The Butterfly Circus wins first prize!

Congratulations to The Butterfly Circus for winning the grand prize in the Doorpost Film Project contest!
Read the entire post at Reflections of a Paralytic who helped publicize the outstanding 20 minute film about the intrinsic value of every human being.

Thank you Eduardo Verastegui for telling us about this amazing film in July. Congratulations on your moving and powerful performance.

Interview with a Catholic movie star: "Bella" star Eduardo Verastegui

Here is the video link of the August 11, 2009 press interview with Eduardo Verastegui and yours truly.I was impressed by his humble demeanor, he went round the room in the beginning, shaking hands and hearing introductions, and when he sat down, right in front of me, he looked a little nervous. Eduardo has just been to China, Italy and Africa advancing the cause of needy pregnant poor women, raising money for a hospital for the poor in LA, and he is nervous in a provincial college in front of mostly Catholic press. It shows that his focus in not on his impressive accomplishments. When asked if he fears being pigeonholed as a 'Catholic' actor, he looked steadily into the questioner's eyes, and replied, "there is only one thing I am afraid of; not serving God".Courtesy of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate from www.airmaria.com
Photos courtesy of my daughter Gabriela in the photo.

One day preview of "The Butterfly Circus"

Go to Doorpost Films to view this preview of an amazing short film which will challenge your views of what a circus can be.

Angels and Demons: Fiction posing as Fact

from the Catholic League
ANGELS & DEMONS” NEEDS DISCLAIMER

Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why he wants a disclaimer in “Angels & Demons”; it debuts in Rome today and opens in the U.S. on May 15:

“India’s Censor Board has asked that a disclaimer be put in ‘Angels & Demons’ saying the movie is a work of fiction. It has also asked that certain scenes be deleted from the movie. The Board explained its position by saying ‘It has its guidelines and its duty, and if it thinks a film, any film, disparages a religious community or hurts religious feelings, it should take action under its code.’

“The Catholic League would like to see the same disclaimer inserted everywhere the movie is shown. The disclaimer is needed because director Ron Howard, drawing on the book by Dan Brown, is playing both sides of the street: he, and Brown, alternate between promoting their work as fact and fiction. Thus, to set the record straight they need to come clean and do for the rest of the world what they have already agreed to do in India—insert a disclaimer indicating its fictional nature.
“The Catholic League believes that cutting scenes is an infringement on the artistic rights of those associated with the film and therefore does not endorse this approach. But a disclaimer is different: it is nothing more than a variant of truth in advertising.
“India is only two percent Christian. If Sony, the film’s producer, and Howard have no problem putting in a disclaimer in India, they surely should be prepared to do the same wherever the movie is shown. When Sony released ‘The Merchant of Venice’ it opened with a disclaimer condemning anti-Semitism. Howard opened ‘A Beautiful Mind’ with a disclaimer noting how the film contains fictional aspects not found in the book by that name. Catholics, obviously, expect the same degree of respect.
“This is where the rubber meets the road: Howard says he is not anti-Catholic. Let’s see what he says about my request.”

Guadalupe the film

This film was releasesd the same day as Gibson's Apocalypto,and is the natural continuation of the story, Our Lady of Guadalupe ended the bloodletting of the Aztecs sacrifices. John Henry Westen of Life Site news says it is estimate that 1 of 3 Aztec children died in sacrifice. That's the same percentage of children who die from abortion in this country.
I have been searching for this film and the website is no longer functioning. Does anyone know if it is our on DVD?

Protest at premiere of "Tropic Thunder"

My West Coast friends, organized 50 protestors from twenty disabitity groups to protest at yesterday's Hollywood premiere of "Tropic Thunder". Groups around the nation are planning similar protests tomorrow as the film opens nationwide.
Read the entire story here.

"We are asking people not to go to the movie and hope to bring a consciousness to people about using derogatory words about this population," said Peter Wheeler, spokesman for Special Olympics, one of 22 disability groups nationwide protesting the satire."That will be the start of a nationwide protest," said Wheeler. "We will continue to be vocal about the destructive effect of this film."

HT Reuters UK

Note from Gail Williamson on her protest of "Tropic Thunder"

Gail Williamson is the foremost advocate for the disabled in Hollywood. I was privileged to meet here at the premiere of "Mr Blue Sky" in April of 2007. Among her many accomplishments, Gail is responsible for getting individuals with Down syndrome prominent roles in TV and film, including Eddie Barbarell in "The Ringer", and helped with the casting of babies with Down syndrome in the recent Lifetime film, "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". Gail has a handsome son, Blair with Down syndrome who has acted in several movies, including one with Jim Caveziel. She is organizing a protest at today's premiere of "Tropic Thunder".
Here is her account of the meeting she organized with disability groups and Dreamworks Studios.

Don't revisit Brideshead

If you have any respect for Evelyn Waugh or the 1981 miniseries, avoid the Miramax revisionist remake of Brideshead Revisited. Thanks to Barbara Nicolosi for the warning.
We have quite enough gay agenda promoting and Catholic bashing on TV without having to pay for it in the theatre, thank you.

Did Brokeback break Heath Ledger?

Young actors who play emotionally and morally difficult roles are not immune to painful reactions to these roles. Linda Blair, who played Regan, the possessed girl in "The Exorcist" went on to a series of disturbing roles, including the victim of a gang rape, and disappeared from the spotlight.
Is is possible that the emotional and moral dilmemma evoked by his role in "Brokeback Mountain" unearthed emotions which the young actor couldn't process? Watch this disturbing interview which Heath Ledger did after filming "Brokeback Mountain".
This is the elephant in the room which Hollywood doesn't want to discuss, since, as a whole, they have overcome their problems with homosexual behavior. They assume that the young Ledger had done the same.
Perhaps they were wrong.
HT Drudge Report

Faith and Family Flicks

Thank God for those who use the media creatively to create family friendly alternatives .
Faith and Family Flicks is doing just that, giving families access to family friendly DVDs, for a rental fee of only $9.99 a month.
"It offers a lot of the documentary videos and saints videos so that we can rent them and see if we want to buy them," said Leslie. "Our first two films were a documentary on Mother Teresa and a Tom & Jerry cartoon." says a satisfied customer, who is happy her money won't be supporting a company that deals in immoral films.
HT Catholic Exchange

Hat tip to The Anchoress who has reviewed CMR

My new blog, Catholic Media Review, affectionately dubbed, CMR, received a plug today from The Anchoress. She appreciated my review of Juno.
"After reading this informative review of the film Juno I’d say this site’s off to a splendid start, and it will become a “first-stop” reference when looking for information on what’s out there in the world of media, particularly if you’re trying to get a Christian perspective on things".
I enjoyed her post on young people joining traditional religious orders. I posted on this phenomenon myself, and I see this as a great sign of hope for the Church.
1/4 Update: Thanks to the Curt Jester, who mentioned us by name, and Danielle Bean who called us a 'handful of talented bloggers'. We appreciate your support in this effort. Also thanks to Mary Kochran who will be posting my reveiw of "Juno" on Catholic Exchange.
Our stat counter is smoking!

Interview with the co-stars of "Juno"

Ellen Page and Michael Cera are obviously delighted with the film's runaway success, and three Spirit Award nominations they have just received. Watch the Reelz channel interview here.

Is the tide turning toward a Culture of Life?

I want to begin my second thousand posts on a hopeful note. A new survey by ABC News found that Americans are 6% more pro-life than 6 months ago. I believe that the rash of pro-lifed themed songs and movies out there may have had something to do with it. The Romanian "Nine Months" movie, which won the Cannes Film Festival this year, "Waitress","Juno", "Knocked Up", "In the Wake of Choice", "Bella", and "Noelle". I can't think of another year with so many movies, though not officially pro-life which contained strong pro-life themes, perhaps even unintentionally.
There is a saying "politics is downstream from culture" which a friend gave me as his reason to work for a family-friendly media company, Walden Media. I'm beginning to see the wisdom in that, and it inspires me to keep writing this blog, and the many articles which keep getting rejected, but eventually find their way to this blog. We are making a difference, Catholic bloggers!
Let's hope it will in influence this year's presidential election. From the look of the performance of Governor Mike Huckabee in the polls, it may be that pro-life, pro-family, homeschoolers are influencing the nation in a big way.

Opening on Christmas Day: The Water Horse

Archbishop Chaput on "The Golden Compass"

"The aggressively anti-religious, anti-Christian undercurrent in The Golden Compass is unmistakable and at times undisguised."
Archbishop Chaput has seen plainly what Harry Forbes couldn't; the aetheistic undercurrent of "The Golden Compass". Read his full review here.

Christmas at Maxwell's

I plan to order this film, which came out last year and is available on DVD.It's called Christmas at Maxwell's, and looks Catholic-inspired.

Here's a review from Peggy Moen of The Wanderer, who begins, "If you have time after going to see Bella in the theaters and watching It's a Wonderful Life at home, you might also want to see Christmas at Maxwell's, now available on DVD. "Watch the trailer here.

Confirmation: "The Golden Compass" disappoints

They have $350 million to recoup, and they made less than $30 million this weekend, not a good sign. This is the company that made "Lord of the Rings"
They needed it to be that popular, or like "Harry Potter",which is obviously what they expected, so this is a blow. Here's a story about it.
I don't know if the protests kept people away, or the fact that it was panned by many secular critics. Either way, I am relieved that fewer children will fall prey to Pullman's lies.
Leticia

New York Magazine expects "The Golden Compass" to flop this weekend

Let's hope New Line Cinema learns a lesson from investing nearly $300 million in a film which is projected to make a mere $20-30 million this weekend.

Don't defame God and His Catholic Church. Besides the eternal punishments, there are temporal ones. America is still a nation of believers, and won't be won over by a shabby attempt to ape the literary masterpieces of CSLewis.

Pete Vere leads the charge against "The Golden Compass"

Pete Vere is a contributor to several publications including "The Wanderer" and "National Catholic Register". He has co-written book with Sandra Meisel on Phillip Pullman entitled, The Pied Piper of Atheism. He has also written several good articles, including, Pullman and the Seduction of Children. He says,
Meet Philip Pullman, the man whom English author Peter Hitchens refers to as “the most dangerous author in Britain.” He writes children’s literature that mocks God and ridicules church. “He is the anti-Lewis,” Hitchens states, referencing C.S. Lewis’s classic Chronicles of Narnia series. He adds that Pullman is “the one the atheists would have been praying for, if atheists prayed.” Yet, unlike most atheists who attack God through stuffy academic treatises that will never be read by the general public, Pullman uses children’s literature to foment rebellion against God.

"Bella" still hanging on despite holiday competition

Somebody up there loves "Bella" or it wouldn't still be showing in the intensely competitive holiday season. I think I know Who.

“We’re alive, but at any moment we could die,” said Sean Wolfington, one of the film’s producers. “Every week we’re trying to survive because we don’t have ad budgets. Every week there is some type of publicity that helps us survive.” (here Tony Bennett has an animated conversation with Eduardo Verastegui.)

I'm taking the girls to see "Bella" again this weekend, in honor of the Immaculate Conception. Why don't you do the same, and bring an elderly friend who can't drive, as a good deed for Advent?

Christine did.