— by RON WILKINSON — Nicolas Cage plays ex-mobster Paul Maguire in this Cage vehicle for the free and thorough expression of one thing that Cage does well: rage. And there is plenty to rage about in this flick when perky daughter Caitlin is kidnapped and found dead. Maguire reunites with his past crew, Kane […][...]
Review: Heatstroke
— by RON WILKINSON — Evelyn Purcell’s thriller, set in the African desert, combines wild animal mystique with a decidedly feministic point of view. Tally (Svetlana Metkina) and Josie (Maisie Williams) become stranded in the desert and must face the duel threats of dehydration and psychopathic gun runners. In the background are the growling and […][...]
Review: The Hornet’s Nest
— by RON WILKINSON — It is hard to say where this film fatally diverges from what appears to be its inspiration, “Restrepo,” but it might be that the narration is the first cut. The movie is a documentary of two US military teams pushing into one of Afghanistan’s most hostile valleys. The teams’ every […][...]
Radio Free Albemuth: Official Trailer
— by BEV QUESTAD — Featuring Alanis Morissette, this sci-fi film is centered on a good-natured young man in the ’80s who has a beautiful wife, a dedicated best friend, a job in the family record store and a seeming idyllic life. However, this is all disturbed one night when he wakes up to a […][...]
Review: Two Raging Grannies
— by BEV QUESTAD — Shirley Morrison, now 92 years old, has a history of speaking her mind, asking the important questions and being jailed over 12 times. Hinda Kipnis, age 85 (b. 1929), is known for her protest parodies and contrarian New York-bred point of view. A glorious Norwegian, Håvard Bustnes, created this surprising […][...]
Review: The Rover
— by RON WILKINSON — David Michôd ups the ante and hauls in a big one in this Aussie thriller set in the desolate outback 10 years after the collapse. The collapse? The comedians in the audience will point out that the outback 10 years after the collapse looks about the same as it did […][...]
Review: Ida
— by BEV QUESTAD — Mother Superior calls Ida to her office. Ida is informed that she must visit her mother’s sister before she takes her final vows. Ida didn’t know she had any relatives, much less an aunt. Ida had been left with a priest who had placed her as an infant at the […][...]
Review: The Internet’s Own Boy
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival, Brian Knappenberger’s biopic of Internet pioneer Aaron Swartz is as much a cautionary tale about the new web-based world as it is a story of one of its brightest stars. Swartz was a brilliant child who grew up to be a brilliant […][...]
New Akron indie cinema set to open
Akron Film+Pixel has announced that the new downtown Akron venue, The Nightlight Cinema, will be open to the public starting on July 1, 2014. The one-screen theater, made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, will show five films during its first weeks, including Cuyahoga Falls native Jim Jarmusch’s […][...]
Review: Rigor Mortis
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival, “Rigor Mortis” was a welcome change from the everyday. It seemed as if all of the good, old fashioned, action / horror flicks were being canceled at the last minute and substituted with religious dogma or touchy-feely immigrant stories. Not that some […][...]