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Restoring your faith in the news

Culture & Lifestyle

December 7, 2023

Job’s story given new twist in sci-fi thriller ‘The Shift’

Andy Drozdziak The producer of a new Christian film hopes that a film about loss based on the book of Job can inspire people at Christmas. Inspired by the biblical book of Job, “The Shift” is a dystopian drama and sci-fi thriller, in which Kevin Garner (Kristoffer Polaha) travels across worlds and dimensions to reunite... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

November 30, 2023

If you hunger for more from Panem,here’s the next slice of action

As its long title presages, “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” (Lionsgate) offers the opportunity for an extended (two-and-a-half hour plus) return visit to Panem, the dystopian setting of Suzanne Collins’ bestselling series of young adult novels and the blockbuster films developed from them. As fans will already know, this fictional nation’s... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

November 29, 2023

I Wish… for a few more bright spots to light the gloom

By John Mulderig This year marks the centennial of the entertainment empire established by cartoonist extraordinaire Walt Disney. To mark the occasion, we’re given “Wish” (Disney), a paean to the Mouse House’s legacy. Genuinely challenging material is absent from this jaunty animated musical. But a few potentially problematic elements do lurk in its background. Set... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

November 20, 2023

Film Review-‘Napoleon’

John Mulderig Is “Napoleon” (Sony) dynamite? The answer might depend on whom you ask. Viewers out for a sweeping spectacle will likely come away from director Ridley Scott’s historical epic satisfied. But those seeking insight into the conquering French emperor’s personality will find there’s a hollow ring to star Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of him. Battlefield... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

November 13, 2023

Journey to Bethlehem-‘jazz-hands Nativity’ a perfect family film

Swedish producer Adam Anders has long been associated with such musical fare as the Fox TV series “Glee” and the big-screen comedy “Rock of Ages.” As he makes his directorial debut with the lively song and dance-filled film “Journey to Bethlehem” (Sony), that legacy is on full display. Call it the jazz-hands Nativity story. Anders’... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

November 9, 2023

Christian Resources Exhibition: Rock star Rick gapes at his cape

Self-styled grumpy old rock star Rick Wakeman had a major shock on 8th November after cutting the tape to open the two-day Christian Resources Exhibition at Cranmore Park, in Solihull. Clerical textile designer Juliet Hemingray, presented him with a bespoke richly coloured cloak created to highlight ‘Morning has Broken,’ a song by Cat Stevens on... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

October 31, 2023

The Catholic Origins of Halloween

Rev Augustine Thompson OP (originally written 1995; updated and reproduced with permission) We’ve all heard the allegations: “Halloween is a pagan rite dating back to some pre-Christian festival among the Celtic Druids that escaped Church suppression.” Even today modern pagans and witches continue to celebrate this ancient festival. If you let your kids go trick-or-treating,... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

October 26, 2023

Taylor Swift’s Eras is a rare treat for fans

Kurt Jensen Early on in the history of film, stage actors had to make the transition from the outsized gestures and expressions needed to convey emotion to a crowded theatre to the restraint required by the intimacy of the camera. The same contrast is always likely to be highlighted in a film dedicated to capturing... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

October 19, 2023

Sorry, but bad language looks a dumb move

John Mulderig Small-time investors take on some of the titans of Wall Street in the wry fact-based blend of comedy and drama “Dumb Money” (Sony). Although the David vs. Goliath aspect of director Craig Gillespie’s film is appealing, the relentless vulgarity of its dialogue gives his retrospective a hard edge and renders it acceptable for... Read More

Culture & Lifestyle

October 13, 2023

Norway Catholics welcome Nobel Prize for writer-convert

By Jonathan Luxmoore Church leaders in Norway have welcomed the award of the Nobel Prize for Literature to Jon Fosse, a Catholic convert, predicting the honour could raise Catholicism’s profile in the traditionally Protestant country. “Fosse gives voice, with elegance and beauty, to the mystery of faith-having read him with reverence for years, I think... Read More

Celebrity Catholics, Culture & Lifestyle

1 2 … 6 OLDER POSTS

Restoring your faith in the news

Job’s story given new twist in sci-fi thriller ‘The Shift’

If you hunger for more from Panem,here’s the next slice of action

I Wish… for a few more bright spots to light the gloom

Film Review-‘Napoleon’

Journey to Bethlehem-‘jazz-hands Nativity’ a perfect family film

Christian Resources Exhibition: Rock star Rick gapes at his cape

The Catholic Origins of Halloween

Taylor Swift’s Eras is a rare treat for fans

Sorry, but bad language looks a dumb move

Norway Catholics welcome Nobel Prize for writer-convert

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The Catholic Origins of Halloween

EDUCATION:

December 7, 2023

1000 Nottingham school children sing out for Advent

TRAVEL:

October 4, 2021

Universe Catholic Weekly launches with the full support of Cardinal Vincent Nichols

MOST READ THIS WEEK Ofsted report issues improvement warning... St Bonaventure’s Launches New Catholic... Snoop Dogg teams up with London homeless... Coppers’ Catholic guild ready to celeb... The Catholic Origins of Halloween

EDUCATION: December 7, 2023 1000 Nottingham school children sing out for Advent

TRAVEL: October 4, 2021 Universe Catholic Weekly launches with the full support of Cardinal Vincent Nichols

MOST READ THIS WEEK

Ofsted report issues improvement warning...

St Bonaventure’s Launches New Catholic...

Snoop Dogg teams up with London homeless...

Coppers’ Catholic guild ready to celeb...

The Catholic Origins of Halloween

EDUCATION:

December 7, 2023

1000 Nottingham school children sing out for Advent

TRAVEL:

October 4, 2021

Universe Catholic Weekly launches with the full support of Cardinal Vincent Nichols