Nick Nolte poses for a portrait to promote the film “A Walk in the Woods.”

If there is a Nick Nolte cult, it’s small and I’m in it.

Years ago, I went through a Nolte phase. Neal Cummings of Video Horizons obliged. Neal had a copy of North Dallas 40, in which the hard-boiled actor plays a professional football player. It turns out that Nolte did his own stunts. He had played junior college football for years, moving frequently to maintain his eligibility.

Nolte is back. My wife and I just saw A Walk in the Woods, the Robert Redford vehicle, based on the Bill Bryson story about two middle-aged guys walking the Appalachian Trail in an attempt to recapture … something. It is somewhat reminiscent of Wild, the 2014 movie about a woman hiking the Pacific Crest Trail as part of her catharsis.

Few will say Redford has made a great movie. But in many ways it is touching, and quite entertaining. It contains minimal gimmicks, and Emma Thompson is perfectly cast as Redford’s indulgent wife. All midlife writers struggling with their craft should be so lucky.

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Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd is one of the most eccentric music dramas you may encounter. My wife and I saw the San Francisco Opera’s production last Saturday night.

Playing the demon barber of Fleet Street requires a forceful, magnetically malignant persona. To convey that dark personality, Brian Mulligan put on a Jack Nicholson look from The Shining.

Sondheim’s music and lyrics are complex. The text moves at a rapid clip. Being in the Sweeney Todd chorus would be a workout.

When Sondheim turned 80, a book of his collected lyrics appeared. I’m sure it sold well, because he has a considerable following. Now I see why.

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The predictions of epic traffic congestion during Pope Francis’ visit to Washington this week reminded me of Pope John Paul II’s visit to the capital in, I believe, 1979. Two friends and I walked down the National Mall to see the Pope’s helicopter land. One of them was of Polish birth, and she was pregnant. We wondered whether her child would be blessed by a Polish pope.

This was well in advance of 9/11, so there was virtually no security on the Mall. If we were not next to the rope surrounding the landing area, we were in the second or third row. When John Paul II emerged from the helicopter, he looked directly at us.

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Catholic University, which the pope will visit, is a large presence on the outskirts of Capitol Hill. In summer it hosts an opera series, featuring alumni from its esteemed vocal arts program. We were fortunate to see a young Myra Merritt, who had just won the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions. A Catholic U. alum, Merritt played Violetta in La Traviata. Respecting its theater setting, the opening scene was a very Catholic interpretation. The dying Violetta lay in a 1940s vintage hospital bed. Over her head was a crucifix and on both sides were nuns kneeling in prayer. Perhaps Giuseppi Verdi’s courtesan had converted in her final hours.

All struggling midlife writers should have Emma Thompson by their side.