R.I.P. “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” Singer Patty Andrews
I grew up watching repeats of Abbott and Costello movies on WPIX in New York City every Sunday. One of my favorites was their first film, “Buck Privates,” which also featured The Andrews Sisters...
View Article“The Blind Side’s” Happy Super Bowl Ending
Many of you have seen the Christopher Award-winning movie “The Blind Side,” which told the story of Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy (played by Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock) adopting homeless teen, Michael...
View ArticleWhy “Star Wars” Reminds Me of Ash Wednesday
In George Lucas’ first-ever “Star Wars” film, “Episode IV: A New Hope,” there’s a compelling scene late in the movie where Luke, Han, Chewie, Leia, C-3PO, and R2D2 escape from the Death Star in the...
View ArticleThe Drop Box for Unwanted Babies
Every day, unwanted babies were abandoned on the streets of Seoul, South Korea. In order to save these childrens’ lives, a pastor and his congregation created a drop box where babies could be left...
View ArticleSelf-Improvement vs. Self-Absorption: A Look at “Silver Linings Playbook”
If you want to find happiness and self-fulfillment, you need to focus on yourself. Think about ways to improve your personality, your character, the type of person you are – then act on them. At least...
View ArticleAcademy Award Winner Jennifer Lawrence’s Longtime Friend with Down Syndrome
In today’s New York Daily News, there’s a profile of the Best Actress Oscar winner for “Silver Linings Playbook,” Jennifer Lawrence, focusing on her life, family and friends growing up in Louisville,...
View ArticleUPDATE: Jennifer Lawrence’s Friend with Down Syndrome Gets His Own Moment in...
The other day I posted some excerpts from a story in New York’s Daily News about Academy Award-winner Jennifer Lawrence’s longtime friendship with Andy Strunk, a young man with Down Syndrome that she...
View ArticleJesus Gets His Own Miniseries
Following the ratings success of “The Bible” miniseries, hopes are high that a new minseries already in production, called “Jesus of Nazareth,” will soon find a U.S. network to air it. The new film is...
View ArticleSpirit and Guts: Revisiting the Dennis Quaid/Jim Caviezel Movie “Frequency”...
Anyone who’s seen the Aurora Borealis either in pictures, on video or in person knows the beauty these “Northern Lights” can produce. But they’ve rarely produced anything as beautiful as the time they...
View ArticleMan of Steel: Bigger and Bangier Doesn’t Mean Better
Back when I was in college and in the waning days of my active comic book reading, I remember a conversation with my friend Brian in which we both agreed that we were tired of comics that spent eight...
View ArticleActing Like a Child vs. Being an Adult: A Review of “The Way Way Back”
If you were 14-years-old, how would you feel if the person who’s supposed to be the male role model in your life told you that on a scale of one to 10, you were a three? That’s the situation facing the...
View ArticleIs Joss Whedon’s Bleak Worldview Responsible For His Hopeful Storytelling?
One of the reasons I’ve been a fan of Joss Whedon’s work on TV shows like “Buffy,” “Angel” and “Firefly – and movies like “The Avengers” – is that his stories convey a sense of hope. That hope is often...
View ArticleBorn Again: A Review of “Gravity” with Sandra Bullock & George Clooney
Silence is all astronaut Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) wants since her heart and soul were destroyed following the death of her four-year-old daughter in a freak accident. Stone exists, but doesn’t...
View ArticleFormer “Touched by an Angel” Producer Offers Commandments for Christians in...
Brian Bird has worked in Hollywood for 25 years, most notably as a Co-Executive Producer and writer of the Christopher Award-winning TV series “Touched by an Angel.” The longtime faculty member at the...
View ArticleJennifer Lawrence Cuts Through Security Barrier to Talk with Girl in Wheelchair
Among the most popular posts I’ve written in my nearly two years of blogging here at Patheos are ones about actors Christian Bale and Jennifer Lawrence. Bale is known for quietly visiting children who...
View ArticleSpeaking Hard Truths: A Review of “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
Early in his life, South Africa’s Nelson Mandela spoke hard truths to the white European government that was oppressing his people. Many years later, he had to do the same thing to his fellow Africans...
View ArticleHow “Mary Poppins” Inspired One of the Best Comedy Writers of Our Era
Though much of the Mary Poppins-related attention today will be directed at the new Disney movie “Saving Mr. Banks,” I’m reminded of a different story about everybody’s favorite flying nanny and how...
View ArticleRegaining Your Christmas Spirit: A Review of “Angels Sing”
With a cast like Harry Connick Jr., Lyle Lovett, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Connie Britton (who’s proved her singing chops on two seasons of “Nashville), you might expect the movie “Angels...
View ArticlePregnant Teen Finds Hope and Healing: A Look at the Movie “Gimme Shelter”
“Last time I asked for God’s help, He put me here,” 16-year-old Apple Bailey angrily tells the priest visiting her in the hospital following a car accident. “Perhaps you’re exactly where you’re meant...
View ArticleWhy You Should See “Gimme Shelter” and Ignore the Critics Shouting “Agenda!”
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at the animosity – not just criticism, but animosity – directed at “Gimme Shelter” by secular movie critics, but I am disappointed. If you missed my earlier piece...
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