Movie Reviews and Recommendations – Sometimes you need a Catholic perspective on today’s movies and that’s what these posts provide. In addition to Catholic movie reviews, you’ll find resources to help you plan for your apostolate, youth group, and family!
On one of the last chilly mornings of October, I received a text from a producer friend of mine, telling me that there was a an opportunity to be part of the crew for a film called “Triumph of the Heart.” For someone laying upside down on their bed, sponging fallen...
As the current modern culture inundates us with entertainment that degrades the human person in a wide variety of ways, it is more important than ever to spend time on entertainment that reinforces our pro-life values as Catholics. 24 Pro-Life Movies to...
A classic sports underdog movie is coming to theaters this Christmas. It’s The Boys in the Boat, and it’s a movie inspired by true events as captured in the book The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Olympics by Daniel James...
I was speaking with a friend of mine the other day and he asked me where my fourteen-year-old son was at with his discernment of the priesthood. He wanted to know what I was doing to encourage him to be open to this vocation. My initial response was….to cringe. ...
2023 saw a musical release of the Nativity Story, which I critiqued in a previous review. A different musical, Spirited, released on Apple+, and was enjoyed by audiences in 2022. I recently had the opportunity to reflect about the musical and enjoy it on a dark and...
Thanksgiving week is a great time to get nice and cozy with the family on the couch and put on a movie that everyone will enjoy! And while some people have already been diving into Christmas movies for the past few weeks now, there are plenty of movies that are...
An Advent pre-game is coming to theaters in November, helping Christians and moviegoers to reflect on the mystery of the incarnation before the Christmas season. Journey to Bethlehem is a unique musical reproduction of the Nativity story, which admits at the end that...
In 2014, a novel by Anthony Doerr captured readers in the 500+ page novel, 16+ hour audiobook All the Light We Cannot See. At the time of its release, I was a seminarian studying for the priesthood at Mundelein Seminary under (now) Bishop Robert Barron. In 2015,...
Very few films have captured the cloistered life. Typically, those who are vowed behind enclosure do not wish to have their life broadcasted to the world. Perhaps the last popular film was Into Great Silence, and if memory serves, it took months, if not several...
In his book A Secular Age, modern philosopher Charles Taylor speaks of the “buffered self.” The phrase refers to a person who is closed off to the idea of anything supernatural. Think of a sponge’s opposite. The “water” of transcendent reality is simply unable to...
Fans of courtroom dramas might enjoy a new film, The Burial, released October 13 on Amazon Prime and is based on a true story of a legal battle between a hometown funeral director and a corporate funeral mogul. Jerry O’Keefe inherited the family chain of funeral...
More young adults than ever doubt they can find real, lasting love. In today’s throw-away culture, a “forever love” that can endure the ups and downs of life can seem unrealistic, even unattainable. Yet, we all feel a deep need for love. In fact, scientific research...
The world knew Mother Teresa because of her great love, humility, and selflessness. Her desire to pursue her “call within a call” and serve the poorest of the poor resonated with millions of people worldwide from those poor people she served all the way up through the...
Amazon Prime has released a new inspiring movie, A Million Miles Away, inspired by Jose Hernandez's life. The opening minutes of the movie tell the early life story of Jose Hernandez, the son of migrant farming parents who were constantly on the move in order to work...
Not every movie causes an emotional experience for a grown man, but I’m willing to bet you might shed a tear of happiness at the end of The Hill,a new movie releasing in theaters on August 25th, 2023. The Hill Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upE1VupKCW8 I...
See part one of this reflection here. Through our baptism and assent of faith, heaven becomes our destiny and our end. Through the following scenes from Ted Lasso Season 3, I seek to affirm the instances where goodness is present because it is exactly...
Imagine a land where everything is pink, every night is girl's night, and women hold all offices of power. This describes Barbieland, the place where all Barbies live: the stereotypical Barbies, the discontinued Barbies, all the Kens, and even Allan. This world may...
If you’re looking for a movie that isn’t all hyped up in the culture wars, consider Dreamin’ Wild, just released in theaters on August 4. It’s a true story of two brothers who created a record in their teens that was discovered by a record label thirty years...
A staple of junior high English curriculum is the reading of literature surrounding the Holocaust, or as we should refer to it as, the Shoah. During these formative years, Elie Wiesel’s Night and The Diary of Anne Frank are often fundamental texts used in school. The...
Though most Catholics will never have the opportunity to make a major pilgrimage in their life, there are a handful who will. The most popular Catholic pilgrimage places might be the Holy Land, Rome (and Italy), and France, especially Lourdes. Shrines of Mary’s...
Alright, I’ve got a crazy list of “what if” questions for you. Ready? What if the characters in Ted Lasso prayed? What if they believed in a loving God who laid down His life for them so that they might spend eternity with Him? What if they engaged in intimate...
“Shooting Stars,” the new biopic film about NBA legend Lebron James released on the streaming platform Peacock on June 2nd. I’m not an avid NBA watcher. I typically only watch games if my home team the Milwaukee Bucks are in the playoffs. Nevertheless, I would be...
A Father’s Heart, a new documentary from Goya Productions about St. Joseph will be in theatres on May 1st in English and May 2 in Spanish and will certainly reinvigorate a love for the foster father of Jesus among devoted Catholic faithful. I recently had the chance...
A lot happens between the ages of 12 and 14. I call it the magical age, the ethereal age, the age of heroes and anything’s-possible. We’ve all passed through that moment. For some of us it was just another year, for others it was the turning point that made every...
Easter Sunday remembers one of the greatest miracles to ever happen on the face of this earth—the second person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus, defeats death, rises from the dead, and begins appearing first to Mary Magdalene and then the Apostles. Another Easter...