— by WILLIAM STERR — Arkansas: The Ozark Mountains, densely forested plateaus, moonshine, Southern pride, ghosts. James McCune (Thomas Hobson – “Stone Fruit”) is making his way alone on horseback through the forested Ozark Mountains of northern Arkansas. He is headed for the town o[...]
Author Archive
Review: Lamb
— by WILLIAM STERR — One upon a time, there was a little family that lived on a farm, far, far from any village. Theirs was a simple, happy life until one day, their beloved daughter was taken from them in death. The father and mother continued to work their farm and care for their [&hel[...]
Review: WarHunt
— by WILLIAM STERR — It was a dark and stormy night. With crows. Let’s set the scene: It’s early 1945 and the war in Europe is nearing conclusion. Hitler’s Germany is desperate. Soviet troops are advancing from the east, while the Americans and their allies are closing in from the [...]
Review: Nightmare Alley
— by WILLIAM STERR — “The Shape of Water,” “Crimson Peak,” “Pacific Rim,” “Pan’s Labyrinth,” “Hellboy,” “ Hellboy II,” “Blade II,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Mimic,” “Chronos.” Guillermo del Toro – director, writer, imaginist – has had an imp[...]
Review: The French Dispatch
— by WILLIAM STERR — When is “Wes Anderson” too much Wes Anderson? His latest effort, The French Dispatch answers that question: “C’est moi!” One gets the feeling early on that Anderson, the director of “Moonrise Kingdom,” “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and many others,[...]
Review: Pig
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Purloined Porker.” Nicolas Cage is not noted for subtlety in his portrayals. Yet that is at the very heart of his performance in the new film “Pig.” Many fans are used to seeing Cage go “hog wild” in every film, exhibiting his trademark mania. Recent out[...]
Review: Out of the Blue
— by WILLIAM STERR — In preparation for viewing director Dennis Hopper’s “Out of the Blue,” I re-watched his seminal picture, “Easy Rider,” which I’d not seen since its theatrical release in 1969. The reason for this was Hopper’s own description of “Out of the Blue” as [...]
Review: Exegesis Lovecraft
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Exegesis – the critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture.” The creator of this documentary has taken a liberty in applying it to a person, although, for many, the writings of Howard Philips Lovecraft have taken on the attributes[...]
Review: Gorbachev. Heaven
— by WILLIAM STERR — Mikhail Gorbachev has been out of power for 30 years, so it would be useful to begin by identifying him. He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1985 until 1991. As such, he was the eighth and last leader of the Soviet Union. [&he[...]
Review: Civil War (or Who Do We Think We Are)
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Why do we want to believe one version (of a story) and not another? Maybe because it makes us feel safe at night.” So begins this exploration of how we view the most catastrophic and perhaps most formative event in the nation’s history, after its foundation. H[...]
Review: The Meaning of Hitler
— by WILLIAM STERR — This documentary explores the myth of Hitler and the rise of the Nazi Party through commentaries by various historians and visits to some of the notorious locations where Hitler and his henchmen met, celebrated the dominance of the Nazi party, and carried out their a[...]
Review: 499
— by WILLIAM STERR — “499” is a unique film, and a daring experiment in film making. It begins on the shore of the Gulf of Mexico, at Veracruz. A man is struggling in the surf. He is a conquistador, part of the inner circle of the expeditionary force led by Hernan Cortez in 1[...]
Review: Tragic Jungle (Selva trajica)
— by WILLIAM STERR — This is the fascinating story, set in the early 1920s, of a young woman in Belize fleeing an arranged marriage to a ruthless white trader. She flees into the jungle of Belize, where she comes upon a group of indigenous chicle gum collectors. The story opens with Agne[...]
Review: American Traitor: The Trial of Axis Sally
— by WILLIAM STERR — This is an untidy 109-minute film dramatizing the true story of Mildred Gillars (Meadow Williams), an American entertainer who, during WWII, performed in a series of Nazi propaganda radio broadcasts intended to dissuade American participation in the war against Germa[...]