NEW YORK (CNS) – As its title suggests, a trip to the pearly gates and back is the highlight of “90 Minutes in Heaven” (Samuel Goldwyn). Writer-director Michael Polish’s drama is based on the true story of a Baptist minister and his near-death experience.
Guest Columnists
Popes in These United States
THE HISTORY OF popes in these United States is full of surprises. And one of them – to begin at the beginning – includes the little-known fact that Blessed Paul VI was not the first pontiff to set foot on American territory, when he landed at newly renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport on Oct. 4, 1965. No, the first pope to plant a papal slipper on the sovereign territory of the U.S. was Blessed Pius IX, way back in 1849.
Pay TV Weakness Felt by Major Media
The cable television world is shrinking. Not by a lot, but it’s shrinking. The minor signs of shrinkage were felt by the behemoth TV companies even before the Wall Street swoon in August.
Lessons From Mary
Since Pope Francis spoke of “feminine genius,” I get questions periodically as to what it possibly means. I could not speak for the pope. I could only reach for my own answers, which come into view through the people I associate with his description.
Moral Defects Detract From Pleasant ‘Walk’
Buddies hit the trail – rather than the road – in the scenic fact-based comedy “A Walk in the Woods” (Broad Green).
Trust Is a Precious Commodity
Broken trust is like a shattered coffee mug: You can glue the pieces back together, but it’s never going to look like it used to and may even leak.
Remembering The Few
SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO, on Sunday, Sept. 15, 1940, Winston Churchill and his wife Clementine were driven from the prime minister’s country house, Chequers, to the nearby village of Uxbridge: a Royal Air Force (RAF) station and the headquarters from which Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park was directing the RAF’s No. 11 Group against the onslaught of the German Luftwaffe in southern England. When the prime minister and his wife walked into No. 11 Group’s Operations Room, Park, a doughty New Zealander who flew his own personal Hurricane fighter, said, “I don’t know whether anything will happen today. At present, all is quiet.”
Emotional ‘War Room’ Focuses on Family
Prayer becomes the ultimate weapon to save a young family in crisis in “War Room” (TriStar). This Christian-themed drama is the latest offering from Alex and Stephen Kendrick, the fraternal team behind 2008’s “Fireproof” and 2011’s “Courageous.”
Faith Sustains Former President
NEWS IN AUGUST that President Jimmy Carter’s cancer had spread from his liver to his brain brought sadness to many in America and around the world, but his assurance that he will be “at ease with whatever comes” came as no surprise to those who have followed the 39th president of the United States over the years.
Rewriting the Script in Roanoke and at Home
THE QUESTION THAT haunts the aftermath of tragedies resulting in death and heartbreak is often the same: Could any of us have seen it coming and stopped it? The news was indeed horrific the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 26 when two Roanoke, Virginia, journalists in their 20s with promising careers and marriages to look forward to were gunned down during a live broadcast.