Compass review heads south

Caving to Bill Donohue's Catholic League, CNS has pulled the generally positive review its film reviewer gave The Golden Compass.

First Brokeback Mountain, now this. Glad I’m not reviewing movies for the USCCB! In both cases CNS reviewer Harry Forbes provided a thoughtful evaluation, commenting both on artistic/cinematic value and moral content. In both cases "someone" intervened to get the review pulled. You can find the story at the Baltimore Sun. Archbishop Edward O'Brien of that city expressed relief that the review had been taken down because it caused "confusion."

The review is still available for the time being at Catholic Online.

Funny clip from the “morally problematic” elements of the film, with which USCCB reviews always end: "The film contains intense but bloodless fantasy violence, anti-clerical subtext, standard genre occult elements, a character born out of wedlock and a whiskey-guzzling bear."

Since when is a “character born out of wedlock” morally objectionable? Though the whiskey-guzzling bear is enough to prevent me from seeing the film. Polar bears are suffering enough! As for the anti-clerical subtext, well . . .