— by BEV QUESTAD with RAMEZ TOMEH (in Beirut) — Daizy Gedeon begins her film in a frustrated voice saying, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be telling you this story.” For years, as you flew into Lebanon one of the first things you would notice appeared to be a massive w[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: From the Hood to the Holler
— by BEV QUESTAD — An irrepressible politician from Kentucky has got the fire and passion of a break-through progressive politician in a fiery red state. He’s opening the eyes of frustrated voters from his Louisville neighborhood all the way to the poor little towns in the hill country[...]
Review: The Scottish Play
— by WILLIAM STERR — Poor Sydney (Tina Benko – “The Greatest Showman”). She has had some success in the movies and lives in New York City. Yet she’s looking for something more in her life – something meaningful. She wakes, dresses, and goes for a run, stopping at the statue[...]
Review: Smyrna
— by BEV QUESTAD — This epic story of the majestic cosmopolis of Smyrna starring Mimi Denissi, Greek actress, writer, director and producer extraordinaire, will have a one-day-only showing in the US and Canada on Dec. 8, 2022. The film begins in contemporary time where too many people ar[...]
Review: Elephant Refugees
— by WILLIAM STERR — Being a refugee is tough. You are usually fleeing violence, oppression, turmoil, and economic deprivation. If you are an elephant in southern Africa, you are fleeing the bullets and machetes of organized poachers, while at the same time suffering a loss of food and w[...]
Review: Three Wishes for Cinderella
— by BEV QUESTAD — What have the Norwegians done to Cinderella? My best friend, Eileen Cho’an Sterr, dressed up as Cinderella this year and her brother went as Gus, her pudgy little mouse help-mate. Eileen and I are four years old when we are together. The rest of the time she remains [...]
Review: The Menu
— by WILLIAM STERR — There are some restaurants so exclusive, so expensive and so unique that having even a single meal there is the experience of a lifetime. In this case, an experience that may end your lifetime. Hawthorne is such a restaurant, located on its own island, accessible onl[...]
Review: Tantura
— by WILLIAM STERR — In 1947, the United Nations voted to partition the British Mandate of Palestine. The following year, the State of Israel was proclaimed. Both events were opposed by the Arabs. At the time of Israel’s founding, the population of Palestine, estimated at 1.7 million, [...]
Review: Sam & Kate
— by BEV QUESTAD — There are three reasons to see “Sam and Kate.” First, it is an interesting celebrity ensemble piece. Dustin Hoffman and his real-life son, Jake Hoffman, play father and son, while their romantic interests are played by Sissy Spacek and her real-life daughter Schuyl[...]
Review: Tiger 24
— by WILLIAM STERR — Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night; What immortal hand or eye, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?[...]
Review: Nope
— by WILLIAM STERR — At first, it appears that Jordan Peele (“Get Out”) has given us a two-fer: two separate stories for the price of one. The opening story is about an horrendous incident on the site of a family oriented TV comedy, Gordy’s Home, about a human-like chimpanzee, Gord[...]
Review: My Childhood, My Country
— by WILLIAM STERR — On September 11, 2001, the radical Islamic organization, al Qaida, attacked financial and military targets in mainland United States. What followed was the “War on Terror,” created and administered first by the Bush Administration, and on to the present day. The [...]
Review: Tubular Bells: 50th Anniversary
— by WILLIAM STERR — Voiceover by narrator Bill Nighy (“Page Eight”): “In 1973, a then-unknown 19-year-old musician produced an album that would change the face of music … forever. That musician was Mike Oldfield; the album, “Tubular Bells.” So begins this documentary on the [...]