— by RON WILKINSON — When asked where they are and why they are there, Ray replies, “I don’t know, I’m trying to figure it out.” Well, so are we. Thankfully, by the end of this 90-minute potboiler, we know where we are, and it is good. In the interim, however, we are where the [&[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Charlie vs. Goliath
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Being a Democrat in Wyoming is like being a burr under a saddle,” says Charlie Hardy. He ran for the US Senate against Mike Enzi, the Republican incumbent since 1997. A documentary was made of his campaign effort covering the whole of big sky country in 2014. Fake[...]
Review: The Challenge
— by BEV QUESTAD — On the plus side, the trailer for this film is phenomenal. Black-marked and wild, unleashed and regal, like a graceful long-legged dog, the sleek cat leads its owner into a black Lamborghini. Taking the passenger seat, the cheetah hears the sportscar roar onto the road[...]
Review: Second Nature
— by BEV QUESTAD — The lure of this irreverent independent film is that it involves a magic mirror dug up by Grandma and passed on to Granddaughter Amanda. The rules are that you only get one wish and you can reverse it within five days if you want. So, what might you do? Stop […][...]
Review: Year by the Sea
— by BEV QUESTAD — Life is a series of transcendent experiences. Like waves of a turbulent sea, as one trouble is ultimately overcome, another challenge slips in to cause a new reign of havoc. With a big literal nod to Erik Ericson, a renowned psychologist for his theory of eight psychos[...]
Review: The Fencer
— by BEV QUESTAD — A slim man with short dark hair agilely steps off a train in steamy cold Estonia, looking furtively at army officials hobnobbing outside the station. He puts up his collar to shield himself from the cold in a way that lets you know, he prefers not to be seen. He [&hell[...]
Review: The Last Dalai Lama?
— by BEV QUESTAD — The real shocker of this film comes from HH Dalai Lama’s response to the question on his own reincarnation and who the next Dalai Lama will be. But the other traditional questions, those we all want to know, are also answered. What is the purpose of life? What does t[...]
Review: Detroit
— by RON WILKINSON — Kathryn Bigelow’s shaky cam takes you right into the streets of Detroit during the 1967 12th Street Riots. Actually, her shaky cam takes you right into a scripted narrative fiction version of the riots, specifically the horrific Algiers Motel murders. The staged ca[...]
Review: From the Land of the Moon
— by RON WILKINSON — This complicated psychodrama starts with Gabrielle as a very unhappy young woman. She is young and impetuous, to say the least, and sure to have her own way. This promises to be a deep look into the life and mind of a troubled woman. Unfortunately, there is so little[...]
Review: Atomic Blonde
— by RON WILKINSON — What a fantastic cast. Oscar-winner Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan fresh off his starring success in “Ray Donovan,” John Goodman, one of the greatest actors alive, Toby Jones, spymaster supreme from “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,” and Roland Moller, star of indie[...]
Review: Indivisible (aka Indivisibili)
— by RON WILKINSON — Meet 18-year-old siamese twins Daisy and Viola. They have no concept of secrecy between them, their most intimate thoughts and acts have been shared from birth. Born with extraordinary vocal talent, they are barely aware of their oddity even as adulthood begins to cr[...]
Review: The Exception
— by RON WILKINSON — There are love stories set in wartime, and there are war stories with love affairs. It is a rare film that succeeds in combining a nail-biting spy story with one of redemption through self-sacrifice. This movie does it by combining an ambivalent German SS captain wit[...]
Review: The Reagan Show
— by RON WILKINSON — Fluffy and light hearted, as the final credits roll, political aficionados will wonder what it was they just saw. As it turns out, that is what this movie is all about. It is glossy, splashy and at times rib-ticklingly funny, but there is a lack of even the most basi[...]