In approaching the comic adventure "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" (Paramount), viewers will likely be expecting to witness more of the hyperkinetic antics that are the trademark of the Sega video game-based characters around whom the franchise is built. What they may not be bargaining for are complex layers of emotional pain.
As strained as it is bloodsoaked and morally wayward, the would-be action adventure "Kraven the Hunter" (Columbia) is a hopeless dud. On the upside, moviegoers misguided enough to patronize the film will likely be too bored to be much corrupted by it.
Twenty-five years on, is it time to wax nostalgic for the turn of the millennium? If the low-minded disaster-themed comedy "Y2K" (A24) is anything to go by, the answer is a resounding "No."
Catholic moviegoers will naturally take an interest in any project related to the works of their renowned co-religionist, novelist J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973). But the question always remains whether any new adventure set in his fictional land of Middle-earth will share in the elusive magic of the stories he himself spun.
For those attempting to bring any part of the Gospel story to the screen, whether big or small, the four canonical accounts, as books of faith, prove to be of limited help. They’re not motion-picture treatments, and their descriptions of historical details and dialogue tend to be brief.
The life of the Blessed Mother, from before her birth to the flight into Egypt, is recounted with varying levels of artistic adeptness in the uneven biography "Mary" (Netflix). Though the result is not always satisfying, the production overall is both reverent and engaging. The film is also suitable for a wide audience.
Nearly a quarter-century after its predecessor premiered, "Gladiator II" (Paramount) takes moviegoers back into the ancient arena. The result is a spectacular but sterile historical epic whose unsparing depiction of life-or-death combat greatly circumscribes its appropriate audience.
In crafting the biopic "Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin." (Angel), writer-director Todd Komarnicki can be credited with being scrupulous about historical truth. Yet, despite the film's provocative full title -- which suggests that he had a lot of interesting material to mine from his subject's life -- there's a ponderous tone to his profile.
Why not make a Christmas-themed action flick starring Dwayne Johnson as Kris Kringle's chief bodyguard? The answer to that question is revealed in "Red One" (Amazon MGM).
Considered purely from an artistic viewpoint, the lavish musical "Wicked" (Universal) represents a confluence of the best both Broadway and Hollywood have to offer. On a moral level, however, the film's content, while largely free of overtly problematic material, nonetheless demands careful assessment.
Lady of letters Gertrude Stein once famously observed of Oakland, California, the city in which she was raised, "There is no there there." As it turns out, there's not much there to the drama "Here" (TriStar), either.
