Rice also reviewed the wanky Passion of the Christ:

Gibson created something of enduring magnificence. He did it with intense focus, and total commitment. The refusal of much of the intelligensia (sic!) to engage in responsible dialogue about this film revealed immense hypocracy and cynicism. The violence is not a legitimate issue. Prime Time television with it crime show obsessions centered on killing children is so much more truly violent as to make public discussions of the cruelty in the Passion of the Christ ridiculous. The Passion achieves a near impossible goal: the accurate dipiction of a first century execution and an embracing vision of the moment that changed the history of the western world, as remembered by those who insist upon that event's unchanging religious significance. Whatever your beliefs, or lack of beliefs, it's worth your respect and attention. It's absurd to think children will be harmed by this movie when network television spews lurid stories of kidnapping, maiming, rape, and murder into our homes every night. The film has set a new and very high standard for religious films and identified a huge audience that hungers for spiritual content in media.