Catholic in a Small Town

We drop the boy off again at boarding school and try to provide some comfort for another new St. Greg's family. Peace Like a River is lyrical, charming, and faith-affirming while Power and the Glory is about the long defeat and the triumph of the church. Also, Cut Throat Island hasn't gotten any better with time.   Movies & TV: CutThroat Island   Books: Peace Like a River The Power and the Glory  ...

Sam turns 19, boxing robots (and father/son stuff) still make me cry, and we talk about the true price of convenience.   Movies & TV: Real Steel Bad Monkey (AppleTV+)   Books: How Dante Can Save Your Life by Rod Drer   Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Pacem in Terris Retreat Center Picnic Blanket Restoration of Christian Culture from Our...

Sam and "the boyz" have a super nerdy bachelor party weekend, Jude's face explodes, we fall for Gosling and Blunt again, get entranced by the Exorcist Files and point our fingers at ourselves when discussing rampant consumerism.   Movies & TV: The Fall Guy Avengers Infinity War   Podcasts: The Exorcist Files   Books: The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene   Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short fi...

We spend a weekend in Richmond, VA as Jude visits friends, preplanning has started for Mac, and we are running out of space at our dining room table. Twisters lets us down while Presumed Innocent is hard not to like. Also, the Olympics desecrated our faith.  

As Mac's Summer draws to a close, the Barrons make the most of local concerts, pellet grills, American epics, and assassination attempts. Also, Mac cries like a baby at a brewery.   Movies & TV: Horizon The Bear (season 3) (Hulu) Hit Man (Netflix) White House Down (Prime)   Books: A River Runs Through It by Norman MacLean   Remaining Faithfully Catholic Near the End of the Francis Pontificate arti...

Katherine wrestles with one of life's biggest problems: how to organize a home library. The Quiet Place Day One is a solid addition to the series, Mac does not get Flannery O'Conner, and we find a unicorn novice ordo mass in the mountains of North Carolina.   Movies & TV: Quiet Place Day One Presumed Innocent (2024 Apple+) Dying Laughing (Apple+) Books: Plague Journal by Michael O'Brien Wise Blood...

Mac & Kat head to West Virginia to confirm it is, in fact, "almost heaven." Ridley Scott's Robin Hood is a real stinker, The Hunter is charming but foul, and we remind you that it is good to get away for a little while.   Movies & TV: Robin Hood (2010 MGM+) The Abyss X2   Books: The Hunter by Tana French   Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like:...

All boat rides can't be the best, especially when you are all mad at each other and you forget to fill the tank! Inside Out 2 is fun and Shogun is probably not good for the soul… which you won't really know until you've (once again) done some soul-searching about your media consumption.   Movies & TV: Inside Out 2 Shogun (HULU) The Beach (Prime)   Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Somethin...

Our old friend Zina stops in for an afternoon, Max continues to slow down, The fam watches an 80's classic, and Katherine waxes nostalgic for fathers. Movies & TV: Stand By Me (Prime) The Way Way Back Albert Brooks Defending My Life (Max)   Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Pacem in Terris Retreat Center Picnic Blanket Restoration of Chris...

Jude is back in the nest after an exiting camping adventure involving breakdowns, bears, and too much teenage boy stuff. We finally see Godzilla Minus One, Backdraft is better and worse than you remember and Katherine finds a passage about the Our Lady and female virtue.   Movies & TV: Godzilla Minus One (Netflix) Backdraft (MGM+)   Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There  ...

CST 718: Everything Annoys Mac and Katherine Mac and Katherine are on the road, they have uncomfortable conversations about prayer, and Furiosa is amazing but also really weird?   Movies & TV: Furiosa Sugar - Apple TV French Girl   Games: We're Not Really Strangers: couple's edition Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Pacem in Terris Retreat...

Audio issues, Max's gross bump, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, and more Tombstone talk than you can shake a six-shooter at.   Movies & TV: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes The Idea of You Clarkson's Farm Tombstone Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Pacem in Terris Retreat Center Picnic Blanket Restoration of Christian Culture from Our...

Camping trips, seeing Jude, Mother's Day, The Fall Guy is the best!, and we lament about not plugging into the community.   Movies & TV: The Fall Guy The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare No Country for Old Men The Boys on the Boat Books: Jayber Crow by Wendyl Berry   State Parks: Claytor Lake State Park   Sam & Mena's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like:...

In the first episode of Sam and Mena's podcast, they introduce themselves and tell their love story so far. Stay tuned! More episodes of Engaged at 18

Car issues, raised bed gardening, and a never-ending tennis season consume our week. We consume Civil War and Fallout as we ponder the profundity of knowing who made the world.   Movies & TV: Civil War (in theaters now) Fallout (Amazon Prime Video)   Books: A History of the Island by Eustice Plough   Sam & Mina's registry   Ben's short film: Something's Out There Other great stuff we like: Sam's I...

After almost three weeks, we regale you with wasabi accidents, low canine platelet counts, and an abundance of leaf-blowers. We've watched lots of stuff to various levels of enjoyment and Katherine reads a book about mothers that hits a hopeful (and emotional) note.   Movies & TV: 3 Body Problem (Netflix) Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Musica (Hulu) Fallout (Amazon Prime Video)   Books: Hannah's Chil...

Jude is home! The table has left the building! Kat & Jennifer go camping, Supercell is very "B", Manhunt isn't as good as everyone says and Brideshead Revisited deserves attention.   Movies & TV: Supercell Manhunt Anatomy of a Murder Books: Brideshead Revisited   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Sam's Instagram Pacem in Terris Retreat Center Picnic Blanket Resto...

Jude turns 15 and gets a visit from Ben, Katherine has a tea with the book club ladies, American Fiction is super sharp but problematic, and A Severe Mercy deserves a reread every decade or so.   Movies & TV: American Fiction Resident Alien   Books: The Ferryman by Justin Cronin   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Sam's Instagram Pacem in Terris Retreat Center Pi...

Katherine is getting a little better, we get an unexpected update on Jude, Dune Part 2 is worth the trip to the theater and we talk about the importance of thinking about the next step.   Movies & TV: Dune Part 2 Mr. Holmes The Awful Truth   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Sam's Instagram Pacem in Terris Retreat Center Picnic Blanket Restoration of Christian Cu...

The Barrons travel to Scranton to visit Jude, Kat is sick, and SAM GETS ENGAGED! We talk about True Grit, Miss Potter, and an abundance of English regency-era entertainment. For Catholic Stuff we talk about True Grit and Merchant of Venice as a double feature on looking at Justice and Mercy.   Movies & TV: True Grit Emma (movie with Gweneth Paltrow) Emma (BBC series) Miss Potter Merchant of Venice...

Mac suffers the grind and the tickle (not a euphemism), Sam is back in town, Argyl is not worth your time, but Self-Reliance and The Guard are, and we wax nostalgic over how great (and peppered with faith) the show ER was.   Movies & TV: Argyl Self-Reliance The Guard ER   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Sam's Instagram Pacem in Terris retreat center Picnic Blan...

Kat takes Jude back to Scranton. We live the empty-nester's life with the food subscription service to prove it. We show Jude what everyone compares his school to (Dead Poets Society), and we lament how modern society frowns upon early marriage…also we complain a lot about Monarch.   Movies & TV: Dead Poets Society Monarch Season 1 Role Play Regarding Henry The Big Sleep Northern Exposure   Ben's...

Sam becomes a working man, Mac & Kat take off to the mountains, Maggie Moore(s) is pretty dark, and we catch up on lots of emails from you, good people of CSTonia.   Movies & TV: Maggie Moore(s) The Italian Job (2003)   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Sam's Instagram Pacem in Terris retreat center Picnic Blanket Restoration of Christian Culture from Our Lady of...

Our week is bookended by parties, Die Hard+Towering Inferno = Skyscraper and Kat has thoughts…lots of thoughts… on Barbie.   Movies & TV: Skyscraper Godzilla (2014) Barbie Macbeth Twelfth Night   Ben's short film: Something's Out There   Other great stuff we like: Sam's Instagram Pacem in Terris retreat center Picnic Blanket Restoration of Christian Culture from Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey Resto...

Barron Christmas recap, Last Night in Soho is disappointing, Shakespeare in Love is more problematic that we remember, but just as entertaining as ever, and we look back over the past year and hope (with a little help from St. Teresa) for the new one.   Movies & TV: Last Night in Soho Shakespeare in Love Airplane Klaus Gremlins   RosaryArmy.com/donate Regina Doman's Substack   Ben's short film: So...