Faith and Film
The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins has already become a phenomenon in the publishing world, having reached millions of young adult readers. Now the first movie has been released, and it, too, has become a big hit… I’d heard of The Hunger Games, but have not read the books, and knew little about them. But the movie’s success and positive buzz made we want to see it. Read review by Tom Condon, OP

Faith and Film
Undefeated

“Undefeated” is this year’s Oscar winner for best documentary. It recounts the 2009 football season of Manassas High School, located in an impoverished Memphis neighborhood. It had been many years since Manassas had had a winning football team, and it had never won a playoff game. This was about to change. Read review by Tom Condon, OP

Faith and Film
A Separation

“A Separation” just won the Oscar for best foreign language film. It is the first Iranian film to be so honored. This domestic drama has received widespread critical acclaim for its unique glimpse at family life in Iran. Read review by Tom Condon, OP

Faith and Film
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy

“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” the new movie based on John Le Carre’s 1973 novel, could hardly be more different than “Mission: Impossible” and James Bond. In Le Carre’s world, espionage takes place in dreary buildings carried out by decidedly non-glamorous looking people… The plot is so intricate that I’m not really sure exactly what happened in the film. But from the beginning, I was so drawn into the world of the Cold War 40 years ago that I was as engrossed as if I were reading a good novel. Read review by Tom Condon, OP

Faith and Film
The Artist

The talk of the film year has been the amazing story of a black and white silent film which won the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival last May and opened in late 2011 to critical acclaim in the United States. Now it has won a Golden Globe, and, with 10 Oscar nominations, seems the movie to beat for best picture. It’s been over 80 years since a silent film won the Oscar for best picture, and 18 since a black and white film won. “The Artist” could well make history at the Oscars this year. Read review by Tom Condon, OP

Faith and Film
The Iron Lady

Meryl Streep’s performance in “Iron Lady” is remarkable in that we see her not only as an old woman, but as a young member of Parliament, and as Britain’s first female prime minister. Unfortunately, the movie is not nearly as good as Streep’s performance. Read review by Tom Condon, OP