— by RON WILKINSON — An aristocratic couple grows up with the freedom to live outside societal norms in traditional Paraguay. As their money runs out, they are forced to gradually reenter a stratum of society they thought they could leave behind. Caught in social and legal currents they [...]
Author Archive
Review: Buffalo Boys
— by RON WILKINSON — It is a bad day for Sultan Hamza, the noble warrior and wise leader of an indigenous population in 1800’s Java. Dutch Captain Van Trach (Reinout Bussemaker – possible Oscar nomination for best slavering, demented corporate colony lackey of 2019) finds the Sultan [...]
Review: Burning
— by RON WILKINSON — Three people form a modern love triangle echoed in the cold city streets of Seoul. The farm boy falls hopelessly in love with the girl from his home town, now compromised by the overwhelming modernity of the big city. The city boy has made it big but has somehow trad[...]
Review: Sobibor
— by RON WILKINSON — Superficially the story of one of the worst Nazi death camps in the history of the holocaust, this is a story of extraordinary courage. Not only were Nazi death camp victims tortured and worked to death, they were brainwashed into thinking they had no alternative. Th[...]
Review: Widows
— by RON WILKINSON — After “12 Years a Slave,” what was director Steve McQueen to do? That was a hard act to follow. He could have played it safe, but instead he doubled down with fellow Oscar-winner Viola Davis to produce this powerhouse ensemble drama about three terminally disenfr[...]
Review: Of Fathers and Sons
— by RON WILKINSON — This is one of those documentaries that defies explanation. It is impossible to understand how a filmmaker could have gained the trust and access required to interview a man raising a family to fight for a Syrian caliphate. Director Talal Derki knew he was taking a l[...]
Review: Detour
— by RON WILKINSON — The next time you see this movie may not be your first time, but it may be the best time. Leaping from the screen in a spanking new 4K restoration of a classic noir, “Detour” defines the genre. Down on his luck piano player Al Roberts (Tom Neal) is beaten [&helli[...]
Review: Speed Kills
— by RON WILKINSON — John Travolta knows a thing or two about speed. As a professional level jet pilot holding a dozen licenses, he has traveled much faster than Ben Aronoff ever did. Even so, Aronoff’s love of speed exceeded anything most of us will ever know. The inventor of modern o[...]
Review: Distant Constellation
— by RON WILKINSON — New director Shevaun Mizrahi does a lot with a little is this old school probe of lives we live and lives we think we live. The film shifts between two stories, a Turkish retirement home and the construction site just outside the window. The construction site embodie[...]
Review: A Star is Born
— by RON WILKINSON — Perhaps Bradley Cooper thought he could get off easy by making his directorial debut an expanded MTV video. After all, having cornered the considerable singing talents of Lady Gaga promised to go a long way. As it turns out, Gaga, playing the lead part of super-star [...]
Review: Fists in the Pocket
— by RON WILKINSON — The golden age of Italian cinema is making a comeback, at least the Cineteca di Bologna and the L’Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory hope so. This freshly restored 4k B&W beauty has all the stripped down power of the spaghetti westerns and the music of Ennio Mo[...]
Review: The Guilty
— by RON WILKINSON — This masterpiece of stripped down tension is even more beautiful for what it is not. Presenting the exact opposite of an ensemble cast, the story is told in the mind and ears of a single person, Asger Holm, who may well be going insane. The viewer must decide what is[...]
Review: Bloodline
— by RON WILKINSON — Seann William Scott (“Goon” and “American Pie”) tries something different, of the raging slasher persuasion, in this fun-loving flick from Blumhouse. Director Henry Jacobson teams up with perennial producer/disruptor Jason Blum and co-producer Derek Bishe’ [...]
Review: Nigerian Prince
— by RON WILKINSON — A movie named after the famous internet scam has a lot to live up to. The “Nigerian prince” scam promised a huge cash reward for helping a foreign national out of a paperwork problem. The victim is then robbed of money, identity, or both. The scam has been used s[...]