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November 2020

November 02, 2020

The Hopeful Relevance of “The American President”

Every four years I start watching my favorite films about the U.S. president. These...

September 2018

September 21, 2018

‘Tea with the Dames’ sparkles

This very funny film documents a weekend of sparkling conversations between Dames Maggie Smith,...

December 2016

December 21, 2016

Scorsese’s ‘Silence’ is his most Catholic film

(Andrew Garfield, left, plays Fr. Rodrigues, and Shinya Tsukamoto plays Mokichi in the film "Silence"...

October 2016

October 03, 2016

‘Birth of a Nation’ offers lots to talk about

"Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his...

June 2016

June 25, 2016

‘Thelma & Louise’ 25 years later still poses a challenge to male entitlement

I first saw "Thelma and Louise" while studying for a master's in education in media...

May 2016

May 08, 2016

Stories that invite us to be cultural mystics

After more than six decades of life, I am still startled by the profound empathy...

May 07, 2016

Pope Francis invites us to reflect mercy in our speech and in Tweets for World Communications Day 2016

One of the best-kept secrets of the Catholic Church is that we have a...

May 07, 2016

8 films and mini-series to see before you vote

My ears perked up back in March when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz defended his wife,...

April 2016

April 19, 2016

TCM Classic Film Festival April 28-May 1, 2016 Hollywood

If you are a film buff and like classic films from every era, don't...

April 05, 2016

The power of movies about nuns: “Seeing the Light, Hearing the Call…”

I am so pleased to announce the publication of a superb article at the University...

March 2016

March 02, 2016

The Catholic Legion of Decency – a bibliography

I am posting this bibliography as a reference to the Turner Classic Movies series "Condemned"...

February 2016

February 29, 2016

Statement from Daughters of St. Paul: “Condemned” series on TCM hosted by Sr. Rose Pacatte

Statement from the Daughters of St. Paul Beginning on Thursday, March 3, Sr. Rose Pacatte,...

February 29, 2016

“Censoring the Silver Screen” a History of the Legion of Decency

This paper was written by Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP in 2013 as a Church History...

June 2015

June 11, 2015

‘Jurassic World’ – No dinosaurs with pink feathers, but questionable ethics

Below is the feature article I wrote on the science and philosophy in "Jurassic...

July 2014

July 02, 2014

Should a Catholic pick a favorite war film?

Just before Memorial Day, a friend who teaches in a Catholic high school wrote to...

June 2014

June 11, 2014

Anne Frank’s 85th birthday: the girl behind the diary

In October, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles launched "Anne: A Premier Experiential Exhibit"...

May 2014

May 27, 2014

Mother Dolores Hart to host TCM tonight: “Lisa”, “Laura”, “The Song of Bernadette” and “The Rose Tatoo”

I so meant to post this last week! As you probably know, Mother Dolores published...

April 2014

April 28, 2014

Roma Downey & Mark Burnett sign on for 2016 ‘Ben-Hur’ reboot

On Friday Mike Fleming, Jr., posted this news about the remake of "Ben-Hur" over...

March 2014

March 30, 2014

“John Wayne: the Life and Legend” review by Peter Bogdanovich

This morning's New York Times Book Review section has a highly enthusiastic review of Scott...

February 2014

February 22, 2014

A decade later “The Passion of the Christ” still raises questions of anti-semitism

Feb. 25 will mark the 10th anniversary of the release of Mel Gibson's hugely...

December 2013

December 20, 2013

Survey about Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” for 10th anniversary

The 10th anniversary marking the release of Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST...

September 2013

September 12, 2013

You know that book I’ve been working on for 7 years? Lights, Camera, Faith: Beatitudes and Deadly Sins? It’s finished!

Yes, it is finished. The fifth volume in the series Lights, Camera Faith...

August 2013

August 08, 2013

Sr. Rose’s List of Books on Theology, Religion, Scripture, Spirituality, Philosophy and Film 2013

This is an alphabetical list of books, and one journal, that may be of interest....

August 07, 2013

Loyola Marymount University named one of top 25 US film schools

The Hollywood Reporter just released its annual review, and Los Angeles' Loyola Marymount's School...

July 2013

July 10, 2013

Mother Dolores Hart: Lifelong role suits her (LATimes interview)

By Susan KingJuly 5, 2013, 5:00 a.m. Dolores Hart was one of Hollywood's top ingenues, giving...

June 2013

June 27, 2013

Mother Dolores Hart makes the front page in the Culver City News: book signing 6/29 here 1-4pm

Culver City was once home to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, old Hollywood style successes and has...

June 27, 2013

David Chase’s eulogy for James Gandolfini

1961 - 2013 David Chase's eulogy for James Gandolfini June 28, 2013 Earlier this...

June 12, 2013

“Man of Steel” Superman gets religion

Everyone is asking me if all the good parts of the new Superman movie, "Man...

June 08, 2013

Mother Dolores Hart, former Hollywood starlet, stopping here on book signing tour

The Daughters of St. Paul in Culver City and Catholics in Media are sponsoring...

June 03, 2013

Catholics in the Movies: a history

I'd like to recommend my friend Dr. Pat McNamera's Blog and his special series on...