I must confess-I am not a huge fan of documentaries especially those made by partisan manipulators like Michael Moore and Al Gore. In fact, I find most documentaries quite boring. One would think that as a mother of six and grandmother of eight, I would have enjoyed “Babies,” but after five minutes I was switching the channels to something more stimulating. Maybe I’m all babied out.

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When I received a request by a priest to review a film, “The Human Experience,” I was less than enthused. As a columnist for the New York Sun, my mail box was always filled with similar requests which I seldom had time to address although those received from Moving Picture Institute in Tribeca proved quite interesting and I eventually wrote columns about their features. “Mine Your Own Business: The Dark Side of Environmentalism, “written and directed by Phelim McAleer was a favorite and McAleer became Al Gore’s public nemesis for challenging him at forums about global warming.

This being the start of the Christmas season, however, I was intrigued by the priest’s invite when he told me the documentary was made by young residents of St. Francis House, a group home for troubled youth founded by Father Benedict Groeschel. Grassroots Films began here at the home when producer Joe Campo had the residents take up the art of filmmaking. After a few successful short films, the young men decided to live on the streets of New York City to learn about the homeless community. From there the film developed with opportunities to visit areas around the world to discover how our humanity transcends our environment. One of these treks includes a visit to a leper colony in Ghana; another to dying AIDS victims in Africa. (more…)

Early on in the new film “The American,” a priest turns to the lead character Jack and says, “You’re an American. You think you can escape history?” Even though he barely knows the stranger in front of him, the priest can see that the visiting American is trying to leave his past behind him. As ”The American,” Oscar-winner George Clooney takes center stage in this well-done character study of an assassin trying to complete his last job.

Near the beginning of the film, we see Jack with a female companion in a cabin. On a walk, the couple is attacked by a lone shooter. Jack’s companion is shocked to discover that he is carrying a weapon. This woman may be in a relationship with Jack but she doesn’t know who Jack really is or what he is capable of. Neither does the audience.

Shortly thereafter, Jack is sent on a mission in a small Italian village. He moves into the area and is tasked with building a gun for a female customer. That customer knows exactly what she is looking for in and asks Jack to meet her specific requirements. While in the village, Jack befriends a kind-hearted priest and a caring prostitute named Clara. Even as he spends much of his time looking over his shoulder for assassins targeting him, Jack forms relationships with both of these kind individuals. (more…)

“The American” (George Clooney) introduces himself to others as Edward. To his handler/boss, he’s Jack. We obviously don’t know his real name and in the crunching mountain snow of Sweden where lethal international assassins have gathered to play their reindeer games, we meet Jack, our protagonist, and witness him commit an act of unspeakable cold-blooded evil without even a moment’s hesitation.

The whys and hows of Jack and his situation are never fully explained because they’re not important. Death is his business and therefore it’s understood his cover must be protected even at the price of his own soul. And so he leaves the country, covers his tracks (even from his handler), and travels to a quaint small town in Italy where he hopes to hide in plain sight from those lethal Swedes and complete the kind of job where, this time, he won’t have to pull the trigger. His new commission is to craft a particularly nasty tool of the trade for a female assassin as intriguing and unknowable as she is beautiful.

And yes, this will be Jack’s last job before he gets out for good. 

But you already knew that.

You would think a seasoned killer experienced enough to survive until his hair went gray would choose a better place to lie low than a small village where he conspicuously stands out – and then some — as the sole American. An aging, local priest fingers him as such immediately.  The only explanation for this counter-intuitive decision appears to be to satisfy the cinematographer, because the old-world setting nestled into a mountainside complete with winding cobblestone streets is truly lovely to look at. (more…)

The first episode of the new science fiction television series “V” is a wake up call to those looking for salvation in the wrong places. We cannot predict where the series will go, but the opening episode features a young pastor, who plays a lead role in opposing the rush to consider some benevolent looking aliens to be the saviors of mankind.

The aliens are called “visitors,” shortened to “Vs,” thus the title of the program. They appear over major cities in large hovering spaceships that project messages in the local language. More than just the classic we-come-in-peace message, the messages say, “We’re here to help you.”

The opening episode makes it very clear, however, that they are not here to help. It turns out the Vs have planted many of their kind, who look human, prior to their dramatic arrival in spaceships. The alien plants have done their best to foul up life on earth in order to encourage a hunger for “change” (salvation). The Chicago Tribune draws a parallel to the Obama administration but, while many believe President Obama was not born in the United States, it’s unlikely he was born on another planet. Even so, it’s interesting that the evil aliens offer “universal health care” to all people. Thus, the first episode clearly seems to be saying that President Obama’s health care proposals, now making their way through the U.S. Congress, are a false hope that will lead to tyranny and slavery. (more…)