— by BEV QUESTAD — I am Lisbeth … Lisbeth Salander. I was created by Stieg Larsson and transferred to celluloid by Niels Oplev. Then Daniel Alfredson. Then David Fincher. Why did anyone think they could be successful at this? The Cast In Oplev and Alfredson’s versions I was portrayed[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Gerhard Richter Painting
— by BEV QUESTAD — He takes three colors — red, blue and yellow — and stripes them in arcs and jutting angles onto a large canvass. Beautiful balance, natural primary colors. Simple and elegant. Then he spreads bright yellow paint onto a long wedge, as if buttering the length[...]
Review: American Reunion
— by ADAM DALE — It’s been nearly 13 years since we were first introduced to the awkward group of friends in “American Pie” who made a pact to lose their virginity before graduation. Since then, we have seen them come together after high school and for a wedding. In “American Reu[...]
Review: Following Chase
— by ALEXA MILAN — Fear. Isolation. A high stakes mission and a wounded friend. It’s the principle dilemma at the heart of many a war movie, and it’s the central conflict in the latest short film from director Greg Koorhan, with a twist. “Following Chase” is Koorh[...]
Review: Wrath of the Titans
— by ADAM DALE — Not very often do you hear a star admit that a movie they were in was a dud, especially not when the unexpected sequel is about to be released. But that is exactly what Sam Worthington did when discussing “Wrath of the Titans” — the follow up to 2010’s “Cla[...]
Review: Bully
— by ADAM DALE — “Bully,” the new documentary film by award-winning director Lee Hirsh, has had as much publicity over the controversy of the MPAA’s rating the film “R” as it has because of the touching and emotional stories it shows. The Weinstein Company has announced[...]
Review: Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
— by ADAM DALE — There may have been stranger concepts for a book turned into a movie than Paul Torday’s 2006 novel “Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.” — but none come to mind. Directed by Lasse Hallström (“Dear John” and “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape”) and sporting an a[...]
Review: Red Desert (aka Il Deserto Rosso)
— by BEV QUESTAD — Forget about the name of this film. Maybe it refers to communism, global warming, anomie or the red-headed lead character, Giuliana. Michelangelo Antonioni, a classic art film director with ambitions nearly as great as his first name, once said he just gave it a random[...]
Review: The Hunger Games
— by ADAM DALE — The nation Panem has risen out of the ruins of what was once known as North America. As punishment for an unsuccessful uprising against the Capitol, a raffle (known as the “reaping”) is held yearly to choose one boy and one girl — from the ages of 12 to[...]
Review: Carpet Racers: A Crash Course
— by CHERRY BELL DAMASCO-FARRINGTON — What are “carpet racers” you ask? This is one of the questions that this documentary intends to answer for you. Director Jay Thames embarks on a year-long quest into the life and times of a professional “carpet racer.” In orde[...]
Review: A Separation
— by BEV QUESTAD — Bravo to Iran for winning the coveted Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with a brave, insightful study of the human condition. At first, because of the headscarves and trenchant males, the viewer might be tut-tutting that this is just how we expected Iran to[...]
Review: Rocco and His Brothers
— by BEV QUESTAD — Four brothers with their shrew of a mother have left their farm and traveled to the big city of Milan to surprise and move in with the older, newly-engaged fifth son. Surprise, surprise. “Rocco and his Brothers,” renowned as perfection in cinema, begins with artist[...]
Review: Any Day Now
— by ALEXA MILAN — It’s a period everyone has gone through, or will go through, at some point in their lives. That time of transition when you’re no longer a student, you’re trying to navigate through the real world, but you’re not entirely sure where your life is[...]