— by RON WILKINSON and BEV QUESTAD — “Deception has no friend.” A voice adds, “We grew up soldiers around here. Most don’t make it past 24. But I never thought it would come to this.” “Mission Park” begins with four friends as young boys around 11 years old. At that age the[...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Prisoners
— by ADAM DALE — Two families are distraught and in disarray when their young daughters go missing after a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner together. Anna, the 6-year-old daughter of Keller Dover (Hugh Jackman) and Grace (Maria Bello), is missing along with Joy, the 7-year-old daughter of F[...]
Review: Out of the Clear Blue Sky
— by RON WILKINSON and BEV QUESTAD — Note to the reader: This review is written by two IJM authors, exchanging decidedly different points of view. Although the format probably is different than you are used to, we hope you enjoy it. Is this a sentimental documentary erring on the side of[...]
Review: The Trials of Muhammad Ali
— by RON WILKINSON — “The Trials of Muhammad Ali” will make you laugh, cry, cringe in embarrassment and cheer at the end. The latest in a series of (too) many Ali films, Bill Siegel’s peon to the puncher also walks the thin line between exploitation and exhilaration. In the end, ex[...]
Review: The Family
— by JAMES SHAW — It can be difficult to be very good at acting because there are several factors that can affect your performance, including the script, the rest of the cast, the director and the editor. Robert De Niro is a seasoned actor who obviously has had a great career thus far an[...]
Review: Insidious: Chapter 2
— by JAMES SHAW — The problem with an original horror movie is that if it is deemed successful, the studio will make another movie and, in some instances, many more movies. Unfortunately, 90 percent of those sequels are not nearly as good because the concept is nothing new. Movies that s[...]
Review: Don Jon
— by JAMES SHAW — “Don Jon” was written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt – who also stars in the movie – and I must give Gordon-Levitt a standing ovation because he has connected with both men and women on the topic of sex, which is very hard to do. Sex is a topic tha[...]
Review: Mission Park
— by BEV QUESTAD and RON WILKINSON — “Deception has no friend.” A voice adds, “We grew up soldiers around here. Most don’t make it past 24. But I never thought it would come to this.” “Mission Park” begins with four friends as young boys around 11 years old. At that[...]
Review: Riddick
— by ADAM DALE — Nearly 10 years after we have last seen the character, and 13 years since he first appeared onscreen, Vin Diesel is back in the role that was his first lead role in Hollywood: Richard B. Riddick. Continuing on in the “Chronicles of Riddick” franchise, Vin Diesel is p[...]
Review: Money for Nothing
— by BEV QUESTAD — “This is a scary movie and no one should see it.” These are the words of Mary Eterno, economics buff and go-to person for financial matters. Bill Fleckenstein (MSN Money) calls it “a horror movie for smart people.” In this info-doc producer/director Jim Bruce g[...]
Review: The Otherside
— by RON WILKINSON — Hip Hop has gotten a bad rap (no pun intended). Initially invented as an angry reaction to the police brutality and institutionalized poverty and imprisonment of New York’s Bronx in the 1970s, it has emerged as a viable audio art form that actually appeals to some [...]
Review: Best Kept Secret
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Thank you for calling John F. Kennedy, the best kept secret in the Newark Public Schools. How may I help you?” That’s how the secretary is asked to answer the phone. However, there are more kept secrets than one and they’re not all good. But the true best is t[...]
Review: Instructions Not Included
— by JAMES SHAW — Unlike most films, “Instructions Not Included” is a movie screening I came across where I had no idea what the movie was about or even who the lead actor was. I was going to pass on this movie because it was something that didn’t catch my eye, and I really[...]