— by WILLIAM STERR — This quiet little film opened in the ACID Cannes, at the Cannes Film Festival. This is the division for independent films. Written, directed by and starring Iair Said (“Society of the Snow”), it is the story of David, a gay Jewish Argentinian who returns from stu[...]
Author Archive
Review: The Uninvited
— by WILLIAM STERR — It’s a summer evening in LA and the Warrens are throwing a garden party for some friends, including actors for whom Sammy (Walton Goggins – “Fallout”) is their talent agent. As she is dressing for the party, Sammy’s wife Rose (Elizabeth Reaser – [...]
Review: Chosen Family
— by WILLIAM STERR — It’s Spring! The shoots are coming up through the warming earth, the buds are forming on the branches, and the sap is flowing. Especially in the sappy “Chosen Family.” This grotesque “feel good” movie, written, directed and starring Heather Graham (“Suita[...]
Review: The Monkey
— by WILLIAM STERR — Osgood Perkins strikes horror gold again with this horror/comedic take on Stephen King’s short story “The Monkey.” King’s story follows Hal Shelburn. Hal’s son, Petey, discovers a windup monkey in a box while exploring the attic of his father’s childh[...]
Review: The Electric State
— by WILLIAM STERR — Imagine if, during the Clinton Administration (1993-2001), the biggest event was not Monica Lewinsky, but rather the revolt of robots, many of which represented cartoon characters or corporate mascots. That is the story given to us by the Russo Brothers (“Avengers:[...]
Review: Any Day Now
— by WILLIAM STERR — Boston. That historic city on the Charles River. Home of Back Bay and the Brahmins thereof. They are the folks that created and filled the Gardner Museum of Art. But then there are the gritty folks of South Boston. They keep the museum clean and serve as security gua[...]
Review: Unspeakable: Beyond the Wall of Sleep
— by WILLIAM STERR — H.P. Lovecraft died in 1937. At the time, he was an impoverished, barely known writer of fantastic fiction. Since then, his works, all in the public domain, have been the inspiration for hundreds of writers and scores of film-makers. Many of those writers have contri[...]
Review: The Rule of Jenny Pen
— by WILLIAM STERR — Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow. Two elder luminaries of the cinema world. Lithgow turned in a fine performance as a conniving American cardinal in 2024’s “Conclave,” nd Best Actor Oscar-winner Rush, long a stage actor in Australia, is best known in film for “[...]
Review: Immaculate
— by WILLIAM STERR — When do miracles cross the line into mad science? As a young girl, Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney – “Madame Web”) suffered a near death experience. It changed her life, and she decided to devote that life to God. When still a novitiate, her local US convent closed[...]
Review: Anora
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Anora”: Winner of the 2025 Academy Awards for Best Direction, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing (all by Sean Baker), Best Actress (Mikey Madison) and Best Picture. This is a complicated film. It begins with a somewhat silly, extremely graphic sexual relatio[...]
Review: Seven Veils
— by WILLIAM STERR — When art copies life copies art. Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried – “I Don’t Understand You”) has an opportunity to re-mount the opera “Salome,” a piece that she worked on with her deceased mentor, Charles, years before. She leaps at the chance. However, she [...]
Review: Nosferatu
— by WILLIAM STERR — Some lovers aren’t satisfied unless they can completely possess you. So it is with Ellen Hutter and her count. Thomas Hutter (Nicholas Hoult) is an up-and-coming employee at Herr Knock’s (Simon McBurney) real estate brokerage. He is given the charge of delivering[...]
Review: Arcadian
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Arcadian” gives a new twist to living “down on the farm.” The word means an ideal rural paradise, but the home set up by Paul (Nicholas Cage – “Longlegs”) and his teenage sons, Joseph (Jaeden Martell – “Mr. Harrigan’s Phone”) and Thomas[...]
Review: Saturday Night
— by WILLIAM STERR — Jason Reitman (“Ghostbusters: Afterlife”) has used his “Wayback Machine” to take us back to a seminal point in television entertainment – the point at which a form of popular entertainment that was rooted in vaudeville, the stage, and accepted mores of beha[...]