— by WILLIAM STERR — This documentary is the story of the knife attack on Salman Rushdie – an attack which took his right eye and almost his life. In 1988, well-known Indian-British writer Salman Rushdie, a secular Muslim, published his fourth novel, “The Satanic Verses.” This book[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Child
— by WILLIAM STERR — How far would you go to save your child’s life? This film begins as a mystery. A young boy is lying against a car, unconscious. We then see him being wheeled into a medical facility by two men; but not into an emergency room or a normal hospital room. Instead [&hel[...]
Review: Ever After
— by WILLIAM STERR — In recent years, there has been a plethora of films released based on newly- lapsed copyrighted material or classic tales long in the public domain. Their principal “artistic” hallmarks have been gore, cheap scares, abysmal acting and low technical quality. Despi[...]
Review: The Fisherman
— by WILLIAM STERR — Atta (Ricky Adelayitar – “Bad Luck Joe”) has toiled all his life as a fisherman on the coast of Ghana. But now his reward is coming. The old boat chief (Fred Nil Amugi – “Beautiful Ruins”), under whom Atta has worked for decades, is about to r[...]
Review: Earth’s Greatest Enemy
— by BEV QUESTAD — Just who or what is Earth’s greatest enemy? Here are some spontaneous answers, duplicates not included, from recent interviews at The Covert Café, a bar in northeast Portland, Oregon, the city proud of its slogan, “Keep Portland Weird”: Greed – humans R[...]
Review: Over/Under
— by WILLIAM STERR — When we first meet them, Violet and Stella are 9-year-old California girls summering at the beach in New England. They are frolicking in the surf, spying on the adults at the nude beach (being alternately awed and disgusted by what they see), and collecting “mornin[...]
Review: The Odyssey
— by WILLIAM STERR — Lavish. Extravagant. Superbly acted. Updated morality. IMAX presentation. Almost three hours long with no intermission. The list of superlatives for Christopher Nolan’s production of “The Odyssey” is lengthy. The story of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, thrall of Aga[...]
Review: A Sad and Beautiful World
— by BEV QUESTAD — As Marianne pushes her baby, Nino, out into the world, an explosion blasts through the hospital. The baby is rushed by an attendant through the chaos to save him from a potential building collapse. Exactly one minute after that bombing, Yasmina is born in the same hosp[...]
Review: Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie
— by BEV QUESTAD — Congrats to the Canadian crew who created this Shangri-la! Lush palms, friendly animals, responsible humans, sunny weather, and a tall mountain with a waterfall cascading down fill out this Bali Hai dream. Brimming with challenges, lessons, and respect for others, I th[...]
Review: American Doctor
— by WILLIAM STERR — This documentary has a misleading title – in fact there are three American (U.S.A.) doctors whom we follow as they try to serve injured Palestinian children and adults in Gaza. The injuries, needless to say, are the result of targeting with bullets, tank shells, bo[...]
Review: The Bend in the River
— by BEV QUESTAD — I’ve been thinking lately about what affects people’s destiny. There were seven of us freshmen friends at Whitman College. As an only child, I felt like I finally had sisters. But after that year we each veered off into different futures. If we could have chosen &#[...]
Review: Spider-Man: Brand New Day
— by BEV QUESTAD — Logan, aged 5, is reportedly too young for the PG-13 rated “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” because of “sequences of action and violence.” But if you ask him, it’s only children younger than 5 who shouldn’t see this film. Having watched the first two Spider-Man [...]
Review: Misan Harriman: Shoot the People
— by WILLIAM STERR — “A struggle without documentation is no struggle at all” – Peter Magubane, South African Photographer. Misan Harriman, who knew Magubane, and as a chronicler of civil struggles around the world has followed in the photographer’s footsteps, knows well what it [...]
Review: Starman
— by BEV QUESTAD — Are we alone in the universe? Why am I here? Why is there a world? Those are the questions super genius Gentry Lee, a NASA robotics engineer, poses. He is called Starman. He answers those questions in a surprising exposé on extraterrestrial life. In the end, he presen[...]