Good Friday, 2026
During this Lenten season, I followed the “Pray40: The Return” challenge on the Hallow app. There have been a few themes in it, such as readings taken from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov (1880), which are being compared alongside an examination of the parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. If you know…
Sisu: Road to Revenge, by Albert W. Vogt III
In the climactic moment of Sisu (2022), Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila) crashes an airplane nose first into the ground, at speed, and walks away from the experience. I guess this is what the Finnish title word means, which roughly translates as a white-knuckled courage that manifests when all hope is lost. My knuckles would not…
Wrath of Man, by Albert W. Vogt III
If you can call seeing two films of late with the word “wrath” in them a “rash” of viewings, then I hope I soon find the ointment. Actually, the first, The Wrath of Becky (2023), was not that bad if for no other reason than the people dying were white supremacists. As a Catholic, I…
Metal Lords, by Albert W. Vogt III
My musical tastes do not usually include heavy metal. This can be attributed to my Faith. There are some aspects of that culture that appeal to me, particularly in its penchant for non-conformity (which might sound strange coming from a committed Catholic). On the other hand, there is a lot that is abhorrent. One could…
The Big Sick, by Albert W. Vogt III
As I write this review of The Big Sick (2017), I have playing on my television a YouTube video of a walk-through of a Chicago neighborhood. Unfortunately, it is the Gold Coast, so it does not pass any Catholic Churches, though the Archbishop’s house is on North Boulevard. I bring this up to underscore once…
Becky, by Albert W. Vogt III
Now that I have seen Becky (2020), I can tell you what I got wrong in discussing The Wrath of Becky (2023). The sequel seemed to suggest that the title character’s (Lulu Wilson) family had been killed. This is only partially true in the original, as we shall see. I can tell you more definitively…
The Wrath of Becky, by Albert W. Vogt III
One of the sadder aspects of how Hollywood perceives Christians is that they are tied to White Nationalism. Unfortunately, they are not entirely wrong, and there are currently people in our government who believe such things and call themselves followers of Christ. In reflecting on it, if my name was Rebecca, it would be enough…
The Legionnaire 