Idol Chatter

“The Live of Others” won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film last year for its haunting but restrained depiction of life in East Berlin in the 1980s before the Berlin Wall crumbled. Yes, that means you have to deal with reading subtitles and a slow-moving plot, but trust me, it’s worth the extra effort.…

The season finale of “Big Love” is this Sunday (oh no!), and things are about to boil over for polygamist Bill Henrickson. His three wives are unhappy–with each other and him. Barb seems poised to leave (go Barb!), Nicki feels Bill betrayed her family, and Margene is losing patience when it comes to being the…

We all have those television shows which serve us as utter escapism, which help us transcend our bodies and our daily lives. Often they even become true guilty pleasures worthy of repentance–that’s how guilty and self-indulgent they are. But some of these shows also irk as they transport–they panic viewers even from within the vantage…

Jon Voight Discusses “September Dawn” “September Dawn” tells a fictionalized version of the Mountain Meadows Massacre, in which a group of Mormons killed 120 innocent settlers who were passing through Utah in 1857. Voight plays Bishop Jacob Samuelson, the leader of the local Mormon community, who incites his people to violence.

With her ultra-coiffed platinum blond hair, naval-bearing fashion sense, and rock-star attitude, singer Gwen Stefani, at 37 years of age, is still one hot mama on the concert circuit. She’s got the rocker husband (Gavin Rossdale), the hippest accesory in Hollywood (a cute baby), and is one of the coolest multi-hyphenates around. On top of…

If you’re a “Lost” junkie like me, you’re probably wondering how on earth you can possibly hold out until the next season begins in February. Fear not–you can join Beliefnet’s new dialogue group to talk about religious themes on our favorite TV show. Here’s the description of the group: This will be a group to…

Ever wonder how magic really works? Not just the “how to’s” of performing a trick, but why we humans are so susceptible to believing we see the impossible? Well, George Johnson of The New York Times reports that scientists are taking an interest in magicians–the best of the best like Apollo Robbins and Teller (of…

Watch a video clip from “10 Questions for the Dalai Lama,” a new documentary by filmmaker Rick Ray, opening August 31. Ray traveled to India to interview His Holiness, only to find out he didn’t have an interview scheduled. Ray later sent him an email (yes, the Dalai Lama has Internet access), and was granted…

One of the year’s most anticipated Christian albums is set to hit stores August 28th–“The Altar and the Door”–by top-selling worship band, Casting Crowns. Beliefnet has five autographed copies of the album to give away. To enter, just post a comment below by August 30, 2007, telling us how you try to stay on a…

USA’s “The 4400,” with its fourth summer season coming to a close, might be the most interesting show on television when it comes to exploring Christian themes. The 4400 are a group of individuals who were abducted by “the future” from many different times and places during the 20th century, and who “returned” together on…

More from Beliefnet and our partners