for everyone. It is about confronting changes in life and about accepting the new and unknown. It is about the adventure that life can be. READ MORE
Man on a Ledge (2012)
Man on a Ledge is very straightforward. Strangely enough, it is the almost complete predictability of much of the film which makes it so enjoyable. You can sit back and enjoy a good heist film without working hard to keep track of things. READ MORE
Aung San Suu Kyi – Lady of No Fear (2010)
This documentary by Danish director Anne Gyrithe Bonne tells the story of a woman and her family. There is enough information to create a basic understanding of the social and political circumstances which influenced Daw Suu’s personal and political life, but it is Aung San Suu Kyi herself and her family who form the focus. READ MORE
My Week With Marilyn (2011)
Michelle Williams is excellent as Marilyn Monroe, alternating between the recognisable on-screen sex symbol and the less familiar off-screen tortured soul. But like Branagh’s Olivier, Williams’ Monroe is missing that extra innate spark which turned a pretty actress into a screen goddess. READ MORE
Contagion (2011)
Overall, Contagion feels lazy. The filmmakers expect us to react with fear even though they’ve made no effort to tell us a coherent and believable story. Crippled by a shockingly poor script, Contagion limps to a self-satisfying and predictable end, and as far as I’m concerned, it does not come soon enough. READ MORE
360 (2011)
Our lives impact upon those of the people who are closest to us, but we also constantly come into contact with a variety of people, and the decisions we make affect not only us but also those around us and even the people that they come into contact with because, in ways we may never know, our decisions can change other people’s lives and the decisions they make in a never-ending cascade of cause-and-effect. READ MORETinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
It is strange to think that when Le Carré wrote his novel it was set in the present, but in the inexorable march of time that present has become a barely-remembered, though not-so-distant past. In our digital age of fast-paced information overload, there is something fascinating about a time when documents existed only in physical form and spies recorded telephone conversations on tape. READ MORE
In a Better World (2010)
As the story unfolds, we begin to see parallels between war-torn Africa and quiet Denmark, two worlds which on the surface have very little in common. But in both places there are people driven by a greed for power, a need to feel superior. READ MORE
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
Having been released from the obligation of explaining every detail, the film does move more quickly than previous films in this series, but it still has difficulty in maintaining momentum. There are too many moments where the timing is misjudged, and suspense is drawn out just long enough for boredom to begin to set in. READ MORE
The Princess of Montpensier (2010)
Bertrand Tavernier presents us with a sumptuous vision of 16th-century France, using castles and costumes to full effect and offering plenty of swordplay and galloping horses, all underpinned by a stunning score, which while modern is reflective of the period in which the film is set. The Princess of Montpensier is a feast for the eyes and ears. READ MORE
Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
In Cave of Forgotten Dreams, the cave takes the spotlight, which is right and proper. Much of the film time is taken up in silent contemplation of the paintings with only some background music to add to the atmosphere. The message is clearly: Take your time. This is important. Look at this. Really look. READ MORE
Limitless (2011)
Limitless starts with an idea of huge potential, but due to poor scripting and a lack of commitment, it fails to deliver. What could have been an intelligent thriller is reduced to a dull, scarcely believable drama which takes itself far too seriously. READ MORE
Howl (2010)
In 1955 at the age of 29, Allen Ginsberg, famed poet of the Beat Generation, wrote his first and most famous published poem: Howl. This film by the same name is an exploration of the poem, its creation and the controversy surrounding it. READ MORE
The King’s Speech (2010)
Part of the film’s brilliance is that it successfully walks the fine line which allows us access to a king’s humanity without descending into melodrama. It never asks us to feel sorry for him but to recognise him as a fellow human being and to contemplate the challenges he faced. READ MORE
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
A translator, if he has any integrity, has a responsibility, first and foremost, towards the author of the original work. The primary duty of any translator, whether between languages or media, is to provide a version which expresses as closely as possible the intended message of the original. In this, the film fails utterly. READ MORE