A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Garrett Ryan, “Public Latrines in Ancient Rome” (Toldinstone, 15 December 2021) In the space of seven minutes (as twenty seconds are devoted to the mention of…
Carlton Meyer, “The Disastrous Liberation of the Philippines” (Tales of the American Empire, 10 December 2021) In this short documentary, military historian Carlton Meyer makes his…
Australian and New Zealand Films
Philip Noyce, “Rabbit-Proof Fence” (2002) Visually this is a beautiful film with an emphasis on the harsh desert and semi-desert environments of Western Australia – but…
Dr Garrett Ryan, “How a Fish Bankrupted the Roman Aristocracy” (Told In Stone, 27 November 2021) In this instalment in his Told In Stones series which…
Martin Rosen, John Hubley, “Watership Down” (1978) A vivid and beautifully presented tale, this British film portrays what might be a foundation myth of an imaginary…
Dr Garrett Ryan, “A Murder Mystery in Roman Egypt” (Told In Stone, 24 November 2021) This entertaining little documentary is actually less a whodunnit tale and…
Carlton Meyer, “The 1964 Coup in Brazil” (Tales of the American Empire, 12 November 2021) This instalment in Meyer’s ongoing series investigating the long history of…
Dr Garrett Ryan, “Vampires in Greek Myth” (Told In Stone, 30 October 2021) Casting our fears regarding death and women who might be less than ideal…
Sidney Lumet, “Murder on the Orient Express” (1974) Initially beginning as a lavish drama set in an exotic 1930s Istanbul, Sidney Lumet’s “Murder on the Orient…
John Blair, “The Man Putin Couldn’t Kill” (2021) Covering the incident in which Russian political / anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny collapsed in pain on a passenger…