— by WILLIAM STERR — The story of the Wendigo is an enduring one that has been the basis of numerous films over the years. It appeared as a motivating character in Steven King’s 1983 novel “Pet Cemetery,” as the title character in numerous films, as the possessing spirit in Guiller[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Nimona
— by BEV QUESTAD — Who’s bad, who’s good, and what’s the truth? These are life’s questions. But, as this film says, “If you want a happily ever after you are going to have to wait, because the monsters are always out there.” Isn’t that the truth? “Nimona” is an animatio[...]
Review: Vishniac
— by WILLIAM STERR — Imagine the breadth of a life that began before the end of the 19th century and lasted almost until the 21st. Further, imagine that life beginning in Czarist Russia, passing through Wiemar and then Nazi Germany, and ending in 1990 New York City. That was the life of [...]
Review: The Painter
— by WILLIAM STERR — Peter Barrett (Charlie Weber – “Panama”) was a CIA operative. He specialized in extra-legal killing of large numbers of other killers in order to carry out his missions. On one of these, he discovered that his wife, Elena (Rryla McIntosh – “Under Wr[...]
Review: Bad Hombres
— by WILLIAM STERR — Felix (Diego Tinoco – “Muzzle”) has finally made it to the US after a grueling – and expensive – trek from his native Uruguay. He meets his cousin, who’s already made it here, and together they go to seek work – Felix’s first step on a climb to im[...]
Review: American Symphony
— by BEV QUESTAD — This raw, intimate documentary reveals the most creative, versatile and eclectic musician of our time, Jon Batiste. From exposure to his personality on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” I was expecting a laid-back, fun, light-hearted guy. But his story runs mor[...]
Review: Double Down South
— by WILLIAM STERR — Mississippi. A state named after a river named by the Minnesotan Ojibwa Indians. The name means “Big River.” There is an adage in the South: “Thank God for Mississippi.” It refers to the fact that, in almost all listings of cultural attainments, Mississippi i[...]
Review: The Zone of Interest
— by WILLIAM STERR — The year is 1943. The place is Auschwitz, Poland. German SS officer Rudolph Hoss (Christian Friedel – “Babylon Berlin”) has been commandant of the concentration death camp since its creation in 1940, and has made extensive expansion and improvement in effic[...]
Review: Poor Things
— by WILLIAM STERR — If you have a chance to see this film, be prepared for a WILD ride! Professor Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe – “The Lighthouse”) is a ruin of a man – brilliant, but disfigured physically and worse by his insane scientist father. He invites one of his anatomy[...]
Review: Oppenheimer
— by BEV QUESTAD — Historically, tides of American freedom and then its reversal have flooded and ebbed with crashing force. Lives can be lifted or ruined. For me, this is the foundational story behind Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” Why it surfaces now is an apt cautionary tale[...]
Review: Sunrise
— by WILLIAM STERR — There is a legend in the forestlands of the Pacific Northwest of a creature called The Red Coat. This creature lives on the blood of forest animals and, when it can, that of humans. At least, so believes Ma Reynolds. Ma (Olwen Fouere – “The Northman”) and h[...]
Review: 32 Sounds
— by BEV QUESTAD — Since sound is vibration and moves out like tiny ripples, then, if I understood correctly, all sounds ever occurring are all still out there moving in perpetuity: my mother’s voice and piano playing, my father’s laugh, my son’s first cry and the first big bang. T[...]
Review: The Holdovers
— by WILLIAM STERR — It’s 1970. Richard Nixon is president and despite his “secret plan” to end the Vietnam war, it is still raging. Most of the students at Barton Academy, a Massachusetts prep school, are about to leave on a two-week Christmas break. However, five have nowhere to [...]
Review: Bobi Wine: The People’s President
— by BEV QUESTAD — Little Richard meets Nelson Mandela – that’s Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine. With his energetic band, courageous Wine exposes injustice and corruption in Uganda as a musical sensation and political revolutionary. This pits him dangerously [...]