— by BEV QUESTAD — Lily believes an old legend about a healing tree deep in the Amazon jungle. She is certain the properties of this tree could reshape medicine and be especially beneficial to Britain’s armed service during WWI. There is one caveat. If the tree “gets into the wrong hands it could awaken […][...]
Review: Newtok
— by BEV QUESTAD — As the permafrost continues to thaw due to climate change, the Alaskan Yup’ik people in Newtok have created boardwalks and bulkheads to adapt to the dissolving ground and steadily encroaching river and sea waters. Their despair and poverty grow as their land fades away. Newtok, some 600 miles south of […][...]
Review: The Mole
— by RON WILKINSON — Perhaps it is because his past efforts were more Rabelaisian than revelatory, Mads Brugger’s latest will be taken with a grain of salt – even after he rightfully and correctly declares “Everything is Real.” The story that has Mads on the cusp of buying intermediate range ICBMs tipped with thermobaric […][...]
Interview: Don Most
— by LYNETTE CARRINGTON — The film “Cult Cartel” is a passion project and an insightful look at the real-life events and human trafficking tragedy in Colorado City, and the downfall of “prophet” and convicted felon and polygamist, Warren Jeffs. Notably, the movie stars actor Don Most, who has been garnering accolades for his wide […][...]
Review: Passing
— by BEV QUESTAD — “All of us are just passing for something or other, aren’t we?” Irene muses rhetorically. As the crack in her ceiling spreads out, the howling wind gets stronger and snow begins to fall. The exquisite cinematography enhances this important story about race and identity. Irene has two sides. At once […][...]
Review: Out of the Blue
— by WILLIAM STERR — In preparation for viewing director Dennis Hopper’s “Out of the Blue,” I re-watched his seminal picture, “Easy Rider,” which I’d not seen since its theatrical release in 1969. The reason for this was Hopper’s own description of “Out of the Blue” as being what might have become of the protagonists […][...]
Review: Simple as Water
— by BEV QUESTAD — Yasmin stands on the cement walkway at a sea port in Athens with her four children. They are chasing a balloon and each other. She carefully monitors them and then herds them into their tent under the freeway overpass. Here she gets out her cell phone and lets them see […][...]
Review: Ascension
— by RON WILKINSON — If you were going to create a successful capitalist nation from scratch, which would come first, smile training or sex dolls? Such appears to be the choice in China as the productivity behemoth groans and stretches through its growing pains as a developed economy. As told in this fascinating documentary, […][...]
Review: The Real Charlie Chaplin
— by BEV QUESTAD — The great irony is that Charlie Chaplin and his films were received enthusiastically and sympathetically before WWII and as communistic and unpatriotic after. Initially wildly popular throughout the world, “The Real Charlie Chaplin” details the man behind his characterization of The Tramp; how he lived his life and how he […][...]