— by RON WILKINSON — Bill Ivers has had some tough times. But his tough times have only just begun and we are going to be part of the toughest time of his life. A former NYPD detective, Ivers was disgraced as part of the routine of crime in the big city. Out of the […][...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
— by JAMES SHAW — We are now in a time when Hollywood seems to be translating every young adult novel to the big screen (everything from “Twilight” to “Mortal Instruments”). The most successful novel series since Harry Potter is The Hunger Games trilogy and despite being only one[...]
Review: The Great Beauty (La grande bellezza)
— by RON WILKINSON — Paolo Sorrentino’s updated “La Dolce Vita” has neither story nor direction by the great Fellini, nor the gravitas and bodies of Mastroianni or Ekberg. But it has everything else. The people are twice as beautiful, the costumes are twice as unabashedly rich, the[...]
Review: Dallas Buyers Club
— by RON WILKINSON — It is 1985 and the sexual expectations of freedom loving Americans are about to be turned one hundred and eighty degrees. The HIV virus hits gay males the hardest, intravenous drug users the second hardest and rodeo cowboys. Rodeo cowboys contract HIV? Yep, some of t[...]
Review: Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey
— by BEV QUESTAD — I never like to read or watch anything more than once, but this adventure doc I could watch over and over. It is the story of a 440 mile eco-trek through the Ladakh region bordering the Himalayas. Vistas of land without telephone wires, clear sounds of nature with its [...]
Review: The Motel Life
— by RON WILKINSON — Alan and Gabe Polsky’s debut film is a look at the bad side of being the “Y” generation. Set in what appears to be the dead of winter, in the worst winter on record in the Reno/Elko high desert of northern Nevada, two brothers try to find their way out [&hellip[...]
Review: The Best Man Holiday
— by JAMES SHAW — “The Best Man Holiday” is a sequel to the 1999 film “The Best Man,” with both films directed by Malcolm D. Lee. “The Best Man Holiday” deals with the aftermath of the first film, so I would suggest re-watching “The Best Man” so it’s easier to understan[...]
Review: Aftermath (aka Pokłosie)
— by RON WILKINSON — Like still waters that run deep, “Aftermath” is an atmospheric triumph that will be too slow for most American audiences. Not that this is not a great film. It is a great film, but it is too studied and framed and there is not enough plot progression to keep the [...]
Review: Thor: The Dark World
— by JAMES SHAW — A little background first: I am an avid Marvel comic book reader, so I know what goes on in the Marvel Universe and my least favorite character is Thor. I have always found Thor to be a boring character and I only enjoy him in his storylines with Amora. As […][...]
Review: Last Love
— by RON WILKINSON — Directing her fourth big screen movie, emerging world-class filmmaker Sandra Nettelbeck directed this family grief drama. She also wrote the screenplay after Francoise Dorner’s French novel “La Douceur Assassine” (“A Moment of Sweetness”) publis[...]
Review: Last Vegas
— by ADAM DALE — A group of guys go to Las Vegas for a crazy weekend bachelor party filled with debauchery and (prescription) drugs — sounds familiar, right? Yes, “The Hangover” series immediately comes to mind when describing the premise for “Last Vegas,” but thankfully, t[...]
Review: Ender’s Game
— by ADAM DALE — Author Orson Scott Card’s popular young adult novel “Ender’s Game” is part of a series of books – 18 and counting – and a film adaptation has been nearly 28 years in the making. It turns out the wait was worthwhile as the feature film is filled with spectacul[...]