Arts & Culture

Origin stories of Batman villains don’t get any darker than “Joker” (Warner Bros.)

The New York Mets’ improbable World Series championship in 1969 can inspire the Catholic Church to a new era of evangelization, Bishop John O. Barres of Rockville Center wrote in a new pastoral letter.

Four orphans, who all have quite different personalities and aptitudes, encounter a variety of interesting characters after they run away from an abusive boarding school.

In Charles Camosy’s new book, “Resisting Throwaway Culture: How a Consistent Life Ethic Can Unite a Fractured People,” Camosy argues that the church is uniquely positioned to challenge a culture that has lost its moral bearings.

“American Priest: The Ambitious Life and Conflicted Legacy of Notre Dame’s Father Ted Hesburgh” tips its hand with the subtitle about a nationally recognized priest was heaped with a mosaic of praise, verging on hagiography, and this book aims to complicate that picture.

Organized under the theme “The Future of the Catholic Literary Tradition,” the event attracted nearly 500 writers, poets, educators, graduate students and journalists to an examination of the significance of the “Catholic voice” in contemporary fiction and fine art.

“Adorable” has a new synonym: “Abominable” (DreamWorks), a charming animated film which transforms the dreaded Yeti monster — the legendary abominable snowman — into a lovable furball.

It’s an old and easily spotted Hollywood trick: Set up a group of easy-to-hate villains, then dole out their presumably just desserts while inviting viewers to revel in their well-earned punishment.