Yesterday's Season Four finale of "Lost" was a fantastic reminder of how the theme of miracles and destiny will always be a part of the show's mythology. When Jack and Locke began arguing outside "The Orchid" about whether miracles existed (as usual, Locke said "Yes" while Jack said "No"), who wasn't reminded of another debate they had during the Season One finale? Minutes before the hatch door to "The Swan" exploded, Locke argued the island was their destiny while Jack argued there was nothing but the present.
During Season One, Locke believed it was their fate to descend into the hatch, that it would be the answer to getting them rescued off the island. Three seasons later, Locke also believes it's their fate to descend into another hatch, though this time it's to save them from being destroyed on the island. As Locke's mysticism and spirituality has strengthened through the years, his relationship with Jack has also weakened and deepened into a wide chasm. What's surprising about Jack's denial of miracles is his self-delusion (which Locked pointed out). After all, how could he deny his ex-wife's survival from spine surgery or even his amazing "reunion" with Desmond in the hatch as anything but miraculous?
Do you spend Friday afternoons wondering where the week went and simultaneously trying to make plans for the weekend? You're not the only one.
Beliefnet's handy entertainment calendar gives you the scoop on the weekend's best new movies, TV shows, CD, DVD, and book releases and more.
Click here to see the full week's list of events, which we update every Thursday. You'll never be out of the loop again!
Talk about getting in late on a hot trend. Celebrities from George Clooney to Rosie O'Donnell have had their own websites or blogs for a long time now, but Tom Cruise has only just this past week launched his own offficial website under the guise of celebrating his 25 years in filmmaking.
Cruise has wisely keep major references to promotion of Scientology off the site for now. Instead, it is simply full of fabulous photos of Tom smiling and looking like a movie star. There's also a heartfelt message on the site for his many fans.
As a P.R. tool to continue to remold his image, the site is pretty much a snooze. As a potential arm of propaganda for Scientology under the guise of "Humanitarianism"…well, I think it's just a matter of time, don't you?
"Year after year, twenty-something women come to New York City in search of the two Ls: labels and love. Twenty years ago, I was one of them," Carrie Bradshaw says in the May 30 theatrical release "Sex and The City." "Having gotten the knack for labels early...I concentrated on love."
And so begins the familiar voiceover by Bradshaw portrayer Sarah Jessica Parker in the long-awaited film based on the HBO series.
Media coverage and public discussions tend to concentrate on the likelihood that the film's lovers include an audience of women and gay men. However, there is some question has to how fans and those in the entertainment industry will label the movie through its results in the box-office.
Even Parker, who also serves as a producer, recently told Entertainment Weekly (in Missy Schwartz' May 23 article "Hello, Lovers") that the film's response is personal.
"I want it to do well, but the bigger story for me here is that I want the people who hold the purse strings to believe that there are female audiences, that it's worth their money," Parker adds.
Studio executives should believe because the "Sex and The City" franchise has symbolized into a religious institution with a faithful following of females and gay males that will stay true.
Advertising is a tricky business, and apparently wearing the wrong scarf can send the message that "This company tolerates and supports terrorist organizations!" Sounds crazy? That's because it is, as exemplified by the Dunkin' Donuts recent pulling of an advertisement it was airing with spokesperson (and chef superstar) Rachael Ray wearing a scarf around her neck that resembled a keffiyeh, or traditional Arab scarf.
The offensive piece of fashion was slapped down by syndicated conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin (Fox also owns Beliefnet), who said that by wearing the scarf, Dunkin' was dabbling in "distinctive hate couture."
You may remember Chris Sligh as that guy with the super curly hair from "American Idol" Season 6, who made it to the finals. Now, he's trying to make a name for himself as a Christian rocker (you can read...
Summertime has become a time for me to catch up on TV series I haven't had time to watch during the rest of the year, or, in some instances, foreign TV series that I have never even heard of, or...
My love of Sam Phillips's music is unabashedly deep and goes back many years. I have listened to her distinctive voice since I was a little girl, when she went by the name Leslie Phillips and was busy fighting the...
After several years off, the "Sex and the City" crew is back and better than ever. In this behind-the-scenes featurette, you'll get the inside scoop on the cast, the clothes, and the characters you know and love. embedVideo(1577898357);...
Former Harvard neuroscientist, Jill Bolte Taylor has taken a strange path on the road to enlightenment—and not one that most of us would want to follow—it was while she was having a stroke that she reached nirvana. Now she's written...
Sharon Stone was caught by reporters on a Cannes red carpet and asked what she thought of the earthquake in China. (Funny, but do they ever ask George Bush or U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon what they thought of "If...
I don't know how I, watcher for all-things Christian chastity culture-related, missed this big New York Times feature, "Dancing the Night Away, With a Higher Purpose," by Neela Banerjee, from last week about the growing popularity of the Purity Ball....
I just wanted to make a few quick remarks about my wonderful, Indiana Jones movie adventure this weekend... First of all, finally(!): the return of the true, non-stop fun, adventure flick. Whatever happened to that old-fashioned, Indiana Jones-style action adventure,...
John McCain may have sealed the Republican nomination, but apparently libertarian Ron Paul's supporters are not only hanging on, they are approaching his continued campaign with all the fervor of religious zealots, according to a New York Times Sunday Styles...
We all grieve for Steven Curtis Chapman's loss of his daughter. Today, in memory of her and as a way for fans to grieve, an entry in Chapman's video blog featuring him with his beautiful children in much happier times...
There are a handful of movies that I can say have not only inspired me, but haunted me. A little-seen documentary from three years ago "Shakespeare Behind Bars' has been one of those movies. The stories surrounding a group of...
Since he released his third solo album, "Portable Sounds," a year ago, Christian music veteran tobyMac has been, well, reborn. The hip-hop heavy collection entered the Billboard 200 at #10— tobyMac's highest showing ever—and this year, with his Diverse City...
In this funny clip from "Family Guy," Lois become the church's new organist and tells the family she wants them to start going to church more often....
With one of pop culture's favorite heroes having just returned to the big screen in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" after too many years away, many sites are posting their all-time favorite Indiana Jones moments. I...
Having been a David Cook supporter all season, I was biting my nails a lot during last night's two hour "American Idol" finale. There were some great moments (Brooke White dueting with Graham Nash, Jason Castro reprising his lovely performance...
Grammy-winning Christian music star, Steven Curtis Chapman is battling a heart-breaking personal tragedy today—his 5-year-old daughter Maria Sue was struck and killed by a car in her family's driveway yesterday. Chapman, and his wife, adopted Maria Sue, as well as...
Used to be, any main character who had a rough day had critics crying "Christ figure": Billy Budd, Charlie Brown--Harry Potter, for the Lord's sake! But Richard Corliss, writing in this week's Time magazine, says that Aslan's similarity to Christ...
I love "Dancing with the Stars"--it's a fun, frothy show that always ends up surprising me with some genuinely inspiring and touching moments. This year, my sentimental favorite was Marlee Matlin--the deaf Oscar-winning actress was completely undaunted by the task...
It could be said without much debate that there is a significant number of Jews in Hollywood. However, a festival focusing on the theatrical depiction of the Jewish experience is relatively new to the area. The third annual Los Angeles...
The most anticipated movie of the summer hits theaters on Thursday. Get ready for Indy-mania by viewing this clip. And then when you're done, try taking our quiz to see how much you know about spirituality in the Indy flicks....
After a season full of forgotten lyrics, horrible auditions, restarted songs, and more, "American Idol 7" is down to two contestants: David Cook and David Archuleta. Cook, 25, is a Missouri native who has played in rock bands and nailed...
Check out this "Simpsons" clip that shows how Homer evolved from a single cell organism into a couch potato....
Did you recognize the band whose song played at the end of "Prince Caspian"? If not, you can see the Caspian-centered music video Switchfoot put together for their song, "This Is Home," With its catchy guitar sounds and thoughtful lyrics,...
While I agree with critics and fellow IC blogger Paul that "Prince Caspian" was an entertaining film that is better production-wise that its cinematic predecessor, "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe," and that certainly not all of the spirituality...
Here at Idol Chatter we often have to dig around through the pop culture items we cover to come up with a relevant religious, spiritual or ethical angle for our readers. It's often a challenge! Case in point, I watched...
This just in: churchgoers know a bad movie when they see it. After furiously pandering to evangelical Christians in recent years, the major Hollywood studios are backing away from faith-based marketing schemes that offer churches private screenings and Bible study...
Okay, I'm going to take a minute to gush like a teenaged girl right now: Kirk Cameron, a.k.a. Mike Seaver from "Growing Pains," that family-friendly television series that we all loved to watch during the '80's, has written a spiritual...
Since I am not a big follower of the ever-increasing amount of Christian worship music available, I may never have stumbled across Tommy Walker's music if it hadn't been for my time in Los Angeles in the '90s where every...
The New York Times Home section runs every Thursday and occasionally they run a "Living Together" column. This week's is more of a human (and spiritual) interest story than a story about interior design. In "Making Their Own Limits in...
Revealing the true geek that I am, I must admit I'm always hoping that one day someone will make a truly great movie about the art form and rhetorical skills of debate. The teen comedy "Rocket Science" wasn't it and...
In a television season stymied by the writers strike, "Reaper" emerged as a rare critical hit for The CW. "Reaper"'s blend of comedy and demonology has echoes of cult hit, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." But despite rave reviews, "Reaper" remained...
Don't get me wrong, "Prince Caspian," the second of Disney's movie remakes of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia novels is pure fun, an old-fashioned tale of a wicked uncle who usurps a throne, only to be overthrown by his goodly...
"SHOCK! Geri Halliwell 'rewrites the Bible'," shrieked the headline accompanying a report in yesterday's Now Magazine. "How terribly intersting," I thought, "A member of the biggest-selling female UK group of all time taking on the best-selling book of all time."...
Who knew a Narnian prince was a triple threat? Before he landed his first Hollywood lead role, actor Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian in the new "Narnia" movie sequel) was singing and dancing in a British boy band called Hyrise. Performing...
"Prince Caspian," the sequel to 2005's "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," hits theaters Friday, May 16th, and to celebrate we have three books to give away—"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (movie tie-in edition). One of these books,...
It was just a few weeks ago that I blogged about the interesting piece Daniel Radosh wrote for the New York Times on what he thinks are the top ten Christian songs. Then I read a review of the self-proclaimed...
Just about everyone knows about James Frey's fall from grace and off the best-seller list with his faux memoir "A Million Little Pieces." A public reprimand on Oprah's couch will do that to an author. (Or anyone for that matter.)...
Every parent wants a better life for their children, better than the one they had. It'd be pretty astounding to hear fledgling parents at a dinner party say, for example, that they'd like to put as many obstacles as possible...
There's a new release out that piled up well over $500 million—that's "Fiiiive Hundred Meeeellion Dollarzzz"—in its first week of release, including a whopping $310 million in it's opening day. What a blockbuster! But it wasn't the new Indiana Jones...
Jamie Lynn's been under the radar as her belly's been expanding with the promise of new life, staying out of the eye of stalkerazzi, so we don't have to be subjected to photos of her scarfing down Arby's. But according...
Laila Lalami, a novelist and literary blogger, has a review of the new indie film "The Visitor" in The Nation that serves as a mini-compendium of Muslim film, and how Hollywood has represented Islam since 9/11....
This summer's upcoming reboot of the "X-Files" franchise after more than six years of living in a Mulder and Scully-less world, rebirth of the "Star Wars" franchise in the form of a computer-animated feature film and television series, and retirement...
In addition to the typical big-name high profile movie fare that usually debuts at the Cannes Film Festival, Sean Penn, this year's Cannes Jury President, has handpicked an unlikely documentary to also make its debut this week. "The Third Wave"...
Categories: Books,
Movies
For all you "Twilight" series fans (whether or not you prefer Edward or Jacob), if you haven't seen it already, the first trailer for the movie from MTV films just released this week. Check it out here. As Time Magazine...
Check out our hot off the press list of Reality TV's most memorable Christians. Do you agree with our selections? Disagree? Think we're totally crazy? Leave your comments below. We want to know what you think!...
Today, the documentary "Surfwise" releases, a film about a family with nine children, all-raised in a 24 foot camper, hippie-commune-style, parked along the best California surfing beaches. In the New York Times review, "A Family That Surfs To a Beat:...
For me, it's always been hard to picture the divine. Yeah, in Jewish tradition, there's the story of Jacob wrestling hand-to-hand with a purported angel in the Book of Genesis. And, in Islam, the angel Gabriel visits Mohammed on more...
In a movie, whenever there's a song associated with Israel or Jews, it's automatically "Hava Nagila," and I'm here to tell you it's enough already. (It's also enough with the Manischewitz jokes, but we'll get to that at some future...
From this Sunday's (May 11th, 2008) episode, "Stand Up: Muslim-American Comics Come of Age," part of the "America at a Crossroads" series on PBS:...
Maysoon Zayid wants Dean Obeidallah to run for U.S. president--it's a personal campaign for her. And if he were to run, he'd have my vote. And if not president, I'd nominate him for hottest (as in funny!) comic out there....
Several years ago, I contributed a piece about the best small-screen mothers on American television to Beliefnet blogger Therese Borchard's delightful book "I Love Being a Mom." For the book, I tried to think of characters, who not only set...
Newsweek reports this week that Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama share more than a wish to see him be president: Oprah attended Obama's church when she first moved to Chicago, and both called the troublesome Rev. Jeremiah Wright their pastor....
On their new release, "When Angels and Serpents Dance," P.O.D. is in a tight spot: they've got a lot of people to please, and whatever they do is gonna piss somebody off. Having achieved a huge degree of success...
Here we are at the final chapter and the final class, Gang! On Monday night, the Oprah and Eckhart "A New Earth" web event concluded with a special 2-hour finale. That class, based on Chapter 10 "A New Earth," is...
There have been several Fridays home this past semester that have left me watching television all evening, and my newfound interest in "Ghost Whisperer" which is followed up by "Moonlight" has had me pulling a CBS all-nighter and watching "Numb3rs"...
We know the convictions of Travolta and Tom, Madonna and Val Kilmer, but rank-and-file celebrities are so vague about their spiritual leanings it's hard to know which faith we'd put them into, but comments by Gwyneth Paltrow to the British...
When people think of Tim Gunn, they most often think of Project Runway, the popular reality TV show featuring aspiring designers in competition with each other to earn coveted spots with the fashion industry. On the other hand, when people...
Heaven, along with heart, may be the most overused word in the pop lexicon. What I'm after here is not the tunes that insist that kisses are heaven or that heaven only knows what's going to happen to our love....
Because one hour of television devoted to Tom Cruise talking about himself just isn't enough, today will mark the second half of Tom Cruise's attempt at PR damage control by returning to the scene of his couch-jumping crime on "Oprah."...
A friend and I were chatting last week about singers and songwriters who’ve managed to change and adapt, aging gracefully while writing relevantly. James Taylor is one. Sting is another. The Eagles and R.E.M. also come to mind, as does...
Lewis Black has founded his comedy career on his eruptions of screaming: the irrational outbursts of a rational man in a world gone mad. Religion is rich territory for his kind of humor, and as the title of his Comedy...
There are a lot of love songs out there. Some of them I love, no matter what my romantic status. And others make you want to re-enact all those scenes you see in movies, when the protagonist looks at himself...
Someday someone will make the Christian "Spinal Tap," a brilliant satire of the Christian rock world. Until then, it's worth checking out "Jesus People," airing on the web-based Independent Comedy Channel. The mockumentary, about the founding of a Christian dance...
Watch a video clip from the new documentary, "Storm Over Everest," coming to PBS on May 13. The film tells the story of the 1996 blizzard that hit Mount Everest, trapping three climbing teams and killing eight climbers. Filmmaker David...
I can remember being somewhat overwhelmed with the amount of attention given to the big screen adaptation of "Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and I didn't think it quite lived up to the hype. But...
This week at the Tribeca Film Festival, I attended the premiere of Canadian filmmaker Joe Balass' short film, "Baghdad Twist." The movie tells the story of Balass' family, Iraqi Jews who were forced to leave the country after the revolution...
Watch a clip from the new movie "Iron Man," which hits theaters Friday, May 2. The film stars Robert Downey Jr. as the famous super hero, as well as Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, and Gwyneth Paltrow. embedVideo(1529427205);...
How does a journalist become a part of a story that he is covering? I first met filmmaker Nina Paley in 2005 when she and some of her friends were hosting an animation party on the roof top of her...
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