"Copperhead" is a Civil War drama from independent director Ron Maxwell ("Gods and Generals" 2003). Based on the 1893 novel "The Copperhead" by Harold Frederic, the title refers to the Northern opponents of the Civil War. Set in upstate New York, [..]

The Oscar for Best Picture of 2013 was deservedly awarded to "12 Years a Slave." This is a true story of a free-born African-American man from New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South in 1841. Chiwetel Ejiofor is outstanding as Solomon [..]

Director Lee Daniels ("The Paperboy" 2012) has crafted an excellent historical drama called "The Butler." The star of the show, Forrest Whitaker, delivers a strong performance as Cecil Gaines, who served as a White House butler from 1952 to 1986. It is based on the real [..]

"Killing Kennedy" is a made-for-television film examining the administration of President John F. Kennedy and his assassination in 1963. It is a faithful adaptation of Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard's 2012 book of the same name. The teleplay was written by Kelly Masterson and expertly directed [..]

"Killing Lincoln" is an astoundingly informative made-for-television movie about the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. The teleplay by Erik Jendresen is a faithful adaptation of the 2011 book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. It takes a look at the largely unknown details immediately preceding and [..]

The biopic "Jobs" about Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs is mostly a dull affair. The screenplay by Matt Whiteley is probably accurate about Jobs' life details but that does not necessarily translate into good cinema. Ditto for Ashton Kutcher's performance in the title role; he seems [..]

The "Transformers" movie franchise keeps marching along with the seventh installment just released. "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" has a bit more human drama to add to the crashing and dashing of metallic monstrosities featured in these films. Director Steven Caple Jr. ("Creed II" 2018) did [..]

Producer-director Jeff Radice has put together a documentary film on the life and times of baseball player Dock Ellis, who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1968-1979, mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Ellis had a drug problem, for which he later recovered from after going through rehab. [..]

Conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza has come up with another documentary film called "America: Imagine the World Without Her." He examines leftist arguments that the U. S. system stole wealth from others to create the capitalist society we have now, and compares them to his view that America's [..]

"American Hustle" is probably the worst film of 2013, with a confusing plot, bad acting, and glorification of drug use and criminal activities. Despite all of these problems, the Columbia Pictures release garnered ten Oscar nominations (zero wins) and was successful at the box office. [..]