A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Andrew Lachman, “Michael Mosley: The Truth About Meat” (2014) Second in a series of documentaries hosted and narrated by BBC science presenter Michael Mosley, this episode…
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…
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…
North American Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Miguel Francis Santiago and Alexander Panov, “Donetsk: An American Glance” (RT Documentary, 2014) Cheerful LA film graduate and investigative journalist Miguel Francis Santiago, fresh from filming…
North American Films, Russian and Soviet Films
Miguel Francis Santiago, “Crimea for Dummies” (RT Documentary, 2014) A unique and interesting film by Los Angeles film school graduate Miguel Francis Santiago, “Crimea for Dummies”…
Artyom Somov, Pavel Burnatov, “Crimea: Unmasking Revolution” (RT.com, 2014) Powered entirely by interviews with Crimean Russians in the street and following people about as they rouse…
“Through Sherlock’s Eyes: The Letter M” (EZ Productions, 2014) Presented by Russian actor Vasily Livanov, known in the West for playing Sherlock Holmes in a highly…
“Exposing Browder / Spisok Braudera” (Rassledovaniye, 2014) At last this Russian documentary exposing the shady activities of the investment fund manager Bill Browder has an English-language…
“Formation of a State” (NovorossiyaTV.com, 24 August 2014) After capturing a group of neo-Nazi fascists fighting for the Poroshenko regime in Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Donetsk National…
British Films, North American Films
Matthew Hill, “Bedlam Behind Bars” (BBC Panorama, 7 July 2014) In a country that was founded as an ambitious social experiment in democracy, freedom and the pursuit…