Free Republic

Mel Gibson continues his run through awards season. The Hacksaw Ridge helmer landed an Oscar nomination for best director on Tuesday morning. The film's star Andrew Garfield also scored a best actor mention for the film about a conscientious objector in World War II [Desmond Doss], a coup for Gibson given that the actor also was being considered for the same category for his role in Martin Scorsese's Silence. The Lionsgate drama was also nominated for best picture, film editing, sound mixing and sound editing. Gibson thanked his cast and crew in a statement and said the Academy's recognition...

Why did the white working class support Donald Trump despite his history of racist and sexist remarks? For many liberals, the answer is simple: They were racists who wanted to take back the country. This view was articulated right after the election by CNN commentator Van Jones, who labeled Trump’s win a “WhiteLash.” One month later, in a CNN special, “The Messy Truth,” Jones interviewed white workers who had twice voted for President Obama, but who went for Trump in this most recent election. In an almost direct paraphrasing of Bruce Springsteen’s “Youngstown,” one worker complained that it was the...

Like the voters who plan to stay home on Election Day because they don’t like the candidates, potential filmgoers who avoid Hacksaw Ridge because they object to Mel Gibson will be the losers. Hacksaw Ridge, the true story of a conscientious objector who played a big role in winning World War II by enduring relentless punishment on and off the battlefield, saved countless lives on the front lines in the bloody Battle of Okinawa without ever carrying an assault weapon and became one of the most decorated heroes in military history without firing a single shot, is the best war...

The Better Side of Pacifism, As Seen in a New Movie Msgr. Charles Pope • November 4, 2016 • Pacifism can be understood in various ways. In one way it is the refusal to engage in any violent or armed conflict. In this sense, it is a refusal to take part in a certain kind of battle. This sort of pacifism has little appeal and comes off as unrealistic at best and cowardly at worst.But there is another understanding of pacifism: actively resisting evil in a nonviolent way. With this sort of pacifism one does engage in the battle,...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Mel Gibson prepared for me a captioned version of the movie that he has out that just started, Hacksaw Ridge. They've got a really interesting way of doing this. You know, one of the problems with... I can't go to a theater to watch a screener because nothing is ever close captioned in the theater and I can literally not hear the dialogue because I'm deaf and cochlear implant signal-to-noise ratio response is just... With all the soundtrack noise and noise in the theaters, I can't. I cannot. I can hear everything but I can't comprehend the...