Saturday, March 19, 2022
Friday, March 18, 2022
Author: Bob Kaufman
Robert Garnell Kaufman was an American Beat poet and surrealist as well as a jazz performance artist and satirist. In France, where his poetry had a large following, he was known as the "black American Rimbaud."
Bio:
Kanal (1957)
In 1944, during the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, Polish Lieutenant Zadra and his resistance fighters use Warsaw's sewer system to escape the German encirclement.
Brilliantly staged and photographed,
this tough and intense war drama compels with its director's sure hand
in delivering his message, which is quite dark, nearly nihilistic.
Halliwell*: "A suffocatingly unpleasant film to watch; its message and technical excellence are undoubted."
Maltin***: "Intense, almost unrelentingly graphic account..."
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
Tuesday, March 15, 2022
The Dissident (2020)
When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to a murder and expose a global cover up.
Extensive and comprehensive documentary on Jamal Khashoggi's murder,the perpetrators and the political motives behind it, although it still remains unclear why a regime would fear a single man so much that it reverts to such a hideous crime.
They Live (1988)
A wanderer without meaning in his life, discovers a pair of sunglasses capable of showing the world the way it truly is.
Modest
and obviously low-budget sci-fi thriller is clearly meant to be a mild
satire and social commentary, but the alien aspect of the story turns it
more into a wild conspiracy theory, spiced with a lot of gung-ho
action.
Halliwell (no star): "A standard action film with an uncertain tone, as if it started out to be something more interesting."
Maltin**: "Satiric sci-fi adventure begins well, degenerates into urban action piece, not helped by awful alien make-up."
Monday, March 14, 2022
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Samson and Delilah (1949)
When strongman Samson rejects the love of the beautiful Philistine woman Delilah, she seeks vengeance that brings horrible consequences they both regret.
Archetypal DeMille biblical spectacle as usual
simplifies its source's tale to a child-friendly level, but offers
colorful entertainment and some memorable scenes, and there's a
subliminal undertone in the love-hate relationship between Samson and
Delilah, which is irritating and fascinating; Hedy Lamarr makes it work.
Halliwell (no star): "Absurd biblical hokum, stodgily narrated and directed, monotonously photographed and edited, and notable only for the 30-second destruction of the temple at the end."
Maltin***: "With expected DeMille touches, this remains a tremendously entertaining film. Mature is surprisingly good as Samson, though his famous fight with lion is hopelessly phony; also difficult to swallow idea of Angela Lansbury being Lamarr's older sister. Sanders supplies the biggest surprise by underplaying his role as the Saran."
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