Exodus: Gods and Kings
Following the book of Exodus from the Old Testament, Moses (Christian Bale), defiant leader and “son” of the pharaoh Seti (John Tuturro) is cast out of the land to die when it’s discovered he is not the pharaoh’s son but in fact a Hebrew prophesied to destroy the Egyptian empire. Years later, and with provocation from God, Moses would return to his former land to negotiate with the new Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton) and lead 600,000 slaves to salvation out of Egypt escaping torture, plagues, and suffering. 
Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Gladiator) this biblical spectacular does indeed live up to the grandeur in its mythic and large scale wonder without melting into a giant CGI mess on the silver screen. And, despite the usual quibbles of historical films featuring inappropriate British accents and odd casting choices, Sigourney Weaver, John Turturro, and Ben Mendelsohn come to mind; once we get past these oddities, the overall film holds up surprisingly well in the acting department. After all, there’s nothing quite like the parting of the Red Sea and a Nile river running red to bring a little holiday cheer into the Hanukah and Christmas season, if only there had been a nod to Edward G Robinson? In the mood for a two and a half hour re-telling, you could do a lot worse, worth a few pieces of silver, Exodus: Gods and Kings is rated PG-13.