Asparagus: colourful surreal exploration of female sexuality
Suzan Pitt, “Asparagus” (1979) A stunning and very colourful film short with a distinct animation style reminiscent of old cartoons from the 1930s, “Asparagus” is an…
American Independent Films
The Thomas Beale Cipher: good-looking collage / rotoscoped animation film let down by small scale of plot and concept
Andrew S Allen, “The Thomas Beale Cipher” (2010) Unusual collage-type animated film that’s based on the legend about the three cypher-texts that supposedly reveal the location…
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired – an examination of celebrity culture and corruption in US justice system
Marina Zenovich, “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” (2009) On the surface this film is about Polish-French director Roman Polanski’s conviction for having sex with an underage…
An exceedingly demeaning portrait of a significant feminist / anarchist figure in “Emma Goldman – An exceedingly dangerous woman”
Mel Bucklin, “Emma Goldman – An Exceedingly Dangerous Woman” (2003) This portrait of Emma Goldman, the American woman anarchist / political activist / writer / feminist…
A is for Atom (dir. Carl Urbano): educational propaganda film presents a mildly benevolent view of nuclear energy
Carl Urbano, “A is for Atom” (1952) Created and produced by John Sutherland and sponsored by General Electric, this promotional / education film is aimed at junior…
Primer: a hit-and-miss film about causality, consequences and a road of good intentions leading to hell
Shane Carruth, “Primer” (2004) A low-budget film (it cost about US$7,000 to make) about four enterpreneurial engineer / scientist friends and work colleagues working on an…
Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land: excellent and well-presented documentary on the role of news media in abetting oppression
Sut Jhally and Bathsheba Ratzkoff, “Peace, Propaganda and the Promised Land” (2003) This is a highly informative documentary on the role that the US media plays…
The Age of Transitions: film makes a plea for greater awareness of insidious forces threatening freedom and democracy
Aaron Franz, “The Age of Transitions” (2008) Interesting documentaries about power and control of human societies seem to be falling into my lap like there are…
Human Resources: documentary on mind control is mind-exploding
Scott Noble, “Human Resources” (2010) What can I say? This two-hour documentary on the history of government and elite attempts to control human behaviour and direct…
Where Evil Dwells: superficially slight and crude slasher flick packs a heavyweight wallop
David Wojnarowicz and Tommy Turner, “Where Evil Dwells” (1985) Loosely based on an actual American court case in which 17 year old youth Ricky Kasso killed…