— by BEV QUESTAD — Three nine-year-old boys are backpacking in the idyllic Colorado Mountains with one boy’s dad and dog. The sun and blue sky envelop the quintet with seeming good fortune as they sing songs to distract themselves from the long hike to the lake. Suddenly, “sad clouds[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Motherland
— by RON WILKINSON — There are two things that strike the viewer upon entering the world’s busiest maternity hospital. The first is shear rapidity and stamina of the population explosion occuring therein. The second is the age of the mothers giving birth, literally, every minute. Child[...]
Review: Heidi
— by BEV QUESTAD — Stand up for yourself. Follow what you love. Let nature be your friend. These sayings form the mantra of a new version of “Heidi,” the classic children’s story first published in 1881 by Johanna Spyri. Though Spyri’s version solved all problems through the sacr[...]
Review: American Made
— by RON WILKINSON — There is nothing more sure-fire than kicking off the “serious” movie season with a scam flick. Americans love scam flicks. They are the heart and soul of outrageous upward mobility, the escape hatch that lets us all believe that no matter how shiftless, mediocre [...]
Review: The Atoning
— 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 [&[...]
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[...]