Kingdom of Heaven

I saw "Kingdom of Heaven" last night, taking advantage of the long weekend before finals begin. Overall, it was an entertaining film, probably one of the better I've seen recently (though I don't see many movies). If you like Ridley Scott's war epics, (Gladiator, Black Hawk Down) you'll probably enjoy this one. Obviously, being historical, it's drawn many comparisons to "Gladiator," and I liked "Kingdom of Heaven" just as much and perhaps a bit better. It handled the topic of the Crusades quite well, eschewing glorification while portraying the holy wars as the tragic product of extreme, hawkish figures from both the Christian and Muslim worlds. It definitely had its bloody moments, with a few too many jugular bleed-outs for my tastes, but overall the battle sequences were entertaining. Other movies I'm looking forward to this summer: "Star Wars Episode III," "War of the Worlds," and "Kicking and Screaming."