Film Review: ‘The King of Kings,’ Cartoon Jesus
About the time he was creating the crowd-pleasing “David Copperfield,” Charles Dickens was writing a book meant for a much smaller audience — his children. “The Life of Our Lord,”…
The Vigilante Movie Returns: ‘Shooting Heroin’
The vigilante film was at its heights as a genre a half century ago with ugly crowd-pleasers like the Charles Bronson franchise “Death Wish.” But it can be traced back…
Movie Review: ‘Saint Nick of Bethlehem’
It’s been more than a month since Christmas, but they were sending around an indie film called “Saint Nick of Bethlehem” for reviews. Maybe because it would have been lost…
Movie Review: ‘King Saud,’ Worst of Year?
Writing at the end of the year, I can safely say I won’t see a worse film this year than “King Saud,” a clumsy, blood-soaked stumble through world problems through…
A Movie Selling a Series: ‘Homestead’
A nuclear bomb hitting Los Angeles at the outset of the film “Homestead” seems its most minor concern. Mostly, it’s a pretext for finally getting to use those go-bags that…
Film Review: Low Budget, Lowbrow ‘Con Job’
Former health care software developer Ian Niles began his film career in such teeny roles as “Repeat Offender,” “First Officer” and “Guy.” Lately, he’s been developing his own string of…
Film Review: Bonhoeffer Gets a Gun
The brave German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who railed against the Nazis and his church for doing nothing in the face of Hitler, is well-known in theological circles for his own…
Film: ‘Escape from Extinction: Rewilding’
It begins with the usual montage of environmental catastrophe: crashing glaciers, devastating storms, widespread drought, pollution-choked skies. All of it coming so fast, it triggers the usual knee-jerk helplessness and…
Movie: Luke Wilson’s Own ‘Bad News Bears’
Inspirational sports movies are practically a genre to themselves, from “Rocky” and “Hoosiers” to “The Natural” and “Field of Dreams.” Even the success in recent years of the streaming series…
Film Review: ‘Protocol 17’s Bad Medicine
There’s no question that propaganda films can sometimes also be entertaining. Even if the premise is extreme to the point of amusement, there may be good kitsch value in, say,…