— by RON WILKINSON — Noir is difficult. And as of his second feature, director Jamie M. Dagg has a way to go. It is not enough to create a mystery thriller with a decent plot, there must be back stories. Without briefly dishing the dirt about why these lost souls inhabit the noir world, [...]
Archive for November, 2017
Review: The Man Who Invented Christmas
— by RON WILKINSON — The season for tall tales is upon us and what better centerpiece than the immortal spook of all tales, “A Christmas Carol.” Dickens wracks his brain for a story as the writer’s worst nightmare looms. Poverty, homelessness, loss of a byline. Through those marvel[...]
Review: The Force
— by BEV QUESTAD — A staccato soundtrack by Justin Melland forebodes serious danger and grave trouble. The cinematographer/writer/director Peter Nicks, an Emmy Award-winning director, is the drive-along who lives to bring “The Force” to the screen. Earning the 2017 Sundance Film Fest[...]
Review: The Breadwinner
— by BEV QUESTAD — I couldn’t stop from noticing the ironic parallels in this film between the life of its producer, Angelina Jolie, and the life of women at large who are coming forward with complaints in one of the most advanced countries the world has ever known. Though “The Bread[...]
Review: Trumping Democracy
— by BEV QUESTAD — I don’t mind advertisements. I know advertisers are trying their best to convince me to buy their product. Maybe they will even use a favorite pop song or celebrity. It’s okay. It’s an ad. But what if the ad is a lie? What if Pepsi said Coke causes cancer? What [[...]
Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Mo.
— by RON WILKINSON — Martin McDonagh’s latest has more in common with his brooding “In Bruges” than with star Francis McDormand’s signature “Fargo.” As she did with her North Dakota persona, she does with Mildred in Missouri. Only this time it is in spades. The sing-song, liv[...]
Review: The Divine Order
— by BEV QUESTAD — With footage of Gloria Steinem and the Women’s Liberation Movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, Hendrix posters, and Janis Joplin, this 1971 dramatization of the battle for women’s suffrage in a little village in Schweiz is a reminder, especially true with today’s[...]
Review: Kedi
— by RON WILKINSON — The best movie ever made for cat lovers opened this year around the world. The setting, deep in the city of Istanbul, is simply magnificent. Filming from the point of view of the city’s roaming cats amplifies the grandeur of one of the greatest nations in the world[...]
Review: The Work
— by RON WILKINSON — The best documentaries take on a life of their own. Some spiral out of control into territory unknown to the film makers. Some draw the crew too far into the story for their own good. Some reveal truths that no one anticipated. This super gritty look into Folsom pris[...]