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Review: Knife

— by WILLIAM STERR —

This documentary is the story of the knife attack on Salman Rushdie – an attack which took his right eye and almost his life.

In 1988, well-known Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, a secular Muslim, published his fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses.” This book, inspired by the life of Muhammad, using magical realism and relying on contemporary events and people to create his characters, was a tremendous success. The title refers to a group of Quranic verses about three pagan Meccan goddesses, supposedly inspired by the devil and mistaken for revelation by the Prophet.

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Review: Child

— by WILLIAM STERR — How far would you go to save your child’s life? This film begins as a mystery. A young boy is lying against a car, unconscious. We then see him being wheeled into a medical facility by two men; but not into an emergency room or a normal hospital room. Instead […][...]


Review: Ever After

— by WILLIAM STERR — In recent years, there has been a plethora of films released based on newly- lapsed copyrighted material or classic tales long in the public domain. Their principal “artistic” hallmarks have been gore, cheap scares, abysmal acting and low technical quality. Despite that, they have been moneymakers: never underestimate the public’s […][...]


Review: The Fisherman

— by WILLIAM STERR — Atta (Ricky Adelayitar – “Bad Luck Joe”) has toiled all his life as a fisherman on the coast of Ghana. But now his reward is coming. The old boat chief (Fred Nil Amugi – “Beautiful Ruins”), under whom Atta has worked for decades, is about to resign. The new chief […][...]


Review: Earth’s Greatest Enemy

— by BEV QUESTAD — Just who or what is Earth’s greatest enemy? Here are some spontaneous answers, duplicates not included, from recent interviews at The Covert Café, a bar in northeast Portland, Oregon, the city proud of its slogan, “Keep Portland Weird”: Greed – humans – entropy – narrow-minded people all the wars going […][...]


Review: Over/Under

— by WILLIAM STERR — When we first meet them, Violet and Stella are 9-year-old California girls summering at the beach in New England. They are frolicking in the surf, spying on the adults at the nude beach (being alternately awed and disgusted by what they see), and collecting “morning moths,” over which they make […][...]


Review: The Odyssey

— by WILLIAM STERR — Lavish. Extravagant. Superbly acted. Updated morality. IMAX presentation. Almost three hours long with no intermission. The list of superlatives for Christopher Nolan’s production of “The Odyssey” is lengthy. The story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, thrall of Agamemnon, is familiar to millions. Many of us studied the story in high […][...]


Review: A Sad and Beautiful World

— by BEV QUESTAD — As Marianne pushes her baby, Nino, out into the world, an explosion blasts through the hospital. The baby is rushed by an attendant through the chaos to save him from a potential building collapse. Exactly one minute after that bombing, Yasmina is born in the same hospital in Beirut. We […][...]


Review: Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie

— by BEV QUESTAD — Congrats to the Canadian crew who created this Shangri-la! Lush palms, friendly animals, responsible humans, sunny weather, and a tall mountain with a waterfall cascading down fill out this Bali Hai dream. Brimming with challenges, lessons, and respect for others, I thought Spin Master Entertainment had produced a really fun […][...]



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