A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Laura Poitras, “Citizenfour” (2014) As both fly-on-the-wall real-time documentary and historical thriller, “Citizenfour” is a riveting snapshot of the period in mid-2013 when US whistle-blower Edward Snowden…
BBC News Interview with President Bashar al Assad (9 February 2015) For an example of grace under pressure, I think few people can acquit themselves as…
Hiroshi Inagaki, “Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto” (1954) One of the most famous people in Japanese culture is the swordsman and mystic Musashi Miyamoto, author of “Gorin…
John David Ebert, “Mythologies of the Evolution of Consciousness: Oswald Spengler” (Astrological Institute in Scottsdale, Arizona, March, 2001) According to his Wikipedia entry, Oswald Spengler was…
Kenneth Anger, “The Man We Want to Hang” (2002) After over 20 years in which he made no films, the American cult underground film director Kenneth…
Dear Under Southern Eyes Readers, Yes I did forget to post my customary round-up of the films I saw in 2014 and before we knew it,…
Martin Scorsese, “George Harrison: Living in the Material World (Part 2)” (2011) I had expected the second part of this documentary on George Harrison to be…
James Marsh, “The Theory of Everything” (2014) Despite the title, this biopic about English cosmologist Stephen Hawking is less about his work and its importance to…
Kenneth Anger, “Puce Moment” (1949) In the space of just 6 minutes, this short acts as a homage to Kenneth Anger’s grandmother, a dressmaker and designer…
Kenneth Anger, “Scorpio Rising” (1964) One of the most amazing concoctions of film collages and music soundtracks, “Scorpio Rising” is perhaps Kenneth Anger’s most famous and…