— by BEV QUESTAD — The most quizzical thing about women who are being abused is their reticence to get out of their situation. Some people think it’s because they are poor and dependent upon the man. “Where else can they go to support their children?” we wonder. But in this film, t[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Big Men
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Is there some society that you know that doesn’t run on greed?” Executive produced by Brad Pitt, “Big Men” opens with this question. It also tells the true story, with impressive access and documentation, about a little Texas company that finds oil in Ghana.[...]
Review: Purgatorio
— by RON WILKINSON — “Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border” — Rodrigo Reyes’ simmering treatise on the human condition in the worst of all worlds — starts from the beginning. Children laugh and play, full of good intentions and dreams of the fu[...]
Review: Fishing Without Nets
— by RON WILKINSON — Writer/director Cutter Hodierne took home the Dramatic Directing Award at the 2014 Sundance Festival for “Fishing Without Nets,” a gutsy inside look at desperation, despair and deliverance. Inevitably, comparisons will be made to Paul Greengrass’ 20[...]
Review: The Green Prince
— by RON WILKINSON — It is unusual, but not unheard of, for a young Palestinian to be recruited by Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence machine to provide inside information on Hamas. So there is little amazing in the 2010 ABC News story that Mosab Hassan Yousef, “The Green Prince,” work[...]
Review: Last Days in Vietnam
— by RON WILKINSON — In 1975, both American and the Republic of South Vietnam were struggling, against the odds, to bring peace with dignity to Southeast Asia. The Paris Peace accords of two years’ earlier had established a framework of commitment and cooperation to end the war. In 197[...]
Review: Rocks in My Pockets
— by BEV QUESTAD — In “Rocks in my Pockets,” writer/director/animator Signe Baumane investigates a familial trail of five suicides and her own dark challenge. Coincidentally, as soon as I finished watching this film, a respected friend messaged me that his Nepali colleague, with a wi[...]
Review: The Skeleton Twins
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival, Craig Johnson directs “Saturday Night Live” alums Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader as estranged twins reuniting after 10 years of silence. “The Skeleton Twins” starts off with the twins simultan[...]
Review: Song of the New Earth
— by BEV QUESTAD — Tom Kenyon is a sound healer who does not expect anyone to believe his story. He has even investigated the possibility that his visions, voices and experiences might be signs of mental illness. But what is universally agreed upon is that Tom Kenyon is extraordinary and[...]
Review: Casualties of the State
“Treason is inciting war and profiting from it at the expense of American lives.” – statement from “Casualties of the State.” — by BEV QUESTAD — Back in the ‘70s, US protesters claimed patriot status. Brought up by World War II dads who survived unspeakable ha[...]
Review: Half-Brother
— by BEV QUESTAD — Invited to a dinner party, Sarah and Michael just don’t seem to be on the same page. Sarah is an attractive, self-confident New York City gal. Within hours Michael is going to lose her, his job and apartment. With nowhere else to go, he ironically returns to his fami[...]
Review: I Believe in Unicorns
— by BEV QUESTAD — “I Believe in Unicorns” is a lovely coming-of-age story. It’s based on that transition from what we hope and think might be possible, that fairytale mindset, to reality. We expect that overcoming challenges will result in reaching our goal. But writer/dir[...]
Review: Second Opinion
— by BEV QUESTAD — We’ve heard it before, the search for cancer has grown to such proportions that finding a cure would actually be counter-positive for an entire industry earning millions from the research. That Ralph Moss should innocently uncover in the 1970’s an example of this p[...]
Review: A Play of Bullets: Ram-Leela
— by BEV QUESTAD — Having read the original Shakespearean version of “Romeo and Juliet” more than 100 times with my high school English students, who would think that a campy Indian rendition would break me down to tears? “A Play of Bullets: Ram-Leela” is Sanjay Leela Bhansali’[...]