“Does the uniform still make you feel special?” **Caution: Spoilers** It appears that filmmakers have an appetite for Holocaust films these days. I don’t know if it has to do with the political strife occurring all over the world, America’s involvement in the Middle East, Republicans comparing Obama to Hitler, or what, but the constant influx almost has dulled me to the point of avoiding them. How many different versions of the tale can be told before you become numb? A film like last year’s Die Fälscher, while well made…
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REVIEW: Miracle at St. Anna [2008]
“I know who the sleeping man is” Spike Lee has left me confused after viewing his new WWII epic Miracle at St. Anna. This film is a jumbled mess of great sequences, surreal moments, and short bridge scenes thrown in to advanced a contrived plot and then left on the floor to possibly come back to at the end. I give the marketing people credit for keeping a veil of intrigue over the movie, never really delving into what the plot truly is. At the heart of the story is…
Read MoreTIFF08 REVIEW: Che: Part Two – Guerrilla [2008]
“Maybe our failure will wake them up” After the mild disappointment from Che: Part One – The Argentine, I began to anticipate something better with Che: Part Two – Guerrilla. I probably should have taken the subtitle more literally than I did as I thought maybe this would show us the political conversations and aftermath of the Cuban fight for freedom from Batista. The black and white flash forwards of The Argentine showing the UN speeches and fervor surrounding Che Guevara showed what I hoped would comprise a big chunk…
Read MoreTIFF08 REVIEW: Che: Part One – The Argentine [2008]
“Homeland or death” You walk around college campuses and visit concerts or any other place young people may congregate and probably see someone in a t-shirt with some famous Latin American’s mug proudly displayed. Who is that guy and why is he so important? Director Steven Soderbergh has taken it upon himself to open the world’s eyes to the legend that is Ernesto “Che” Guevara, an Argentine revolutionary who helped bring freedom to the Cuban people under the leadership of Fidel Castro. It all sounds so wonderful, until you remember…
Read MoreREVIEW: Монгол [Mongol] [2008]
“Never betray your Khan” Genghis Khan, sympathetic king of the people? If Sergei Bodrov is to be believed: yes. His tale of Khan’s ascent to power from childhood, Монгол [Mongol], tells of how he kept his ideals and the laws of Mongolia intact to unite a country from greed. After a battle, he takes an even share as those fighting under him; he respects his men and their families above survival. “Fight your enemy until the end” becomes one of his rules, and he himself lives by it. Sure, as…
Read MoreREVIEW: Die Fälscher [The Counterfeiters] [2007]
“A day is a day” It is very interesting how it seems that every film about the Holocaust becomes a modern classic. Die Fälscher [The Counterfeiters] is the latest attempt to breathe life into the subject by showing a true tale of how the Nazis bankrolled the end of the war with fake currency. The story itself is very intriguing and worth a history lesson, but as far as a film, what we really are given is one more concentration camp experience. There are the Nazis inflicting brutality on the…
Read MoreREVIEW: Atonement [2007]
“No rhymes and no embellishments” Ladies and gentlemen, a hand for director Joe Wright; he has crafted a masterpiece. With resemblances to films like Cold Mountain and A Very Long Engagement, Atonement is just so much more. Visually stunning, intellectually stimulating, and forever heartbreaking, Wright has made a movie like no other this year. Sure I have seen “perfect” films this year, for lack of a better word, but even Gone Baby Gone winds up far down the list when compared to all 10/10 films I’ve seen and given that…
Read MoreREVIEW: Lions for Lambs [2007]
“If” All I have heard about Robert Redford’s Lions for Lambs, Tom Cruise’s first foray with his United Artists studio, is that it is boring, long, and anti-war to the fullest. Even with that going in, I couldn’t stop thinking how intriguing the second trailer was. I mean this has a killer cast and what is becoming a very capable screenwriter. Considering Matthew Michael Carnahan’s first script being pro-war, The Kingdom, and the screen time of this film being barely over 90 minutes, I needed to see if the detractors…
Read MoreREVIEW: The Kingdom [2007]
“If we go slower, next time we might pick out livestock” Here is the introduction of screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan, brother of high-octane director Joe Carnahan. With this being his first film, it appears as though he has already reached A-list status. I mean his next three scripts will be brought to the screen by Oscar winner Robert Redford, Oscar winner Kevin MacDonald, and his brother. After viewing this entry, I must say I am looking forward to the others, if not with a little trepidation, very much. The Kingdom…
Read MoreTIFF07 REVIEW: Redacted [2007]
“Welcome to the goddamn army” Our final foray with the 2007 Toronto Film Festival screenings was Brian De Palma’s Redacted, a film about what is going on in Iraq that the government doesn’t want the public to know. All those black scribbles on documents and censored video coverage are examples of redaction and this movie aims to show the world the ugly truth, unfiltered. As the director said after the showing, the movie is “fictionalized for lawyer purposes,” but actually based on footage and accounts that he found on the…
Read MoreREVIEW: Rescue Dawn [2007]
“Little Dieter needs to fly” Werner Herzog is a legend in the film world. Having made around 50 films, whether fiction or documentary, he is known for grueling shoots and a take no prisoners attitude. One of his early films actually had a group of people carry a ship up a mountain; the guy gets what he wants and as a result usually has some great stories or even a film about the making of his epics after their completion. Supposedly his new narrative tale, Rescue Dawn, is no exception.…
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