Gaston is troubling because he is the Disney villain who resonates most with reality: It’s unlikely that we’ll encounter an Ursula or a Jafar, but we all know a Gaston.
John Dougherty
John Dougherty is the director of mission and ministry at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Philadelphia, Pa.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and how to live out the faith in an ever-changing world
Torn between religious devotion and his own children, Tevye struggles to hold onto his faith in a new and uncertain world.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’: a musical that echoes the sacred vision of Teilhard de Chardin
In “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg,” the ordinary becomes operatic and the everyday becomes extraordinary.
Posted inArts & Culture, Film
Review: M. Night Shyamalan’s thriller ‘Trap’ reveals the true price of a double life
Living a double life requires lying to everyone around you, but it also requires lying to yourself.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
The Ignatian creativity of ‘Singin’ in the Rain’
“Singin’ in the Rain” inspires us to meet pivotal moments with creativity, cooperation and a desire to achieve the greatest possible good.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
A Jesuit rom-com? ‘Crossroads’ explores love in a time of discernment
Would you believe that there’s a Jesuit rom-com? It sounds like a joke, but that is a fairly accurate description of “Crossroads,” a 2006 film written and directed by Murray Robinson.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
We all feel like pigs sometimes. ‘Porco Rosso’ shows us how to see the good in ourselves anyway.
The protagonist of “Porco Rosso” is a pig literally and metaphorically: He’s rude, cocksure and a notorious womanizer.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘The Godfather Part III’ asks: Can Michael Corleone’s soul be saved?
“The Godfather Part III” (1990) is the most explicitly Catholic entry in the series.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
‘The Godfather Part II’ and the dark side of the American dream
Despite his performative Catholicism, Michael Corleone puts more stock in the American vision of freedom than the Christian one.
Posted inArts & Culture, Catholic Movie Club
Catholic Movie Club: Why do we glorify ‘The Godfather’?
The fact that audiences see the story as aspirational is more of a reflection on us as fallen people than the film itself.