John P. McCarthy, Catholic News Service
Portrait of a crushed soul: ‘Manchester by the Sea’
Catholic News Service
At the center of filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan’s drama “Manchester by the Sea” lays a crushed soul flawlessly embodied by actor Casey Affleck.
Affleck’s...
Your ears might ‘Bleed for This’ dialogue
Catholic News Service
No boxing movie can ignore the fact that inflicting and enduring physical damage is an essential part of the sport.
The question is...
Mesmerizing and dreamlike ‘Arrival’ inspires awe
Catholic News Service
Mankind has an extended encounter with aliens from outer s pace in “Arrival.”
This unusually intimate science-fiction drama finds profundity on a human...
Autism trivialized in ‘The Accountant’
Catholic News Service
In effect, the action-drama “The Accountant” argues that those with autism have a license to kill as well as to abet a...
‘Bridget Jones’s Baby’ delivers expected charm
Catholic News Service
Typically, romantic comedies do not revolve around characters our youth-crazed culture tends to dismiss as middle-aged. “Bridget Jones’s Baby” (Universal) is a...
‘War Dogs’ — profit motive war comedy with murky perspective
Catholic News Service
Two young Florida men become improbable arms merchants in “War Dogs,” a fact-based movie that hovers uneasily between raucous comedy and serious...
This cartoonish gentleman of the jungle aims to please
Catholic News Service
Just beneath the surface of “The Legend of Tarzan,” a Gilbert and Sullivan opera is trying to claw its way out.
That's not...
‘Free State of Jones’ reveals one Confederate’s dissent
Catholic News Service
The ambitious historical drama “Free State of Jones” considers a little-known aspect of the Civil War: armed dissent within the South born...
‘London Has Fallen’ to lots of special violent effects
Catholic News Service
When North Korean terrorists besiege the White House in 2013’s “Olympus Has Fallen,” Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) leaps into...
‘The 5th Wave’ joins ‘coming-of-age during an alien invasion’ movie genre
Catholic News Service
The zombie apocalypse theme has become a staple of pop culture.
The latest movie variant, “The 5th Wave,” adds an alien invasion and...