Lolita: Lessons in Love Gone Wrong
Adrian Lyne's controversial film is not so much about pedophilia, as about an obsessive love that can poison a marriage as well as a relationship between an older man and a child.

The Maltese Cross
This cross has a long history. It has been associated with the Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as the "Knights Hospitaller." This order began with the establishment of a hospital in Jerusalem, and has long been associated with caregiving, but also took on military duties, eventually becoming a powerful, military force with vast properties and great wealth.

The Passion of the Christ
Mel Gibson's blockbuster reveals more about the personal faith and passions of the movie maker than about Jesus of Nazareth. And while Gibson is completely entitled to tell the story any way he pleases, he did not present it as his personal take on the gospel narrative; he advertized it as being true to the text. It was not.

Ray Charles: America's Mythic Hero
The Taylor Hackford movie, Ray, casts the singer and song writer as an icon of American civil religion. I commend this compelling film, but the truth about Ray Charles is more complicated.