— by WILLIAM STERR — Once upon a time, when we were very young, our parents read us stories. In these stories, fairies danced in the moonlight, pirates buried wonderful treasures, cows jumped over the goodnight moon, and a handful of stuffed animals came to life and played with their lit[...]
Author Archive
Review: South of Sanity
— by WILLIAM STERR — At last! A movie that accurately portrays the denizens of our southern states – “South of Sanity.” Actually, no. “South of Sanity” does poke fun at the negative sterotypes of white southern folks, specifically Alabamans, but in the same sort of way that the[...]
Review: Biosphere
— by WILLIAM STERR — Ray and Billy have been friends since childhood. Really close friends. So close that Billy refers to them as “brothers from different mothers.” Ray is black. Billy is white. They even live together, although theirs is not a romantic relationship. Oh, and one more[...]
Review: Citizen Stan
— by WILLIAM STERR — This is a documentary about a man who has devoted his life to the search for peace and justice here within the United States and around the world – even when that meant arguing against the powers-that-be here. Stanley K. Sheinbaum was born into a well-to-do Jewish [...]
Review: Barbie Nation
— by WILLIAM STERR — This history of the Barbie Doll opens with a scene from a Barbie convention. An elaborate Barbie Doll in a custom dress is being auctioned off. It goes for $4,250 and the buyer, in her own Barbie inspired clothing, is ecstatic. From there a montage continues from Bar[...]
Review: The Stroll
— by WILLIAM STERR — This is the story of the trans women sex workers who spent parts of their lives working the streets of New York City’s meatpacking district – an area informally know as “The Stroll.” These women, from a variety of backgrounds and of different races, each foun[...]
Review: Renfield
— by WILLIAM STERR — Nicolas Cage: Oscar winner, Golden Globe winner, SAG winner, all time Blockbuster Entertainment (yeah, the video store people) award winner, and frequent Razzie nominee. You never know who you’re going to get with a Nick Cage movie – in fact, in “The Unbearable[...]
Review: Mad Heidi
— by WILLIAM STERR — In my avocation as a movie reviewer, I often – too often – screen films that, for lack of a better word, are pretty “cheesy.” Outrageous dialogue, over the top acting, fantastic settings, impossible premises, outlandish costumes, and so on. This one takes the[...]
Review: Scarlet
— by WILLIAM STERR — What will eventually be known as World War I is finally over. Columns of exhausted, ragged French soldiers straggle along the horizon. One man separates himself from the others and carries on alone. He is Raphael (Raphael Thiery – “L’homme d’argil[...]
Review: Peppergrass
— by WILLIAM STERR — Rough times. The corona virus is raging in Canada and businesses are shut down. Eula Baek’s (Chantelle Han – “Circle of Steel”) grandfather has died, and the restaurant he owned is going under. She needs cash from somewhere, and boyfriend Morris Weiss (Ch[...]
Review: The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster
— by WILLIAM STERR — We are all familiar with the story of Frankenstein. Many of us are familiar with the fact that Mary Shelley wrote it as a moralistic tale, not just a horror story. That important aspect is too often lost in the film translations, with “Man was never meant to play G[...]
Review: Assassin Club
— by WILLIAM STERR — Our story begins in Prague, Czechoslovakia, with the assassination of a wealthy man and near-killing of his young daughter, who is saved by her uncle. Flash forward seven years to Ljubljana, Slovenia. It’s nighttime and an assassin waits in an upper floor of a buil[...]
Review: Hell’s Half Acre
— by WILLIAM STERR — It’s rough making a living as an urban explorer of mysterious abandoned buildings. However, Marcus (Quinn Nehr – “Sheltered”) and his small band of fellow videocasters are doing their best. Girlfriend Jessie (Brynn Beveridge – “That Night”) want[...]