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National Catholic Reporter

National Catholic Reporter is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Antonio Sison, Jose Solís, Sr. Rose Pacatte, Zachary Lee.

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Rating Title | Year Author Quote
A Still Small Voice (2023) Jose Solís Lorentzen doesn't turn anyone into victims or heroes; he merely observes, creating devastatingly beautiful tableaux that often highlight how impersonal death in America would be without people like Engel and Fleenor.
Posted Nov 17, 2023  Edit critic review
The Holy Game (2021) Sr. Rose Pacatte While I admit I wanted to see more soccer in the film, there is much humanity and grace in "The Holy Game."
Posted Oct 08, 2021  Edit critic review
The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021) Sr. Rose Pacatte Chastain's empathetic performance of Tammy Faye, who died of cancer in 2007, is respectful of her simplicity and honest about her flaws, many of which she was not terribly aware.
Posted Oct 08, 2021  Edit critic review
Come From Away (2021) Sr. Rose Pacatte This musical is a powerful witness, simply told and sung, to the soul and ingenuity of humanity that lifted us up during a time of deep sorrow.
Posted Oct 08, 2021  Edit critic review
Respect (2021) Sr. Rose Pacatte Jennifer Hudson, Aretha Franklin's own choice to play her in a film, is brilliant.
Posted Aug 19, 2021  Edit critic review
Of Animals and Men (2019) Sr. Rose Pacatte We go on what could be a ride of hope in a time of terror -- if it weren't for the irritating, sing-song-y, often childish toned narration and the confusing timeline.
Posted Jun 28, 2021  Edit critic review
La llorona (2019) Antonio Sison In Bustamante's sophisticated storytelling, the real horror seethes and bubbles, be it ever so gradually, in the heart of darkness of a male monster-figure who is to blame for countless crimes against the Indigenous community.
Posted Apr 05, 2021  Edit critic review
Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) Candice Frederick Despite impressive performances, "Judas and the Black Messiah" has very little to say.
Posted Mar 09, 2021  Edit critic review
Hillbilly Elegy (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte Hillbilly Elegy seems more like a glimpse of a life still unfinished than a saga and social observation, rather than overt political commentary.
Posted Jan 08, 2021  Edit critic review
Soul (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte The film is an ode to teachers.
Posted Jan 05, 2021  Edit critic review
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte Viola Davis is a manipulative diva who commands attention and obedience. Her mesmerizing performance consumes the screen... Chadwick Boseman as Levee broke my heart.
Posted Dec 21, 2020  Edit critic review
Malni - Towards the Ocean, Towards the Shore (2020) Antonio Sison Oneness with earth, water and sky is an audiovisual motif that runs throughout this ethnopoetic, painterly beautiful film, raising a subversive mirror to our consumerist culture blighted by a deficit of spirit and driven by domination.
Posted Dec 19, 2020  Edit critic review
Dear Santa (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte ...so inspiring a film that it may help you think better of the United States Postal Service...
Posted Dec 19, 2020  Edit critic review
The Christmas Chronicles 2 (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte Although Belsnickel's very naughty elves and Santa's elves get into elf battles that go on a little too long, this is a family movie that deals with grief, loss, healing and growing in age and grace.
Posted Dec 19, 2020  Edit critic review
Shaun of the Dead (2004) Sr. Rose Pacatte This is a very funny movie, if you can stand the gore and the thought of your best friend being kept a zombie to play video games with.
Posted Nov 10, 2020  Edit critic review
Dawn of the Dead (2004) Sr. Rose Pacatte [It] has something to say about the human person, society and sometimes religion.
Posted Nov 10, 2020  Edit critic review
Juan of the Dead (2011) Sr. Rose Pacatte Juan of the Dead is a huge laugh at the Cuban revolution.
Posted Nov 10, 2020  Edit critic review
Latino Vote: Dispatches From The Battleground (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte The Latino Vote: Dispatches from the Battleground doesn't offer much analysis of these "dispatches" or interviews, it just kind of puts it all out there for you to experience.
Posted Oct 31, 2020  Edit critic review
Yellow Rose (2019) Antonio Sison Diane Paragas infuses the story with a convincing realism through unobtrusive camerawork and effortless dialogue, and by maintaining a simple, even-keeled narrative. This is the clear strength of the film - it feels authentic.
Posted Oct 19, 2020  Edit critic review
All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte I really liked how Abrams' intelligence and her natural steady and serene personality are shown throughout the film, in scenes from her student days on through to her running for governor.
Posted Oct 01, 2020  Edit critic review
Pray: The Story of Patrick Peyton (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte Pray is an inspiring story that shows why Father Peyton may someday be named a saint.
Posted Oct 01, 2020  Edit critic review
Mulan (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte Mulan is the best live-action film to come from Disney in a very long time.
Posted Sep 22, 2020  Edit critic review
Dads (2019) Sr. Rose Pacatte A funny, good-hearted documentary celebrating fathers.
Posted Aug 31, 2020  Edit critic review
Fatima (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte The secrets of Fatima are included if you look closely, as are Mary's pleas to pray the rosary, to avoid sin and to do good.
Posted Aug 31, 2020  Edit critic review
Words on Bathroom Walls (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte [Words on Bathroom Walls] does a realistic job of letting us get inside Adam to see, hear and feel what he does.
Posted Aug 28, 2020  Edit critic review
Flannery (2019) Sr. Rose Pacatte ...a seamless, aesthetic portrait of the writer's life...
Posted Jul 20, 2020  Edit critic review
Screened Out (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte "Screened Out" is guaranteed to hook you once you start watching.
Posted May 26, 2020  Edit critic review
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019) Antonio Sison Although the film takes the contextual assignment seriously and casts a critical eye on sociopolitical issues, a good-natured and life affirming counter-narrative is patiently seething and bubbling throughout the dramatic arc.
Posted May 17, 2020  Edit critic review
The Banker (2020) Sr. Rose Pacatte [T]he filmmakers here make a risky calculation that the audience will be mesmerized by numbers and truth be told, I was.
Posted Mar 16, 2020  Edit critic review
Indian Horse (2017) Antonio Sison If the Canadian film "Indian Horse" is an index of how aggressive assimilation was brought to bear in the real-life context of the country's indigenous peoples, it leaves no doubt that "aggressive" was the operative word.
Posted Jan 25, 2020  Edit critic review
The Two Popes (2019) Sr. Rose Pacatte The performances are exceptional and award worthy.
Posted Dec 03, 2019  Edit critic review
The Lion King (2019) Sr. Rose Pacatte Leave comparisons at home and enjoy 2019's "The Lion King" for what it is: a work of art.
Posted Jul 30, 2019  Edit critic review
Skin (2018) Sr. Rose Pacatte "Skin" is a small, powerful, raw well-acted film that gives a close-up look at people who believe they have been left behind by society, that they have some kind of righteous claim to superiority, and a look as well as their leaders who exploit them.
Posted Jul 30, 2019  Edit critic review
The Farewell (2019) Antonio Sison "The Farewell" opens for us a window into the intriguing cultural particularities on the other shore, but in its heart are the universal themes of love, regret, and forgiveness that families everywhere share.
Posted Jul 27, 2019  Edit critic review
Ulam: Main Dish (2017) Antonio Sison Partaking from the table of plenty with their bare hands, the multiracial guests who have gathered are relishing the exquisite food experience of "Babette's Feast," Filipino kamayan (by hand) style.
Posted Jun 01, 2019  Edit critic review
A Hidden Life (2019) Sr. Rose Pacatte Take your time and relish the artistry, the tension, the anxiety of choosing to follow one's conscience or choosing to go to a war one does not believe in and from which one may never return.
Posted May 24, 2019  Edit critic review
Tolkien (2019) Sr. Rose Pacatte "Tolkien" is a beautifully rendered film, and Hoult and Collins are confident and strong in their roles; their performances complement one another extremely well.
Posted May 13, 2019  Edit critic review
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Antonio Sison A film of such symbolic and visceral power as "2001" invites various interpretations, like a prism you can turn at different angles, each revealing a new facet.
Posted May 01, 2019  Edit critic review
Romero (1989) Antonio Sison As the story arc unfolds, Romero, in a state of inertia, is drawn into a gradual conversion experience, not just in a general sense, but in the specific trajectory of a "conversion to justice."
Posted May 01, 2019  Edit critic review
After the Storm (2016) Antonio Sison This is the latest work of acclaimed director Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose filmic signature is the subtle and small-scale character study in the tradition of the late Japanese film auteur Yasujiro Ozu.
Posted May 01, 2019  Edit critic review
Departures (2008) Antonio Sison In "Departures, life and death are two expressive movements of one musical" piece. Neither is taken as a polar opposite of the other; they dance rhythmically, like the ebb and flow of the ocean tide.
Posted May 01, 2019  Edit critic review
The Eagle Huntress (2016) Antonio Sison Watching "The Eagle Huntress" is virtually entering into another world. The audience is ushered into a liminal space, a threshold where past and present are interwoven.
Posted May 01, 2019  Edit critic review
Ignacio de Loyola (2016) Antonio Sison To be sure, the film's heart is in the right place. It feels authentic. But it feels less so when it gets lost in its own pious intentions and opts for a more literal representation of Ignacio's mysticism.
Posted May 01, 2019  Edit critic review
Whale Rider (2002) Antonio Sison Filmmaker-writer Caro orchestrates scenes with a lyrical touch, infusing the film with doses of humor, and an effortless, mythic quality consistent with its source material, the eponymous cultural novel by Maori author Witi Ihimaera.
Posted Apr 30, 2019  Edit critic review
Babette's Feast (1987) Antonio Sison Nourishing both the senses and the religious imagination with its profound representation of food and eating, the Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film remains the gold standard for food films.
Posted Apr 30, 2019  Edit critic review
Terraferma (2012) Antonio Sison It is not without irony that a film titled "Terraferma," the Italian term for "dry land," would open with an underwater shot.
Posted Apr 30, 2019  Edit critic review
The Mermaid (2016) Antonio Sison "The Mermaid" is aptly titled, not just because of its central protagonist, but because it is a magical, genre-bending pastiche of over-the-top comedy and compelling sociopolitical drama; it's a "mermovie" in more ways than one.
Posted Apr 30, 2019  Edit critic review
Force majeure (2014) Antonio Sison Force majeure is a legal term denoting an unforeseen, disruptive event that obstructs the fulfillment of a contract. In the film, it is a synonym for avalanche; the contract in question, marriage and family.
Posted Apr 30, 2019  Edit critic review
A Simple Life (2011) Antonio Sison The understated sentiment is made more eloquent by the calibrated performances of the actors, most especially Deanie Ip, who so thoroughly disappears into the role of Ah Tao that her moments infuse the film with a documentary feel.
Posted Apr 30, 2019  Edit critic review
Tangerines (2013) Antonio Sison You'd find that in investing 87 minutes of your time for "Tangerines," you had viewed not just a poignant anti-war film, but a beautifully realized cinematic parable.
Posted Apr 30, 2019  Edit critic review
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