— by WILLIAM STERR — In 2018, a Thailand youth soccer team and their coach were trapped in a flooding cave. Thirteen lives, perhaps lost forever. In 2021, a documentary of the event was released by National Geographic Films. It featured actual footage and the participation of the real pe[...]
Author Archive
Review: I Dream of a Psychopomp
— by WILLIAM STERR — “I Dream of a Psychopomp” is a TERRIBLE title for a movie. First of all, what is a “psychopomp”? According to the Oxford Languages: psy·cho·pomp noun 1. (in Greek mythology) a guide of souls to the place of the dead.[...]
Review: RRR
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Rise. Roar. Revolt.” That is the meaning of the three Rs that constitute the title of this 2022 Tollywood extravaganza. And they certainly do describe it. Based on an imagined meeting between two real-life Indian revolutionaries who fought the British Raj but ne[...]
Review: Ithaka: A Fight to Free Julian Assange
— by WILLIAM STERR — The island of Ithaka symbolizes home: the end of the journey, the goal of the mythic trek. As such, it is taken from Homer’s “Odyssey.” The film “Ithaka: A Fight to Free Julian Assange” begins with the words of Nils Melzer, UN Rapporteur on Torture: “Tort[...]
Review: Endangered
— by WILLIAM STERR — Allison Meyers (Lizzie Zerebko – “For the People”) is a frustrated woman. She is an architect who is without a job, and whose job search has so far resulted in nothing. She is also a person who, in voice-over, methodically describes her philosophy of develo[...]
Review: Orders from Above
— by WILLIAM STERR — On Jan. 20, 1942, a conference was organized in the German city of Wannsee, Germany. It was hosted by Reinhard Heydrick, and dealt with the “total solution of the Jewish question” in all territories under German control at that time. In preparation for th[...]
Review: How to Please a Woman
— by WILLIAM STERR — This amusing tale from Australia begins with a scene of women, six or seven, swimming through clear ocean waters toward the shore. They are members of a swim club and, later in the locker room we get a chance to overhear their friendly banter. One of them, Gina (Sall[...]
Review: Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel
— by WILLIAM STERR — In 1883, work began on a new building in the Chelsea Neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. Two years later, it was completed and, at the time, it was 12 stories, which made it the tallest building in the city. It was in the heart of the city’s theater district,[...]
Review: Witch House
— by WILLIAM STERR — Howard Philips Lovecraft was an American writer, active during the first half of the last century. His short stories and novellas are credited with establishing horror as a legitimate literary genre (although the reviewers of his time would certainly disagree). He wa[...]
Review: Mad God
— by WILLIAM STERR — Do you remember the walking battle machines in “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”? How about the dragon in “Dragonslayer”? Or the multitude of dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park”? If you enjoyed them, and so many other marvels, both stop action and CGI, you ca[...]
Review: We Are As Gods
— by WILLIAM STERR — This is the story of fascinating octogenarian Stewart Brand. Brand, among other things, was the creator and editor of “The Whole Earth Catalog.” But that isn’t even the beginning. The documentary’s writer/directors, Jason Sussberg (“The Immortalists”), an[...]
Review: The Long Rider
— by WILLIAM STERR — Aspirational dreams. We all have them. Some of us actually achieve them; many of us do not. “The Long Rider” is the story of a young man, born in Brazil but raised in Canada, whose dream was to ride a horse from Canada, down through North, Central, and into South[...]
Review: Offseason
— by WILLIAM STERR — A woman, obviously in distress and emotionally fragile, speaks to us. She tells us of her fears, her nightmares, and how she has sought freedom from them. She was told of a place where she could be free, but it was false. Wherever she went, her fears followed. So, sh[...]
Review: The Prey: Legend of Karnoctus
— by WILLIAM STERR — You look at the poster for this film and, at least on the one I saw, Danny Trejo (“Machete”) is top billed. Other posters display him prominently. Pretty good work if you can get it, because Danny only appears early for three minutes and 49 seconds (9:25 – 12:1[...]