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Reviews
The Worst Crime (2019)
When a mental health crisis leads to the worst crime
I attended a screening of Through the Cracks (alternate title to The Worst Crime) yesterday at the St. Louis International Film Festival.
The documentary is less about the case against Johnny Johnson, who no one denies committed the crime, but about his culpability. Johnson had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, had been struggling with his medications, and, the previous month, had been dropped by his court-ordered mental healthcare provider because the powers that be wanted him arrested for violating the terms of his parole. He WAS arrested, in only about a month: for the attempted rape and brutal murder of a 6-year-old girl with whose family he had been staying... after hearing voices telling him to do so.
Does Johnson deserve the greatest penalty for the greatest crime? Does he deserve to die? This is the question of this documentary.
Bring Him Home (2000)
A troubled youth must ask his recently retired detective grandfather for help when his dog is kidnapped for medical experimentation.
I didn't have high expectations when I started the movie, but I didn't think it would be an all out bummer. It almost was.
The story was not very well written, for starters. Edward Asner is a good actor, but he couldn't do much with this part. The script didn't allow for much character development. The kid in the movie was okay. Kinda cute but not a good actor. This is NOT a movie about a boy and his dog. The dog only gets screen time when he is with the boy or other humans are nearby.
The one thing that sets this movie apart is that, instead of dealing with dognappers for ransom or who are dognapping to sell the dogs again (or even for coats a la "101 Dalmations), they filmmakers decided to use dognapping for animal research. Just before the credits start rolling, a U.S. statistic on pets kidnapped appears on the screen. This crime happens a lot these days.
This isn't a family movie for little kids- it's no "Homeward Bound." It takes on a serious issue without making a good movie.
Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001)
The life of Stone Alexander
As a Christian, I like to see good Christian movies and television shows. Unfortunately, this doesn't happen often. Most Christian movies I've seen (and I haven't seen many for this very reason) aren't enjoyable. I found "Megiddo" to be no exception to this rule.
To start, "Megiddo" is a vast improvement on the first "Omega Code" movie. But I don't see how it could have been worse, since Casper Van Dien is absent. The rest of the cast was better as well. *This* story is almost interesting. It was cool to see Stone Alexander grow from a child to a man. At certain parts of the movie, the scenery is quite beautiful. Michael York is a good actor. I don't know why he chose to do these movies. I'm sure he has his reasons. At least he's good at playing an evil character.
But the movie just isn't good. I'd say "watch it and see for yourself," but please don't.
For a good contrast, watch "The Omen" and "The Omen II" (especially the former) - though they're of the horror genre, they also contain Biblical references, and unlike "The Omega Code" movies, "The Omen" movies are enjoyable.