— by BEV QUESTAD — Well, I’m going to tell you one thing — Richard Kind, the star of “Auggie,” is going to be teased unmercifully about his role in this film. What will his good friend (and best man at his wedding), George Clooney, have to say about it? In “Auggie,” the n[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Sophia Antipolis
— by RON WILKINSON — “Sophia Antipolis,” the name suggests something very central and mysteriously feminine. The “Antipolis” part, for you Americans who are not familiar, is a technology center. The Sophia lends the vision of a virtual assistant, or perhaps a virtual lover. The p[...]
Review: School’s Out
— by RON WILKINSON — The acclaimed professor at an elite prep school climbs out of a third-story window in the middle of class and does a swan dive. A bad day for the teacher and a rough year for the school, but nothing compared to what lies in store for humanity. As might be […][...]
Review: Paul Sanchez is Back!
— by RON WILKINSON — Paul Sanchez Is Back! And we are all Paul Sanchez! A loopy curve ball of a flick that gets wackier and wackier until it is not anymore. A mysterious mass murderer who killed his family, burnt their bodies and then disappeared has been spotted by locals. All the south[...]
A look at some charismatic actors/actresses
When you are an actor or actress, charisma is everything. When we talk about charisma, we are talking about personality – the thing that makes people either love you or hate you. Some might refer to it as charm. You might fail to understand why people fall in love with some actors but detest other[...]
Review: Time for Ilhan
— by BEV QUESTAD — What motivated a refugee woman who wore a hajib, lived according to Muslim custom, and had three children to enter state politics in Minnesota? This documentary follows her 2016 entrance into the Democratic party and the group that supported her. Born in Somalia, Ilhan[...]
Review: When Margaux Meets Margaux
— by RON WILKINSON — Youth may be wasted on the young, in America, but in France they do a much better job of it. The real trick is to live youth through a lifetime. For an example of doing that, for better or for worse, see the sparkling middle-aged Margaux meet her next-gen millennial [...]
Review: The Trouble with You
— by RON WILKINSON — The snarky sequence backing the opening credits would have made Leslie Nielsen blush. Extracting, satirizing and francofying moves from Bruce Lee to Eddie Murphy, the action starts here. In fact, this pitch perfect farce on the good, the bad and the romantic never le[...]
Review: Woman at War
— by BEV QUESTAD — This gorgeous Icelandic film is a could-have-been. It is majestic in geography and deep in scope. A couple glitches just keep it from the Oscar list for best foreign film, but the totality of “Woman at War” is still a must-see for those who appreciate fresh perspec[...]
Review: Who Killed Cock Robin?
— by RON WILKINSON — Nothing is as it seems until the end of this Taiwanese pot-boiler, when the more things change, the more they stay the same. A young, idealistic and ambitious newspaper reporter hustles to make a name for himself. In so doing, he sticks his nose into things that migh[...]
Review: Of Fathers and Sons
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Of Fathers and Sons” is a startling Academy Awards nomination. Talal Derki, a Syrian based in Berlin, dangerously masquerades in northern Syria as an al-Qaeda sympathizer. He lives as a guest of Abu Osama, one of the founders of Al-Nusra, the Syrian arm of Al-Qaed[...]
Review: Cold War (aka Zimna Wojna)
— by BEV QUESTAD — Up for an Oscar for Best Film in a Foreign Language, “Cold War” delivers a passionate romance caught in the cross-hairs of Stalin’s Iron Curtain. Brilliantly executed, it has already won the European Award for Best Film. It is an exquisitely shot black and white [...]
Review: The Changeover
— by RON WILKINSON — Timothy Spall is outstanding as a demon stealing youth in this devilish fantasy thriller. Unfortunately, his screen time is all too short and the remaining key members of the cast and crew do not pick up the slack. The good news is that this family movie can be enjoy[...]
Review: Sammy Davis Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me
— by BEV QUESTAD — On March 24, 1962, I got my first crush. I was 12 years old. Dad had taken Mom and me to the Orpheum Theatre in Seattle to see a one-man show put on by the greatest entertainer on earth. His charisma and joy performing filled the very air and I […][...]