Film Reviews Archives

Downton Abbey Film Review 2019 - Stark Insider

Film Reviews

Film Review: ‘Downton Abbey’ a pleasant, glossy experience with beautiful cinematography

BY JEANNE POWELL — 09.20.2019

From 2010 to 2015 the Downton Abbey television series fascinated American audiences. Created by Julian Fellowes, the miniseries chronicled the lives of the aristocratic Crawley…

OFFICIAL SECRETS - Film Review- Keira Knightley

Film Reviews

Film Review: ‘Official Secrets’ a fascinating glimpse into British intelligence

BY JEANNE POWELL — 09.06.2019

Keira Knightley’s performance is central to the success of the film.

Film Reviews

‘Q Ball’ Film Review: Rehabilitation is possible and even essential

BY JEANNE POWELL — 07.29.2019

Closing night at the 2019 San Francisco Film Festival featured Q Ball, a powerful documentary about basketball with Kevin Durant as an executive producer. This…

Film Reviews

Film Review: ‘When I’m a Moth’ a fascinating film inspired by a line or two from Hillary Clinton memoir

BY JEANNE POWELL — 05.06.2019

A parable about America, political narratives, and the absence of free will.

Culture

Film Capsule Review: ‘Official Secrets’ at SFFILM

BY JEANNE POWELL — 04.22.2019

Based on the book, “The Spy Who Tried to Stop a War” by Marcia and Thomas Mitchell, Official Secrets at the SFFILM Festival unfolds in…

Film Reviews

Film Capsule Review: ‘When I’m a Moth’ at SFFILM

BY JEANNE POWELL — 04.20.2019

When I’m a Moth is an intriguing film, told in a dreamy visual style that fictionalizes a moment in Hillary Rodham’s life, just before she…

Q Ball documentary at SFFILM in San Francisco

Film Reviews

Film Capsule Review: ‘Q Ball’ documentary at SFFILM Festival

BY JEANNE POWELL — 04.20.2019

Across the Bay from the NBA champion Golden State Warriors is another Warriors team, one that plays only home games. These San Quentin Prison athletes…

Film Reviews

Review: Revisiting ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ at Mostly British Film Festival in San Francisco

BY JEANNE POWELL — 02.20.2019

As part of the Mostly British Film Festival in San Francisco, the English film, Four Weddings and a Funeral, was celebrated with a champagne reception…

Ja Rule Billy McFarland Fyre Fest disaster Twitter Netflix Hulu

Culture

Fyre a sad, but not surprising indictment of influencer culture

BY CLINTON STARK — 01.30.2019

If there was any doubt that influencer culture had an ugly side you need only watch one of two decent docs now streaming on Netflix…

Film Reviews

Margot Robbie captures attention in ‘Mary, Queen of Scots’ (Review)

BY JEANNE POWELL — 12.14.2018

Essayist Jeanne Powell’s take on film Mary, Queen of Scots. Queen Mary Stuart has been celebrated and profiled on stage and screen since Friedrich Schiller’s…