— 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[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
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[...]
Review: The Breadwinner
— by BEV QUESTAD — I couldn’t stop from noticing the ironic parallels in this film between the life of its producer, Angelina Jolie, and the life of women at large who are coming forward with complaints in one of the most advanced countries the world has ever known. Though “The Bread[...]
Review: Trumping Democracy
— by BEV QUESTAD — I don’t mind advertisements. I know advertisers are trying their best to convince me to buy their product. Maybe they will even use a favorite pop song or celebrity. It’s okay. It’s an ad. But what if the ad is a lie? What if Pepsi said Coke causes cancer? What [[...]
Review: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Mo.
— by RON WILKINSON — Martin McDonagh’s latest has more in common with his brooding “In Bruges” than with star Francis McDormand’s signature “Fargo.” As she did with her North Dakota persona, she does with Mildred in Missouri. Only this time it is in spades. The sing-song, liv[...]
Review: The Divine Order
— by BEV QUESTAD — With footage of Gloria Steinem and the Women’s Liberation Movement, anti-Vietnam War protests, Hendrix posters, and Janis Joplin, this 1971 dramatization of the battle for women’s suffrage in a little village in Schweiz is a reminder, especially true with today’s[...]
Review: Kedi
— by RON WILKINSON — The best movie ever made for cat lovers opened this year around the world. The setting, deep in the city of Istanbul, is simply magnificent. Filming from the point of view of the city’s roaming cats amplifies the grandeur of one of the greatest nations in the world[...]