Johnny Depp stars in a scene from the movie “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald”. Photo: Warner Bros/CNS. By John Mulderig For a film about magic, 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was strangely lacking in enchantment. So it’s welcome news that the follow-up, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Warner Bros) is sharper and more engaging, though defects rem...

Melbourne Archbishop Comensoli DD with Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. Photo: Supplied. Drawing knowledge and inspiration gained through the completion of his doctoral thesis at the University of Edinburgh, the recently elected Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli launched a new book that defends human dignity, particularly of people who suffer with disabilities. The Sydney launch of ...

Ava (Erin Bethea) and Benjamin Morton (Jonathan Patrick Moore) on their wedding day. Photo: Supplied. By Theresia Titus Through a simple storyline, New Life tells the audience of a subtle Christian message about how the smallest light of hope is always there even in the most unbearable situations. Directed by Drew Waters, a television actor who makes his directing debut with the re...

Mackenzie Foy, Keira Knightley, Eugenio Derbez and Richard E Grant star in a scene from the movie “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms”. Photo: Disney/CNS. By John Mulderig German author ETA Hoffmann’s tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King has proven a remarkably rich bit of source material since its initial publication in 1816. Translated into French by Alexandre Dumas the elder, it g...

Gwilym Lee and Rami Malek star in a scene from the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Photo: Fox/CNS. By John Mulderig Rami Malek gives himself completely to the role of Freddie Mercury in “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Fox), director Bryan Singer’s biopic of the lead singer of the rock group Queen, with impressive artistic results. The moral status of Singer’s film, as scripted by Anthony McCarten, how...

Brenton Thwaites as Paul Asher and David Strathairn as ‘The Man’ in “An Interview with God”. Photo: Astute Films. By Peter Sheehan This American film develops an intriguing plot line about a crisis-ridden journalist who returns home after covering the war in Afghanistan, and then conducts a series of interviews with someone who claims he is God. The journalist, named Paul Asher (played...

Jamie Lee Curtis stars in the movie “Halloween”. Photo: Universal/CNS. By John Mulderig One of modern Hollywood’s most enduring horror franchises turns 40 this year. To mark the occasion, director and co-writer David Gordon Green presents us with Halloween (Universal), a direct sequel to the eponymous 1978 original. Neither the anniversary nor the picture intended to salute it is an...

There is nothing more satisfying than the taste of zingy, soy-based sauce on succulent chicken wings, accompanied by fresh lettuce, tomato and cucumber on a fine spring afternoon.

My Dear Young Friend by Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. Image: Sourced. By The Catholic Weekly “What is my life for? What are my passions, hopes and ideals? Where do I belong and get my identity and meaning? Where, ultimately, will I find that ‘infinite joy’ for which I was made and my heart craves?” Speaking directly to the deepest desires of young Catholics to do more and be more, Archbishop...

Ryan Gosling stars in a scene from the movie “First Man”. Photo: Universal/CNS. By John Mulderig By turns the intimate portrait of its elusive subject’s inner life and a lavish look back at the sometimes tragic, ultimately triumphant race to the Moon, First Man (Universal), director Damien Chazelle’s multi-dimensional profile of astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), is a splendid piece of...