The most Catholic TV show of 2025 is a gritty crime drama set outside of Philadelphia. HBO’s “Task,” which recently concluded its seven-episode run, was a tale of cops and robbers, with a gang of vicious bikers thrown in for good measure. It was, as you might expect, tense and exciting and often very dark. […]
John Dougherty
John Dougherty is the director of mission ministry at St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pa., moderator of America's Catholic Movie Club, and author of Finding God in All Films: A Contemplative Approach to Watching Movies. You can find more of his work on his Substack, Roll Credits.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
‘The Night of the Hunter’: a horror movie without special effects
In ”The Night of the Hunter,” the world is frightening and it’s often the most innocent who suffer. But grace persists.
Posted inFilm
‘Mr. Scorsese’ on Apple TV+: portrait of a Catholic paradox
“Mr. Scorsese,” the new five-episode “film portrait” on Apple TV+, examines the many contradictory facets of director Martin Scorsese’s artistic persona.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
In ‘Dark Waters,’ the truth will set you free—but at a cost
The truth makes demands of us. In ”Dark Waters,” that discomfort is enough of a reason to turn a blind eye.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
Watching ‘Taxi Driver’ after the assassination of Charlie Kirk
“Taxi Driver” is one of the best portraits of a uniquely American kind of alienation.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
In ‘St. Vincent,’ anyone can be a saint. Even Bill Murray.
Vincent almost gleefully repels everyone he meets. But as the semi-ironic title of Theodore Melfi’s “St. Vincent” implies, there’s more to him than a first impression might suggest.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
20 years after Hurricane Katrina, documentary ‘Trouble the Water’ inspires righteous rage—and hope
’Trouble the Water’ follows a married couple from the Lower Ninth Ward as they try to piece their lives back together following the storm.
Posted inCatholic Movie Club
In ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour,’ memory is a wound that will not heal.
In ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour,’ memory is a wound that will not heal.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘The Bad Guys 2’ is the best family movie of the summer—and a lesson in restorative justice
The ”Bad Guys” films ask, how do we determine who the “bad guys” are? And if you’re marked as “bad” from the start, can you ever make good?
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
Catholic Movie Club: St. Paul on the road to Damascus—but make it sci-fi
In Steven Spielberg’s “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” an ordinary electrician has a transcendent encounter—with U.F.O.s, not God.