A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
Films made with an obvious bias to serve a larger agenda or to mitigate a controversial topic and make it safe for general public consumption.
Paddy Russell, “Doctor Who: Invasion of the Dinosaurs” (1974) That the eponymous beasties of the title of this Doctor Who adventure were so poorly realised visually,…
Douglas Camfield, “Doctor Who: The Invasion” (Season 6, 1968) This eight-part serial featuring Patrick Troughton as the second incarnation of the beloved British sci-fi hero Doctor…
French and French-language Films
Olivier Assayas, “The Wizard of the Kremlin” (2025) Based on the novel of the same name by Giuliano da Empoli, published in 2022, “The Wizard of…
Sergei Loznitsa, “Two Prosecutors” (2025) An earnest historical drama, based on a short novel by Soviet physicist / writer Georgy Demidov (1908 – 1987), this film…
Michael Anderson, “Logan’s Run” (1976) Admittedly this film has not aged well over the past half-century: its sets look bad; its music soundtrack turns tired and…
British Films, North American Films
Lee Tamahori, “Die Another Day” (2002) For the twentieth movie in a film franchise celebrating 40 years, the scriptwriters were tasked to come up with a…
Desiree Akhavan, “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” (2018) Set in 1993, this coming-of-age drama follows a teenaged girl’s sudden entry into a cruel world of psychological…
Michael Kirk, “Pelosi’s Power” (2022) Purporting to be an examination of the career and legacy of US Congress representative Nancy Pelosi, the current Speaker of the…
Daniel Vernon, “House of Maxwell (Episode 3)” (2022) Finally we reach the third and last episode of this sorry series supposedly investigating the scandals surrounding past…
Daniel Vernon, “House of Maxwell (Episode 2)” (2022) As with the opening episode of this three-part documentary series on the scandals surrounding Robert Maxwell and his…