The Hobbit and holidays
Peter Jackson has posted the first trailer of the second instalment of The Hobbit. It’s look pretty good!! The film will be released in Australia on Boxing Day. A short time later — probably...
View ArticleEvil’s accomplice
When Hannah Arendt covered the 1961 Eichmann trial, she coined a famous and memorable phrase: “the banality of evil.” Adolf Eichmann was a senior Nazi and major organiser of the Final Solution, who...
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Father Brown on film and TV
Chesterton describes Father Brown as very short and dumpy, with “a face as round and dull as a Norfolk dumpling.” The fictional priest detective was reportedly based on Mgr John O’Connor, who received...
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Happy hobbits
The Hobbit was the only movie I watched at the cinema last year, and its sequel is probably the only movie I’ll watch at the cinema this year. But any illusion I had of being a serious fan was smashed...
View ArticleMedjugorje movie
The Hamilton presbytery is currently undergoing renovations. It’s not like walls are being removed – it’s only a matter of removing some carpet and polishing the floorboards. But even this small task...
View ArticleThe Triumph: a tale of two films
Yesterday’s post about viewing The Triumph attracted the attention of the film’s director, Sean Bloomfield, who has invited feedback. Today’s post is, therefore, something of an open letter to Sean. I...
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Secrets of Smaug the dragon
The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug opens in American theatres on Friday, and in Australian cinemas on Boxing Day. Visiting Middle Earth via the Ballarat Regent Theatre is an established Boxing Day...
View ArticleThe Nativity Story
I watched The Nativity Story last night. It’s very good. Excellent, even. I didn’t notice, but someone else watching remarked on how well the film depicted our Lady’s development, from a simple...
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The Hobbit 2: more scraped butter
The family Boxing Day tradition continued, and I attended Ballarat’s premier screening of The Hobbit. It met all my expectations. So much so that my review of part 1 of the trilogy (released 12 months...
View ArticleCinema and evangelisation
Blogging occasionally offers unexpected side-benefits. I’ve just watched a full preview of The Identical — a film which won’t be released in US cinemas until September. Who knows when it will hit...
View ArticleHollywood’s greatest Christmas movie is a perfect fit for Easter
Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is the unassailable Christmas movie classic. No other Christmas film comes close. After a life of hard work and sacrifice, George Bailey is on the brink of financial...
View ArticleThe Hobbit: the Battle of Five Armies
The final instalment of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit is really a tale of two films. It is the best of Hollywood, and the worst of Middle Earth. If you want fast-paced visually-stunning all-absorbing...
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Kangaroos living, dead and undead
Last month, in the midst of my blogging interlude, I hit a kangaroo. Or, more precisely, a kangaroo hit me! I have the photos to prove this version of events. As you can see, my car was damaged on the...
View ArticleThere Be Dragons: a tale of two (or possibly three) films
To celebrate St Josemaría’s actual feast day today, I watched There Be Dragons tonight. Well. I thought that’s what I was watching. It turns out there are two different versions of the movie — a...
View ArticlePaul Cox, auteur of Molokai, RIP
The discovery of two versions of There Be Dragons — the original version and a director’s cut — evokes the similar story surrounding Molokai: the story of Father Damien. I was sorry to learn today that...
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