Pauline Media Studies

Film & TV Reviews

Examined through diverse lenses – human, artistic, religious

Clifford the Big Red Dog – Love Conquers All

Every kid who has ever begged their parents for a dog and encountered resistance to the idea will love...

Purgatory – A Call to Prayer, Repentance, and Forgiveness

What’s the first image that comes to your mind when you hear the word, “purgatory”? Artists over the centuries...

Mass – Processing a Tragedy

Actor-turned-writer/director, Fran Kranz, tackles a tough subject in his feature film debut, “Mass.” The emotional aftermath of a school...

The Starling – The Gentleness of Human Growth

In a world where loss clings to our consciousness and change is relentlessly on the horizon, a film like...

Dear Evan Hansen – No One is Ever Alone

I’ve never seen the stage play but the film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen moved me deeply even when...

Come From Away – Human Goodness Will Always Win

Canadian husband-and-wife writing team, Irene Sankoff and David Hein, visited Gander, Newfoundland in September of 2011 to commemorate and...

CODA – Familial Love Sets One Free

Really good stories move me to tears touching me at a deep emotional level. And the Sundance breakout indie...

Respect – One Artist’s Gift that brought Soul to a Nation

Like for so many other people, Aretha’s music has inspired me with the depth and power of her emotive...

Black Widow – Family First

I’ll add my voice to the many that say it’s about time for a solo film for Black Widow,...

Summer of Soul – Reversing the “Erasure”

You know Woodstock, right? That August, 1969 music festival that preached “peace and music” and became the defining event...

Of Animals and Men – Faith in Action

Back in 2017, The Zookeeper’s Wife, starring Jessica Chastain, came to theaters telling an inspiring true story about Jan...

In the Heights – Celebrate the Joy of Community

Before the rousing success of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit, Hamilton, came the 2008 hit, In the Heights which has...