— by BEV QUESTAD — I took my junior film critic, Eileen (age 8) and her grandpa (age 79), to see this folksy film starring the “kindest animals in the world.” While their appreciation might have been what I expected, their comments were surprisingly astute. The sheep, led by the smar[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Nuremberg
— by WILLIAM STERR — Hitler is dead, Germany has fallen, and most remaining Nazi leaders have been captured. However one, Hermann Göring, second only to Adolph Hitler in the Nazi hierarchy, remains at large. Then, American troops stop a Nazi-flagged limousine in Austria – a limousine [...]
Review: Manas
— by BEV QUESTAD — Luscious jungle leaves, warm, moist air, stilted houses built over water on a routinely flooded island on a tributary of the Amazon, and the songs of jungle animals fill this gorgeous film. Amidst mangrove trees and soft earth, with idyllic, slow-moving life sustained [...]
Review: Marama
— by WILLIAM STERR — The Maori are the indigenous inhabitants of what is now New Zealand. A proud, warrior people, brutal retaliation, including cannibalism, held a place in their rituals into the 19th century. It’s late in the 1850s. Mary Stevens (Ariana Osborne – “Millie Lies[...]
Review: The Sheep Detectives
— by WILLIAM STERR — English shepherd George Hardy (Hugh Jackman) has a simple but idyllic life. He lives in an Airstream trailer on his 300 acres with a flock of loving creatures – his sheep. After a full day of tending to the flock, including treating any suffering from the disease [...]
Review: Daughters of the Forest
— by WILLIAM STERR — “Daughters of the Forest” takes a remarkable look at the life of fungi in the native forests of Oaxaca and Mexico states in southern Mexico. But it is so much more. The film begins with rain falling in the forest. On the forest floor peeking out of the du[...]
Review: American Agitators
— by WILLIAM STERR — This is the story of the life and achievements of Fred Ross and his son Fred Ross Jr. – and all the people and organizations they affected. Writer/director Raymond Telles and writer Angella Reginato have created a moving exploration of the career of one of the most[...]
Review: Bernstein’s Wall
— by BEV QUESTAD — Why is this archival documentary called “Bernstein’s Wall”? I suspect those who saw Bradley Cooper’s “Maestro” will be the first to see this new film about America’s greatest conductor, Leonard Bernstein, who brought great classics to passionate new life [...]
Review: Spacewoman
— by WILLIAM STERR — This is the story of astronaut Eileen Collins. Born and raised in Elmira, NY, a declining industrial town, she rose from poverty to pilot and command four space shuttle missions, including the first one after the Columbia disaster. She was the first woman to do so. B[...]
Review: Palestine ’36
— by WILLIAM STERR — The Palestinian people have been fighting for their rights even longer than you might think. During WWI, British Lord Balfour, who from his writing and the parliamentary bills he supported had racist and anti-Semitic views, authored the Balfour Declaration, which cal[...]
Review: The Divine Sarah Bernhardt
— by WILLIAM STERR — Nearly a century and a half ago, one of the greatest names in theater, worldwide, was Sarah Bernhardt. She was a French actress, artist, theater manager and play producer. The new film “The Divine Sarah Bernhardt” captures various points in her career. This is no[...]
Review: Hamnet
— by WILLIAM STERR — A film for the decade. Hamnet was nominated by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as one of the 10 best American films of 2025. But it didn’t win. Instead, a film about the insane violence of American people against each other received the Oscar for B[...]
Review: Resistance 101
— by BEV QUESTAD — The best film for Holy Week is “Resistance 101.” Hosted by Reverend Chris Hedges, Ph.D., journalist, author, commentator and Presbyterian minister, this is a free movie (see link at end) that reveals a path of Christ in today’s world. What I’m going to call Chr[...]
Review: Stop Time
— by BEV QUESTAD — Two stories begin separately and then converge. My favorite tells the life of a successful professional, Adrianna Maier (Kelly Deadmon), who is well-known in the lighting business for Broadway productions in New York City. Quizzically, she has received a letter from th[...]