— by RON WILKINSON — The best documentaries take on a life of their own. Some spiral out of control into territory unknown to the film makers. Some draw the crew too far into the story for their own good. Some reveal truths that no one anticipated. This super gritty look into Folsom pris[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Loving Vincent
— by RON WILKINSON — There is nothing more difficult to make than a great biopic, and the more powerful the subject the more difficult the film. Choosing to somehow pay homage to Vincent van Gogh was an awe-inspiring task. The resultant work is as beautiful and heartfelt as the work of t[...]
Review: Citizen Blue
— by BEV QUESTAD — Who produced James Blue’s first films, where they were shown and in what ways he became a ground-breaking filmmaker are just some of the surprises in this bio-doc that make you stop and go, “What the heck?” James Blue was an innovative filmmaker, a charismatic pr[...]
Review: Victoria and Abdul
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Victoria and Abdul” is a comedic masterpiece covering the last 15 years of Queen Victoria’s life. Subservient and polite, Abdul, a prison clerk, is diligently taking down names and data from convicts in a jail in India while numerous attendants are propping up a[...]
Review: The Mountain Between Us
— by RON WILKINSON — The scenario is all too familiar. The airlines are in chaos and the two travelers are stranded. As it turns out, the minds of two pilgrims themselves are in chaos as well. Alex (Kate Winslet) has planned her flight arrival just in time for her wedding. At first glanc[...]
Review: The Stray
— 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[...]
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[...]