— by RON WILKINSON — Michael Shannon does the heavy lifting in Jeff Nichols’ sci-fi yarn of Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), a child with peculiar abilities. Nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Nichols is racking up an enviable record of awards with only his first four [...]
Author Archive
Review: Remember
— by RON WILKINSON — Zev Guttman is a man on a mission, but suffering such severe dementia at an advanced age he can hardly remember what it is. Guided by a written letter, he relies on those around him to refresh his memory. The memories are those of his family killed by the Nazi [&hell[...]
Review: Born to be Blue
— by RON WILKINSON — Most people identify jazz with the east coast, the south or maybe the mid-west. In his early career, Chet Baker became the icon of the west coast “Cool School” of jazz, bringing a multi-talented, if checkered, personality to that jazz scene. As his life unfolded,[...]
Review: My Golden Days
— by RON WILKINSON — Writer/director Arnaud Desplechin (co-written with Julie Peyr) has developed quite a picture of the tempestuous youth of Paul Dedaulus (Mathieu Amalric). Screened as part of the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the SAC[...]
Review: Eye in the Sky
— by RON WILKINSON — Helen Mirren stars in “Eye in the Sky,” director Gavin Hood’s examination of the people who fight wars and the toll the fight takes on them. Appearing to be a war thriller featuring high tech drone aircraft, Guy Hibbert’s screenplay is actually a surg[...]
Review: Baskin
— by RON WILKINSON — Writer/director Can Evrenol’s narrative feature debut is a force to be reckoned with. While much of the world has moved on to more sanitized, socially acceptable horror, Evrenol goes back to the basics. Eye gouging, jugular vein blood squirting, zombie half born mu[...]
Review: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
— by RON WILKINSON — Zack Snyder roars back with a superhero brawl that combines a blasting Wagnerian soundtrack with World Wrestling Federation slap downs. Significant plot? Do not count on it. The philosophical underpinnings of this match made in Hollywood are murky, but the action is [...]
Review: Fireworks Wednesday
— by RON WILKINSON — Asghar Farhadi’s “Fireworks Wednesday” features several kinds of fireworks converging on the naïve young bride Rouhi. Taraneh Alidoosti reunites with Farhadi after her successful work in “About Elly” to play the very young, and very much in love, Rouhi. Th[...]
Review: Embrace of the Serpent
— by RON WILKINSON — “Embrace of the Serpent,” writer/director Ciro Guerra’s seething portrait of the abasement of a people and an environment, is not to be missed. Based on the written diaries of explorers Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes, the film combines[...]
Review: The Finest Hours
— by RON WILKINSON — In “The Finest Hours,” Chris Pine does a fantastic job playing the sheepish, but inwardly courageous, Coast Guard Bosun’s Mate Bernard “Bernie” Webber, who is stationed in Chatham, Mass., on Cape Cod. Bernie is a good man, but is haunted by [...]
Review: Eddie the Eagle
— by RON WILKINSON — If this take on Eddie the Eagle (Michael “Eddie” Edwards) is exaggerated to the point of absurdity, the superb performance of Taron Egerton makes it work. This may become the breakout performance for Egerton, showing he can do the touchy-feely role as wel[...]
Review: A War (aka Krigen)
— by RON WILKINSON — “A War” — Denmark’s official submission for Best Foreign Language Film in the 88th Academy Awards of 2016 — is a momentous movie. Not only does it show the lethal chaos and brutality of war with unflinching honesty, but it shows the war sold[...]
Review: Hail, Caesar!
— by RON WILKINSON — George Clooney does the heavy lifting in “Hail, Caesar!,” backed by an elite cast of sparkling supporting actors and perfect production. Shot in 35mm, the film is a remarkable throwback to the “glory years” of 1950s Hollywood when a star was really a [...]
Review: A Perfect Day
— by RON WILKINSON — Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins have done better things. Having won two Oscars between them and been nominated for two more, this screenplay is light weight for them. The treatment seems to be perpetually caught between “Mash” and “Hurt Locker” with nods to [...]