Homestead **
Perhaps it's on me that I didn't realize the full story behind this faith-based apocalyptic drama, but it’s hard to overstate the bitterness one can feel when you’re watching what you think is a movie, but instead is the pilot for series. Ben Kasica and Jason Ross created this tale set in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the United States, as various characters—including military veteran Jeff Eriksson (Bailey Chase) and his family—converge on the Rocky Mountain compound owned by Ian Ross (Neal McDonough), one of the few places in the region with a secure food supply. The creative team doesn’t fuss much with what’s actually going on out in the world beyond the initial looting—and a short-wave radio jockey occasionally dropping exposition and throwing shade at California and Seattle—allowing for a focus on events at the Homestead. That’s a perfectly acceptable approach, since the moral center of the story is whether to act out of fear or love when dealing with those in need. But the narrative itself is an absolute mess of subplots, including nasty government bureaucrats, a teen romance between Eriksson’s son (Tyler Lofton) and Ross’s daughter (Olivia Sanabia), even a little girl who may have psychic powers. And few of them are intended to have any sort of resolution, as they are meant for future episodes teased at the end. The earnest message about kindness towards refugees gets lost in all the melodrama that’s clearly “to be continued.” Available Dec. 20 in theaters. (PG-13)

Mufasa: The Lion King **1/2
See feature review. Available Dec. 20 in theaters. (PG)

The Six Triple Eight **1/2
Sadly, there are still plenty of untold stories about marginalized people whose historical contributions have been buried, and writer/director Tyler Perry takes an earnest march through one of them here. It’s the World War II-era tale of the 6888th, a unit of all-Black Women’s Army Corps unit under the command of Maj. Charity Adams (Kerry Washington), sent to Europe on an assignment to process millions of letters and packages to and from American soldiers left undelivered due to logistical failings—a mission the White army brass is certain they’ll fail at. The story is told mainly from the perspective of enlistee Lena Derriecott (Ebony Obsidian), who's motivated by the death of her White Jewish beau (Gregg Sulkin), though she’s ultimately joined by a dutifully diverse bunch of fellow soldiers (including Shanice Shantay in the role of “get me a young Octavia Spencer type”). While the general structure is very much Hidden Figures if the goal were clerical rather than the far-more-compelling task of getting to the moon, Perry understands how to foreground the obstacles placed in the way of these women to solid melodramatic effect, just as he treats recurring shots of a blood-soaked envelope like the little girl in the red coat from Schindler’s List. It’s an uneven journey highlighted by Washington’s ferocious commitment, perhaps best as yet another reminder that history is more colorful than most of us were taught. Available Dec. 20 via Netflix. (PG-13)

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ***
Something unexpected has happened to me in the 30 years since I rolled my eyes hard at Jim Carrey’s star-making schtick: I actually miss that guy. And over the past several years, the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has been the only place to find him. This time, his presence is actually in service of a more interesting story for the extraterrestrial speedster (voiced by Ben Schwartz) to get to Carrey’s Dr. Ivo Robotnik, focusing on the threat of the vengeance-minded Shadow (Keanu Reeves). There’s a thoughtful enough “hurt people hurt people” story here, with Reeves fully committing to his voice performance, all tied up in more references to “family” than you can shake a Fast and Furious installment at. The solid emotional beats and world-threatening action mix with plenty of silly jokes for the olds (I was 100 percent not expecting a reference to the 1995 Casper movie), but the primary appeal here is Carrey continuing to throw his full body into his villain performance—or, in this case, two bodies, since he plays a double-role as Dr. Robotnik’s also-a-mad-scientist grandfather. He may be acting in another movie entirely in scenes like a dance through a field of lasers, but at least this movie is smart enough to realize that if you’ve got to give Jim Carrey someone to play off of, the best choice is another Jim Carrey. Available Dec. 20 in theaters. (PG)