Inspiration Faith & Prayer Health & Wellness Entertainment Love & Family
Newsletters Special Offers

Idol Chatter

As a die-hard fan of “The West Wing” who mourned its disappearance from network television, I’ve missed American politics as processed through the quirky and brilliant mind of Aaron Sorkin. Lucky for me, “Charlie Wilson’s War” provides another shade from Sorkin’s palette, one which swaps his trademark crackling dialogue for a fast-paced, charm-filled snapshot of…

Stupid me. I saw one trailer for “PS, I Love You” starring Hilary Swank, Lisa Kudrow, and Kathy Bates, noted the release date (December 21), and thought to myself, “Ooh, yay! A romantic comedy for the holidays.” I didn’t bother to read the reviews that came out on Friday morning. I just went to the…

Two years ago I posted a list here at Idol Chatter of some of my favorite Christmas episodes of some of my favorite TV shows of years past. I’ve decided to trot out a revised version of that list. Are there any favorite holiday episodes you try to catch in reruns that you would like…

Whenever there’s a child star crisis — for example, the Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy announcement– it seems to bring numerous other former child stars out of the woodwork to comment. Both People Magazine and ABC News felt it was newsworthy that Lisa Whelchel, who once played snooty Blair Warner on the cheesy 80s sitcom “The…

From an entertainment perspective, being a Jew during Christmas month is hard. While we get the “Adam Sandler Chanukah Song” for eight days over Hanukkah, during the rest of the month, the radio stations go Christmasy hardcore, with seven versions of Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and dueling Madonna and Marilyn for “Santa Baby.”…

When the subject of Iran comes up, religious extremists tend to take center stage. However, co-directors/co-writers Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud show that there is more to the Iranian culture with their animated feature “Persepolis” — in limited theatrical release on Dec. 25. The film based on Satrapi’s eponymous autobiographical graphic novel series has already…

For the past few days bloggerati the world over have been consumed with covering Jamie Lynn Spears’ recently announced pregnancy; this blog included. And while many muse about the Nickelodeon star not learning valuable lessons from Britney’s missteps and potentially ruining a considerable career, other news outlets, such as the New York Times, are trumpeting…

When it comes to books, the definition of spirituality is a loose one. In compiling lists of the best of any given year, we can lean on familiar books about God, or the spiritual life, or we can cast our glance a bit further, and look for books that render the spirit tangible in unexpected…

Unless you attended a film festival this year or you happen to live in New York or Los Angeles, you undoubtedly missed one of the best films of the year. I raved about the romantic drama “Once” this summer because of its refreshing take on a tale of two musicians falling in love. It is…

Many times we run ourselves and our children away from movies that depict segregation and struggle. We cover our eyes, close our ears and refuse to read the books that tell of those who went before us to pave the way. I myself am a victim, having shied away from movies like “Rosewood” and “Amistad”…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners