— by WILLIAM STERR — There is a legend in the forestlands of the Pacific Northwest of a creature called The Red Coat. This creature lives on the blood of forest animals and, when it can, that of humans. At least, so believes Ma Reynolds. Ma (Olwen Fouere – “The Northman”) and her son (Guy […][...]
Review: 32 Sounds
— by BEV QUESTAD — Since sound is vibration and moves out like tiny ripples, then, if I understood correctly, all sounds ever occurring are all still out there moving in perpetuity: my mother’s voice and piano playing, my father’s laugh, my son’s first cry and the first big bang. That’s just one mind-blowing idea […][...]
Review: The Holdovers
— by WILLIAM STERR — It’s 1970. Richard Nixon is president and despite his “secret plan” to end the Vietnam war, it is still raging. Most of the students at Barton Academy, a Massachusetts prep school, are about to leave on a two-week Christmas break. However, five have nowhere to go. They are “The Holdovers” […][...]
Review: Bobi Wine: The People’s President
— by BEV QUESTAD — Little Richard meets Nelson Mandela – that’s Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine. With his energetic band, courageous Wine exposes injustice and corruption in Uganda as a musical sensation and political revolutionary. This pits him dangerously against the Ugandan dictator Yoweri Museveni, who typically jails opponents. You might […][...]
Review: Killers of the Flower Moon
— by WILLIAM STERR — Martin Scorsese is famous for his crime films. They may be contemporary (“The Irishman”), or from two centuries ago (“Gangs of New York”), but they are always entertaining and filled with superb performances. This film is an exception. Long awaited, it is a disappointment that does not do justice to […][...]
Review: The Boy and the Heron
— by BEV QUESTAD — At age 82, Hayao Miyazaki, the world’s greatest animator, has created another film of exceptional artistic presentation. Ten years ago, “The Wind Rises,” thought to be his last film, was nominated for an Oscar, but lost to Disney’s “Frozen.” Now, “The Boy and the Heron” is again on the list […][...]
Review: The Mission
— by BEV QUESTAD — Oh troubling waters of misguided humans and good intentions, how and when can we distinguish between the calling of God and the Sirens of Titan? In a classic modern tragedy, John Chau found himself drawn inexorably to proclaim the gospel to the last isolated tribe on earth, the North Sentinelese. […][...]
Review: Ferrari
— by BEV QUESTAD — Just the name Ferrari immediately evokes observations about the car: fast, red and expensive. With a few red flags, the man behind this famous fine-tuned vehicle was known to be calculated, distant, and autocratic. “Ferrari” is based on the revealing yet stark story of Enzo Ferrari’s life in 1957, his […][...]
Review: American Fiction
— by BEV QUESTAD — An African-American author and professor with a PhD, a genius with excellent writing ability, crafts an acclaimed novel. Another author, feigning he is a fugitive from the FBI, misspells words and uses a vernacular dialect. He writes about a rough, poverty-ridden Black experience in America. Which book would you most […][...]
Review: The Boys in the Boat
— by BEV QUESTAD — It’s 1936 and Joe Rantz (Callum Turner) lives in a Seattle Depression-era Hooverville. He stands with men in a soup line for one ladle of thin gruel. He mother died when he was fourand his father left the family when he was 14. He’s a quiet, muscular guy used to […][...]