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Review: Buffalo Boys

— by RON WILKINSON —

It is a bad day for Sultan Hamza, the noble warrior and wise leader of an indigenous population in 1800’s Java. Dutch Captain Van Trach (Reinout Bussemaker – possible Oscar nomination for best slavering, demented corporate colony lackey of 2019) finds the Sultan and executes him in the most slavering, demented way, kicking off a revenge flick that finds a life of its own.

The wise sultan’s even wiser brother Arana escapes with the sultan’s two sons, Jamar and Suwo (Ario Bayu and Yoshi Sudarso). Huck Finns who fight like Bruce Lees, plus they have guns. And what marvelous guns. Not just automatic weapons, they have grenade launchers, tank penetrating rounds and compact thermonuclear cruise missiles (just kidding about that last one). Anyway, they are going to find Dutchy, put his finger in the dike and blow the dam (figuratively speaking). (CONTINUED)


Review: Burning

— by RON WILKINSON — Three people form a modern love triangle echoed in the cold city streets of Seoul. The farm boy falls hopelessly in love with the girl from his home town, now compromised by the overwhelming modernity of the big city. The city boy has made it big but has somehow traded […][...]


Review: Communion (aka Komunia)

— by BEV QUESTAD — Bits of bread are sacrificed into the woodstove because there is no more wood. Short-listed for the 91st Academy Awards Best Documentary, this intimate black-and-white observational documentary is set in Warsaw, Poland. Will this sleeper, abruptly surfacing from the European backwoods, usurp the crown? The film’s title ostensibly refers to […][...]


Review: Shirkers

— by BEV QUESTAD — “Shirkers” made it to the top five films nominated for Best Documentary by the Online Film Critic’s Society (OFCS). It’s about a film that never got made. It is a silly, waste-of-time movie that tells you absolutely nothing. The narrator says the word shirker means someone who is running away, […][...]


Review: BlacKkKlansman

— by BEV QUESTAD — The greatest thing about “BlacKkKlansman” is Spike Lee’s totally manifested, constructive genius. Based on the true story of Ron Stallworth’s infiltration into the KKK in 1978-79, his film shows the fluidity, through time, of racist hegemony in the US. But America, we are on a path to getting better. That’s […][...]


Review: Roma

— by BEV QUESTAD — The nominees for the Critic’s Choice Awards include a Netflix US-Mexican production in eight categories, including best motion picture and best foreign language film as well as best director, best screenplay and best actress. But is “Roma” really qualified for this amazing catapult into multiple awards consideration? “Roma,” a black-and-white […][...]


Review: Bohemian Rhapsody

— by BEV QUESTAD — I wasn’t prepared to be impacted by this rock bio — but from the beginning, as wiry Freddie Mercury walks out on stage with his band, Queen, and sings, “Can anybody find me somebody to love?,” his four-octave vocal range, his energy, his physicality and his sheer talent hypnotize. Featured […][...]


Review: Green Book

— by BEV QUESTAD — At last, the perfect balance of humor, inspiration, fabulous acting, and enthralling story. It’s a 10/10 movie sure to please everyone during the holidays. Beginning at the Copacabana Nightclub in 1962, Bobby Rydell is singing “Old Black Magic.” There is an altercation and the bouncer, Frank “Tony Lip” Vallelonga, played […][...]


Review: Sobibor

— by RON WILKINSON — Superficially the story of one of the worst Nazi death camps in the history of the holocaust, this is a story of extraordinary courage. Not only were Nazi death camp victims tortured and worked to death, they were brainwashed into thinking they had no alternative. The power structure was able […][...]



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