— by WILLIAM STERR — Laura (Sienna Guillory) has a problem. She is an American expat living in Sophia, Bulgaria, with her abusive, controlling husband, Tony (Emmett J. Scanlan). She feels her life is drifting away in the misery and fear of her marriage, and she has daydreams of killing her tormentor. Oh, and she […][...]
Review: The Old Man and the Land
— by WILLIAM STERR — Sometimes, films surprise you. They are fashioned differently than you would expect. A modern film that is filmed in black and white, “The Artist” (2011), is one example. Another is one that tells a story from the end back to the beginning, like “Momento” (2000). “The Thief” (1952) has no […][...]
Review: The Critic
— by WILLIAM STERR — Sir Ian McKellen has become a legend on the silver screen, in theater, and on television. Among his films are “Richard III,” “Gods and Monsters” and the “Lord of the Rings” series. On television, he starred in the delicious “Vicious.” And on stage, he has appeared in many plays, including […][...]
Review: Close to You
— by WILLIAM STERR — Around 2020, actor Elliot Page announced his transition from female to male. Starring at the time in the Netflix series “The Umbrella Academy,” his character also transitioned from female to male between the second and third seasons. Now, as writer and producer, Page explores the subject further in “Close to […][...]
Review: Lost Nation
— by BEV QUESTAD — Prepare to be enlightened. New York State wanted to be bigger, African-Americans were amongst the earliest settlers in Vermont, and the proponent for recognizing Vermont as America’s 14th colony was given a tempting counter offer from the British. The story begins in 1756 after Lucy (Kenyan-born Eva Ndachi) has married […][...]
Review: War Game
— by BEV QUESTAD — What if the 2024 election results end with a coup attempt, but better organized than the last? My greatest shock about the Jan. 6, 2020, attack on the US Capitol Building was not that it happened, but that it was met with such a limited response. I was thinking, “Gee, […][...]
Review: The Last Breath
— by WILLIAM STERR — These days, it seems like every week is Shark Week. There is a plethora of movies available featuring a variety of sharks right up to the venerable “Meg 2.” Of course, the most popular bad boy is the Great White and in “The Last Breath” the usual suspects, er, victims […][...]
Review: Deadland
— by WILLIAM STERR — Things are rough along the southern border of the United States. People are always trying to enter the country illegally from Mexico. It is the job of the Border Patrol to intercept these people – the first step in sending them back. Angel Waters (Roberto Urbina – “Snowpiercer”), Salome Veracruz […][...]
Review: Heart of an Oak (Le Chene)
— by WILLIAM STERR — Many’s the time I’ve walked through a forest, admiring the trees and the occasional bird or squirrel – maybe even a deer if I’m lucky. You probably have too. But there is so much more to see and know. The new nature documentary “Heart of an Oak” was created to […][...]
Review: Green Border
— by BEV QUESTAD — Excruciatingly frustrating and heartbreaking, famed Polish director Agnieszka Holland has created a courageously accurate drama based on true events that I am calling The Film of the Decade. In 2021 Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko, president of Belarus since 1994, let it be known that his country would allow refugees to pass […][...]