A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Reviews of films made in Canada and United States including all films made by Hollywood.
British Films, North American Films
Kenneth Branagh, “Cinderella” (2015) Being a Disney production, this live-action version of the tale as Disney tells it can only go so far in its reinterpretation…
German and German-language Films, North American Films
Maria Pia Mascaro, “Hollywood and The Pentagon: A Dangerous Liaison / Marschbefehl für Hollywood” (2003) People may be surprised that the United States Department of Defense…
North American Films, South African Films
Neil Blomkamp, “Chappie” (2015) In amongst the ruined buildings, the body count, the junk metal and unexploded cluster munitions that form the detritus long after the…
Kenneth Anger, “Invocation of My Demon Brother” (1969) If like me, you’ve already seen a considerable number of films by Kenneth Anger, this one won’t add…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Martin Scorsese, “George Harrison: Living in the Material World (Part 1)” (2011) A really very thoughtful and fascinating documentary (in its first half at least) on…