— by BEV QUESTAD — The last I heard, the Wicked Witch of the West (WWW) died after Dorothy, stuck in the Land of Oz, threw water on her and she melted. Dorothy, frustratingly stuck in Oz, ended up clicking her ruby red shoes and magically returning home to Kansas with her faithful dog, T[...]
Author Archive
Review: The Wild Robot
— by BEV QUESTAD — A group of robots end up crash-landing. One survives and, like Robinson Crusoe or the Swiss Family Robinson, must contend with the natural world of an uninhabited (by humans), untamed jungle/forest wilderness. However, since the robot, Roz, does not need to eat and gai[...]
Review: A Complete Unknown
— by BEV QUESTAD — My 47-year-old long-haired musician-adventurist son, James T, asked me to take him to “A Complete Unknown” on Christmas Day. Dylan represents my generation, but James claims him too. Four days prior, his band was rockin’ out with the crowd joining in, “Any day [...]
Review: Dahomey
— by BEV QUESTAD — The return of the treasures, the murmuring of the spirits and the new thinking of the people receiving the restitution make this documentary, in the top fifteen 2025 Oscar list, an eye-opener. We see an elegant dinner cruise on the electric ripples of the Seine long af[...]
Review: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
— by BEV QUESTAD — Secretly filmed in Iran, a dire intermix of state and religion is the threatening backdrop of the film’s story as well as the true-life, nerve-wracking environment for the film crew. Once a state is regarded as a manifestation of God’s will, laws, rules, and regula[...]
Review: Daughters
— by BEV QUESTAD — This tender film’s catapult to the 2025 Oscar Best Documentary Short List was not unexpected. “Duaghters” is an outstandingly poignant love story that reaches deep into our essential bond with our parents. When the bond is compromised, we instinctively want it re[...]
Review: Will & Harper
— by BEV QUESTAD — Oh boy, prepare yourselves for a ride like no other across America with Harper Steele, former head writer for “Saturday Night Live” (1995-2008), and Will Farrell, world-famous comedian, along with great songs like “America” (sung by First Aid Kit). Will[...]
Review: From Ground Zero
— by BEV QUESTAD — A snow-white fuzzy donkey is lovingly cared for in a small rustic corral. It is lucky to have enough food and water. Daily its owner hitches the donkey up to a flat-bed cart and rides around the remains of a dusty town, picking up and dropping off strangers and their [[...]
Review: Santosh
— by BEV QUESTAD — Santosh’s young husband, a second-year policeman noted for his integrity, is mercilessly killed in a riot he was called to quell. When Santosh goes to the station to collect his belongings, she learns she can inherit his position with the same salary. While this posi[...]
Review: No Other Land
— by BEV QUESTAD — “I’m five years old. My first memory. A light woke me up. This was my father’s first arrest.” Basel, now 28, carries the one weapon he is allowed – a camera. He marches up to the enemy expelling people from family homes, owned since the early 1800s, before th[...]
Review: Oh, Canada
— by BEV QUESTAD — I thought I would take a break from heavy film watching and enjoy a movie with dashing Richard Gere as lead in “Oh, Canada.” Frying pan into the fire. This film is as complex, studied and deep as they come. Gere is masterful as a dying man, Leonard Fife, who [&hell[...]
Review: The Bibi Files
— by BEV QUESTAD — The siren’s luring call of power and riches blinds her victims into crashing against her jutting rocks. In 2023, before the October Hamas attack, Israeli investigative police tapes incriminating Bibi Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, were secretly handed to Alex G[...]
Review: Armand
— by BEV QUESTAD — “We have to be tolerant of everything now.” “Yeah, we can’t say or do anything.” “There’s a difference between tolerance and irresponsibility.” An incident has occurred, and the school wonders how to handle it. The child’s mother, a rather recent wido[...]
Review: Remembering Gene Wilder
— by BEV QUESTAD — “I didn’t think Jerry Silverman had the right ring to it. I wanted to be … wilder.” So began the career of much-loved Gene Wilder, actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. Ron Frank’s loving tribute to Wilder is executive produced by Wilder’s friends, Leonard[...]