Category: Film Reviews

Popcorn and Inspiration: ‘Since You Went Away’: Life on the Homefront During World War II

Approved | 2h 57min | Drama, Romance, War | 1944 I’ve always found it interesting to look at movies that offer alternative perspectives to the straight-line affairs of their genre. World War II films are a case in point. In 1946’s “The Best Years of Our Lives,” for example, we don’t see military men fighting…


Rewind, Review, and Re-Rate: ‘Lawless’: A True Bootlegging Tale From Prohibition Appalachia

‘Lawless’ just might be an instant gangster classic.


Movie Review: ‘Cloud Atlas’

Reincarnation and karma. These two words have grown rapidly more popular in the last 50 years as humanity expands its understanding of the mysteries of the universe.


A Horrifying Code Film: 1941’s ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’

Halloween has now passed, and with it many horror film screenings. Although this movie genre began in the late 19th century, the term “horror” wasn’t actually applied to motion pictures until the 1930s, when Universal Pictures’ profitable streak of monster movies firmly established American horror films. Then in 1934, the Motion Picture Production Code sent Frankenstein,…


EpochTV Film Review: ‘Han Xin’ (Also Known as ‘5000 Years of Heroes’)

To many Westerners, Chinese culture can seem daunting to learn about. For many of us, the extent of Chinese culture that we know comes through such things as American Chinese takeout food or walks through a Chinatown district. Not exactly thorough ways to immerse oneself, in more than a superficial way. It doesn’t help that…


Film Review: ‘Red Notice’: Reynolds, Gadot, and Johnson Display Winning Chemistry

PG-13 | 1h 55min | Action, Comedy | 5 November 2021 (USA) Three of the hottest performers in the movie business right now—Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne Johnson—have worked as part of ensembles (the “X-Men,” “DC Comics,” and “Fast & Furious” franchises) before, but are usually solo leads in their other ventures. To get all three of them to star in…


EpochTV Film Review: ‘The Great Eclipse (The Creation Guys Series)’

On Monday, Aug. 21, 2017, millions of people were staring at a magnificent sight—one of the rare solar eclipses that grace our planet once in a while. Of course, that feat alone (looking safely at an eclipse) wouldn’t be possible without wearing those iconic glasses that we’re probably all familiar with by now—you know, the…


Rewind, Review and Re-Rate: 1946’s ‘The Best Years of Our Lives’: Honoring Veterans

Approved | 2h 50min | War, Drama, Romance The Golden Age of Hollywood can rightly claim a wide array of excellent action-oriented World War II films, such as 1945’s “They Were Expendable” and 1957’s “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Indeed, war movies contributed greatly to making American cinema the most influential and copied style…


Film Review: ‘Finch’: Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi With a Troubling Message

PG-13 | 1h 55min | Drama, Sci-Fi | 5 November 2021 (USA) Only the second feature from veteran TV director Miguel Sapochnik (“House,” “Game of Thrones”), “Finch” comes with a complicated back story. Initially titled “BIOS,” the spec (unsolicited) screenplay was penned by first-time writers Craig Luck and Ivor Powell. After a bidding war, it was bought by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment…


Max McLean on C.S. Lewis and His New Film ‘The Most Reluctant Convert’

For some, disaster brings opportunity. That’s what happened for Max McLean and his stage company, Fellowship for Performing Arts (FPA), which engages audiences through art from a Christian worldview. It is no secret that McLean has a great affinity for C.S. Lewis. He and his company have turned works by Lewis into stage plays, like…