By Catholic News Service Compelling documentary about the experiences of U.S. combat soldiers in Afghanistan as well as their postwar struggles to resume their lives back home. In 2011, Justin D. Roberts, who directed and co-wrote the narration with Alan Wain, served in Afghanistan as an Army chaplain. He carried a camera to document his […]
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Mel Gibson, Mark Wahlberg, Owen Wilder Vaccaro and Will Ferrell star in a scene from the movie "Daddy's Home 2." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults.(CNS/Paramount)
By Catholic News Service Silly slapstick predominates in this follow-up to the 2015 comedy about the blending pains of a post-divorce family. As the stepfather (Will Ferrell) and biological dad (Mark Wahlberg) whose rivalry fueled the first outing try to preserve the fragile harmony they’ve achieved during a Christmas visit by their own temperamentally contrasting […]
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Johnny Depp stars in a scene from the movie "Murder on the Orient Express." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Fox)
By Catholic News Service Sleek ensemble whodunit, set in the 1930s, presents Agatha Christie’s famed Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh who also directed), with an array of plausible suspects after a gangster (Johnny Depp) meets a grisly end on the luxurious train of the title. As Poirot questions the victim’s secretary (Josh Gad), butler […]
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Melissa Leo stars in a scene from the movie "Novitiate." The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. (CNS/Sony Pictures Classics)
By Catholic News Service At a time when the reforms of Vatican II caused some nuns to leave the convent, a wide-eyed young woman (Margaret Qualley) decides to enter, having fallen in love with God. There a rigid tyrant of a mother superior (Melissa Leo) lords it over her new charges, making it her mission […]
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Tessa Thompson and Chris Hemsworth star in a scene from the movie "Thor: Ragnarok." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Disney)
By Catholic News Service A healthy dose of humor keeps this sweeping Marvel Comics adaptation — the second sequel to the 2011 original — on the boil, although it still registers as overlong. The straight-shooting Norse god of thunder (Chris Hemsworth) and his ever-wily brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), will have to patch up their differences […]
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Mila Kunis and Jay Hernandez star in a scene from the movie "A Bad Moms Christmas." The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. (CNS/STX Entertainment)
By Catholic News Service Aggressive vulgarity is the incongruous hallmark of this holiday-themed sequel. As the trio of mothers (Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell and Kathryn Hahn) featured in the 2016 original deal with the wholly unrealistic problems caused when their own moms (Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines and Susan Sarandon) show up for Christmas, with or […]
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Laura Vandervoort stars in a scene from the movie "Jigsaw." The Catholic News Service classification is O -- morally offensive. (CNS/Lions Gate)
By Catholic News Service With its franchise’s shock value long since played out, this eighth “Saw” outing, yet another exercise in butchery, accompanied by siren-wail screaming, quickly descends into self-parody. The five trapped victims here, as always in this series, face gross-out hacking in a series of claustrophobic enclosures. Adding to their torment, a marionette, […]
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Alex Hassell, Glenn Fleshler and Jack Conley star in a scene from the movie "Suburbicon." The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. (CNS/Paramount Pictures)
By Catholic News Service Failed black comedy, set in the Levittown-like suburb of the title during the early 1950s, in which a young boy (Noah Jupe) witnesses the murder of his mother (Julianne Moore) at the hands of a pair of brutish intruders (Glenn Fleshler and Alex Hassell) during an unexplained home invasion. His father’s […]
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Judi Dench and Ali Fazal star in a scene from the movie "Victoria and Abdul." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Focus Features)
By Catholic News Service Endearing historical drama in which, on the sole basis of being tall and handsome, a 24-year-old prison clerk (Ali Fazal) in Agra, India, is chosen to present a ceremonial coin to Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) during her 1887 golden jubilee. After a four-month journey in the company of a grouchy fellow […]
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Miles Teller, Beulah Koale and Joe Cole star in a scene from the movie "Thank You for Your Service." The Catholic News Service classification is A-III -- adults. (CNS/Universal)
By Catholic News Service Powerful drama about the devastating impact of post-traumatic stress disorder on soldiers returning from war, directed by Jason Hall and based on David Finkel’s eponymous nonfiction book. An Army sergeant (Miles Teller) returns to Kansas with his squad after a tour of duty in Iraq, haunted by the death of one […]
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