Me and Orson Welles (2008)
All's Fair in love and Theater.
Filmmaker(s): Richard Linklater
New York, 1937. A teenager hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant.
Red Cliff (2008)
The future will be decided.
Filmmaker(s): John Woo
In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.
09 Feb Red Cliff (2008)
Tectonic Extremes I am not a fan of Woo, and the reason becomes more stark when you compare this to Zhang‘s work. Zhang creates a world of grace in which people move, affected by the laws of that world. They can act, based on the...
Parkland (2013)
November 22, 1963, 12:38 pm - A trauma patient is rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas. His name is President John F. Kennedy.
Filmmaker(s): Peter Landesman
November 22nd, 1963 was a day that changed the world forever — when young American President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. This film follows, almost in real time, a handful of individuals forced to make split-second decisions after an event that would change their lives and forever alter the world’s landscape.
06 Feb Parkland (2013)
Lossy Compression The great idea here is the assumption that we already have a rich movie in our lives about the assassination, then to simply give us a handful of episodes about three people, real people. These episodes will deliver what happened with certified fidelity....
The Monuments Men (2014)
It was the greatest art heist in history
Filmmaker(s): George Clooney
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on seven over-the-hill, out-of-shape museum directors, artists, architects, curators, and art historians who went to the front lines of WWII to rescue the world’s artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and return them to their rightful owners. With the art hidden behind enemy lines, how could these guys hope to succeed?
05 Feb The Monuments Men (2014)
The Diary I am thankful that Clooney is working. I’ve heard him speak as himself; he is a good man, interested in good things. I forgive him his lack of range as an actor, because the characters he plays are so engaging. And he made...
Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)
Love Honour Revenge.
Filmmaker(s): Takashi Miike
A tale of revenge, honor and disgrace, centering on a poverty-stricken samurai who discovers the fate of his ronin son-in-law, setting in motion a tense showdown of vengeance against the house of a feudal lord.
05 Feb Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai (2011)
Bamboozled What a lesson in filmmaking! More or less the same script, but radically different films. And insofar as viewers want a moral, these work on two different aspects of society. The original was in the tradition of Ozu: flat, stationary camera and balanced greys....
Dragon Blade (2015)
When the Eagle meets the Dragon
Filmmaker(s): Daniel Lee
Huo An, the commander of the Protection Squad of the Western Regions, was framed by evil forces and becomes enslaved. On the other hand, a Roman general escapes to China after rescuing the Prince. The heroic duo meet in the Western Desert and a thrilling story unfolds.
04 Feb Dragon Blade (2015)
Government Clerks Somewhere This is the second of the big budget films I have seen recently that are funded by the Beijing government, have an overt propaganda message, revisit a key historic event that shaped the current nation, have a framing with modern young people...
Invictus (2009)
His people needed a leader. He gave them a champion.
Filmmaker(s): Clint Eastwood
Newly elected President Nelson Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's rugby team as they make their historic run to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Championship match.
19 Jan Invictus (2009)
Locker Room Lockup To my mind, this is less about South Africa, sport and Mandela than about another man. Oh, the drama was really there. It doesn’t matter that it was not as significant in uniting a nation as depicted. How could it be? How...
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Filmmaker(s): Chiwetel Ejiofor
Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
18 Jan The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Stealing Energy This is well enough made to hide its nature, what we used to call Hallmark movies. These are films that tell a story without irony, narrative elaboration or recognition of its cinematic conveyance. The closer to reality and the fewer theatrics the better....
Napoleon (2023)
He came from nothing. He conquered everything.
Filmmaker(s): Ridley Scott
An epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine.
09 Jan Napoleon (2023)
Lettered Narration Interesting characters make interesting films, so we are led to believe. Filmmakers certainly believe it, and here is one of the most interesting historical figures ever. So why not? Especially since you have budget, a master filmmaker and good actors. But usually it...
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
The Fiery Cross of the Ku Klux Klan!
Filmmaker(s): D.W. Griffith
Two families, abolitionist Northerners the Stonemans and Southern landowners the Camerons, intertwine. When Confederate colonel Ben Cameron is captured in battle, nurse Elsie Stoneman petitions for his pardon. In Reconstruction-era South Carolina, Cameron founds the Ku Klux Klan, battling Elsie's congressman father and his African-American protégé, Silas Lynch.
