— by BEV QUESTAD — Mariam Shaar was born imprisoned in the narrow corridors of a labyrinth of narrow passages with dangling lethal electrical wires and men slumped in the shadows on plastic chairs. Like her mother and other refugee women, she was trapped in a No Exit scenario. But unlike[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: The Post
— by RON WILKINSON — Director Steven Spielberg missed the boat with “The Post,” a mundane re-enactment of the Washington Post’s history-making role in the Pentagon Papers. Part of the problem is the work of first-time feature screenwriter Liz Hannah and emerging co-writer Josh Sing[...]
Review: Phantom Thread
— by RON WILKINSON — Announced by Daniel Day-Lewis as his last film, the three-time Oscar-winner has opted to go out with dignity and grace. Nominated for a Golden Globe, and backed up by a Globe-nominated score by Jonny Greenwood, watching “Phantom Thread” is like walking through an[...]
Review: Molly’s Game
— by RON WILKINSON — Jessica Chastain has never looked better than playing high stakes poker mastermind Molly Bloom. Raised by a psychotically demanding father (Kevin Costner), Molly fails as a world class downhill skier but succeeds in organizing one of the highest-stakes poker rings in[...]
Review: The UnAmerican Struggle
— by BEV QUESTAD — The Doug Jones election win, though narrow, may indicate that things are not as rock-solid depressing as director/writer Ric Osuna has been thinking. His passionate documentary, compiled in the wake of the November 2016 election, is a collection of reactionary intervie[...]
Review: Darkest Hour
— by RON WILKINSON — Gary Oldman comes out swinging as Winston Churchill in this period piece set during four weeks at the outset of World War II. A hard-drinking, cigar-smoking curmudgeon who bullies everyone in sight, he appears to have been put in a position nobody else wanted, that o[...]
Review: Pitch Perfect 3
— by JESSIKA OWENS — It’s been five years since “Pitch Perfect” oozed its way into pop culture with quips, mash-ups and cups. It’s been 2 years since its sequel snuck in with some one-liners and cameos. And that brings us to “Pitch Perfect 3” – the s[...]
Review: Star Wars: The Last Jedi
— by RON WILKINSON — The Force lives on with new blood. The same special effects and light saber hokum stalls for time in what appears to be a rebuilding year for the franchise. Notice is given at the outset when a 100-decibel opening dose of John Williams knocks you back in your seat li[...]
Review: I, Tonya
— by RON WILKINSON — Unbridled ambition to rival Nicole Kidman’s “To Die For,” Tonya Harding’s story may be the dark comedy of the season. The first woman to land a triple axel in competition and one of only eight in the history of the sport, Harding was banned for life from skat[...]
Review: The New Radical
— by RON WILKINSON — After having invented the first internet distributed 3D printable gun, Cody Wilson was getting no respect. Once the authorities found out what he was doing, nobody would sell him a printer capable of making his masterpiece. Fedex and PayPal refused to service his bus[...]
Review: Sweet Virginia
— by RON WILKINSON — Noir is difficult. And as of his second feature, director Jamie M. Dagg has a way to go. It is not enough to create a mystery thriller with a decent plot, there must be back stories. Without briefly dishing the dirt about why these lost souls inhabit the noir world, [...]
Review: The Man Who Invented Christmas
— by RON WILKINSON — The season for tall tales is upon us and what better centerpiece than the immortal spook of all tales, “A Christmas Carol.” Dickens wracks his brain for a story as the writer’s worst nightmare looms. Poverty, homelessness, loss of a byline. Through those marvel[...]
Review: The Force
— by BEV QUESTAD — A staccato soundtrack by Justin Melland forebodes serious danger and grave trouble. The cinematographer/writer/director Peter Nicks, an Emmy Award-winning director, is the drive-along who lives to bring “The Force” to the screen. Earning the 2017 Sundance Film Fest[...]