DAILY CALL SHEET: MAY 23, 2026

Crimes of the Future (2022) At some point in the not too far off future, biotechnology has advanced to the point that most humans no longer feel sensations like hurt or discomfort. These advances have also kickstarted evolutionary changes in the human body, which for some reason doesn't sit well with the government. To help crack down on illegal evolution, the National Organ Registry goes to performance artist Tenser to help infiltrate the evolutionist underground. Tenser, you see, suffers from Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, which causes him to grow extraneous organs and makes him one of the rare individuals to feel pain. Because of this, people pay to watch Tenser undergo surgery to remove his extra organs while still awake. This gives Tenser cred with the underground, so they accept him into their ranks. The thing is, Tenser starts to accept them as well. What's Tenser to do; turn the underground in, or join the cause? David Cronenberg's return to weirdness isn't up there with his best, but his fans will find much to appreciate.

 

As Pope St. John Paul II noted in a 1996 address to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, "Today, almost half a century after the publication of the Encyclical [Humani Generis], new knowledge has led to the recognition that the theory of evolution is more than a hypothesis... The convergence... of the results of lines of work conducted independently of one another constitutes by itself a significant argument in favor of the theory." Evolution is, in fact, taught without reservation in Catholic schools and universities as a likely part of God's natural order. But what about the notion that we might still be evolving? There's no official statement on that idea, but since microevolution has always been a part of the overall theory, it's probably safe to assume the Church would accept the idea of continuing evolution to some degree as long as it is understood within a framework that includes God's creative role and His special creation of the soul.

Now Showing at a Blog Near You: For Aleteia this week, I hang out with The Sheep Detectives. No movie about a bunch of sheep trying to solve a murder has any right being this good. Definitely in my top five of the year so far.