“Shutter Island” is one of those psychological thrillers that will send chills down your spine.
“The White Ribbon” is released in the U.S. already having received a Golden Globe nomination for best Foreign Film. It’s a tormented, tormenting kind of movie that will likely struggle to find an audience here, except among the most adventurous of moviegoers.
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
Yes, it’s a formula movie: romantic comedy, ensemble cast, interconnecting stories.
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
What happens when you have a furious argument with your spouse of long standing, leave in a huff to a destination intentionally unknown, and then you die there? Ah, love.
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
There are worse things than getting mauled to death by a werewolf.
Called to Be Human: Letters to My Children on Living a Christian Life
Living Christianity: A Pastoral Theology for Today
Counterpoint Press. San Francisco, Calif. 2008. 304 pages. By: Sara Maitland
You know how it is in Hollywood — somebody finds a successful formula, and everyone else imitates it (come to think of it, that applies to a lot of other things, also, but I digress).
by Brian K. Blount. The New Testament Library. WJKP, 2009. Hb., 462 pp. $49.95.
“Crazy Heart” is a film that we feel like we’ve seen before, but the performances of the primary characters are significant enough to pay attention, anyway.
It’s an old story, but here it’s told so piecemeal that we almost don’t recognize it: rich executive Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez) falls in love with his beautiful administrative assistant, Lena (Penelope Cruz).
“Nine,” the movie version of the Broadway hit, sure has some big names attached to it.
A middle-aged English professor continues to grieve over the loss of his long-time partner.
“Sherlock Holmes” is just fun to watch.
“The Messenger” is one of those films that stays with you. No super special effects. No fancy CGI. No dramatic battlefield scenes.
“Avatar” is taking the CGI to a new level, and in IMAX 3-D, it’s an incredible movie-going experience, even if the plot does make you uncomfortable.
James Cameron, the director of “Titanic,” penned this one several years ago, waiting for the technology to catch up to his vision. The difficulty is that as technology developed, international politics changed as well.
Clint Eastwood has teamed with Morgan Freeman again, and once more, the result is movie magic.
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
“The Hurt Locker” is the movie you’d rather not watch starring the people you hardly know, dealing with a subject matter you’d prefer to avoid: the awful war in Iraq.
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
This is a little Depression-era period piece that has some surprising charm, especially considering the huge questions surrounding its release.
reviewed by Ronald P. Salfen
Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) is the consummate frequent flier.
by Charles Partee. WJKP, 2008. Hb., 365 pp. $49.95.
The Pulitzer-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy is now faithfully converted to the big screen. The problem is, it’s just as successful as the book in being really depressing.
This film started out as a novel, then converted to a screenplay. But it has a gritty, raw, realistic feel to it that is way beyond “once upon a time.”
As disaster movies go, “2012” boasts some of the best special effects ever. And, the scientific premise even sounds plausible.
© Copyright 2026 The Presbyterian Outlook. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Statement. Website by Web Publisher PRO