A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Australian and New Zealand Films
Karina Holden, “Blue” (2017) Instead of bashing its audiences over the head with facts ‘n’ figures about the impact of human activities on oceans and marine…
Celso R Garcia, “Origins: The Journey of Humankind (Season 1, Episode 3: The Power of Money)” (2017) One viewing of this episode of the National Geographic…
Eastern European Films, German and German-language Films
Nick Baker-Monteys, “The Final Journey / Leanders Letzte Reise” (2017) The plot may be a familiar one – aged pensioner Eduard Leander (Jurgen Prochnow), recently widowed,…
French and French-language Films
Luis Bunuel, “Diary of a Chambermaid” (1964) Of the Spanish director’s late-autumn career in which he directed classics like “Belle de Jour”, “The Discreet Charm of…
Tim Usborne, “Secret Science: Chemical and Biological Weapons” (2016) In 2016, the year of its centenary, Britain’s major defence science and technology park, popularly known as…
Isabel Coixet, “The Bookshop” (2017) Directed by a Catalan-Spanish director, this film exudes provincial English kitsch in its setting, its stereotyped and sometimes frosty characters, and…
Raoul Peck, “I Am Not Your Negro” (2017) Initially an expose of the modern history of the United States as seen from the viewpoint of black…
Ildiko Endelyi, “On Body and Soul / Teströl és lélekröl ” (2017) A quirky romance drama on the universal human desire for connection with others, and the struggles…
Sam Ellis, “This jet fighter is a disaster, but Congress keeps buying it” (Vox channel, 26 January 2017) Google the term “F-35” and among the suggestions…
James Corbett, “The Corbett Report (Episode 33: Meet Edward Bernays, Master of Propaganda)” (February 2008) It might be a bit dated, what with social media platforms…