Film Flash: Novocaine

  

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

High-octane, violent, silly, fascinating, and immensely entertaining with a starring turn for Jack Quaid.

New Evangelizers Post: Jesus and the Temptation in The Desert

              

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

We have now started the Holy Season of Lent.

This past Sunday, we heard from the Gospel of Luke about Jesus being tempted by Satan three times in the desert. As will all of the Gospel stories, there is so much to unpack.

Let us examine the text of the Gospel:

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan
and was led by the Spirit into the desert for forty days,
to be tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days,
and when they were over he was hungry.
The devil said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
Jesus answered him,
“It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”
Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It is written
You shall worship the Lord, your God,
and him alone shall you serve.”
Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,
and:
With their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“It also says,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
When the devil had finished every temptation,
he departed from him for a time.

(Luke 4:1-13)

We first notice that the Holy Spirit sends Jesus to the desert for 40 days. This is similar to the time of preparation that Moses and Elijah went through. The number 40 is symbolic of a complete amount of time. Jesus is about to begin the great spiritual fight and He needs this time of prepare.

The first temptation in Luke’s Gospel is to turn stones into bread. Jesus responds by quoting Scripture: “Man does not live by bread alone.” (Deuteronomy 8:3). One of the things Jesus is showing us is that Scripture has power to help us in times of temptation. One of the reasons that temptation takes over us is that we let it consume our thoughts and we push God out of our minds. But returning to the Scriptures can occupy the mind and imagination so that it can cool the fires of illicit desires. To be sure this is not a magic formula, but it opens the door for God to speak to us when we feel like we are being pulled away.

This passage also tells us that spiritual needs outweigh physical ones. This is not to say that our physical needs do not matter. But health of soul outweighs the body. This is why some are called to be martyrs, where their earthly life was laid down for the witness of their faith.

The second temptation in Luke’s Gospel has Satan offer to Jesus all the kingdoms of the world. The truly scary part of this statement is that if Satan is telling the truth (which may not be the case because he is the “father of lies”), then this means that they are his to give because the kingdoms of the world belong to him. On this view, political power seems to be tainted by this demonic power. I ask my students this question: do people who go into politics become more virtuous or less virtuous? Overwhelmingly they say that they become less virtuous. And while there are some exceptions, there is something corruptive about worldly power that feels a bit demonic. If we worship Satan, and by this we can say that we worship any false god before the true God, then we might find an advantage of power.

Jesus’ response is that we should worship God alone. When dealing with the world, we have to remember that God is over all. As I wrote in a recent article, the laws of God supersede the laws of man. In rejecting the power of the world, we could become victims to that power. But we must remember the words of Christ: “I have conquered the world.” (John 16:33)

The final temptation is where Satan brings Jesus to the top of the Temple and tells Him to jump and put God’s love to the test. In this case, Satan quotes the Bible at Jesus. This is an important reminder that evil people can use the Scriptures in a manipulative way. You can see how people would selectively quote the book of Genesis to justify slavery in America. We must always look at the Bible in its entire context. This is what Christ does when He quotes Scripture back to Satan and says “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” (Deuteronomy 6:16). God does not need to prove Himself to us. Instead, we are the ones who must be proved in His eyes. CS Lewis made this point when he said:

“The ancient man approached God (or even the gods) as the accused person approaches his judge. For the modern man, the roles are quite reversed. He is the judge: God is in the dock. He is quite a kindly judge; if God should have a reasonable defense for being the god who permits war, poverty, and disease, he is ready to listen to it. The trial may even end in God’s acquittal. But the important thing is that man is on the bench and God is in the dock.”

But we must remember that this is not how it should be. I do not stand before God as His judge. I am to be judged by Him.

Something else to keep in mind about these temptations is the connection they have with the Old Testament.

You can read the whole article here.

Sunday Best: Thoughts on Oscars 2025 and Oscar Game Winner

  

So this year we have another Oscars in the history books. 

Below are my thoughts on the night.

THE GOOD

1. Bring Back Conan

 I have always been a huge fan of Conan O'Brien.  I love his sense of silly, self-depricating humor.  He had me smiling during his entire opening monologue.  I especially love his bit with Adam Sandler.  There a friendly playfulness that gave the night some much needed levity.  I also enjoyed the use of the Dune Sandworm and having the first responders tell jokes.  But the best gag was probably the disappointed John Lithgow

2. Kerian Culkin's Speech

Most acceptance speeches are trite or preachy.  Very few are memorable.  But I have been telling people the story of Kerian Culkin's speech more times than I thought I would.  It was charming and unique.  And what I liked about it too was that it demonstrated a natural desire for family. 

3. Very Little Politics

 While there was some political points made in speeches and one joke by Conan directed at the president, overall the night was pretty light on politics.  This is good, since Hollywood is not known for its good-natured jocularity towards those of differing political opinions.  When political jokes are made, it is usually done in a way that alienates half of the country.  

4. Gene Hackman Tribute

Though it was last minute, I was pleased that they gave a special tribute to Gene Hackman.  While many other influential people in the entertainment industry passed this year, Hackman was a giant among them and the Academy wisely understood that his tribute needed to stand out they way he stood out in all of his films.

 

THE BAD

1.  The Show Still Drags

Conan did a funny bit about the show being too long.  I know that the number was meant to be ironic, but just because you make fun of the problem, it does not make the problem go away.  

And as much as I love James Bond, why in the world was there a gigantic James Bond song and dance number?  There was nothing this year that necessitated this tribute and it felt oddly placed in an already overly-long show.

And I know it is awkward to play off someone who just one a major award, but it was in such poor taste for Adrian Brody to drone on and on after rambling for the first half of his acceptance.  It seemed selfish and arrogant considering that other people had their time cut.

2. Glorifying Sex Workers?

Look, I have not seen Anora.  And one of my favorite critics, the mighty John Nolte, says that it is a fantastic film.  I've heard that writer/director Sean Baker respects his audience enough to let them make up their own minds regarding how to feel about the characters.

But during the acceptance speeches of Baker and Best Actress Mikey Madison, they both thanked the community of "sex workers."

Now to be fair, Christ would recognize the humanity in prostitutes and he let them know that they had value.  But in thanking the community of "sex workers," it sounds as though it lends legitimacy to this wicked exploitation.  Jesus went to the prostitutes so that He could free them from the slavery of that degrading life.  But something has gone horribly wrong when we elevate the sexual exploitation of our fellow human beings as something morally licit.  And thanking the sex worker community feels like you are trying to give that activity moral legitmacy.

3. No One Saw The Best Picture

Speaking of Anora, we once again run into the problem of no one having seen the Best Picture.  Last year, Oppenheimer was a big hit and so people could root for it to win.  But Anora was number 85 on the list of top Box Office draws for 2024, making just a little over $14 million.  

Interstellar, a movie that was released 10 years ago and has been freely available on streaming and Blu-Ray was re-released last year and it made $1 million more in theaters.

The Chosen released three episodes of Season 4 in theaters.  This also made more money than Anora.  Again, people paid more money to go to a movie theater to watch a television show about Jesus that anyone can watch at home for FREE than they paid to see the Oscar winner for Best Picture.

So those are my thoughts.  What are yours?

And now, the moment you've been waiting for... the winners of this year's CATHOLIC SKYWALKER OSCAR GAME.

With no clear frontrunner in most of the major categories, scores were generally lower this year, with the lowest score being a tie with -6.8

In third place with a combined score of 9... Nicole K!

And we have a tie for first place with a combined score for each of 12.1.... Phil and Linda!

Phil and Linda both saw more of the movies nominated than I did, so their victory is well-earned.  And as frequent players of this game, I'm happy for their win.   Congratulations to you both!

This year, I think not seeing most of the nominees hurt my score.

When grading purely on predictions, the order of the top three winners remains the same (Linda = 8.1, Phil = 7.1, Nicole = 5.5)

When it came to scoring purely on choice, Phil wins (5), Linda is in second (2), and Nicole K. is third (3.5). Thank you to everyone who played this year.  Good luck in next year's game!

Film Review: Love Hurts

 

Sexuality/Nudity Mature

Violence Mature

Vulgarity Mature

Anti-Catholic Philosophy Mature

Your enjoyment of this movie will depend deeply on how charming you find Ke Huy Kwan.

And I found him incredibly charming.

Love Hurts is an action/comedy about Marvin Gabel (Kwan) who appears to be a mild-mannered real estate agent.  But he is actually a John Wick-style enforcer who worked for his mob-boss brother Alvin "Knuckles" Gabel (Daniel Wu).  He has left the life after faking the death of his last mark: mob accountant Rose (Arianna DeBose).  Marvin seems to truly enjoy this simple life, but things comes crashing down when Rose lets Marvin and Knuckles that she is still alive, forcing him into a confrontation with his brother that will end her need to hide.  The movie is essentially the struggle for Marvin between the life he loves or the woman he loves.

As I said, Kwan is fantastic.  He channels Jackie Chan in the best possible sense.  Chan played the genial nice-guy who held within him incredibly violent power.  That same quality comes out in Kwan in a fantastic way.  Watching the movie, you immediately like the guy and you desperately want him to come out on top.  His escalating panic also shows off his comedic chops.  His performance fits perfectly in both the action and the comedy of this film.

The action set pieces are fun and creative.  Again Kwan is incredibly reminiscent of Chan, who would take a severe beating in each of his movies, showing that he wasn't a stoic superman.  Instead, Marvin gets beaten up badly, but has to fight tooth-and-nail to get through with all of his strength and creativity.  

Director Jonathon Eusebio has spent much of his career as a fight coordinator and you can see him lean into those skills heavily and effectively in this movie.  And clocking in at less than 90 minutes, the movie moves along at a very pleasant pace so that it never slows down too much and you always feel like the story is going forward.  

The movie does have a few downsides.  The first is that the writing is a bit thin.  It often ignores the maxim of "show, don't tell."  Kwan and Rose secretly love each other.  We know this not because of their onscreen chemistry (of which there is very little).  We know it beause the script gives us voice-overs to tell us what each of them are thinking as a shortcut.  In another instance, Marvin's boss Cliff (Sean Astin) has a conversation with Knuckles about how Marvin is like a brother to him.  Cliff talks about having Marvin over to Thanksgiving and going on trips together.  This is all fine, but this is the only way we get a sense of their closeness.  We don't see that in any of the previous scenes.

This thinness in the writing makes the tonal shifts between action and comedy sometimes a little difficult.  The movie is just a little too violent, where innocent people are killed for laughs and we are supposed to be emotionally invested in the killers and their personal romantic relationships.  

When I was younger, I thought the movie Grosse Point Blank handled this type of material a lot better.  But perhaps that isn't the case.  Maybe I'm just older and I don't find comedies as enjoyable when I'm supposed to root for murderers.

The performances are fine, but I think that they do the best they can with the script they are given.  

Thematically, I'm a bit torn.  Marvin did horrible things when he worked for his brother.  His desire to leave that life is admirable, but the question is whether he is making proper atonement.  John Wick deals with this by acknowledging that John  does not hope for salvation and he fears hell.  But I'm not sure Marvin has earned his redemption.  It is a little like Emilia Perez, where the main character was a horrible murderer, but thought getting a new identity took away the guilt.  

The only thing that mitigates this is a speech by Cliff when he finds out about Marvin's old life.  Cliff says that he believes in absolution and second chances.  It implies that Marvin is seeking forgiveness.  If the script had pushed this idea a little more, it would have been more satisfying.

But if you are looking for a a decent action/comedy with a charming lead, then I think you will enjoy Love Hurts.

Rest in Peace: Gene Hackman

 

A few weeks ago, the great Gene Hackman passed away.  

While there is still an investigation going on about the circumstances of his death, along with his wife and one of his dogs, I thought it was appropriate to take a few moments to reflect on his life.

Hackman seemed to live an ordinary mid-western life until his parents divorced.  Since his death, there is a viral video that has been going around of Hackman recalling when his father left him.  The young Hackman was playing ball in the street and his father drove by and "kind of waved."  Decades later, this moment of abandonment with its cruel casualness still devastated him.  He said,  "I hadn't realized how much one small gesture can mean... Maybe that's why I became an actor."

He dropped out of high school and lied about his age so he could join the military.  With the GI Bill, he went to college, but dropped out there as well to go to California to study acting.  He went to the Pasadena Playhouse where he was actively discouraged from acting.  He got the lowest scores on acting that anyone at the Playhouse had ever received.  In fact, he and his friend Dustin Hoffman were voted: "Least Likely To Succeed."

Hackman went to New York where he struggled to find jobs.  Whenever he would bump into people from the Playhouse or the military, they told him he would never amount to anything.

This is one of the things that I admire about Hackman: he used people's negativity to fuel the fire of success.  Rather than turn inward and be overcome with self-doubt, he was supremely confident in his abilities and a rage to prove his detractors wrong.  I can see that in the immense amount of work he put into every performance.

GREAT PERFORMANCES

The Royal Tenenbaums
Unforgiven
Hoosiers
Superman
Superman II
Crimson Tide
The Poseidon Adventure
Now Way Out
Young Frankenstein
The Quick and the Dead

Gene Hackman is best known for playing tough guys.  As a result, much of his career is littered with over-the-top machismo.  But the reason why he was chosen for those roles is because he had a chance to shine as a man of hulking authority, not in frame, but in screen presence.

Hackman won an Oscar for The French Connection and Unforgiven.  In both those movies, Hackman looms large, even as things begin to fall apart.  In the latter film, Little Bill is a sadist who wraps himself in the law to justify his violent tendencies.  He goes from smiling to scowling in a way that fills you with terror.  His scene where he is monologuing in front of the writer and English Bob is a master class of acting.  Every transition feels genuine and earned.

His characters always project strength as he did in Crimson Tide, where is tough-as-nails captain is in a battle of authority with his first officer.  But he doesn't play these characters as 1-dimmensional.  His performance as Herod in The Quick and the Dead has some truly wonderfully understated moments where he realizes he has to fight his son or when he begins to experience real fear for the first time in years.  You can also see that fear in his trapped performance in No Way Out as he feels the walls closing in on the cover up for the accident death of his mistress.  You get a knot in your stomach just hearing the stress in his voice.

That does not mean that he doesn't have a wide range of emotions.  His coach in Hoosiers is very stoic and understated.  But when he very simply and unguardedly says, "I love you guys," it echoes deeply because of the depth that Hackman brings.  And no performance of is more heartbreaking for me than his Rev. Scott in The Poseidon Adventure.  The movie captures in a concrete, physical way the frustration that evangelizers feel every day.  Scott is trying to save everyone, but they won't listen.  And when they don't listen, they willingly embrace destruction.  He can only bring a few on the narrow path and many of those won't make it.  I will never forget his embracing the comic-tragic Mrs. Rosen and crying.  And it all culminates with his love/hate relationship with God over all of the pain they have endured.

But he also had a strong comedic side.  Many criticize the goofy tone of Lex Luthor in the Superman movies, and rightly so.  But given that it was his job to play Luthor the way Richard Donner prescribed, Hackman did an excellent job of being a callow con-artist.  It is particularly funny how he uses all the powers of his sycophantic scurrying to not only incur favor with Zod, but avoid his wrath.  And his turn as the blind man in Young Frankenstein is hysterical.

Gene Hackman quietly retired from acting.  But he has left us a great body of work to admire.

He had two marriages.  His first ended in divorce after three decades.  As mentioned earlier, his current wife Betsy was also found dead with him.  He leaves behind three children from his first marriage.

As far as my research has gone, Hackman never spoke about his religious beliefs.  My prayer is that this extraordinary actor, who brought so much entertainment to the world, has gone to God.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and perpetual light shine upon him.  May his soul and his wife's soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace.  Amen.

Rest in Peace, Gene Hackman

Sunday Best: Oscar Night 2025 - Predictions and Last Chance for Oscar Game

   

Tonight are the Oscars.  

This used to be my yearly Super Bowl.  And while the bloom is off the rose, I still watch every year.

Once again, there are not many movies to root for.  Wicked got some nominations, but most of the popular films as well as the movies I thought were good did not get a lot of love from the Academy.  So this year we do not have Christopher Nolan and Oppenheimer to cheer on.

What is interesting is that the race is in a constant state of flux.  Emilia Perez was nominated for the most awards.  But all of the controversy surrounding it could make its chances diminish.  Looking to the other awards shows as predictors (the Golden Globes, BAFTAS, Screen Actors Guild, etc), there have been so many inconsistencies that I honestly do not know what is going to happen for most awards.  This should add some novelty to the evening.

But, as has been the case for the past few years, most people haven't seen most of the movies nominated.  I usually try to see most of the nominees for best picture, but not this year.  In fact, I've only seen the five movies mentioned above.  Some of the other nominees sound interesting, but I could not bring myself to commit the time.   And I only watched Conclave because my dad saw it an wanted to talk to me about it.  I did see Emila Perez because I wanted to be able to write about it cogently and I wanted to see if it was as bad as everyone was saying (It's not.  It's much, much worse).

Here are some of my main predictions:

Best Picture: Conclave

With Emilia Perez receding, I think Conclave comes out on top.  It has a top-notch cast and it views the Catholic Church through a modern left-leaning political lens.  It is one of those movies that people who don't know anything about Catholicism can watch and feel smart.  If the Academy is feeling very much of an independent movie vibe, then I think Anora will win.  But, from what I understand, The Brutalist was the most pretentious, so that may win.

Best Actor: Timothee Chalamet, A Complete Unknown

All the smart money is saying Adrian Brody will win for The Brutalist.  I am going with my gut, though.  Not only did I think Chalamet gave the best performance this year, but it is very hard to win two Oscars for Best Actor.  If Brody did this, he would enter the ranks of only 9 actors to do this, including Tom Hanks, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jack Nicholson, Sean Penn, Gary Cooper, Spencer Tracy, Marlon Brando, and Dustin Hoffman

Best Actress: Demi Moore

Hollywood loves a comeback story, and this is a good one.  She would have a better shot if this was a supporting actor category, where that award is often given as a result of a body of work.  But I think Moore has a great shot at this tonight.

Best Supporting Actor/Actress:  Kieran Culkin and Zoe Saldana

These are categories where I think there will be no surprises.  These actors have cleaned up all throughout the awards season.  I got around to seeing A Real Pain and Culkin does a great job of playing a character of such contradictions.  Saldana was terrible in Emilia Perez, but that really wasn't her fault as the movie was a disaster.  But she will probably win.

This is also the last chance to enter the Oscar Game.  Just fill out the chart below.  The winner will get bragging rights and a mention on this blog.  And just to keep everything above board, I am publishing my votes for tonight as well.

Good luck and enjoy the Oscars tonight!

Click the link below to play the game.
Link

Here are my choices so far:

Name
BEST PICTURE - MY CHOICE	"Wicked"
BEST PICTURE - MY PREDICTION	"Conclave (Tessa Ross, Juliette Howell and Michael A. Jackman, Producers)"
BEST DIRECTOR - MY CHOICE	James Mangold, A Complete Unknown
BEST DIRECTOR - MY PREDICTION	Sean Baker, Anora
BEST ACTOR - MY CHOICE	Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
BEST ACTOR - MY PREDICTION	Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
BEST ACTRESS - MY CHOICE	Cynthia Erivo, Wicked
BEST ACTRESS - MY PREDICTION	Demi Moore, The Substance
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY CHOICE	Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - MY PREDICTION	Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY CHOICE	Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - MY PREDICTION	Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICE	A Complete Unknown (Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTION	Conclave (Screenplay by Peter Straughan)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY CHOICE	A Real Pain (Written by Jesse Eisenberg)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY - MY PREDICTION	A Real Pain (Written by Jesse Eisenberg)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY CHOICE	Wicked (John Powell and Stephen Schwartz)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE - MY PREDICTION	The Brutalist (Daniel Blumberg)
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY CHOICE	“El Mal” from Emilia Pérez (Music by Clément Ducol and Camille; Lyric by Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard) *THE LEAST WORST CHOICE
BEST ORIGINAL SONG - MY PREDICTION	“The Journey” from The Six Triple Eight (Music and Lyric by Diane Warren)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY CHOICE	Inside Out 2 (Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen)
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTION	The Wild Robot (Chris Sanders and Jeff Hermann)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY CHOICE	Dune: Part Two (Greig Fraser)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - MY PREDICTION	The Brutalist (Lol Crawley)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY CHOICE	Wicked (Paul Tazewell)
BEST COSTUME DESIGN - MY PREDICTION	Wicked (Paul Tazewell)
BEST FILM EDITING - MY CHOICE	Conclave (Nick Emerson)
BEST FILM EDITING - MY PREDICTION	Conclave (Nick Emerson)
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY CHOICE	Wicked (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth)
BEST MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING - MY PREDICTION	Wicked (Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY CHOICE	Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN - MY PREDICTION	Wicked (Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales)
BEST SOUND - MY CHOICE	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST SOUND - MY PREDICTION	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY CHOICE	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS - MY PREDICTION	Dune: Part Two (Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer)
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM - MY PREDICTION	I’m Still Here (Brazil)
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - MY PREDICTION	No Other Land (Basel Adra, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal and Yuval Abraham)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - MY PREDICTION	Incident (Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven)
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTION	Magic Candies (Daisuke Nishio and Takashi Washio)
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM- MY PREDICTION	A Lien (Sam Cutler-Kreutz and David Cutler-Kreutz)

New Evangelizers Post: Converting The Modern Roman Empire

             

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

Many Christians look at the modern world with despair.

The old Christian culture has faded into the background and a new secular one is on the ascendancy. People embrace the wonders of technology along with the horrors of hedonism. And with each passing day, it seems to many of us that the world is drifting further away from Christ.

I am not here to deny that this is truly happening. Nor am I here to say this is not a major concern.

But what I am here to say is that this modern world has created the conditions for new wave of conversion.

To see this, we have to look back at the first days of Christianity in the Roman Empire.

In those first days of Christianity first spreading throughout the Empire, Rome had connected much of the ancient world. In addition, there was relative peace and prosperity. To be sure, the ancient Rome was always a place of harshness and brutality. But in Apostolic Age, there was enough peace so that there could be free travel throughout the empire. Because of this prosperity, the people were able to spend time with several entertainments and diversions. Once bare survival was taken care of, people could use their disposable income to go to the see the dramas or even the gladiator fights.

But just as material prosperity and plentiful entertainments began to fill up the lives of the people in the Roman Empire, a spiritual hunger began to emerge. The people began to turn to more and more to spiritual practices and philosophical disciplines. We can see a rise in the stoic philosophers in this era, as people look for something more to ground their existence and give it meaning. They hungered less in their bodies, but they hungered more in their souls.

Apostles like Paul understood that spiritual hunger and learned how to feed it. As Paul traveled from region to region, he gave people something that filled their spirits. This is true of all of the Apostles as they went from place-to-place in the Roman Empires spreading the Good News so that the faith spread like wildfire.

And the conditions for another spiritual wildfire are present today.

In our modern day, we find much the same about America. While there are military conflicts around the world, our homeland enjoys relative peace and prosperity. Because of this relative peace, we are presented with several entertainments and diversions. Television, movies, video games, music, and social media fill up the empty hours of the day. I think about my life in America and how I am not constantly worried about invasion or starving to death. And like the Romans, I often throw myself into entertainment and diversions, especially with the internet. But when I do this, I still feel a great spiritual hunger. There are times when I spend a lazy Saturday on the couch eating junk food and playing video games, where I have all of my physical indulgences met, but I feel a sense of waste and emptiness.

The internet has also made the world a much more interconnected place. We may not all be traveling around the world, but we can be connected to almost any part of it. I was once in a discussion with someone about why popular culture in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s felt so distinctive, but that in the 2000’s it all feels like it blends together. My friend said that the internet changed it. For example, popular trends would start as regional until they became distinctive. Think about the Seattle Grunge culture that developed in the early 1990’s. Only after it had taken on its distinctive form was it introduced the rest of the popular culture through television and radio as something very distinctive. However, those distinctive cultures don’t get a chance to grow regionally. The internet makes us too connected. As soon as anything becomes popular in one area, it goes viral all over the world.

My point is that just like the Roman Empire we have these specific conditions in modern America:
1. Relative peace and prosperity
2. An abundance of entertainments
3. An interconnected society
4. A deep spiritual hunger because of the above three.

You can read the whole article here.

Sunday Best: Casting Call - The New James Bond

 

It was recently announced that Amazon would now be the ones who would have the controlling hand in the James Bond franchise going forward.  This means to me that they are looking to capitalize on the brand as soon as possible.

I know that many people have their misgivings about this after seeing what they have done with Tolkien's world in The Rings of Power or seen what another multi-billion corporation like Disney has done to Star Wars.

Regardless, things appear to be moving ahead.  Jeff Bezos even went to social media to see who the people think should be the next Bond.  

I thought it might be fun to through a few ideas out there.

1. Henry Cavill

This is one place where I think vox populi, vox dei.  It seems so horribly obvious that Cavill is perfect for the part.  He is strong, masculine, formidible, intelligent, and classy.  And even people who hated the DCEU and The Witcher tend to agree that he was the best part of those franchises.  Cavill has built up an incredible amount of good will with the fan base.  He would be needed change from the serious-to-dour Daniel Craig Bond.

2.  Dan Stevens

photo by Gage Skidmore

To play the aristocrat, Stevens has this down after his years on Downton Abbey.  But he has an intesity that reminds me very much of Pierce Brosnan.  I don't think his Bond would be as physically intimidating as Cavill, but he could pull off 007 as someone who is charismatic and cunning: someone who would get by on their wits.

3.  Taron Egerton

photo by Gage Skidmore

We know that he can play the action scenes, as he did in the Kingsman movies.  But as I've seen recently in his work in Blackbird, he has become a very good actor in his own right.  He would play the part a bit young, but it would be a newer take on the character.

4.  Henry Golding

Photo from World Travel and Tourism Council

Okay, this one may be a little out of the box, but hear me out.  If we take the idea that Bond's primary role is that of a spy and that we have a new cold in parts of Asia, wouldn't it make sense to have a spy who was Asian?  There would actually be a lot of opportunities for some exciting and new stories.  Golding is a charismatic actor who demonstrated his charm in Crazy Rich Asians and also his physicality with Snake Eyes.  This could be an intersting choice.

5.  Tom Hiddleston

photo by Sean Reynolds

He has been typcast into the role of Loki, which he did amazingly well.  But Hiddleston can play the heroic part.  He was great as the Henry V in The Hollow Crown and he could pull of the action leading man as we saw in Kong: Skull Island.  He could also bring a bit of the Roger Moore-era mischief and humor, which would be a refreshing change for the current franchise.

Thoughts?

Film Flash: Captain America - Brave New World

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

One of the better post-Endgame MCU movies.  Intrigue and action, but a weak third act.

Sunday Best: Superbowl Ads 2025

 While I've come to enjoy football more over the last few years, the main draw of the Super Bowl for me has always been the commercials.

This year I wasn't horribly impressed.  I don't think any of them will make a lasting cultural impression.  But these are my thoughts:

Best Trailer:  MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FINAL RECKONING

Only a few new shots in this trailer, but I have to say that all of the high-flying action has me incredibly excited.

Weirdest - MOUNTAIN DEW

This commercial was so weird that I found myself laughing out loud at how ridiculous it was.  

Most Nostalgic - Instacart

I loved seeing all the old mascots throughout the years.  It was fun to find the very obscure ones from my childhood.

Funniest - Pringles

Like the Mountain Dew Commercial, this was so over-the-top ridiculous, but I couldn't help but find it incredibly funny.  What can I say?  I have a weird sense of humor.

Most Emotional - Google Gemini

This ad really got to me.  At first it was just the usually schmaltzy.  But the last shots where the father is crying in the car and then his daughter hugs him and turns back into a little girl... that got me right in the feels.

Favorite Commercial - Dunkin

Readers of this blog know what a big Affleck fan I am.  I think this was also a really good ad that took a pot shot at the more expensive coffee houses: "How much to wait a half-hour to get my name spelled wrong on the cup?"  I don't know why, but I loved that line.

All of these are my own subjective feelings.  What are your thoughts?

Trailer Time: The Accountant 2

I really enjoyed The Accountant when it originally came out.  Despite its weak third act, I enjoyed the characters and their arcs.  The main character was fascinating to me with a solid performance by Ben Affleck.

When they announced a sequel, I wasn't very sure.  But I really liked this trailer.

One of the things that this movie does is that it brings three very dissimilar characters from the first movie and it forces them all to work together.  Our three leads shared very little screen time in the first film.  But now, it feels like a real progression of their stories and not another rehash of the first.  I like how each of them brings something very different to the dynamic and I can see some fun interplay between a fed, a hitman, and the Accountant.

This  movie has the same writing/directing team as the original, so it seems like the put a lot care into these characters.

Thoughts?

Film Flash: Love Hurts

 

15 words or less film review (full review to follow soon)

Quan's charismatic "Jackie-Chan-esque" performance carries this charming (though too violent) B-movie action/comedy

New Evangelizers Post: Jubilee Year 2025

            

I have a new article up at NewEvangelizers.com.  

This is the Year of Jubilee!

The Jubilee is an ancient tradition from the times of the Old Testament. It was a special time that occurred once every 50 years. During a Jubilee, all land was returned to its ancestral owners.

In ancient Israel, when you bought property from someone, it did not mean that you owned it permanently. Instead, it was much closer to our modern idea of leasing or renting a property. Essentially this meant that you could not own someone else’s land for more than one generation.

At the Jubilee Year, all the “leased” land would be returned to the family of the one who sold it. In addition to this, any Israelite who had was purchased by another Israelite was to be set free.

The Jubilee was a time of freedom and renewal. It was a way to prevent families from falling into generational poverty due to the bad decisions of their fathers. It was a time when debts were cleared and people could begin again.

Jesus clearly makes reference to the Jubilee when he quotes from Isaiah while preaching at Nazareth. He speaks about “The Year of the Lord’s favor…” (Lk 4:19) which is how the Jubilee is described in Leviticus 25: 10-13. He also uses the language of liberty to captives and letting the oppressed go free. These also are references to the Jubilee.

The Good News of Jesus is that He brings freedom. The Jubilee is a manifestation of that freedom in this world.

In 2025, Pope Francis has called for Jubilee Year. The last Jubilee Year was in the year 2000. It is a tradition that a pope calls for a Jubilee every 25 years. In that year as well, the Jubilee Doors were opened at the Vactican. Pilgrims who travel their are able to obtain an plenary indulgence, which is the full remission of temporal punishment for sin. This is in keeping with the idea of setting captives free in a Jubilee. This time, the captivity is sin.

Pope Francis write “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1). (Spes Non Confundit, 1). This Jubilee Year coincides with the Year of Hope. Pope Francis sees a strong connection between the Jubilee and Hope.

The Jubilee is often accompanied by a pilgrimage. The symbolism points to the hope of reaching the destination of the journey. It also involves a reaching out of our places of comfort in the hope of a better world. Pope Francis writes about the young people of today are crushed by despair. and that “For this reason, the Jubilee should inspire the Church to make greater efforts to reach out to them.” (Spes Non Confundit, 12).

He also writes about how the poor, migrants, the elderly, and the sick need the hope of Christ. We are called to pilgrimage to them and share this hope. Christ can help set them free from the prison of spiritual darkness. Our calling to to pilgrimage to them with that hope.

Pope Francis also has called upon world leaders to emulate as much as possible the Jubilee spirit of forgiveness. “I propose that in this Jubilee Year governments undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope; forms of amnesty or pardon meant to help individuals regain confidence in themselves and in society; and programmes of reintegration in the community, including a concrete commitment to respect for law.” (Spes Non Confundit, 10)

While governments have a responsibility to enforce the laws and administer justice, Pope Francis reminds us that even those who break the laws are still children of God. I know people who are involved in prison ministry and they speak to me about the deep hunger for God found there and the need for hope.

What are some things we can do in this Jubilee Year?

You can read the whole article here.

Sunday Best: Spring Movie Season 2025

  We are in the odd time for theatrical movies.  Summer is when a number of the big blockbusters are released.  Fall and Winter are when we see more of the prestige pictures.  But the spring season is strange.  Yes, there are some bigger movies coming out, but it always feels like this is the time when studios keep their powder dry and get ready to fire their big guns later.

That isn't always the case.  Deadpool, I believe, was a February release.  And that film went on to do some amazing business.

So here are some of the movies that are coming out along with my level of excitement.  My ability to get out to the theater may be limited this time around.  But I will try to get to the ones that really excite me.

Here is a list, with a few brief thoughts of my own, including on a scale of 1-5 stars my likelihood of seeing it in theaters (1 being “Not at all” 5 being “Cannot wait!”).

February 7th

Love Hurts (*****)

This movie seems like it is hitting on all cylanders.  It feels like an American Jackie Chan movie in the best possible way.  And I have such a sense of good will towards Ke Huy Kwan.  It looks like a great date movie: action and romance.

February 14

Captain America: Brave New World (****)

There has been a lot online hate for this movie and I know that it has been plagued by a lot of expensive reshoots.  Despite that, I am rooting for this movie to do well.  I like Anthony Mackie and I am hopeful that this will be a fun thriller like The Winter Soldier.

Paddington in Peru (*)

I haven't seen any of the other ones, though I heard good things about them.

February 21st

The Unbreakable Boy (***)

This could be a sweet family film about autism.  I don't know if it will be good, but I think I might take a chance on it.

The Monkey (*)

Nothing about this seems appealing to me.

Febrary 28th

Last Breath (**)

This looks like ti could be a fun thriller, but I think I will wait for streaming.

March 7 

Micke 17 (*)

This movie looks truly awful.  I don't why people keep saying that this director is good or interesting.  I am going to go out on a limb and say that this is going to bomb big time.

March 14

Novocaine (****)

This movie looks odd and violent in the best possible way.  It feels like a comedic John Wick.  And I find Jack Quaid quite charming.

 

March 21

Snow White (**)

Like the new Captain America, this movie has been getting a lot of online hate.  Except in this case, I tend to lean with those who are skeptical.  

The Alto Knights (**)

This seems like an interesting story, but I don't know that I want to pay theater prices to see it.

April 4

A Minecraft Movie (*)

Not only is this movie not for me, it also looks really, really stupid

April 18

Sinners  (*)

This could be a strong, stylized vampire thriller, but it does not seem to be my taste

April 25

The Accountant 2 (****)

I really liked the original and I always watch it when it comes on TV.  I'm also a big Affleck fan, so I am hopeful this will be part of a second Ben-aissance

Thoughts?

Trailer Time: Jurassic World Rebirth

The previous Jurassic World Trilogy petered out with a whimper (albeit a multi-billion-dollar whimper).  The first movie was a bit silly, but also a great deal of fun.  The second one was very stupid and the third was slightly less stupid.

This reboot feels very much like The Lost World.  This makes sense, since I heard that some of the people who made The Lost World are helping make this one.  Like that original sequel, this looks like to be, at heart, a heist movie set on an island of monsters.

Some of the visuals look nice and scary.  The shot of the man in the hazmat suit trapped in the room with the dinosaur was the stuff of nightmares.

Normally I would be a little weary of the trope of the no-nonsense girl-boss.  But Scarlett Johansson is one of the few actresses that I think can pull it off well.  Not only does she has she built up a pop culture cache as Black Widow, but as she demonstrated in Fly Me To The Moon, she has enough charisma and star power to carry a movie.  The rest of the cast seems fine, though I would like to see more.

Overall, I'm hoping that this is going to be a return to form for the franchise.

Thoughts?

Trailer Time: The Fantastic Four: First Steps - Official Teaser

This is the first teaser trailer for the new Fantastic Four film, which will be the second reboot of the franchise, but this time it will be a part of the MCU.

Here are my thoughts:

THE GOOD

-Retro '60's Look: 

I like the overall aesthetic, which reminds me of the space race I saw in Fly Me To The Moon.  It is visually very interesting and different than what we have seen already in a super hero film.

-The Uniforms

I think they nailed the style and tone of the uniforms better than in any of the previous films.  

-The Thing

I liked this CGI Thing.  I especially like that moment when he sees his old self in the TV.  He seems monstrous, but relatable.

-Human Torch

I wasn't sure about Joseph Quinn's casting, but he seems to embody the devil-may-care attitude of Johnny Storm fairly well in the brief shots of him.

-Invisible Woman

So far, I am very hopeful that Vanessa Kirby will finally give us the Sue Storm we've been waiting for.  I don't think the other two quite captured the balance between her power and her femininity.  I like what I see here so far.

-Galactus

I'm excited to see we may get a comic-accurate Galactus on screen.  I'm hopeful it won't look cheesy.

THE BAD

-Cooking

I didn't like that they spent so much time on cooking.  This may be a reference to the actor playing the Thing and how he is on that cooking show The Bear.  But I don't think that this was the best time to highlight this as a way to sell me.

-Mister Fantastic

I'm not sold on Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards.  He seems a bit generic and not like the smartest man on Earth.

THOUGHTS?

Sunday Best: Oscar Game 2025

 OBJECT: Get the most points!

HOW TO PLAY:  Fill out a score sheet for each category with your choice (who you want to win) and your prediction (who you think WILL win).  

CATEGORIES

1.  MAJOR AWARDS

-Best Picture
-Best Director
-Best Actor
-Best Actress
-Best Supporting Actor
-Best Supporting Actress
-Best Original Screenplay
-Best Adapted Screenplay
-Best Original Score
-Best Original Song
-Best Animate Feature



On the night of the Oscars, give yourself 1 point for each correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS.  If you get a prediction wrong, subtract 1 point.  Give yourself 1/2 (.5) point for each correct guess in MY CHOICE.  There is no penalty for incorrect guesses for MY CHOICE.


For example:
Category

BEST DIRECTOR

-MY CHOICE = Coralie Fargeat, The Substance
-MY PREDICTION = James Mangold, A Complete Unknown

BEST ACTOR

-MY CHOICE =Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown
-MY PREDICTION = Adrien Brody, The Brutalist"

BEST ACTRESS

-MY CHOICE = Demi Moore, The Substance
-MY PREDICTION = Demi Moore, The Substance

If James Mangold wins Best Director, gain 1 point for a correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS, but no points for an incorrect MY CHOICE  (total points = 1)

If Timothée Chalamet wins Best Actor, gain 1 point, for a correct MY CHOICE, but subtract 1 point for an incorrect MY PREDICTION (total points = [-.5])

If Demi Moore wins Best Actress, gain 1 points for correct MY CHOICE and 1 correct MY PREDICTION.  (total points =1.5)

If Karla Sofia Gascon wins Best Actress, lose 1 point for an incorrect MY PREDICTION, but lose no points for an incorrect MY CHOICE (total = [-1])

You may NOT make a guess for a MY CHOICE in a category if you have not seen any of the films in the category.  You may, however, make a blind guess for the MY PREDICTION section even if you have not seen any of the nominees.



2.  TECHNICAL AWARDS

-Best Editing
-Best Cinematography
-Best Visual Effects
-Best Sound Editing
-Best Sound Mixing
-Best Makeup
-Best Costumes
-Best Production Design

For these, give yourself 1/2 point (.5) for each correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS.   Give yourself 1/2 point (.5) for each correct guess in MY CHOICE.  There is no penalty for incorrect guesses for MY PREDICTIONS or MY CHOICE.

3.  MINOR AWARDS

-Best Documentary Feature
-Best Documentary Short
-Best Animated Short
-Best Live Action Short
-Best International Feature Film


For these, give yourself 1/5th of a point (.2) for each correct guess in MY PREDICTIONS.   Since so few people have seen these, there is no MY CHOICE section.  There is no penalty for incorrect guesses for MY PREDICTIONS.


PARTICIPATION:

Fill out the below score sheet and send it to me.  I will be the designated score-keeper.  You may change any choice up until the broadcast begins.


The winner will receive bragging rights and recognition on this blog.


Click the link below to fill out the form

Click this link and fill out the form

I will publish my selections before Oscar night so that everything is on the up and up.  Usually I would have done so already, but I am still thinking things through.