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9 is important, with a few small flaws. Watch these films many times, and find something new every time.
8 is your standard good movie.
7 is watchable for certain scenes, but keep yourself occupied with something more interesting.
6 is strictly background noise.
5 is irritating.
4 is annoying.
3 is offensive.
2 is extremely offensive.
1 is avoid for peril of your soul.
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Time Bandits (1981)
A Lot To Think About
Time Bandits is funny. The acting is excellent and a boy in a troupe of dwarves is an interesting dynamic. Time Bandits is dramatic and wild, like all Terry Gilliam productions. The thieves jump through time following a blueprint stolen from God, and God is just trying to prevent them from hurting themselves or others. Time Bandits is deep, depicting demonic possession and bad parenting and broken dreams. The devil is obsessed with high tech and God is a kindly old man. It's one of those movies you can watch time and time again, each time discovering a new philosophical layer. Take a look at the IMDB trivia. It's a well thought out movie, and there's a lot to think about.
Knives Out (2019)
Harlan represents the Anglo-American Elite
Harlan (who represents the Anglo-American Elite) is getting ready to die (no empire lasts forever) and Harlan's children (who have ridden on Harlan's coattails their whole lives) are expecting to inherit his wealth. Harlan's daughter Linda expects the property, Walt expects to control the corporations, and they all expect to receive millions in cash. However, Harlan has been spending time with Marta (an immigrant), and he admires her spirit. He decides that his spoiled, entitled children (who represent the Boomers) don't deserve a "red dime" and cuts them off, giving everything to Marta. Wanetta (Harlan's mother, who represents the Victorian Elite) approves (perhaps she has money of her own, she is not competing for the goods).
The political nature of the movie is not lost on most people. Indeed, the Anglo-American Empire has committed suicide. Indeed, the class of wealthy Europeans who grew up and profited under the Anglo-American Empire are being bequeathed nothing but their own debts. Indeed, immigrants are being given pride of place in the post-imperial splinters of what used to be the Anglo-American Empire. The repeated references to the game of Go is the strongest indication of where the elites are headed next (Japan/China). The end of the movie hammers the point home: the children of empire are looking up at the new master of their "ancestral" home, and Marta is drinking from Harlan's coffee cup (My House, My Rules, My Coffee).
The political point is this: Anglo-American Elite made their money with their own talent and grit. In fact, they made the money itself. The nation prospered under their rule, and they owe the nation nothing. They built it up, they can destroy it or give it away and we have nothing to say about it. Now, this is little more than a conceit. The fact is, the Victorian Elites arrived in New York with tons of ill-gotten gold, stolen from every corner of the planet. Their grit revolved around stealing and then marketing the works of geniuses. Their talents were limited to financing networks of agents who have woven a rich tapestry of fake history for us. From Dinosaurs to Moon Landings, the world we grew up in was built on nothing but hot air. We never had a chance.
Asteroid City (2023)
A Live Production of a Play
ASTEROID CITY is a play about a fake news project. At the start of the movie, we are introduced to the actors and their roles. "The character of Augie Steenbeck in the imaginary tale of our production was to become famously and indelibly connected to the actor who created the role, a former carpenter discovered in a bit part by the play's director, Schubert Green (born Shylock Grzworvszowski)." The crisis of the play pivots on an alien visitation. The military attempts a lockdown, which is soon circumvented by the kids, who whistle-blow and attract a media circus. Thus we have all the essential roles of fake news: hired actors, the military, and the fake news event. Sometimes it's a pandemic, sometimes it's a riot, sometimes it's an alien, sometimes it's Guadalcanal.
All the characters (Augie, Midge, Grandfather, Parents and Stargazers) are professional actors who have actual lives outside the play. Some are bused in for the fake news event, some are pre-placed, like the Mechanic. Twins and triplets are often used in celebrity roles because they can be in more than one place at a time. Hickenlooper represents Consensus Science ("the math doesn't work") and the General represents the military (giving out awards and seizing inventions, including a DEW). The Playwright, Director and Acting Teacher never enter the play itself. The Host plays the talking head role, not in the play but pushing the narrative. The only people not working for the production are the ordinary folks who are alerted by the media ("everything's already in the newspapers").
Fake news events are scripted and directed by people behind the scenes, like the Playwright, Director and Acting Teacher. Fake news events are role-played by professional actors like Augie and Midge. Fake news events are always guided by media personalities like the Host, who provides us with the information we need to make sense of the staged drama (and utterly failing). With all this professional Crisis Acting, the fake news event itself hardly matters. In the background are the usual fake news events run by the locals (represented by the car chases) and the military-industrial complex (represented by the nukes). The targets of the fake news are the ordinary people who show up for the media circus.
While modeling the essential elements of a fake news project for us, the play also takes the opportunity to role-play a sample alien encounter (depicted as partly CGI, partly Jeff Goldblum). The military is on hand, of course, on one pretext or another, and so are the actors. The alien arrives, a professional photographer snaps an iconic photo and then it leaves without a trace. Whistleblowers manage to ignite a media circus in spite of a total military lockdown, and--at the peak of the public furor--the alien mysteriously returns the asteroid, indelibly stamped with alien writing. We have all the elements of a psyop: the ordinary folks, the cover-up, the whistleblower and the undeniable proof.
On a metaphorical level, the asteroid represents the moon, specifically the moon landing grift, which has gone so stale that even India is faking it. The asteroid is stored in a little jail cell, which represents the sixty years of transparent fakery that is strangling NASA and all the other space agencies. The alien frees the asteroid, and then returns it, forever stamped it with proof of alien life. A riot is staged by the actors, the lockdown is released, the media circus evaporates, the playwright fakes his death ("Death of a Narcissist") and the actors bow out. This is how history is made. The final result is a re-characterization of the moon landing and a general loss of faith in God ("I hope you're still Episcopalian").
Why does Augie burn his hand? He doesn't. It was the old "hot burner" trick. Midge had a different script than Augie, so she didn't see it coming. Augie and his family, arriving on the scene earlier than the other actors, had their own script they were following. Augie's Crisis Actor family was artificially created with child actors. The mother's role was cut, which naturally confuses the children who are too young to understand, but no one else actually grieves. As photographer, he has special access to Midge, the Playwright and the Director. When Crisis Actors have different scripts, even the actors can get freaked out and provide an authentic performance. Note that his hand being bandaged was part of the script ("They're bandaging the understudy's hand right now.")
"You can't wake up if you don't fall asleep" is a catch-phrase, meant to catch you. It's meaningless until someone invests it with meaning. It starts off controversial ("What?" "That's not true." "Who cares?" "Why should you?" "Maybe not.") but with repetition everyone begins to parrot the phrase. Meanwhile the catch-phrase is accompanied by traumatic images which work upon our collective unconscious. The zombies yelling and staggering around mindlessly. The alien carrying the moon towards us. This scene models an MK-Ultra class ("shared experience of a bewildering and bedazzling celestial mystery") that imparts a narrative through repetition and trauma. In this case, the moon landing spell is being replaced by the alien asteroid spell.
Apollo Zero (2009)
Fake it till you make it
As more people learn to think for themselves, it makes sense why NASA would fake the moon landings. Rather than send three men to their deaths in space for the world to see, which would have been disastrous for them, it was better for them to fake it. After all, NASA had invested too much, did not want it to be all for nothing, and needed a reason to continue procuring funding and public support of their programs.
Plus, they knew that the American people needed something to be proud of amidst the turmoil of the time with the Vietnam War, civil unrest, race riots, multiple assassinations of beloved leaders (President Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr.) and the Cold War.
The great philosopher Socrates in Plato's The Republic said that the state must concoct fables and myths because people need them as inspiration to boost morale. So that's what our elites do. And it works in that most people are convinced. We must wake up as a nation and be ready to embrace the truth rather than lies. Otherwise, we will never be truly free.
Almost as soon as the moon landing was announced, narratives concerning the hoax made their way into popular culture. 'Diamonds Are Forever', released just two years after the moon landing, featured a sly joke which depicted Bond stealing a moon buggy from a secret moon set. What really fired up the conspiracy theories concerning the moon landing was Peter Hyams' 1978 thriller, 'Capricorn One'. Others followed: 'Was It Only a Paper Moon?' (1997), 'Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?' (2001 TV Movie), 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Moon' (2001), 'Astronauts Gone Wild: An Investigation Into the Authenticity of the Moon Landings' (2004), 'Apollo Zero' (2009), 'American Moon' (2017).
Jungle (2017)
Jewish Guy Gets Lost in the Woods
Jewish guy gets lost in the woods, he is later found weak but uninjured. That's the plot. That's the spoiler. That's all there is to the movie. There's some trippy cinematography and a lot of dream sequences. It's boring as hell. Literally nothing happens in this movie. The most exciting part was the river scenes and they always ended with an anticlimax.
Americathon (1979)
Sleeper of Sleepers, Filled to the Brim with Gravy
"Americathon" (1979) is the sleeper of sleepers, filled to the brim with gravy. It gets better every time I watch it. This is Harvey Korman's best role of his career and no one mentions it. John Ritter is understated and hilarious throughout. If you think the plot is silly then you haven't been paying attention to what has happened to the American Empire. It's gone and we are undergoing a rapid transition to the Euro-style austerity bicycle dole economy. If you don't recognize the script then it probably won't appeal to you. Once you recognize the gravy, this movie is revealed to be the towering work of comedic genius that it is. It is the most honest, in-your-face, undisguised portrayal of the end of the 500-year British-American Empire ever made.
As "predicted" by "Americathon" (1979): China became the global superpower and the the Anglo-American Empire became a joke. Cliques of Native Americans became wealthy and began to repossess America. Nike became a huge multinational conglomerate. Vietnam became a tourist attraction. The USSR was broken up. The devalued dollar and US debt. Emergency rule through managed catastrophe. Jewish-Arab terror actors anticipated the Al-Quaeda and ISIS campaigns. The governor of California becomes president. Jogging suits became fashionable as "casual wear". Reality television extreme absurdity. Network television exploiting taboo subjects. Gay states and gay fathers in women's clothing. Smoking being banned. Rampant homelessness and people living in cars. The "fossil fuel" joke was featured, and because it "ran out" Americans are forced to return to bicycles.
The Scarlet Worm (2011)
Horrible script horrible acting horrible filming
Horrible production horrible direction. This movie has the quality of high school students playing with a camera in someone's backyard. Long pauses of dead screentime take the place of tension. Wannabe actors without personality, and whatever talent they may have has been hidden by bad camera angles and confusing direction. Everyone seems to be posing for the camera. The sound is bad. The script (if there was one) is more childish than disgusting. It's kind of like the worst movies John Waters ever made, with a Western dress-up theme. Just having it on in the background was torture.
Our Betters (1933)
Libido Dominandi
The whole Princess Diana drama was a remake of Our Betters (1933), which was based on the 1923 play of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. The play, movie and the live-action fake-news drama were designed to make the English aristocracy look like harmless, passionate poseurs actively dissipating themselves and their fortunes. Maugham was just another homosexual intellectual acting for the British Secret Intelligence Service and up to his neck in preparing the world for the October Revolution. Maugham's The Magician pushes the Blavatsky/Crowley/Theosophy project, as did his later Razor's Edge. His Of Human Bondage is a primer for Libido Dominandi and The Moon and Sixpence is his ode to the Modern Art project.
Maugham's works are the basis for 45 films, the motion picture industry being the primary vector for propaganda throughout the 20th century. So while you are laughing at the antics of Our Betters, know that you are in the grip of a master.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
The Marvel Soap Opera Love Boat Reunion
The Marvel franchise has deteriorated into a soap opera for boys. Since boys prefer sports soap operas no one expects this disaster train to keep chugging along much longer; unless, of course, they can switch the fan base to girls. Girls love soap operas. As a soap opera, it seems below average in acting and emotional involvement. The Sci-Fi in Marvel has always been weak, and what passes for science in the Avengers is just plain silly. It's really Fantasy.
The old players are dropping out as fast as they can and the new players are generic also-rans. One surprise was Thor, who was able to make the transition from unlikable to lovable. The rest are just showing up, like on a Loveboat Reunion episode. Antman is a decent actor but he's hopelessly unlikable. Hulk looks shockingly cartoon-like: badly scaled, textured and warped; it couldn't be more obvious that he was layered into the scenes. With today's technology, it's a real insult to people who actually paid to see this convoluted yawn to have to watch such shoddy CGI.
Audience suspension of disbelief is not necessary because the plot is so turgid and dull. My wife slept through it twice. She thought she might be able to make it through the second time, but alas she failed. It's just too boring. Even the paradoxes are uninspiring. I say this because everyone seemed to be saying that Endgame was a good movie. Doesn't anyone know what a good movie is anymore? Has the bar been lowered that much? You want recent Sci-Fi that grabs your mind and your heart? Watch Edge of Tomorrow (2014). That movie was everything this one wasn't. In Time (2011), Children of Men (2006), Fifth Element (1997), Chappie (2015), Bright (2017), Surrogates (2009), even the original Guardians of the Galaxy was better than this mess.
Kids are going to watch what kids like, but sometimes I'm not sure I believe them. There's too many shills out there, too many "grassroots" marketing posts. There's simply not enough to like in Avengers Endgame for it to be as popular as it apparently is. We don't need to be this desperate! As recent as 2017, Will Smith made a Fantasy drama that is great by anyone's standard. There's more to come; we are just in a low spot. Once this Marvel Comic-Con fashion fades things will brighten up again.
We Need to Talk About Sandy Hook (2014)
Concrete evidence that the 2012 shooting was a hoax
"We Need To Talk About Sandy Hook" has been completely blocked from Youtube. This is in itself reason enough to see it. Beyond that, the film presents concrete evidence that the 2012 shooting was a hoax. This was a hoax perpetrated on the entire world by a small village in Connecticut. A small number of people enriched themselves at your expense. This is another good reason to evaluate this evidence for yourself. Do you trust Youtube to make these decisions for you? I don't. No one is telling you how to react to the evidence uncovered by the investigators in this movie. All I'm saying is that this is a well-produced investigative film that raises some questions that are difficult to answer and still maintain trust in the current consolidated system of mass media. The movie is professional and respectful, clever and insightful; an all-around pleasant experience. I recommend "We Need To Talk About Sandy Hook" without reservation, no matter what your politics.
Mune: Le Gardien de la Lune (2014)
Cliche Characters Immersed in Creepyland
A standard collection of cliché characters (featuring Smart Girl, Awkward Boy, Arrogant Man, Sneaky Man and fearful, judgmental parents) are immersed in a kooky fairy tale world and given kooky fairy bodies. The computer graphics are passable but extra colorful, and the storyline is cobbled together from a random series of errors, without meaning or pathos. It's creepy enough to frighten sensitive children, it's freaky enough to disorient guileless children, and irrational enough to unbalance sensible children. The dreary jumble of scatterbrained and foolish scenes are not worth the effort it would take to stitch this puerile mass into a workable mythology. This movie demonstrate that dressing up a boilerplate teen movie with bizarre CGI cannot save it. This is why Pixar movies are so beloved; they drench their movies with plot. The creators of Mune, so intent on blowing the minds of kids with today's state-of-the-art CGI, skimped on plot. Thus, we are left with another forgettable art project, and as the state-of-the-art CGI advances there will be nothing of value left at all.
Le petit prince (2015)
Eviscerates the Little Prince and twists his guts into a million Disney rebellions
The movie version of The Little Prince is a travesty, encouraging little girls to lie, disobey and disrespect their parents, like a Disney princess. The movie version is selling little girls a world where they get what they want with moxie, inexperience and a little magic, just like the Disney princesses do. None of this has anything to do with the story of The Little Prince, which was artlessly appended to this Disney ripoff.
The book, The Little Prince is not a children's book. It is philosophic and traumatic, neither of which should be applied to children. Although it artfully depicts death as a spirit leaving a body, it does not pretend to be a book on theology. When we see someone die, we know that the spirit is gone. Where the spirit goes is theological in nature, and the book covers this only in passing.
In the book, we are free to assume that the Little Prince is back on his little asteroid with his Beloved, staying busy and enjoying eternity. The next morning the body of the Little Prince was gone; does this remind you of anyone special? The book makes no claim to be a reinterpretation of the Passion, but it is a useful reference for anyone who has to explain death to a child. We all die. We all leave our body and go to meet our Beloved. We who love Logos will remain alive. One day we will be given our eternal body and we won't have to wander any more.
The book The Little Prince allegorizes the beauty and errors of the universe with humor and wry philosophical ponderings. The movie eviscerates the Little Prince and twists his guts into a million Disney rebellions. Did I mention it was a travesty of the book?
There oughta be a law.
The Doctor's Dilemma (1958)
An Extremely Intelligent Film
It's rare to come upon such clever and witty dialogue and such an admirable rogue. While this film turns the medical profession onto its hat (not a difficult trick) it does it in a delightful way that captivates and entertains. The twists and turns of the various attitudes is a pleasure to behold. Sure, Caron is a crappy actress who is way over her head among these great actors, but her stilted acting does suit her role. In any case, her acting is overshadowed by the brilliant play and the wonderful performances around her. This is a movie that must be listened to. It wasn't until I devoted my entire attention to it that I really began to appreciate it.
Man Alive (1945)
What a Magnificent Mess!
Sure It's A Stretch! But it's still funny. It even has a pratfall.
Adolphe Menjou plays a mischievous rogue and Pat O'Brien plays himself as always. They meet after Pat's supposed death and Adolphe takes control of the situation with wacky results.
As Menjou says, "What a Magnificent Mess!" It starts out slow but it picks up with increasing momentum until you wish it could slow down. But it can't.
It's a house of card built upon shifting sands. Situations are extremely contrived but it makes for a delightfully wild ride.
I wanted to write this review because there were only 2 reviews, both somewhat negative. Pat O'Brien does not always have to play a cop. He may always be Pat O'Brien, but he fits into this role very plausibly. He is, after all, pulling a fast one, and no one can pull a fast one like Pat O'Brien.
In any case, Adolphe Menjou steals this movie away from him. Adolphe is a very versatile actor and he is one of the few that could pull of his role with any kind of believability.
Falling from Grace (1992)
The Most Under-Rated Movie Ever Made
This is more than a "hidden gem", this is The Most Under-Rated Movie Ever Made. In fact, it's a perfect film. The story is deep. The acting is real. Real accents, too! The scenes are authentic. There is drama and violence and you can't predict what's going to happen. The star/director does not portray himself as a brilliant misunderstood genius, and instead drags us step by step through a magnificent meltdown. A real fall from grace. There is nothing wrong with this movie. It cannot be improved upon. It is a movie that will touch the heart of anyone who has watched someone self-destruct, or has experienced self-destructive episodes. In short, this is a movie for all young men or anyone who knows one. I do not give 10/10 to many films (just 32 films out of the 4797 I have rated) but this one deserves it. It's a great movie! It's The Most Under-Rated Movie Ever Made.
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Good Acting, Bad Screenplay
If you are looking for a dark superhero drama, this is not it. Better to see Watchmen (2009). This is more of a soap opera about Broadway. It's not funny like Twentieth Century (1934); it's incoherent and boring. It's emotionally shallow. It's a depressing slow motion descent into madness, the effect being that of a lousy French art film. The acting is good; the camera work is amazing; but none that that can ransom the terrible screenplay.
I think the Birdman is a character that has great comedic potential, especially in a dark comedy. I think maybe this movie began its life as a dark comedy and was transformed by a pretentious little mind into a cynical, forgettable drama about a Broadway play that is so uninteresting we get to see almost none of it.
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Great Movie! Great Counterpoint to Little Big Man
This is a great movie. Great acting, great story, and a lot of fun. Errol Flynn is at his best, and he faces some really slimy bad guys. This kind of hero worshiping movie is usually badly done, which sets this movie head and shoulders above its type. Pay no attention to the chronic obsessives who notice that the muskets are not exactly correct to the period. This movie takes us through the Civil War and through the Indian Wars, and you feel like it's real enough. There are no plot holes. Everything hangs together nicely. The Black Hills gold backstory is a very interesting wrinkle that I had never heard before. It also holds up after further inquiry. This movie is a great counterpoint to another great movie: Little Big Man.
Bonnie & Clyde (2013)
Worst Thing I Have Ever Watched
I just woke up, and it's on. The remote is nowhere to be seen and I don't want to disturb my wife. I am twisting with embarrassment for the writers of this trash. This is what a ten-year-old might think that era was like: gathering clichés from a wide variety of bad movies, awkwardly mixing the Roaring Twenties with the Great Depression, stitching together hackneyed and improbable plots. It gracelessly combines that fashionable shaky camera work with the worst lighting I have ever seen. To cap it off, the acting is terrible! It's as if the spoiled brats of some wealthy producer were working through some sick fantasy. Soap Operas have much higher caliber actors. This fiasco is a complete amateur hour that drags on and on.
A Walk with Love and Death (1969)
Brilliant Film About Life In The Late Middle Ages
Never dull, always alive with authentic and rich scenes; unpredictable and interesting. The wooden acting of the leads is appropriate for two young people who are fresh out into the world. They are surrounded by an extravagant variety of characters of the late Middle Ages, all well portrayed and decently acted. The scenery is picturesque, the music is lilting and fair, and the plot veers between barbarisms and nobility. It has been beautifully filmed and the direction keeps the plot moving briskly. There is no fat, no wasted scenes, no stupidity. The story is believable and moving, a story of sensitive youths trying to survive in a world suddenly gone mad. The creatures who seek such chaos are trying to turn the world upside down; they seek their own order through chaos. They seek to rearrange the world into their own hideous image. This is a story of how civilized people deal with the carnage of progress.
The Italian Job (1969)
Little more than an ad for mini cooper
This film embodies the worst of the sixties. It seems like Britain gets a pass when they make bad movies, and this highly rated crap is a classic example. I assumed that since Michael Caine and Noel Coward were in the movie that it would be tolerable. I was sadly disappointed. It's a waste of talent that can be compared to the junk churned out by Peter O'Toole and Peter Sellers in that same era. The plot is weak, the caper is boring, and the opportunities for acting limited. There's a lot of rushing around beautiful European vistas, and very little else. Very little comedy in fact. It's high spirited, like the 60's, but sadly lacking in value(like the 60's).
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Great Special Effects! Bad Acting. Scenes of Exaggerated Carnage.
Saving Private Ryan is awash with wildly exaggerated scenes of carnage. Seems like every member of the GRRREATEST Generation wants to be remembered for the kind of over-the-top violence that has graced Vietnam War films. "Oh yeah, that's just how it was!" Right. Looks like Omaha Beach lost every other guy. Nope. One in ten.
We have pictures of the Normandy Landing. Look at them. Does the beach look anything like Spielberg's beach? Spielberg's beach looks like a video game. Bullets streaking through the water and killing the soldiers as they swim up from the bottom of sea. This is how history gets rewritten.
Suppose there was one landing boat that landed right in front of a pill box (good thinking) and got hell shot out of it. Why is Spielberg showing that one unfortunate boat? Feel manipulated? Get used to it. This whole soap opera is chock full of Bridges-of-Madison-County drawn- out boring melodramatic scenes designed to pluck at your heart strings.
Oliver Stone complains that Spielberg is playing into the "Good War" mantra that is currently being used to finance the War on Terror. I saw no signs of that. I saw US soldiers shooting down unarmed POWs and beating prisoners. A touch of Vietnam to thrill our taste for revenge? Or is it just part of the arms race between chicken-hawk war directors trying to stimulate our jaded tastes?
The acting is atrocious. It's hard to blame the actors, really, since we don't get to know them at all. They are simply red-shirts waiting their turn to get shot down or get into hissy fits. Tom Hanks is Tom Hanks (as always). There's no tension. We know what's going to happen, we're just waiting for it. And it all unfolds so slowly. It's boring. The scenes that could contain some excitement are spent in a quick and confused blur. It's a mess. There's no more artistry in this movie than is contained in your typical music video. Halftracks and Rangers pop up out of nowhere as our heroes cross an open field. Endless streams of machine gun fire pour out from nowhere in particular. It's just ludicrous.
There are few scenes in Saving Private Ryan that aren't replete with unnaturally sentimental dialog, unrealistic dissension in the ranks, haunted stares, tears, and Hollywood's rendition of jaunty, chummy talk. They might as well have been a bunch of teenage girls. One Star, for the CGI.
Einer spielt falsch (1965)
Low Budget, Weak Propaganda
It's amazing that George Sanders lowered himself to this. Things must have gotten bad for him. He is still a great screen presence, but he seems out of place among the crude voice-overs, TV drama scenery, and awkward direction. This is truly an awful film.
The plot centers around an Arab plot to murder Germans and cast the blame upon Israelis. Surprise surprise, it's an Israeli-West German co-production -- in other words Mossad-CIA propaganda. Childish and poorly made, this film illustrates the crude methods of the "intelligence" community.
It's got the feel of a Cheech and Chong spy thriller. It would be funny if it was clever - but it's not. It's pathetic and tiresome.
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
A Silly Movie
I've always heard this was a great movie, so I had high expectations. Little did I expect such an unrealistic, melodramatic piece of crap. "Super Lawyer Tries To Save The South From Itself." He's poor. He's rich. He's enlightened. He's educated. He's a crack shot. He stands down a mob (with the help of his wise and brave children). Where was the Sheriff? No need for a Sheriff when you've got Super Lawyer. He'll guard the jail all by himself. He is struggling against Ignorance, aided by the Mindless Duvalls of the world - who are guided by their innate goodness God gave them. I have seldom seen such claptrap outside of the Hallmark Channel, where the hero is always a woman who exhibits the same strengths and struggles. It's all so puerile.
Darshan - L'étreinte (2005)
A fantastic trip through the best of India
No, this movie is not boring - it is riveting. I could not drag my eyes from the screen. I find India fascinating, and perhaps that is the key. This movie captures the magic of India, and that's enough for me. The feeling is of floating effortlessly through the crowds and temples and festivals, then standing close to a loving guru as her adoring fans embrace her, one by one. It is magical and touching and an unforgettable view of India. India is a tough place to visit, and most travel shows leave out the best parts. This movie captures the best of India, and leaves the plots and dramas, facts and figures for another day.
Never Forget (1991)
Real Life Drama
This film was created after a $17 million lawsuit alleging "injurious denial of established fact." The IHR settled out of court, and signed an apology. The apology was to Mermelstein, for extending the IHR gas chamber reward offer to him in full knowledge that Mermelstein was traumatized by the Concentration Camp.
The IHR gas chamber reward (which requires hard evidence) was never pursued by Mermelstein. The IHR gas chamber reward is no longer offered, since it proved to be more of a lawsuit magnet than PR tool.
The judge ruled: 'Under Evidence Code Section 452(h), this Court does take judicial notice of the fact that Jews were gassed to death at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland during the summer of 1944,' and 'It just simply is a fact that falls within the definition of Evidence Code Section 452(h). It is not reasonably subject to dispute. And it is capable of immediate and accurate determination by resort to sources of reasonably indisputable accuracy. It is simply a fact.'
In 1988 Mermelstein brought another suit against IHR, which he lost.