— by WILLIAM STERR — drum’lin (noun): an oval or elongated hill believed to have been formed by the streamlined movement of glacial ice sheets across rock debris, or till. The name is derived from the Gaelic word druim (“rounded hill,” or “mound”). Encyclopedia Britannica There[...]
Author Archive
Review: Mr. Blake at Your Service!
— by WILLIAM STERR — In an age of raucous, frenetic, raunchy comedies, this film is a throwback to a gentler, more respectable, even genteel comic sensibility. As such, it’s general audience popularity is in question. Andrew Blake (John Malkovich) is a widower. His French wife died fou[...]
Review: Roads on Fire
— by WILLIAM STERR — Have you ever wondered what it would be like to get so desperate that you would take every cent you could raise, beg, and borrow to get out of your own country and flee to another? With your children? Having to trust people who might leave you for dead anywhere [&hel[...]
Review: A Blind Bargain
— by WILLIAM STERR — Crispin Glover is an unusual actor. Some call him “genius.” Other think he’s a “madman.” Perhaps he’s both. But whatever he is, he has a talent for picking bizarre roles. In “A Blind Bargain,” he has chosen another unusual vehicle and warped chara[...]
Review: The Drowned
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Cue the soundtrack.” This is the first big design error in the horror flick “The Drowned.” From the very first frames, we are assaulted with an ominous, cacophonous, hodgepodge of sounds, including striking gongs, cat-like cries, and eventually quasi-human v[...]
Review: The Oval Portrait
— by WILLIAM STERR — Lush. There was a time – the late 1930s to early 1950s – when Hollywood made pictures that were lush in their photography (typically B&W), their orchestral scores, and the attention to period details. That is not to say that films lack these characteristics [...]
Review: Andrea Bocelli: Because I Believe
— by WILLIAM STERR — There have been a number of great tenors whohave interpreted Italian Opera in the last few decades. Of course, “The Three Tenors” immediately come to mind. But there is a fourth, still active today: Andrea Bocelli. Bocelli, known commonly as “The Blind Tenor,[...]
Review: Borderline
— by WILLIAM STERR — The mind is a wonderful – and terrible – thing. When it works properly we are capable of incredible acts of creation, altruism, and organization. But when something goes wrong… “Borderline” introduces us to Paul Duerson (Ray Nicholson – “Smile 2”)[...]
Review: Checkpoint Zoo
— by WILLIAM STERR — Darkness. The low growl of a big cat, nearby. A flashlight illuminates a lion in a cage, trying to get its claws at a man standing only inches away. This is how a documentary covering the rescue of animals from a Kharkiv zoo during the early days of the Russian [&hel[...]
Review: The Thursday Murder Club
— by WILLIAM STERR — The idea of moving into a “retirement home” is anathema to most people who are younger and still healthy. However, for some of us, personal declining health and/or mental capacity, or that of a loved partner, make assisted living an acceptable option. This is esp[...]
Review: Rather
— by WILLIAM STERR — Edward R. Murrow. Walter Cronkite. Dan Rather. Three names from the “Tiffany” days of CBS News. Those days are gone, and have been for some time. The most recent blow came with the sale of Paramount (which in turn owns CBS), owned by Sheri Redstone, to Skydance, [...]
Review: The Final Run
— by WILLIAM STERR — What ever happened to those guys who used to run drugs from Mexico into the States decades ago? Well, one of them, Pierce Butler (Jeff Fahey – “Lawnmower Man”), settled down and became a shrimp fisherman on the South Carolina Coast. He raised a family, but [...]
Review: 40 Acres
— by WILLIAM STERR — The horror genre has been awash in dystopian stories of isolated bands of humans, usually threatened by masses of flesh-hungry zombies. I actually miss the zombies of my childhood: slow-moving creatures reanimated by evil sorcerers for a variety of purposes. One of t[...]