— by RON WILKINSON — The film medium is made for that marvelous merging of dreams and life. The ultimate dream for some, the dream of fame and fortune, awaits those who reach stardom. The trick is to achieve that pinnacle of success and keep one’s sanity, or one’s soul if you will. On another […][...]
Review: Red Soil
— by RON WILKINSON — Something nasty is afoot at the alumina plant. One of the few chemicals not yet squarely implicated in outright poisonings of local populations, aluminum and its chemical progeny have their dark side. As alumina is freed from Bauxite ore a red sludge is left behind that threatens to become the […][...]
Review: The Vault
— by RON WILKINSON — Walter and James had a right to be mad. After risking their lives recovering a priceless treasure stolen fair and square by Sir Francis Drake, Spain steals the treasure, fair and square, right back. There is no justice for gutsy cowboy tomb raiders these days. Get mad or get even, […][...]
Review: Da 5 Bloods
— by BEV QUESTAD — Vietnam, like slavery, is a scar on the American conscience. How four guys, approximately 50 years after serving together in Southeast Asia, were affected by their service is the story of this intense, ambitious film by the greatest director, Spike Lee. Lee brings together the racism, the atrocity, the insanity, […][...]
Review: My Name is Pedro
— by BEV QUESTAD — The guy is lovingly mistaken for Jesus with his dark wavy long hair, lovely smile, and golden face full of light, love and energy. The kids line the halls reaching for his hand. This used to be the assistant superintendent of secondary education for The East Ramapo Central School District, […][...]
Review: Truth to Power
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Art is the way to the heart. The hearts of men can and will change. That change changes the world.” Great was the hope, but little did Serj Tankian, now 53 years old, really consider that his music could bring down a government. Tankian’s great grandfather was killed in the […][...]
Review: News of the World
— by BEV QUESTAD — Why hasn’t “News of the World” hit the big time? Where are the Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Movie and Best Actor? Tom Hanks plays Captain Kidd, a practical but tortured man who travels from town to town having lost all that is dear. An ex-minister who fought […][...]
Review: Nomadland
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Nomadland” is a minimalist presentation with no plot. What is boring is good, what is beautiful is barren, and what is desired is almost nothing. Is this Buddha in America? Of the more than 50 movies I chose to see for the 2020 film season, “Nomadland” was the most boring […][...]
Review: City of Lies
— by RON WILKINSON — A gangsta rap artist dies in a hail of bullets after a late night all-out party in L.A. Not so amazing. A few days later, an undercover L.A. cop kills another undercover L.A. cop in an apparent road rage incident. That is a story, and city detective Russell Poole thinks […][...]
Review: The Courier
— by RON WILKINSON — Sixty years after the fact, we are being treated to a raft of real life spy stories. Kept under wraps due to the most sensitive security concerns are true tales of heroism and mistakes that could have been lethal. Greville Wynne was thrown into Lubyanka prison, a destination that proved […][...]