— by BEV QUESTAD — Just what kind of patience, strength, supportive gear, and skill would it take to cut through rocks? That’s the metaphor Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki (directors, producers, and editors) use to explain how difficult it is to change what the West calls misogyny in a country where women may be […][...]
Review: It Was Just An Accident
— by BEV QUESTAD — Beware, films by Jafar Panahi have multiple levels of meaning, just as they have, in his case, multiple levels of production. All is not as it seems, and Panahi’s genius lies in his extraordinary ability to tell a story on many planes. Eghbal is driving with his family. It is […][...]
Review: Diva Futura
— by WILLIAM STERR — Cicciolina – the adult film actress turned legislator in the Italian parliament. Where did she come from? What was her appeal? Were there other women like her? That is the story of “Diva Futura.” Riccardo Schicchi (Pietro Castellitto – “The Predators”) grew up in an Italian family where the beauty […][...]
Review: GOAT
— by BEV QUESTAD — The underdog in this chaotic frenzied animation is actually an undergoat who dreams of being able to play roarball on a big team. Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures new animation is a cacophonous continuous burst of color, sound, and action that my fellow film critic, 5-year-old why-walk-when-you-can-run Logan, loved. Will […][...]
Review: Mickey 17
— by WILLIAM STERR — A cat supposedly has nine lives. But what if there was no limit at all? That’s the premise behind “Mickey 17.” This isn’t a new idea – the sci-fi flick “Moon” used a similar premise – except it was the twist that came near the end of the story. Here, […][...]
Review: Blue Moon
— by WILLIAM STERR — A descent into despair, as performed by a prisoner of passion and his tormentors. Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart worked together for 24 years, creating 28 musicals and over 500 songs. However, due to Hart’s alcoholism, Rodgers formed a team with lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, a pairing that would become […][...]
Review: The President’s Cake
— by WILLIAM STERR — In southeastern Iraq, there is an area historically known as “The Garden of Eden.” It is an extensive marshland fed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. There, for five thousand years, the “marsh Arabs,” in their reed houses and high-prowed canoes, have lived. In the 1990s, this area was the […][...]
Review: No Other Choice
— by BEV QUESTAD — Ever since Elon Musk brandished his chainsaw, Americans have increased empathy for those who lose their jobs. Note to Musk: It’s not jobs we want to cut but the hemorrhaging of tax money by the federal government for things like ICE entanglement on our city streets and subsidies for the […][...]
Review: Beneath the Light
— by WILLIAM STERR — Lighthouses have a peculiar attraction for many people. However, the lighthouse on the end of the breakwater at Lorain, Ohio, overlooking Lake Erie is special. Not that it looks it. The 108-yea- old structure looks pretty dilapidated, needing a lot of repair. Jacob (Zack Tinker – “Payment Received”) has returned […][...]