— by RON WILKINSON — The thread of samurai tradition runs through this noir thriller. An assassin is exceptionally good at what he does thanks to a godfather figure, the soldier comrade of the assassin’s deceased father. Taking the young man under his wing and teaching him a trade that[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Kiss the Ground
— by BEV QUESTAD — Woody Harrelson announces he’s given up on fixing the environment. It’s simply too vast a problem with each solution seemingly causing more problems. But then he asks, “What if there is another path?” What does he mean? This past week, churches celebrated Earth[...]
Review: Voyagers
— by RON WILKINSON — Thirty brainwashed kids and one semi-coherent adult launch in a spaceship on an 86-year mission that few of them will survive. What could go wrong? Well, anyone who watched “2001: A Space Odyssey” knows plenty can go wrong. If they also read “Lord of the Flies[...]
Review: Every Breath You Take
— by RON WILKINSON — The usual trip to hockey practice turns into a fatal car crash that changes lives forever. Unfortunately it does not do much to change the lives of thousands of people watching this tedious drama cum thriller. The problem is the film makers cannot decide which it is,[...]
Review: The Man Who Sold His Skin
— by RON WILKINSON — A Syrian citizen makes a big mistake by heralding the revolution on a bus. Besotted with love, he proclaims his devotion to his lover and his freedom and promptly loses both. Luckily, there was a solution, a way to be free and be a patron of the arts at the […[...]
Review: Nina Wu
— by RON WILKINSON — The film medium is made for that marvelous merging of dreams and life. The ultimate dream for some, the dream of fame and fortune, awaits those who reach stardom. The trick is to achieve that pinnacle of success and keep one’s sanity, or one’s soul if you will. O[...]
Review: Red Soil
— by RON WILKINSON — Something nasty is afoot at the alumina plant. One of the few chemicals not yet squarely implicated in outright poisonings of local populations, aluminum and its chemical progeny have their dark side. As alumina is freed from Bauxite ore a red sludge is left behind t[...]
Review: The Vault
— by RON WILKINSON — Walter and James had a right to be mad. After risking their lives recovering a priceless treasure stolen fair and square by Sir Francis Drake, Spain steals the treasure, fair and square, right back. There is no justice for gutsy cowboy tomb raiders these days. Get ma[...]
Review: Da 5 Bloods
— by BEV QUESTAD — Vietnam, like slavery, is a scar on the American conscience. How four guys, approximately 50 years after serving together in Southeast Asia, were affected by their service is the story of this intense, ambitious film by the greatest director, Spike Lee. Lee brings toge[...]
Review: My Name is Pedro
— by BEV QUESTAD — The guy is lovingly mistaken for Jesus with his dark wavy long hair, lovely smile, and golden face full of light, love and energy. The kids line the halls reaching for his hand. This used to be the assistant superintendent of secondary education for The East Ramapo Cen[...]
Review: Truth to Power
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Art is the way to the heart. The hearts of men can and will change. That change changes the world.” Great was the hope, but little did Serj Tankian, now 53 years old, really consider that his music could bring down a government. Tankian’s great grandfather w[...]
Review: News of the World
— by BEV QUESTAD — Why hasn’t “News of the World” hit the big time? Where are the Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Movie and Best Actor? Tom Hanks plays Captain Kidd, a practical but tortured man who travels from town to town having lost all that is dear. An ex-minister [...]
Review: Nomadland
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Nomadland” is a minimalist presentation with no plot. What is boring is good, what is beautiful is barren, and what is desired is almost nothing. Is this Buddha in America? Of the more than 50 movies I chose to see for the 2020 film season, “Nomadland” was the[...]
Review: City of Lies
— by RON WILKINSON — A gangsta rap artist dies in a hail of bullets after a late night all-out party in L.A. Not so amazing. A few days later, an undercover L.A. cop kills another undercover L.A. cop in an apparent road rage incident. That is a story, and city detective Russell Poole thi[...]