— by RON WILKINSON — The child leaves her family and walks alone through the dark forest. This alone is cause for tension, even without the one-eyed boy. Bloody bandage over one eye, the kid is doing all right for himself, crouching to avoid the luxury car on the road above, conveying he[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: The Traitor
— by RON WILKINSON — One person’s savior is another person’s traitor. An old school Cosa Nostra lieutenant turns on the family in this narrative fiction remake of the true story of the first mafia informant in Sicily in the 1980s. As the film tells it, Buscetta described himself as a[...]
Review: The Banker
— by RON WILKINSON — Many kids consider going into investment banking. The hours are not bad, working conditions are safe and, unless you are a black person in 1939 Willis, Texas, there is little chance you will be hanged for it. Such were Bernard Garrett’s father’s words to the prod[...]
Review: Sorry We Missed You
— by RON WILKINSON — Ken Loach nukes the system milking those caught between the bytes of the gig economy. Wound around his scanner as surely as Charlie Chaplin was between his “Modern Times” gears, Ricky Turner (Kris Hitchen) cannot catch a break. Everything that could go wrong goes[...]
Review: American Factory
— by BEV QUESTAD — Yes, “American Factory” won the Oscar for Best Documentary. But was it really the best? The story is about a big American GM plant that closed in Dayton, Ohio, in 2008. The founder and CEO of a Chinese automobile glass manufacturing company, Cho Tak Wong, saw a bar[...]
Review: Camp Cold Brook
— by RON WILKINSON — “Haunt Squad” TV reality show host Jack Wilson is in a tough spot. Like many horror show heroes, he is faced with losing his money, his house, his family, his dog and his TV show if he fails to make a big score. He needs a hit and he needs […][...]
Review: Les Miserables
— by RON WILKINSON — This heavily updated version of Victor Hugo’s classic adds timely touches of tragedy. Set in today’s Montfermeil suburb of Paris, the social estate called “les Bosquets” is home to multinationals starting a new life in France. North African, Middle Ea[...]
Review: Come As You Are
— by RON WILKINSON — Richard Wong’s feel good breakout movie turns the road trip on its head. Three disabled men team up with a traveling nurse to escape their parents and find America. Rather, they want to escape America and find Canada, specifically a brothel specializing in those wi[...]
Review: Judy
— by BEV QUESTAD — Renée Zellweger won the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her portrayal of Judy Garland. Can she do it again for the Oscar? “Judy” is the 2019 movie adaptation of the play “End of the Rainbow,” which documents the last year or so of Garland’s struggle with h[...]
Review: The Cave
— by BEV QUESTAD — Nominated for the Best Documentary Oscar, “The Cave” explains what happens when 40,000 people are caught in a no-exit strangle-hold. With snipers on rooftops and sporadic planes re-bombing structural remains, the only safe place is deep underground. Food is scarce [...]
Review: Beanpole
— by RON WILKINSON — Kicking off the year with a powerhouse of an essay on the horrors of war, director Kantemir Balagov weaves together stories of the Siege of Leningrad. As one might expect, all three are bad, ending in the briefest ray of light. Some survive and some do not. As in all[...]
Review: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
— by RON WILKINSON — An artist hired to paint a portrait of a bride-to-be discovers that the subject refuses to pose. She is not just camera shy, or easel shy, she is fundamentally opposed to the idea of being painted. The French had their attitudes, even in 1790. As it turns out, there [...]
Review: Clemency
— by RON WILKINSON — In this profound exploration of the emotional toll of capital punishment, Alfre Woodard seems to take responsibility for the entire movie, just as her character takes responsibility for ending the lives of those deemed by society as being unfit to live. As she does t[...]