Georgia Bulletin

New York

• Holiday films focus on the serious side of life

  

  By JOHN MULDERIG, Catholic News Service
  Published December 19, 2013

  “Philomena” (Weinstein) NEW YORK (CNS)—Though compelling, the fact-based drama “Philomena” (Weinstein) makes uncomfortable viewing for Catholic moviegoers. That’s because this story of the titular character’s search for her long-lost son presents church institutions in a uniformly negative light. Yet director Stephen Frears’ screen version of Martin Sixsmith’s book “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee” recognizes […] Full Story

• Video Game ‘Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney—Dual Destinies’

  

  By ADAM SHAW, Catholic News Service
  Published December 5, 2013

  NEW YORK (CNS)—“Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney—Dual Destinies” (Capcom), the latest title the long-running “Ace Attorney” franchise for the Nintendo 3DS, explores conflicting legal moralities in a way mature gamers are likely to appreciate. Unfortunately, adult content keeps this new iteration from being an age-appropriate experience for most youngsters. Within the animated world portrayed here, the […] Full Story

• Holiday movie season features ‘cool’ new Disney film

  

  By JOSEPH MCALEER, Catholic News Service
  Published December 5, 2013

  “Frozen” (Disney) NEW YORK (CNS)—Don’t let the title fool you—“Frozen” (Disney) is bursting with enough warmth and charm to defrost even the hardest Grinchy heart. Loosely based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale “The Snow Queen,” this 3-D animated musical is good-natured, overwhelmingly wholesome fare with something for everyone: Broadway-style show tunes, thrilling adventure, […] Full Story

• Classic films that don’t stumble in dramatizing saints

  

  By JOHN MULDERIG, Catholic News Service
  Published December 5, 2013

  NEW YORK (CNS)—“Life holds only one tragedy, ultimately: not to have been a saint.” So wrote the French man of letters Charles Peguy (1873-1914). Yet, while its attainment may be every human being’s vocation, sanctity can be a difficult quality to capture in the dramatic arts. Thus the stage and screen alike have seen a […] Full Story

• Current movies include futuristic themes, with some success

  

  By JOHN P. MCCARTHY, Catholic News Service
  Published November 8, 2013

  “Ender’s Game” (Summit) NEW YORK (CNS)—On its surface, “Ender’s Game” (Summit) appears to be another futuristic science-fiction movie in which the fate of humanity hinges on the outcome of an epic battle waged in space. Countless aircraft will be obliterated and the hero will overcome significant adversity in order to vanquish a pernicious alien enemy. […] Full Story

• ‘Captain Phillips’ depicts empathetic view of harrowing ordeal

  

  By JOHN P. MCCARTHY, Catholic News Service
  Published October 24, 2013

  NEW YORK (CNS)—Docudramas tend to underwhelm emotionally, intellectually or both. That’s not the case with “Captain Phillips” (Columbia), a complex and compassionate film that engrosses from the start and builds inexorably toward a devastating conclusion. Prepare to be hooked. Considered alongside his 2006 project “United 93,” about the airplane that crashed into a Pennsylvania field […] Full Story

• The best of shows and the worst of shows: the new TV season

  By JOSEPH MCALEER, Catholic News Service
  Published October 24, 2013

  NEW YORK (CNS)—There’s both good news and bad for viewers with the advent of the fall television season. The upside mainly concerns hourlong dramas: Some networks have bucked the occult-happy trend of recent years that seemed to fill the small screen with dark tales of demons and goblins. They’ve also gotten away from the tendency […] Full Story

• Movie Review: “Les Miserables”

  By JOSEPH MCALEER, CNS
  Published December 20, 2012

  If your Christmas wish list includes a lavish, big-budget musical crafted in the classic Hollywood manner, then “Les Miserables” (Universal) is just the ticket. This rousing entertainment offers something for everyone: soaring anthems, tear-jerking romance, thrilling drama—and a positive portrayal of the Catholic faith. In fact, this faithful adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel, which […] Full Story

• Movie Review: “Rise Of The Guardians

  By JOHN MULDERIG, CNS
  Published December 6, 2012

  What better way to spend a few hours over the holidays than in the company, not only of Santa Claus himself, but of the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman? Courtesy of the delightful 3-D animated adventure “Rise of the Guardians” (Paramount), moviegoers of almost all ages can do just that. Based on […] Full Story

• Movie Review: “Life of Pi”

  By JOHN MULDERIG, CNS
  Published November 22, 2012

  Religious themes are central to director Ang Lee’s visually artful screen version of Yann Martel’s best-selling novel “Life of Pi” (Fox). Indeed, this exotic 3-D fable bills itself as a story calculated to make the agnostic reporter (Rafe Spall) to whom its unlikely events are recounted “believe in God.” Regardless of whether it has that […] Full Story

• After Hurricane, ‘People Need Everything’

  By ANGELO STAGNARO, CNS
  Published November 8, 2012

  The damage from the wind, rain and flooding brought by Hurricane Sandy “is almost overwhelming,” said Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York. “We’re reaching out to parishes and getting them to directly assist those in critical need—they know their own people and their neighborhoods,” he told Catholic […] Full Story

• Georgia-Made Film ‘Fireproof’ Is Heartwarming

  By HARRY FORBES, CNS
  Published October 9, 2008

  You fireproof your home; why not your marriage? Such is the obvious but unobjectionable theme of “Fireproof” (Goldwyn), a modest but heartwarming drama from Sherwood Pictures, the Albany, Ga., church-based studio that made “Flywheel” and “Facing the Giants,” all on remarkably small budgets with a largely volunteer cast and crew. Their latest concerns a small-town […] Full Story

• Pope Credited With Bringing Christian Leaders Together

  By BETH GRIFFIN, CNS
  Published May 1, 2008

  Christian leaders who gathered April 18 for an ecumenical prayer service with Pope Benedict XVI at St. Joseph’s Church in New York gave credit to the pope for joining 300 of them under one roof. “No one but the pope is going to bring together a group as diverse as this,” said the Rev. Mark […] Full Story

• Pope’s Remarks At Ecumenical Prayer Service

  By CNS
  Published May 1, 2008

  Here is the text of Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks at the ecumenical prayer service at St. Joseph’s Church in New York April 18. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, My heart abounds with gratitude to almighty God—“the Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:6)—for this blessed opportunity […] Full Story

• ‘Move Forward’ In Faith, He Urges U.S. Catholics

  By CAROL ZIMMERMANN, CNS
  Published April 24, 2008

  At Yankee Stadium, transformed into an open-air church April 20, Pope Benedict XVI urged more than 57,000 Catholics to “move forward with firm resolve” in continuing the legacy of faith set in motion by the country’s first Catholics. “Follow faithfully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you!” he told the stadium congregation […] Full Story

• Pope Asks U.S. Church To ‘Put Aside All Anger,’ Unite

  By JOHN THAVIS, CNS
  Published April 24, 2008

  Pope Benedict XVI urged the Catholic Church in the United States to move past divisions and scandal toward a “new sense of unity and purpose.” The pope, celebrating Mass in St. Patrick’s Cathedral April 19 with bishops, priests, religious and seminarians, once again addressed the damage and suffering caused by the clerical sex abuse scandal […] Full Story

• At Synagogue, Pope Reiterates Respect For Jews

  By JOHN THAVIS, CNS
  Published April 24, 2008

  In a brief, movingly simple visit to a New York synagogue, Pope Benedict XVI expressed his respect for the city’s Jewish community and encouraged the building of “bridges of friendship” between religions. The encounter April 18 marked the first time a pope has visited a Jewish place of worship in the United States, and it […] Full Story

• At Ground Zero, Pope Prays, Comforts Survivors

  By CINDY WOODEN, CNS
  Published April 24, 2008

  In the most somber moment of his six-day visit to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI knelt alone at ground zero and offered a silent prayer. The cheering crowds were far away as the pope blessed the ground where the World Trade Center stood until terrorists forced planes into its twin towers Sept. 11, 2001. […] Full Story

• Pope Urges Youth To Banish Evils Of Drugs, Poverty

  By BENEDICTA CIPOLLA, CNS
  Published April 24, 2008

  Addressing a crowd of 25,000 young people and seminarians, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of the “monster” that cast a shadow over his own childhood and urged the current generation to banish the darkness that exists today. Speaking April 19 at a boisterous rally on the grounds of the Archdiocese of New York’s seminary in Yonkers, […] Full Story

• On First U.S. Trip, Pope Focuses On Critical Matters

  By JOHN THAVIS, CNS
  Published April 24, 2008

  On his first trip to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI achieved three objectives that could be considered critical to the pastoral future of the American church. First, the pope brought a certain closure to the priestly sex abuse scandal that has shaken the church for more than six years, expressing his personal shame at […] Full Story