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Mainstream critics sensed a spiritual profundity to Goldsworthy's work, even if they do not have the words to explain such intuitions. Desson Howe (The Washington Post) writes, "Goldsworthy's art borders on the religious. And we should all belong to his church. These 'works' are both temporary and transcendental. To watch and appreciate them as he does is to undergo a transformation yourself." Michael Sragow (Baltimore Sun) says, "In its own quiet, voluptuous way, Rivers and Tides, an unpretentiously brilliant documentary, uses [Goldsworthy's work] to open up the hidden drama of the natural universe. It helps that Goldsworthy is such a direct, no-guff artist, expressing himself as far as he can in words and then letting his art do the rest. Rivers and Tides is the rare work about an artist that is enhancing, not parasitic."

Fans of Left Behind, the books or the film franchise, may be interested to learn that a federal judge has dismissed author Tim LaHaye's lawsuit against the studio that brought his story to the big screen—Cloud Ten Pictures. The full story can be found here.

According to Charisma News, the conflict is not over yet. "[Cloud Ten Pictures] lawyer Keri Borders said a counter suit against LaHaye filed in September 2001 is expected to go to trial this fall. The suit—which seeks damages of more than $10 million—accuses LaHaye of violating several agreements with CTP, including breach of contract."

Narnia fans may be pleased to see a report at TheOneRing.net that WETA, the animation studio bringing such amazing sights the Lord of the Rings series, has a contract to helm the effects for C.S. Lewis's epic as well. Adam Adamson (Shrek) will direct the films. You can get a glimpse of early promotion for the series at Narnia.com.

The new thriller from action-movie veteran Joel Schumacher gives the biggest, flashiest role yet to rising star Colin Farrell (Minority Report, Daredevil). Phone Booth opens this weekend. It bears a unique distinction: About 90 percent of the movie takes place with the camera focused on a glass box, with the hero trapped inside.

Farrell plays Stu Shepard, a self-centered, unfaithful New York publicist who spends his days pacing the streets with his cell phone to his ear, organizing deals to make hot celebrities hotter. His daily ritual includes one last call from downtown's last functional phone booth—a flirtatious call to Pam, a sexy restaurateur (Katie Holmes). Calling from the booth is not a nostalgic or romantic habit so much as it is Shepard's effort to hide a record of the calls.

But on this particular day, someone is looking down on Stu with deep moral disapproval. This self-appointed hand of God's judgment—the same nasty species of bad guy that made quite an impression in Seven—is intent on punishing Stu for his sins. So he calls the phone booth and Stu picks it up. At first, Stu laughs at the villains threats, but when a passerby is shot dead as an example, and surrounding pedestrians think Stu fired the shot, he begins to realize the gravity of situation. So begins the tormenting, taunting, and moral education of Mr. Shepard. Voiced by Kiefer Sutherland with all the menace and gleeful cackles of Vincent Price, this anonymous sniper remains hidden somewhere in the vast jungle of skyscrapers. He keeps the red dot of his sniper rifle on Stu's expensive shirt through a long series of sweat-inducing trials, threatening him while the news cameras roll and the world mistakes Stu for a crazed killer. Meanwhile, a quick-thinking policeman (Forrest Whitaker) tries to find a resolution even as he wonders whether Stu is a murderer, a madman, or just a guy who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

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March (Web-only) 2003, Vol. 47