— by RON WILKINSON — The great thing about Mike Birbiglia’s tale of six comics is that although set in New York City, it manages to be about the people and not the place. The city certainly has its part, contributing the crushing poverty, the insane stress and the daily humiliation that makes up the […][...]
Review: My King (Mon Roi)
— by BEV QUESTAD — The guy is neither all that good looking nor professionally stable. But he’s got a swagger, a self-confidence bound in self-indulgence, and he lives for the now without reflection. He is what my mother would call a rake, a man without morals or empathy. This film is about a good […][...]
Review: Anthropoid
— by RON WILKINSON — Cillian Murphy plays mission leader Josef Gabcík and Jamie Dornan plays his conflicted second in command, Jan Kubis, in “Anthropoid,” a wartime thriller about the assassination of Nazi chief Reinhard Heydrich. The commander was considered the third most powerful of the Nazi elite, the brutal executive of the critical production […][...]
Review: Florence Foster Jenkins
— by RON WILKINSON — Director Stephen Frears has done better things. His visceral 1990 Oscar-winner “The Grifters” was as serious as a heart attack compared to his Oscar-winning “The Queen” in 2006. But both were heavies compared to this flighty flick. Meryl Streep plays the titular Jenkins and Hugh Grant plays her husband, St. […][...]
Review: My Love, Don’t Cross that River
— by BEV QUESTAD — I love this film. Couched in poetic scenery through the seasons, this love story/documentary reveals a 76-year partnership that teaches and inspires. The couple lives on a traditional South Korean outpost across from an embankment to a bubbling stream. They have two dogs and they have each other. After raking […][...]
Review: Disorder
— by RON WILKINSON — Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger are fun to watch in this simmering pot-boiler wannabe, but, as in meditation, one waits and waits and then … nothing. Schoenaerts plays Foreign Legion Afghanistan veteran Vincent Loreau, apparently an elite soldier who has returned home with afflicted with PTSD. He is in treatment […][...]
Review: Neither Heaven Nor Earth
— by RON WILKINSON — First-time feature director Clément Cogitore cuts one loose with “Neither Heaven Nor Earth,” and atmospheric allegory about the war in Afghanistan. Written in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, one feels this movie as much as seeing and watching it. The date is 2014 and the time is fast approaching for the […][...]
Giffoni Film Festival: Griphon Award Winners
With the 46th edition of the Giffoni Film Festival coming to an end, the complete list of this year’s winners were proclaimed during the closing press conference by Director Claudio Gubitosi, together with artistic managers Manlio Castagna, Luca Apolito, Gianvincenzo Nastasi, Tony Guarino and Antonia Grimaldi, who viewed and selected the films. Friendship beyond any […][...]
Review: Eat That Question
— by RON WILKINSON — As honest as the day is long, this is a film about Frank Zappa, by Frank Zappa, starring Frank Zappa and, yes, it is in his own words. Directed by Thorsten Schütte, the screenplay is a treasure trove of archival interviews with the Boss hisself. A few performance clips are […][...]
Review: The Childhood of a Leader
— by RON WILKINSON — In “The Childhood of a Leader,” writer/director Brady Corbet (co-written with Mona Fastvold) has created a unique and powerful film that is stripped to bare bones but ripples with undercurrents. The superficial story is that of a troubled child, his parents and those close to them. Some have used the […][...]