— by BEV QUESTAD — Sir Lancelot Ingram is a magnificently strong, handsome, quiet ex-con. He served eight years. Now, he is out, living in a half-way house back in the same Harlem hood that brought him to trouble. But this time, the bad guys are younger, operating the streets without rules or regulations, and […][...]
Review: Maggie’s Plan
— by RON WILKINSON — When will Greta Gerwig move out of New York City? No doubt this quirky and totally Greta movie received a lot of support from the Big Apple for showcasing several city tourist attractions, but it did not do the story any good. Despite the overwhelming exposure for the location, the […][...]
Review: Almost Sunrise
— by BEV QUESTAD — We’ve heard that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in incurable. This documentary, featured at this year’s Human Rights Watch Film Festival, puts this assumption and the very description of PTSD into question. This outstanding doc follows two US veterans from the Iraq War. They seek to create awareness and perhaps a […][...]
Review: The Wailing
— by RON WILKINSON — “The Wailing,” South Korean writer/director Hong-jin Na’s labyrinthine tale of possession, follows on the heels of his well-received “The Chaser” and “The Yellow Sea.” Incorporating elements of a number of western films, including the well-meaning police officer who will have a very bad day, the perky daughter who will play […][...]
Review: The Witness
— by RON WILKINSON — There is something beautiful abut a documentary that takes on a life of its own. In 1999, filmmaker James Solomon began researching a scripted film for HBO based on a story that defined the mean streets of New York City. The story is that of the 1964 murder of Kitty […][...]
Review: Weiner
— by RON WILKINSON — If you think you have seen all of the most amazing documentaries in the world, you have another think coming. This much everybody knows: Former U.S. representative Anthony Weiner was a rising star. He won seven terms to the US House of Representatives but resigned after a sexting scandal. He […][...]
Review: Unlocking the Cage
— by RON WILKINSON — Directors Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker (“The War Room”) have covered some strange stories but this one may be the strangest so far. Steven Wise is described as an animal rights lawyer. That is a significant understatement. He is not only fighting for increased rights for animals, he is making […][...]
Review: Dheepan
— by RON WILKINSON — “Dheepan,” Jacques Audiard’s winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is a masterful tale of survival as well as a harrowing cautionary note about the perseverance of the violence of war. The story centers on Dheepan (Antonythasan Jesuthasan), a Tamal Tiger child soldier grown into leader during […][...]
Review: The Man Who Knew Infinity
— by RON WILKINSON — Jeremy Irons is great, as usual, but the rest of the cast seems to be just going through the motions in “The Man Who Knew Infinity,” the story of a nerd underdog who makes good. Irons does a fantastic job playing Cambridge mathematics Fellow G.H. Hardy but it is not […][...]