Is Bruce Springsteen a Catholic songwriter? There's a strong argument to be made that he is. Catholic images can be found on many of his albums, especially his early ones, and ...

Conor Oberst, the lead singer and creative force behind the band Bright Eyes, is one of those ridiculously accomplished young people who make you wonder what you've been doing with your ...

Good novels rarely make good movies, but author Richard Russo has somehow defied the odds. The film based on Nobody's Fool captured the tenderness and humor of Russo's novel, thanks in large part to Paul ...

Toward the end of Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, the Jacques Cousteau-esque oceanographer (played Bill Murray) and his crew finally finds the shark that they have pursued with ...

In one sense, Clint Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby--which was nominated for seven Oscars earlier this week--will be familiar to anyone who has seen Rocky or The Great White Hope or any ...

There's an easy way to judge a film about someone with a disability. If the protagonist is portrayed as saint, then it's probably not worth watching. If he's depicted as an ...

"Maria Full of Grace" is a work of fiction, but one can be forgiven for mistaking it for a documentary. The film, about a teenage girl from Colombia who becomes a ...

Don Imus' plugs I first spotted Father Joe, Tony Hendra's new spiritual autobiography, on a bookshelf in our office. At Commonweal magazine we receive dozens of books a month from various religious ...

Few debates can rage louder and longer than those among music fans regarding the merits of their favorite artists or songs . Anyone who has ever witnessed people arguing over who ...