— by RON WILKINSON — Marion Vernoux’s romantic comedy starts off with recent retiree Caroline (Fanny Ardant—“8 Women,” Confidentially Yours”) plunging ahead with retirement at the Bright Days Ahead senior center. The screenplay has Caroline visiting the center with trepidation and her fears, and our fears, are soon born out. The classes are insipid, the […][...]
Review: Beneath the Harvest Sky
— by RON WILKINSON — Casper (Emory Cohen – “The Place Beyond the Pines”) and Dominic (Callan McAuliffe – “The Great Gatsby”) grow up together in the tiny community of Van Buren just south of the Canadian border. They are very different people. Dom is hard working and has his eye on the prize. He […][...]
Review: Dangerous Acts
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival, Madeleine Sackler’s awesome, thrilling and beautiful biopic of the underground theatrical group “Unstable Elements of Belarus” is part nail-biting spy story and part inspirational political performance art. The Unstable Elements perform theatrical productions critical of the dictatorship ruling the Republic of Belarus. […][...]
Review: Dormant Beauty
— by RON WILKINSON — Some Italian films err on the lighthearted side, some on the heavy. Marco Bellocchio’s angst-fest “Dormant Beauty” is so laden with emotion soaked evocation the average American viewer may want a divorce after the first 15 minutes. The story, written by the director, is loosely based on the real life […][...]
Review: The Signal
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival, “The Signal” features computer hackers Brenton Thwaites (playing Nic Eastman) and Beau Knapp (playing Jonah Breck), who receive a very mysterious message. A couple of quick replies indicate they are being challenged to a computer dual. In fact, the troll is also […][...]
Korengal: Trailer
— by BEV QUESTAD — Soldiers are penned up in a sand-bagged lookout on a hillside overlooking the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan. They are ordered out on daily sorties where they are shot at either coming or going. They are the bait. Enemy fire reveals where the adversary is. This is Sebastian Junger’s follow-up to […][...]
Review: Blueberry Soup
— by BEV QUESTAD — Blueberry soup, often served cold on New Year’s Day, is high in anti-oxidants. Tradition says it cleanses and purifies the system. Hopefully, this metaphor will eventually prove an accurate description for the ground-breaking constitutional experiment in Iceland. In October 2008, three of Iceland’s major banks collapsed. “Blueberry Soup” reports that […][...]
LEGO Ninjago movie set for Sept. 23, 2016
Expanding the LEGO brand’s cinema universe, Warner Bros. Pictures has slated the animated 3D action adventure “Ninjago” for release on Sept. 23, 2016. “Ninjago” is The LEGO Group’s popular ninja-inspired line of building sets and minifigures that have gained their own legion of fans. The film will be directed by Charlie Bean (TV’s “Tron: Uprising”), […][...]
Review: 40 Days of Silence
— by RON WILKINSON — Screened at the 40th Seattle International Film Festival, Saodat Ismailova’s “Chilla” came as a surprise to an audience expecting the Indian crime thriller “Monsoon Shootout.” As the SIFF staff pointed out, “this is no Monsoon Shootout.” Indeed, Ismailov’s movie probably produces more lasting impact than “Shootout” ever could. The cast […][...]