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Quad Cities USA - Guide to Davenport & Bettendorf Iowa and Rock Island & Moline Illinois
 

‘Two Distant Strangers’ Is A Masterpiece

May 20th, 2021
'Two Distant Strangers' Is A Masterpiece

Art is a powerful tool. It can make us laugh. It can make us cry. It can make us think. It can be used to fictionalize harsh real-life circumstances in order to enhance our acceptance and understanding of actual reality. That’s the power behind the Netflix short (and Oscar nominee and front runner) Two Distant Strangers. Sharply written by Travon Free and directed by Free and Martin Desmond Roe, this 32 minute masterpiece centers around Carter James (an nuanced and solid Joey Bada$$), a clean cut black dude reliving the same day of waking up next to his new fling (an absurdly authentic Zaria... Read More

‘Judas And The Black Messiah’ A Dynamic Drama That Should Be In Oscar Consideration

March 4th, 2021
'Judas And The Black Messiah' A Dynamic Drama That Should Be In Oscar Consideration

“Judas and the Black Messiah,” the bio-pic about Fred Hampton, head of the Black Panthers in Illinois in the sixties, comes to us from a dynamic team. Director Shaka King (“Newlyweeds”) had met Ryan Coogler (“Black Panther”) in 2013 at Sundance.  Coogler (“Black Panther”) approached Warner Brothers with 50% of the film’s financing in hand to back the picture, directed by Shaka King (“Newlyweeds”) from a story by the Lucas Brothers. They already had the cast in mind and Shaka King had connected with screenwriter Will Berson, who had been researching Hampton for some time.... Read More

“Yes, God, Yes” a Sweet, Small Film Exposing Enormity of Catholic Hypocrisy

October 26th, 2020
“Yes, God, Yes” a Sweet, Small Film Exposing Enormity of Catholic Hypocrisy

The 70-minute teen comedy/drama “Yes, God, Yes” is a sweet, slight and mostly satisfying film that deftly, gently tackles enormous, weighty subjects – sexuality, morality, religion, personal autonomy and responsibility, and the vast, disgusting hypocrisy of the Catholic Church. The 2019 film was written and directed by Karen Maine (who co-wrote the 2014 abortion-themed “Obvious Child”) and stars Natalia Dyer (of “Stranger Things” fame), based on Maine’s 2017 short film of the same name also starring Dyer as a shy, sympathetic, and secret rebel. The awkward, totally identifiable... Read More

‘Tenet’ A Beautiful, Big Scale Mind Bender

September 18th, 2020
'Tenet' A Beautiful, Big Scale Mind Bender

Director Christopher Nolan started tinkering around with the concept of time many years ago on a much smaller budget with 2000’s “Memento.” I liked it so much that, on a visit to the Twin Cities, I took a girlfriend and her husband to see it, my second time through it. It was unique, original, interesting, exciting and it didn’t run 150 minutes. It was even nominated for Best Original Screenplay at that year’s Oscars. We’ve now been treated to “Memento’s” successors from Christopher Nolan: “Insomnia (2002); “The Dark Knight Trilogy” (2005-2012); “The Prestige” (2006);... Read More

Nobody Speak’ Deserves All The Good Words About It

April 4th, 2017
Nobody Speak’ Deserves All The Good Words About It

This is part of film critic Connie Wilson’s exclusive coverage of the SXSW Film Festival for QuadCities.com. “Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press” from Director/Screenwriter Brian Knappenberger @ SXSW Genre:  Documentary Feature Length:  95 minutes Writer/Director:  Brian Knappenberger Principal Cast:  Nick Denton, A.J. Daulario, John Cook, David Folkenflick, Floyd Abrams, Peter Sterne, David Houston, Margaret Sullivan, Jay Rosen, John L. Smith Review:  Connie Wilson   The trial between wrestler Hulk Hogan and Gawker Media pitted privacy rights against freedom of the press, but... Read More

“Muppet Guys Talking” Reveals Secrets of the Muppets

April 1st, 2017
“Muppet Guys Talking” Reveals Secrets of the Muppets

Muppet Guys Talking: Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched Genre: Documentary Length:  65 minutes Cast:  Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Fran Brill, Bill Barretta, Frank Oz Reviewer:  Connie Wilson In 1955, creative genius Jim Henson created a troop of puppets known as The Muppets. By 1978 The Muppets” was the most-watched television show in history, with 235 million viewers in 102 countries, according to “Time” magazine. Henson’s untimely death at age 53 in 1990 left right-hand man Frank Oz (real last name: Oznowicz) more-or-less in charge of the troop, which came to fame on “Sesame... Read More

“The Hero” Starring Sam Elliott Premiers at SXSW 2017: Q&A with Cast

March 31st, 2017
“The Hero” Starring Sam Elliott Premiers at SXSW 2017: Q&A with Cast

This is part of film critic Connie Wilson’s exclusive coverage of the SXSW Film Festival for QuadCities.com. The mythic spirit of the western, our American archetype, is alive and well at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival. I’ve seen two westerns in two days at the Festival. “The Hero,” which showed at the Zach Theater on Friday, March 10th, was the better of the two. “The Hero” was an unusual picture because it focuses on a 71-year-old actor (Elliot) who has been playing western parts for most of his career. Now, he is in the twilight of that career, and most of his work seems to be voice-over... Read More

Keaton Should’ve Gotten a Break For ‘Founder’

March 7th, 2017
Keaton Should’ve Gotten a Break For ‘Founder’

You ever watch a performance and wonder, “why weren’t they nominated for that?” That’s how I felt after watching Michael Keaton’s explosive and dynamic performance as Ray Kroc in The Founder.  This dude becomes Ray Kroc and within seconds you forget you are watching an actor, you are just watching a person. Keaton falls into this role with reckless abandon and takes you one hell of a ride. The Founder follows the saga of how mega-hit fast food restaurant McDonald’s came to be.  Kroc, a milk machine salesman, heads to San Bernadino, California, to check out a client... Read More

An Interview In Chicago With Another Famous Siskel – Charlie Siskel

October 19th, 2016
An Interview In Chicago With Another Famous Siskel – Charlie Siskel

“American Anarchist”: A Q&A with Director Charles Siskel Documentary filmmaker Charlie Siskel (nephew of Gene) has a new documentary set to be released in March that should earn him an Academy Award nomination, just as his work on “Finding Vivian Maier” did. Speaking to viewers at the Chicago International Film Festival on Saturday, Oct. 15, Siskel, who was a field producer on “Bowling for Columbine” in 2002, told the audience that this was only the third time showing the film. (It premiered at the Venice Film Festival August 31st and then showed at the Hampton Film Festival.) Chicago,... Read More

Coverage of Chicago International Film Festival Begins With ’24 Weeks’ Review

October 13th, 2016
Coverage of Chicago International Film Festival Begins With ’24 Weeks’ Review

NOTE: Noted national film critic Connie Corcoran Wilson will be providing coverage of this year’s Chicago International Film Festival for QuadCities.com! Check out her reviews and features on what’s new and exciting in film debuting during the festival. The German film “24 Weeks” from Director Anne Zohra Berrached was screened in Chicago for 8 members of the press on Wednesday, October 5th. It is the story of a popular stand-up comedienne (think a German version of Amy Schumer) who finds herself pregnant by her live-in long-time love and manager, only to discover, several months into her... Read More