Podcast: Download
Charles Schulz’s beloved Peanuts comic strip has also been a set of beloved holiday TV specials for many decades. Thomas Salerno, Shelly Kelly, and Mike Denz discuss why these are so beloved and the Gospel message that was often able to come through before a mass audience.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Manifest is coming back on Netflix. Dom Bettinelli and Fr. Andrew Kinstetter discuss the former NBC show, its mysteries, the moral questions it raises, and how to deal with marriage when your spouse thought you were dead for five years.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Can you escape fallen human nature in this world? Dom Bettinelli, Mike Creavey, and Mike Denz discuss the M. Night Shyamalan classic with its trademark twist including the themes of sin, redemption, and faith that it contains.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
The 4th Indiana Jones movie has a reputation as the worst of the franchise. But Dom Bettinelli, Shelly Kelly, and Thomas Salerno discuss how the movie has improved with age as overhyped expectations were replaced with joy at the campy, throwback action and comedy.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
They talked about the Godfather movies, and so now Dom Bettinelli, Mike Creavey, and Andrew Hermiz tackle the series that showed the making of the Godfather, whether it’s worthwhile as entertainment and documentary, as well as its interesting viewpoint.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
What if the Soviets beat the US to the moon? Dom Bettinelli, Fr. Cory Sticha, and Joanne Mercier discuss this AppleTV+ series, how the alternate history unspools, and the moral choices it creates for the protagonists over its 3 seasons so far.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Few would claim The Last Starfighter is one of the great scifi movies of all time. But Dom Bettinelli, David Handlos, and Thomas Sanjurjo all agree that it’s a great fun movie with a hero you want to root for and some incredibly groundbreaking effects for its day.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
What is the gray moral area that a CIA agent lives in? Dom Bettinelli, Fr. Chip Hines, and Thomas Sanjurjo discuss this Netflix blockbuster in which an assassin has boundaries he won’t cross and must risk is life for it.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Another Batman. Andrew Hermiz, David Handlos, and Irving Nestor discuss the latest Batman movie, starring Robert Pattinson, and the way this film reinterprets the Caped Crusader once again.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Close Encounters launched the UFO craze of the late 70s and Jimmy Akin, Dom Bettinelli, Thomas Salerno, and Mike Denz discuss the cultural impact, the idea of alien contact, and the connections to reported real world UFO encounters.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Who was the real Father Stu behind the movie character? Dom Bettinelli, Fr. Cory Sticha, and Joanne Mercier discuss Fr. Cory’s memories of Father Stu, plus how the biopic depicts priestly life and formation and its reminder of the beauty of redemptive suffering.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
The story of St. Thomas More came to the big screen in a classic 1996 film. Dom Bettinelli, Mike Creavey, and Mike Denz discuss the movie and how it portrays the great saint of conscience in public service, including how his example still applies today.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Bookending their look at the Blade Runner films, Thomas Sanjurjo, Thomas Salerno, and Jack Baruzzini discuss the sequel and its continued exploration of what it means to be human, including whether replicants and AIs can have souls.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
The first summer blockbuster, Jaws has had wide impact on our cultures, our attitudes about sharks and open water, and on films in general. Dom Bettinelli, Mike Denz, and Thomas Salerno discuss this Spielberg classic.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Madness! Dom Bettinelli and Fr. Chip Hines have their instant hot take on the new MCU movie, including discussion of Messiah complexes, finding happiness, and whether audience superhero fatigue is on the horizon.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Rounding out their discussion of Coppola’s trilogy, Dom Bettinelli, Andrew Hermiz, and Mike Creavey talk about why this installment doesn’t measure up to the others; the Vatican conspiracy plotline and its connection to history; and the theme of redemption and contrition or lack thereof.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Coffee and Cinema returns! Dom Bettinelli and Fr. Chip Hines are back with their quick, on-the-spot review of the Mark Wahlberg movie, Father Stu, and they discuss the authenticity of the vocational journey it depicts as well as some of the more controversial aspects of the film.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
The 1995 Tom Hanks movie highlights NASA’s finest hour and Dom Bettinelli, Shelly Kelly, Joanne Mercier, and Mike Denz discuss how the movie matches up to what really happened and delve into behind-the-scenes and real-life details of the 1970 Apollo accident.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Star Wars changed everything about SciFi at the movies. Thomas Sanjurjo, David Handlos, and Dom Bettinelli look at the distinct eras and genres of science fiction movies from the 1950s to 1977 and then the non-space-opera SciFi afterward.
Listen Now
Podcast: Download
Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film Interstellar presents a vision of a future where humanity struggles to survive. Dom Bettinelli, Jack Baruzzini, and Mike Creavey discuss the themes of fatherhood; a materialist view of love; and the morality of fighting off extinction at all costs.
Listen Now