Author Archives | Marc T. Newman, Ph.D.

Marc T. Newman, Ph.D. - who has written 44 posts on Catholic Exchange.


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War and Redemption Reign at the Academy Awards

Posted on 09 March 2010

James Cameron will have to console himself with the over $2.5 billion in worldwide box office receipts that his film, Avatar, has raked in over the past few months (and more coming in daily). When it came time to hand…

MovieMinistry’s Films to Look For in 2010

Posted on 19 January 2010

Once again, MovieMinistry rejects the backward-looking top ten lists. (Do you really need someone else’s opinion to determine which ten films you thought were best?) Instead, we look ahead, to try to help you to identify the upcoming films that…

Committed to Character in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

Posted on 26 December 2009

"If hardcore Star Trek fans are called Trekkers, I guess our fans would be called Munkers." Producer Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. was talking about the three generations of people who are devoted followers of furry little band members with high-pitched voices.…

New Moon: Self as the Standard of Spiritual Truth, Love as the Ultimate Idol

Posted on 27 November 2009

I have a confession to make. I am not a tweenage girl. And some of them will take immediate offense that I am criticizing what many of them consider “the greatest love story of all time.” I know this because…

Living Faith Out Loud: Capturing Authentic Christians on Film in The Blind Side

Posted on 21 November 2009

Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy told me that they did not have script approval, and therefore had no control over how they were portrayed on screen in The Blind Side. The film is the story of how the Tuohys…

God as a Convenient Falsehood in The Invention of Lying

Posted on 10 October 2009

No one watching the trailers for Ricky Gervais’ The Invention of Lying would have any idea that the film is largely a thinly-veiled attack on the truth claims of monotheistic religion — one that mirrors Gervais’ personal beliefs (search YouTube

Telling Half the Story in The Informant!

Posted on 21 September 2009

Hollywood likes to traffic in the seedy. Redemption stories only seem to appear when “redemption” means pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps. Studios have had a couple of great chances to talk about real redemption through biographies lately, but they…

Harry Potter and the Terrifying Order to Obey

Posted on 24 July 2009

Critics of the Harry Potter films have noted that Harry and his friends are often rewarded for lying and breaking the rules. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince should put such fears to rest. The Harry

Finding Strong Fathers in Film

Posted on 20 June 2009

Once you get past [those of the] Ten Commandments that deal with humans’ relationship to God, the first “horizontal” commandment is that people honor their fathers and mothers (Exodus 20:12). Last month we honored mothers. If you went to church,

Losing Your Life to Gain It: Guidelines for Growing Old in Up

Posted on 06 June 2009

Up is an animated film for grown-ups. Sure, it has a main character who is a child, funny talking dogs (sort of), and a fantasy element that requires a substantial suspension of disbelief – so don’t be surprised that families are…

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