Arts & Culture

Religion in general and Catholicism in particular are central to writer-director Drew Goddard’s intense, challenging drama “Bad Times at the El Royale” (Fox).

Father Herda, the Milwaukee Archdiocese’s vicar for ordained and lay ecclesial ministry, has been a lifelong Milwaukee Brewers fan, but he also has a special connection to the team, having served as its Catholic chaplain for 12 seasons.

The essays in this excellent book are written by scholars from the Americas and Europe, Catholics, Protestants, Jews and Muslims, reflecting on interreligious dialogue in our time and honor one of the great theologians of social ethics and pioneers of Catholic-Jewish relations.

When people ask why the Vatican has an observatory, one Jesuit priest says it’s because it cannot afford a particle accelerator.

Whatever you do, don’t call that alien who has taken up residence in your body a parasite is the dubious lesson in etiquette conveyed by the sci-fi-driven, Marvel Comics-based bit of nonsense “Venom” (Columbia).

By turns the intimate portrait of its elusive subject’s inner life and a lavish look back at the sometimes tragic, ultimately triumphant race to the Moon, “First Man” (Universal), director Damien Chazelle’s multidimensional profile of astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012), is a splendid piece of moviemaking.

The third remake of that sturdy warhorse “A Star Is Born” (Warner Bros.) pays occasional homage to its forebears, particularly the 1954 version starring Judy Garland and James Mason, which only serves to indicate that its formulaic “stand by your man” story is somewhat tattered and dog-eared.

“The Chicken Runs at Midnight” tells the wildly improbable story of the strong-willed coach, Rich Donnelly, and his equally strong-willed teenage daughter Amy as she was battling brain cancer while her dad’s team was making a playoff push.