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Resident New Yorkers have long enjoyed a love affair with a famous confectionary institution called The Magnolia Bakery, made ever-more famous by the “Sex & the City” foursome who couldn’t get enough of Magnolia’s trademark cupcakes, and more recently, by the “Saturday Night Live” skit “The Chronic of Narnia Rap” (a must see if you…

“End of the Spear” is the story of how Jim Elliot followed the spiritual promptings within him –and set in motion an unexpected series of events. In short, he and some buddies believed they should give their lives to reach one of the most brutal groups the world had ever known. After he and his…

Albert Brooks may be getting all the press for “Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World,” but his costar, Sheetal Sheth, deserves a moment in the spotlight, too. In the film, Sheth plays the young assistant hired to help Brooks in his mission to discover what makes Muslims laugh. It’s her highest-profile role to date,…

The promotional campaign last summer for TNT’s “The Closer,” a Law & Order-like crime-solving drama (but way, way quirkier), featured the show’s main character, Chief Brenda Johnson (played by Kyra Sedgwick), announcing: “Confession. It’s good for the soul.” For those of you who ignored her appeal and missed this excellent show, you have a second…

John Lennon declared the Beatles to be bigger than Jesus Christ, but at least they didn’t try to be Jesus Christ. Kanye West, the multi-platinum selling rap artist and outspoken celebrity who criticized President Bush’s Katrina relief efforts last year, will grace the upcoming cover of Rolling Stone as Jesus Christ, complete with a crown…

There’s a people in this country clamoring for wholesome but engaging entertainment that speaks their language and addresses the concerns of their Scripture-based lifestyle. I refer, of course, to haredi Jews–the fervently observant, sometimes called ultra-Orthodox. At last, they are getting a movie of their own. Shot in Monsey–a New York ex-urb and one of…

While the Christian faith tells us that “the truth will set you free,” it is a lie that set Gabrielle free from Carlos’s bondage to Sister Mary Bernard on last night’s “Desperate Housewives.” As Carlos pines away for a baby, Sister Mary uses religious and psychological brainwashing to get him away from Gabrielle. Eager to…

Just past the two-hour mark in Terrence Malick’s “The New World,” a character named Opechancanough–one of the “naturals,” as the film calls Native Americans–tells Rebecca, known as Pocahontas before her baptism, that he is being sent to England to “meet this God they talk about so much.” The irony of this statement is twofold: (1)…

The culture has been furiously digesting religious fundamentalism of late, and that process hasn’t been kind to Mormons. The history of the Church of Latter Day Saints, after all, has plenty of violence and controversy, and besides, they live way out in Utah. The media, at any rate, seems to regard them as fair game.…

Watching this season of ’24’ continue to unfold, I’m moved to continue the debate I’ve been having with fellow Idol Chatterer Donna Freitas on the show and its hero, Jack Bauer. (Read my original posting here, and her response here.) This year’s storyline is based on Jack’s having begun a new life as a humble…
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