— by RON WILKINSON — Perhaps it is because of the staggering losses the Soviet Union has suffered in war that it took a Russian production to show the profound cost of military conflict with perfection. It also took profound courage to document the final days of the Soviet route from Afg[...]
Author Archive
Review: This Is My Desire
— by RON WILKINSON — Mofe’s new name is Sanchez and Rosa’s new name is, well, Rosa. There is nothing else disclosed about their current names because until they leave Nigeria, they are nothing. Two persons smart, focused and dedicated to leaving their home country behind do what they[...]
Review: Dachra
— by RON WILKINSON — An encyclopedia of Western horror film tropes parades across the screen in this Tunisian discovered-film horror comedy. Almost nothing new here and yet things are thrown together in a way that speaks to talent if not good taste. Three naive journalism students are fa[...]
Review: Mama Weed
— by RON WILKINSON — A cop dabbles on the wrong side of the tracks in a mix of Robin Hood meets “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” threatening everything she has ever worked for. Growing up in a penniless Arabic immigrant household she is as determined as she is haunted by her fat[...]
Review: Lansky
— by RON WILKINSON — Aging tales of mobsters seem to have turned into tales of aging mobsters as the gangster flick goes the way of the western. An easy going attempt to revise history, at least a little, finds its way as a suitable genre follow up to the successful “The Irishman.” A[...]
Review: Sun Children
— by RON WILKINSON — A 12-year-old boy and his friends are scurrying around the indoor parking garage in an upscale Iranian shopping center. Three are under the cars and one, far too young for his assignment, is on watch. The mission is to steal expensive wheels for their adult boss. The[...]
Review: The Amusement Park
— by RON WILKINSON — In 1973, George A. Romero joined an elite club of film makers distinguished by their completing a memorable movie or TV show and then being summarily fired when the original sponsors were confronted with the finished product. The infamous Rolling Stones documentary [...]
Review: The Dry
— by RON WILKINSON — Personal crisis in the context of climate crisis is a winning combination these days. There is something about the world burning up that reflects the burning of the soul, a land laid waste and a spirit destroyed in the wake of deception and betrayal. Although this ha[...]
Review: High Ground
— by RON WILKINSON — The title brings two scenarios to mind. One is the concept of arguing for a better, higher purpose. The other is to take high ground for a military advantage. It is a nicely chosen title as this powerfully shot movie argues for both sides of the apologetic high groun[...]
Review: Never Gonna Snow Again
— by RON WILKINSON — Headlining BAM’s fourth edition of Kino Polska: New Polish Cinema, Malgorzata Szumowska’s movie is a playful and atmospheric essay on human kindness and environmental frailty. Co-directed and written with Michal Englert, the Venice Film Festival hit succeeds with[...]
Review: Profile
— by RON WILKINSON — The best thing about internet social networking is the mutable nature of its reality. The truth as far as it goes, the user is ultimately in command of their profile. If this film is a cautionary tale it is to remind that mutability goes both ways. It is one thing [&[...]
Review: The Mauritanian
— by RON WILKINSON — Two thought patterns run through the minds of USA security personnel at Guantanamo as they interrogate a suspected key player in the World Trace Center attacks. The first is that if he did not do the crime of which he is accused, he would have done it if he had [&hel[...]
Review: My Wonderful Wanda
— by RON WILKINSON — In a story rich in family dynamics with a substantial kicker of gender, class and nationality discrimination, Wanda comes to a luxurious villa in Switzerland, the manse of an industrial magnate. Although she has no wealth, her riches lie in her family. On one level, [...]
Review: The Virtuoso
— by RON WILKINSON — The thread of samurai tradition runs through this noir thriller. An assassin is exceptionally good at what he does thanks to a godfather figure, the soldier comrade of the assassin’s deceased father. Taking the young man under his wing and teaching him a trade that[...]