movies
Why ‘Cats’ is a musical for our time
By Tara Isabella Burton — January 13, 2020
(RNS) — The earnest shlock and high camp of 'Cats' — what else can we call Taylor Swift playing a feline in a pastiche of Eliot's Anglo-Catholic mysticism? — captures our current state of dread.
The hero of the film ‘Just Mercy’ could be you
By Shane Claiborne — January 2, 2020
(RNS) — The biopic about the work of Bryan Stevenson isn't about a man, but a social justice movement that any one of us can join.
Keeping the mystic, messianic faith of Star Wars’ Skywalkers
By Bob Smietana — December 13, 2019
(RNS) — It’s time once more to tell the old familiar story, set on the outskirts of an ancient and powerful empire, of a child born of a virgin and destined to save the world.
In ‘Hidden Life’, Terrence Malick says freedom is won in standing up for beliefs
By Claire Giangravé — December 11, 2019
(RNS) — God is never mentioned in the philosophical director's latest film: There is no need. God’s presence is always implied in the physical world.
A ‘Joker’ — and a world — gone mad from nihilism
By Tara Isabella Burton — October 17, 2019
(RNS) — Todd Phillips and Joaquin Phoenix alike imbue the character with such fundamental dignity, even in his abasement, that we never forget that we are called to love him, not laugh at him.
‘What Do You Believe Now?’ Film follows up with millennials 17 years later
By Emily McFarlan Miller — October 1, 2019
(RNS) — Filmmaker Sarah Feinbloom talked to Religion News Service about reconnecting with the millennials she interviewed 17 years ago and how their faith journeys mirror national trends.
Gurinder Chadha: ‘I started my career as a way of combating racism’
By Simran Jeet Singh — August 13, 2019
(RNS) — British director Gurinder Chadha's latest film, 'Blinded by the Light,' depicts a lost teenager in Margaret Thatcher's Britain finding salvation through perhaps the unlikeliest of saviors — Bruce Springsteen.
‘Red Sea Diving Resort’ dramatizes Israel’s daring rescue of Ethiopian Jews
By Josh Shepherd — August 9, 2019
(RNS) — A daredevil operation to rescue more than 8,000 Ethiopian Jews from Sudanese refugee camps in the early 1980s has become a fast-paced Netflix drama that turns Chris Evans into a dashing Israeli hero.
‘Skin’ filmmaker shares story of real-life racism and the road to redemption
By Emily McFarlan Miller — August 2, 2019
(RNS) — 'Skin,' inspired by the true story of Bryon Widner’s departure from white supremacy with the help of Daryle Lamont Jenkins of One People’s Project, is, at its core, a story about good and evil and people’s capacity to change.
‘A Dog’s Journey’ brings Bruce Cameron’s Bailey back to life — and back again
By Paul O'Donnell — May 17, 2019
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — 'A Dog’s Journey' plumbs dark topics, including domestic abuse, alcohol abuse and child abandonment as a route to portray redemption and forgiveness.
In new film, Mary Magdalene is rechristened a revolutionary, healer and baptizer
By Cathleen Falsani — April 19, 2019
(RNS) — In the new film 'Mary Magdalene,' the title character is many things but not the one role in which she has been historically (mis)cast: the so-called 'fallen woman.'
#MeToo, ‘Mary Magdalene’ focus on women’s stories in Bible as Easter nears
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 18, 2019
(RNS) — It seems like the women of Scripture are having a moment leading up to Easter (April 21), celebrated by many Christians as the day they believe Jesus rose from the dead.
Chrissy Metz on ‘Breakthrough’: Everything happens as it should
By Emily McFarlan Miller — April 16, 2019
(RNS) — The 'This Is Us' actress said she 'wholeheartedly' believes in miracles, including the one a doctor says occurred in the life of a boy whose true story is depicted in the movie, releasing for Easter.
Tim Tebow makes the Christian movie he’s always wanted to see
By Heather Adams — February 20, 2019
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — 'Run the Race,' the story of two high school brothers trying to overcome their family's struggles, sticks close to the power of fraternal love, sports and the Almighty.
‘Walk of Faith’ tour tells tale of Hollywood’s Christian beginnings
By Heather Adams — February 12, 2019
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — The place sometimes known as 'Hollywood Babylon' was founded as a preserve of an abstinent Christian lifestyle.
