New film chronicles Iraqi war vet

The independent feature film “Will Gardner” recently began filming around New Mexico and set shots include parts of Gallup and McKinley County, officials said.

Lisa Rodriguez, city film liaison, said the film, produced by Mona Vista Productions of Albuquerque, will be shot around the communities of Gallup, Albuquerque, Belen, Zia, Santa Ana and Jemez pueblos.

The film is about an Iraqi war veteran. Rodriguez said the essence of the film ties in with Gallup’s designation as the “Most Patriotic Small Town in America.” The city acquired the moniker in 2013 via a Rand McNally Best of the Road national contest.

“This is to a large degree a...

Rating: ««« out of 4

Running Time: 123 min.

This is an odd way to start a review, but your enjoyment of this creature feature will likely have a lot to do with your feelings about Prometheus. Since it’s release, I’ve heard all sorts of reactions from viewers both positive and negative. Alien: Covenant is the latest in the series and fits somewhere between the last film and a proper Alien movie. It continues with the themes set up previously, adding a dash or two here and there of face-hugging monster mayhem. The end result isn’t perfect but is ambitious, with enough new and compelling material to earn it a pass.

The story follows a spaceship carrying humans set to colonize a...

Rating: «« out of 4

Running Time: 126 min.

The tale of King Arthur has certainly been around a while, igniting the imagination of children (and in some cases, adults) for centuries. The 12th century fable gets a new update from an unlikely source in the big budget, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. But does some additional snappy banter and shirtless, bare-knuckle boxing add to the experience or even justify its existence?

For this adaptation, the plot has been simplified from its source material. Born into nobility and raised by the dignified King Uther (Eric Bana), the titular character is ushered away after his nefarious uncle Vortigern (Jude Law) makes a deal with supernatural...

Welcome back to another look at highlights arriving on Blu-ray and DVD. It’s an edition filled with plenty of quirky and eccentric films. So if you can’t make it out to the movies this week, be sure to give one of these titles a try!

BIG NEW RELEASES

American Mummy - Set in New Mexico, this independent horror flick involves a group of university students who find a hidden tomb and unearth an ancient mummy. Of course, strange rituals are performed and the crusty corpse rises from the dead, possessing several of the kids and forcing them to wreak havoc on one another. This feature was completed a few years back, played at a film festival or two and is now making its debut on...