Woodard commands the screen with steely and hazy gazes on capital punishment in ‘Clemency’

“Clemency” – For Anthony Woods (Aldis Hodge), his days in prison are lengthy and torturous.  Each drab minute feels exactly like the next, because sitting in a 10-by-10 foot cell day after day, week after week, and month after month does nothing to spur joy or optimism. Time has become his sworn enemy, packaged as a double-edged sword, because the seemingly endless moments are also brutally finite. Anthony is on death row, and he unenviably stands next in line. Warden Bernadine Williams (Alfre Woodard) is enduring troubling days of her…

This ‘The Lion King’ remake proudly stands on its own four feet

“The Lion King” – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized animated feature films at the 2002 Academy Awards with “Shrek” (2001) winning the inaugural top prize.  If the category existed in 1995, most certainly “The Lion King” (1994) (4/4 stars) would’ve won faster than you could say Hakuna Matata.  This Shakespearean story told on the African prairielands, and more specifically Pride Rock, captured the imagination of moviegoers – both young and old – and combined with Elton John’s beautiful soundtrack, “The Lion King” is one of…