— by RON WILKINSON — Known as “Tanny” to several generations of American ballet insiders, Tanaquille le Clercq lived the perfect life of the ballerina in pre-war America. Married to one of the legends of ballet, George Balanchine, and pursued by another, Jerome Robbins, she dominated[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: The Last of the Unjust
— by RON WILKINSON — Director Claude Lanzmann’s sweeping documentary of the Holocaust screened at the 2013 New York Film Festival to mixed reviews. The rambling 220-minute saga centered on interviews with, and information provided by, Benjamin Murmelstein. Murmelstein was the last Jewi[...]
Review: Ich Hunger
— by BEV QUESTAD — Wild Creature meets Tinkerbell in pastoral faux Germany during a murder investigation. Beginning with a deep “Ommmm” beset with cacophonous sounds, “Ich Hunger” delivers an expressionist tableau of foolery and macabre. Experimental camera tricks abound, especia[...]
Review: Noah
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Noah” is a remarkable interpretation of The Great Flood and a fitting choice to open during Lent, a time of repentance and ultimate rebirth. It is all about dying and rising. We sleep, we wake. We fail, try again, and rise. Nature abounds in this cycle and it is t[...]
Review: Remote Area Medical
— by BEV QUESTAD — Screened at the 2014 Portland International Film Festival, “Remote Area Medical” (RAM) is a Doctors Without Borders kind of international medical/dental/optical service. Volunteers go in for a three-day weekend and serve everyone who shows up. Its inaugural mission[...]
Review: The Autobiography of Karl Krogstad
— by BEV QUESTAD — Reminiscent of Steve Allen’s bizarre comedy of the 1960s, the wacko, surreal Karl Krogstad has created a film about himself. It is a little narcissistic, but so chalked up with images, metaphors and color, that audiences will either hurt from two solid hours of broad[...]
Review: Non-Stop
— by JESSIKA OWENS — Airplanes seem like a logical place for thriller movies, until one closely examines the challenges and limitations of filming and storyline. In my experience, it generally doesn’t work. There’s only so much set that can be used and the whole process feels[...]
Review: Ilo Ilo
— by BEV QUESTAD — Dennis the Menace meets Mary Poppins in Singapore. Well, Dennis is spot-on but the sweet Filipino young lady who comes to be a servant in this household has her hands full. Set in Singapore circa 1997 during an economic crisis, Teresa is the new household maid (played [...]
Review: Winter’s Tale
— by ADAM DALE — From Warner Bros. Pictures and Akiva Goldsman, a well-known producer and writer making his directorial debut, “Winter’s Tale” is a movie loosely based on the 1983 novel by Mark Helprin. It is a tale of love, loss, destiny, the fight waged between good a[...]
Review: Ernest and Celestine
— by BEV QUESTAD — A cute little mouse, Celestine, wants to be an artist, not a dentist like expected. Mice, you know, are partial to their crucial incisors and value the health of their teeth. Therefore their society is built around the dental arts, including procuring spare incisors fr[...]
Review: Village at the End of the World
— by BEV QUESTAD — Though the sun shines, biting wind brushes through the air, icebergs loom like monoliths from the bay, and temperatures don’t get too far beyond freezing. This is Sequinnerpoq, the summer season when the sun shines. The little Inuit fishing village, Niaqornat, nestle[...]
Review: Just a Sigh
— by BEV QUESTAD — Working out an interpretation of Blaise Pascal’s theme on happiness, filmmaker Jérome Bonnell gives us 24 hours, beginning and ending with a ride on a train. Gabriel Byrne is perfectly cast as the interesting older man. Coming in from England to Paris for the funera[...]
Review: Endless Love
— by JESSIKA OWENS — Valentine’s Day for movie-goers means only one thing, brace yourself for love stories shoved down your throat. The issue becomes, what love story could possibly be released at this point that is fresh and something that hasn’t been done a thousand times o[...]
Review: Mary, Queen of Scots
— by BEV QUESTAD — Many will flock to see “Mary Queen of Scots” with its dark and musty castles, mist-shrouded gentle landscapes and richly-colored costumes. Swiss filmmaker Thomas Imbach, with multiple writers, has idealized Mary as a romantic figure from Elizabethan times, truly mo[...]