— by RON WILKINSON — In one of the most atmospheric films to come out of California in some time, debut director Nenad Cicin-Sain helms a screenplay by himself and Richard N. Gladstein in the film “The Time Being.” A film ostensibly about painters and painting, the story is more abou[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp
— by RON WILKINSON — Robert Lee Maupin was born in Chicago in 1918 and grew up in the bowels of some of the worst ghettos in America. Several decades later, he was drinking at a bar when a man pulled a gun in anger and fired a shot. The shot was aimed at the […][...]
Review: RED 2
— by ADAM DALE — Replacing Robert Schwentke (“Flightplan,” “The Time Traveler’s Wife”) whom helmed 2010’s “RED” with Dean Parisot (“Galaxy Quest,” “Fun with Dick and Jane”) as director for the sequel started off the process of making “RED 2” a different type o[...]
Review: Computer Chess
— by RON WILKINSON — Did underground indie writer/director star Andrew Bujalski set out to make a tedious and irritating film on purpose, or did it just turn out that way? A flick with moments of genius, most of this movie plays like Andy Warhol’s spectacular “Sleep,” which consist[...]
Review: The Conjuring
— by ADAM POYNTER — Growing up, I was not a fan of the horror genre at all. My family never watched anything scary, so when I would experience these movies at a friend’s house it was extremely scary to me. Now, as an adult, I find it hard for movies to actually scare me […][...]
Review: Museum Hours
— by BEV QUESTAD — “What is it that you like about these paintings?” This is such a great question to ask. You have to step back and think, perhaps leading you to a surprising insight and appreciation inherent in the work and, further thinking about it, in your life. Anne, a single o[...]
Review: Survival Prayer
— by BEV QUESTAD — This beautiful work of art is a loving film experience that captures the old life of the Haida people who live on what used to be called the Queen Charlotte Islands. The exquisite photography is reason enough to see this important story of an ancient culture. Only 50 n[...]
Review: A Band Called Death
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 39th Seattle International Film Festival, “A Band Called Death” could just as well be called “A Band Coming Back to Life.” Directed by Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett and featuring none other than Alice Cooper himself, this is a Horat[...]
Review: Cairo 678
— by BEV QUESTAD — Men, if you were born a woman, what would you do? What would you do when you were disrespected? Groped in public? Disregarded? If you’re a Westerner, would your answer be different if you lived in the Subcontinent, Africa, Southeast Asia or the Middle East? In the en[...]
Review: Nicky’s Family
— by BEV QUESTAD — “If something isn’t blatantly impossible, there must be a way of doing it.” This credo from Nicholas Winton motivated him to become one of the great saviors of the 19th century. In 1938, Nicky Winton, a champion fencer, sailor and skier from England, was hungry f[...]
Review: Our Nixon
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 39th Seattle International Film Festival, this amazing film ranks as one of the greatest assemblies of home movies ever made. As the story goes, presidential insiders H.R. “Bob” Haldeman, John Erlichman, and/or Dwight Chapin were Super 8 v[...]
Review: Pacific Rim
— by ADAM DALE — Ever since last year’s Comic-Con panel at which I heard Guillermo Del Toro’s passion about his new project, “Pacific Rim,” I have been excited to see the film. I have been looking forward to seeing the awesome and very visual flair that he would be bringing to th[...]
Review: Comrade Kim Goes Flying
— by RON WILKINSON — Cornering the Most-Over-The-Top-Film-Award at the 2012 Seattle International Film Festival is this incredible North Korean Horatio Alger story of a coal miner’s daughter (I am not making this up) whose desire to become a trapeze artist takes her to the big city a w[...]
Review: Together (Tian Mi Mi)
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 39th Seattle International Film Festival, Taiwanese director Chao-jen Hsu’s quirky rom-com Together is a fun look at Taiwan’s Gen Y young adults. Mobile, connected and ready to rip, these kids are like army ants on the move. Carrying their communi[...]