The Simplistic Hero and Villain of ‘The Two Popes’
The film really isn’t about the two popes, but about one—Francis. Benedict is only used as a vehicle and a way to portray Francis as the savior of the Catholic Church.
Books & Culture
Clint Eastwood Portrays the American Greatness of Ordinary Americans
Eastwood’s project of demonstrating the greatness in the American character is again exemplified in “Richard Jewell.”
Mary, Didja Know?
Did the Holy Mother realize how politicized her journey to Bethlehem would become?
I Heard the Bells
on Christmas Day
The musical adaptation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem, "Christmas Bells," is gorgeous. But it isn't really about Christmas.
A ‘Christmas Carol’
For Our Times
Retreat to your chamber and pray. Come forth and join your even-Christians in prayer and song. Let your eyes shine with the vision of a wonder that the world does not know.
Tom Wolfe’s Bad Blood
Remembering the “Man in White” as an American prophet.
Clint Eastwood Ahead of the Curve on the FBI
Sharp-eyed viewers will catch the foundational message of "Richard Jewell" in the caption on a poster hanging on the wall in a defense attorney’s office: “The government scares me more than terrorists.”
Finding America
Among the Ruins
In a short re-dedication of his novel, The Virginian, Owen Wister wrote: “If this book be anything more than an American story, it is an expression of American faith.” Such a faith lies in the ruins with the book.
Time in a Bubble
A strange—yet predictable—pick for "Person of the Year."
Quentin Tarantino’s
Film of the Year
In "Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood," the old wins its battle with the new and real men are portrayed as heroes once more.
Martin Scorsese’s Cinematic Splendor
Despite the criticism, “The Irishman” director has made a cinematically powerful film.
Baseball’s Owners Plot Baseball’s Demise
Killing the minor leagues in favor of more “analytics” will destroy America’s favorite pastime.
‘The Irishman’ Stinks
Robert De Niro delivers a 209-minute confession—with no remorse. He says what he feels, which is nothing.
‘The Mandalorian’ Is
Must-See TV
The Disney+ series serves up the Old West in a new format.
Baby, It’s Still Prudish Outside
“It’s your body and your choice” is prudery, to be sure, but it also represents a kind of nihilism that dead-bolts the mind. When that prevails, with no apology to Don McLean, that’s the day the music dies.
A ‘Farm Kid’ Thwarts the Coup
“That’s why the establishment, the press, the permanent bureaucracy, the tech oligarchs, the urban aristocrats, the Deep State and all the rest of the ugly beautiful people, will never forgive Devin Nunes,” Lee Smith writes in his dynamite new book. “It belittled them that he didn’t care he wasn’t their sort but was proud to be a farm kid.”
The Marvel Harriet Tubman
By choosing to give its marvelous heroine the comic-book treatment, “Harriet” can’t decide if it wants to be a serious biography or the female “Black Panther.”
Woke Broke Movies in 2019—Does Hollywood Even Care?
Bomb after bomb after bomb after bomb. Are any studio executives paying attention yet?
Peter Collier, 1939–2019
On the life and work of Peter Collier.
Silicon Age Theatre
It’s important to tread carefully lest one gets “worked” one way or another by this vaudevillian. What The Pervert presents is the idea that better people will make a better system. The mindset is that we must become worthy to transcend what’s prescribed.