— by RON WILKINSON — You have been invited to an experience that requires only your rapt attention, and complete discretion. That means concentrate and do not tell anyone. The payoff is a combination of a Sherlock Holmes club and the Shriners, with free drinks. The venue is Latitude Hous[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Mr. Toilet
— by BEV QUESTAD — “When you turn 007 upside down it spells LOO and it’s such a perfect opportunity not to be wasted,” declares Jack Sim, activist and social-environmental clown. The film’s title is embarrassing and silly, but if you thought something like cancer, heart disease, [...]
Review: Adopt a Highway
— by BEV QUESTAD — Ethan Hawke delivers an intricate, internal, virtuoso performance as a man freshly released from jail after 21 years. He’s not angry, bitter or resentful, but socially slow and afraid. Russell Millings (Hawke) is a victim of the Three Strikes Law. His third offense w[...]
Review: Cold Brook
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Cold Brook” is about two best friends who are coping with getting older. Ted and George’s marriages are humdrum and the waitress at the diner doesn’t treat them like she used to. Ted is losing some coordination and it’s a worry. Reliving their youth, they jo[...]
Review: The Serengeti Rules
— by RON WILKINSON — An urchin chomping away merrily at a kelp lunch is a sight to behold. Who knew that urchins had teeth, just like humans? Well, not exactly like humans, but close. Even better is killer whales hunting seals by splashing next to them, creating a huge wave that washes t[...]
Review: Mrs. Lowry and Son
— by RON WILKINSON — Imperious as she was, L.S. Lowry loved her. What is more, he reflected on her every day for that day’s vision of himself. His outside reality was to stay as far from reality as possible. It was a hard life and he did not want any more to do with […][...]
Review: Dolemite Is My Name
— by RON WILKINSON — Eddie Murphy gambles that he is able to make a movie about Blaxploitation that is not Blaxploitation. Win or lose, he is having a heckuva good time making the film, and at least some of that heartfelt love of the craft is bound to rub off. In the fast changing [&hell[...]
Review: The Laundromat
— by RON WILKINSON — There are some bad people out there and you should not be one of them. At least do not be one of them who gets caught. From what we can tell, the rest do fine. In this hilariously dumbed down condemnation of organized crime, murderous fraud and simple good old [&hell[...]
Review: Closure
— by RON WILKINSON — Debut writer/director Alex Goldberg comes out swinging in this remarkably well put together second effort. The star of the film is Los Angeles and the film maker strips it naked without judgment or sentimentality. A young cast and crew anchor a drama about the younge[...]
Review: Je T’aime Moi Non Plus
— by RON WILKINSON — Anyone who saw the raw energy of Marlin Brando in “The Wild One” knew he was exactly that. Then came James Dean in “Rebel Without a Cause,” followed by his next (and last) two flicks in which he was even wilder. “Easy Rider” and “Five Easy Pieces” fol[...]
Review: Entangled
— by RON WILKINSON — A life crisis finds its way to the screen along with a young cast and crew. Deep seated fears about growing up in the modern material world are made worse by wealth and privilege. There are temptations aplenty here, fame, fortune and exotic, if glossy, sex. The shots[...]
Review: Ága
— by BEV QUESTAD — Would any normal, healthy young adult choose to live with parents in an animal-hide yurt out on the freezing tundra of northern Russia with no other sign of human life? Isn’t being self-sufficient, melting a block of ice for water and ice fishing for dinner, a dream [...]
Review: A German Youth
— by RON WILKINSON — History is ignored at the risk of repeating it, and this movie grapples with the junction of art and memory. It may not be possible to convey historic images without distortion. This does not stop director Jean-Gabriel Periot from splashing “ripped from the headlin[...]