'Twilight' of the West – Films with Demonic Influence?

Wednesday’s release of "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" promises to be a blockbuster success, if last week’s premiere in Los Angeles, where hundreds of fans camped out for days in advance order to get a glimpse, is any indication. The film’s massive popularity comes as no surprise to Canadian novelist and author Michael O’Brien, who analyzes the Twilight series in his latest book. O'Brien argues convincingly that the vampire novel series dangerously twists evil into good and may even be demonically influenced.

Commenting today on the film’s release, O’Brien told LifeSiteNews, “Unprecedented cultural phenomena such as the Twilight series, Harry Potter and Phillip Pullman’s Dark Materials series represent a sliding scale of familiarity with evil. It is time for the people of the West to awaken to the fact that we are in the midst of a cultural revolution that is reshaping our understanding of reality itself in powerful ways. It succeeds in this by rewarding us with copious sensual pleasures stimulating the imagination in all the wrong directions.”

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When Toys Are Valuable: Toy Story 3 Affirms Pro-Life Message of Value in Life

One theme (of many) running through Toy Story 3, currently the top movie at the box office, is the conflict over "toy nature," so to speak -- the nature, purpose and value of the toy characters.

The toys' owner is all grown up and leaving for college, and they face an existential crisis. Without a child to play with them, what are they supposed to do? Are they unwanted? Will they be thrown out?

Full Review Here

Archbishop Fulton Sheen; the Movie Trailer

Movie Review: Knight and Day - PG13

Tom Cruise plays Roy Miller.  it is soon apparent that he is a spy, but what is not as apparent is what his interest in June Havens (Diaz) is. As you see in the previews, he meets her at the airport.  He is carrying a new perpetual source of energy, which the bad guys are after.  The CIA claims he is a rogue agent.. 

Two elements of a good mystery are not knowing who the real bad guy is, and not knowing who you can trust. Both are done very well here.

There is almost non-stop action,  and many comedic moments. 

Both Cruise and Diaz are at their very best.

Content warnings:  Minimal; aside from one single use of the F word, there is no other objectionable language.  There is no nudity and no sex scenes.

I am seeing reports that the opening box office was disappointing, but I disagree.  It is one of the most entertaining movies I've seen this year.

An excellent movie:  SEE IT!

http://www.knightanddaymovie.com

video: Priests as seen by Italian cinema

News Release: Nine Days That Changed the World

Most people know that President Ronald Reagan put an end to the Cold War by bankrupting the Soviet Union. But most people do not know that the spark that led to the collapse of communism ignited 12 years earlier, when Pope John Paul II paid his first visit to his native Poland after ascending to the papacy.

Now a new documentary hosted by Newt and Callista Gingrich, Nine Days that Changed the World, recounts, in stirring detail, that visit and its profound effects.

Sixteen months after the Pope’s visit, Poles formed a union called Solidarity, allowing them to organize free from state control. Ultimately a chain of events unfolded that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and Mikhail Gorbachev’s acquiescence to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Nine Days tells this story. The Gingriches narrate the 94-minute film, but they played a greater role, helping produce the documentary through their company, Gingrich Productions, and providing concepts, introductions, and backing.

Find out all about it in this article about Nine Days that Changed the World, the new documentary hosted by Newt and Callista Gringrich, and their take on the historic lessons from the chain of events that followed Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit to Poland when the country was under Soviet rule.

Review of “The Templars: Knights of Christ” by Regine Pernoud

The notoriety of the Templars has greatly increased in the current century, due to controversy-stirring portrayals by The History Channel and novelists such as Dan Brown (“The DaVinci Code”). Ignatius Press has done the public a great service by publishing this excellent book by Regine Pernoud, translated by Henry Taylor . An expert in medieval history, Pernoud has set out to set the record straight on the purpose and activities of the Templar Knights.

The order of the Knights of the Temple of Solomon was founded in 1119 by Hugh of Payns, a knight from Champagne in eastern France. A group of monk-knights took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and banded together to protect pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem from Muslim bandits. In 1128 the council at Troyes gave them official recognition and organization under the “Latin Rule”.

Pernoud quotes the Latin Rule in detailing the very strict rules that were followed in the daily life of the Templars, and the way novitiates were received into the order. She goes into their architecture in great detail. The great battles fought by the Templars, and the many men who gave their lives in carrying out their missions, are documented in the chapter ”The Templar Epic”.

The author explains how the Templars acted as the first international bankers, using their treasuries in various locations as credit for Kings and Queens. Their power and control of these great treasuries incited the jealousy of the French crown; Pernoud makes the case that monarchial greed might have been the prime cause of their ultimate downfall.

The Templars were accused of heresy and crimes of indecency; the French inquisitors tortured many into making confessions, and burned at the stake those who maintained their innocence. Most of the Templars were killed and their reputation was sullied for all future generations.

Pernoud makes a powerful argument for the innocence of the Templars, through great detail in documentation and explanations of how mistranslations and misunderstandings were carried through the centuries. The reader is left sharing in the author’s astonishment at the accusations that have been left standing against a group of Christians who gave up everything to defend the faithful.

This book was sent to me as part of the Tiber Review Program by Aquinas and More in exchange for my honest review. For ordering information please click here.

Review of “Sex au Naturel: What it is and Why it’s Good for your Marriage” by Patrick Coffin

Leave it to a well-informed Catholic to be able to write for 134 pages about sex without being “sexy”. Despite the romantic cover, this book is actually a rather technical and philosophical treatise explaining the true meaning and reasoning behind Humanae Vitae and other church documents pertaining to human sexuality and marriage.

“Sex au Naturel: What it is and Why it’s Good for your Marriage” by Patrick Coffin was written primarily for practicing Catholics but all Christians may benefit from it. Whether the reader believes whole-heartedly in the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding sexuality, dissents, or is confused either about what the catechism teaches or how he or she feels about it, this book offers rational clarification. One may disagree at the end, but with a better understanding of many different facets of the issues.

Coffin first explains the basics of the 1968 papal encyclical “Humanae Vitae” (“On the Regulation of Human Life”) and the world’s reaction to it, in the context of the 1960’s, the introduction of the Pill and the Sexual Revolution, and the Second Vatican Council. Other little known encyclicals are referenced.

The author explains the mistaken view of conscience that powers the movement of dissent against the Church’s sexual ethics. Then he delves into the scriptural basis for these teachings and the logic of natural law that coincides with the same. He explains how Protestant churches originally reached the same conclusions and why they diverged from them.

What does the marital act have to do with the Trinity? This section is mind-blowing in its comparisons of pro-creative sex with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The argument for “Sex au Naturel” from here on gets more and more powerful.

Proceed from there to the explanation of how contraception contradicts natural law. Coffin also goes into how exactly contraception is different, both physically and spiritually, from natural family planning, and how couples who have been sterilized can get a “second chance” in following Catholic teaching in their marriage. He also explains how reproductive technologies go against the grain of Christian teaching when marital love is taken out of procreation.

The appendix includes many informational references on Natural Family Planning, Theology of the Body, Catholic Teaching on Sex and Marriage, Educational Organizations, Sexual Addiction, and Marriage Counseling and Support.

This book is excellent reading for anyone who wants to be better informed about Catholic teaching on sex and marriage. It would be a great complement to marriage preparation classes or marriage counseling sessions.

This review was written as part of the Catholic book Reviewer program from The Catholic Company. I was sent the book for free in exchange for my honest review. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Sex au Naturel .

"When Catholics are Attacked All Christians Should React "

Scott Nehring, our token Protestant (his label, not mine, folks!) here at Catholic Media Review, has a clip on his blog, Good News Film Reviews explaining why he believes Christians of all denominations should stand with the Catholic Church when it is unfairly criticized or attacked by those in the entertainment industry.

There is a segment in his book titled “Attack on Catholics: Just Because I Don’t Follow You Doesn’t Mean I Won’t Back You Up” where he delivers the same message. Scott told me, "It ends w/ the line 'When filmmakers throw cinematic eggs at the Vatican, they are intended to splatter on us all.'"

We all remember Scott's book, right? The one I read the galley of and can't wait to get a copy of? You Are What You See: Watching Movies Through a Christian Lens

Luckily, Scott is kindly not going to make me break my book fast experiment* as I will be getting a review copy. As he emailed:

Literally, I am sending one to the Vatican, then one to the Texas Chainsaw.

You read that right. A copy of his book will be residing at the Vatican. So you know you'd better read it, just in case the Pope twitters about it.

And, yes, you read that right. He calls me the Texas Chainsaw. Perhaps because of our frequent sparring over movies, most notably Memento.


*No books bought since the New Year.

The Chronicles of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader official trailer

The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader Official Teaser Trailer