Arts

I realize it isn’t everybody’s ticket to dreamland. Indeed, I can think of many for whom it would constitute unmitigated boredom and misery. But if you’ve got some sort of semblance of faith or an interest in early Canadian history or an aesthetic love for religious architecture and art (or a galloping case of all three), then a pilgrimage to the Catholic shrines of Quebec can make for a wonderfully stimulating holiday.

In a short volume consisting not of formal theology but rather of informal musings on faith in our Canadian society, Gerry Turcotte offers us an eminently readable collection of brief essays.

TORONTO – A blockbuster lineup headlined the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) this year, but among the lesser known films drawing attention was one featuring Pope Francis, Fidel Castro and Barack Obama.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Fifteen years after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks decimated the twin towers in lower Manhattan, the 1,776-foot One World Trade Center rises out of the ground, a palpable symbol of triumph and optimism. The tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere is the soaring, storied, centerpiece of a 16-acre complex that includes eight other major structures.

NEW YORK – Putting Tom Hanks in the cockpit as everybody's favorite aviator, U.S. Airways Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, and bringing Clint Eastwood on board to direct him certainly sounds like a formula for high-flying success. And so it proves with "Sully" (Warner Bros.), Eastwood's satisfying adaptation of Sullenberger's memoir (co-written with Jeffrey Zaslow) "Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters."

Accolades for “Star Trek” are filling the internet on the 50th anniversary of the television show’s premiere back on Sept. 8, 1966, and now the Pope’s newspaper has joined the chorus of hosannas for one of the most popular franchises in entertainment history.

A well-known line from the Peace Prayer of St. Francis wisely tells us “it is in giving that we receive.” This mantra encapsulates the incredible life of spiritual giant Jean Vanier, now 87, chronicled in Michael Higgins’ biography Jean Vanier: Logician of the Heart.

WASHINGTON – It's been 57 years since the last film version of "Ben-Hur" hit movie theaters. That alone is, for most Hollywood types, reason enough for a remake.

NEW YORK – Few films come to the screen with the kind of storied pedigree that lies behind "Ben-Hur" (Paramount).

Dear Mr. Eisen, I have been asked to write a review of your book, By Chance Alone. I took this on with trepidation. After all, what can I say?