Reviews

All-but-forgotten Rosminian was a powerful preacher

By NZ Catholic contributor | December 17, 2021 | 1 Comment

by FR MICHAEL HILL, IC  One hundred and fifty years ago no one had any conception of the Internet or other modern means of communication. There was no TV, no radio, no cinema, no music hall, and many ordinary people were illiterate. Communication therefore was almost exclusively via the spoken word.  Preaching was a prized … Read More about All-but-forgotten Rosminian was a powerful preacher

Singin’ on the screen

By Nevil Gibson | November 3, 2021 | 0 Comments

Stage musicals adapted for the screen are like wine. Some are best consumed fresh and are soon forgotten. The best improve with age. The latter include Hollywood’s golden decades of the 1930s, then the 1950s, and finally a brief spurt up to 1975.  More recently, the box office has not been kind … Read More about Singin’ on the screen

Marvel’s back in business

By Nevil Gibson | July 27, 2021 | 0 Comments

Cinema operators feared for their industry when the major Hollywood studios withheld movies during the height of the Covid-19 closures. Now that most cinemas have reopened in North America and Europe, as well as in the major Asian markets, those fears have subsided.   This year’s box office trends in New … Read More about Marvel’s back in business

De Gaulle’s darkest hours  

By Nevil Gibson | July 12, 2021 | 0 Comments

Unlike their World War II allies, the French produced few movies about their military and political leadership before and after the German invasion of 1940. Instead, they tackled tricky subjects such as collaboration with the Nazis, the deportation of Jews, and the role of the Resistance.  Britain, by contrast, has … Read More about De Gaulle’s darkest hours  

Festivals make comeback

By Nevil Gibson | July 5, 2021 | 0 Comments

Festivals have returned to cinemas and look here to stay. The New Zealand International Film Festival has moved to later in the year, hoping to get newer entries, but leaving a gap filled by France and Italy. French festivals have long been strongly supported by its government-backed industry. Last year, … Read More about Festivals make comeback

A life of faith commitment covered

By NZ Catholic contributor | May 28, 2021 | 1 Comment

ADVENTURES OF A PILGRIM, by Don Brebner (289pp, 2020; available from the author at 12 Vantage Place, Omokoroa  3114, price $30). Reviewed by PAT McCARTHY. In 2019, Rod Orange published his See Judge Act, a New Zealand history of the leadership training movements developed by the Belgian priest (and later … Read More about A life of faith commitment covered