Change Your Image
Obi-Wan-22
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
11/8/16 (2017)
A wholly impartial snapshot of America, its people and their political thoughts.
I implore everyone to see this documentary. A wholly impartial snapshot of America, its people and their political thoughts. No matter who you are you will love and hate and every minute of this movie. And that is an excellent thing.
"11/8/16" follows 10 or so persons/families on the day of last year's presidential election. That is the entire movie and it's more than enough for any movie. What this movie nails is that it actually captures America. Of course you have your bleeding heart Trumpers and Clintonians. You have whites, blacks and Hispanics. But far more interestingly (and accurate) you have Sikhs, third party voters, non- voters, felons, and even an a man exonerated from death row who is voting in his first election in 30 years. Enough slices of America are covered to get some semblance of an understanding of America as a whole, which is only possible by investigating its smallest pieces and adding it up. This is the fundamental virtue of the movie.
Amassing as many viewpoints as is reasonable and cross-cutting between them doesn't allow the viewer to began an argument and make him or herself feel right. It only allows the viewer to listen, then to listen to another viewpoint, then another, then a viewpoint you had no possibility of considering before you empathize wholeheartedly with every single person on screen. Of course you'll disagree, agree and be indifferent, but it will be impossible not to empathize. There's not one single person in this movie (and dare I say America) that wouldn't have a new understanding of someone who is not in their social sphere. And that, to me, makes this the most powerful and best documentary of the year. It's at times laugh-out-loud funny, profound, academic, truthful and poignant. Five huge stars. On Netflix today.
The Skyjacker's Tale (2016)
A well-crafted and fascinating documentary
Jamie Kastner has made a sensational documentary. Having seen several documentaries lately that consider their entire run time serious and decidedly humorless, it came as a great relief and surprise when "The Skyjacker's Tale" had no problem having fun with serious matters. The movie's editing, music, style and reenactments create a sense of urgency, a desire to learn the story for yourself. It's exciting, entertaining and insightful.
In the Virgin Islands in the 1970's a massacre happens and the man convicted of the crime hijacks a plane to escape his sentence. The movie unfolds in a way where knowing the outcome would lessen the impact so I wan't add anything further. However, I can't emphasize enough how fascinating the actual events are and how well the documentary plays with our interpretation of the main subject. Furthermore, the documentary plays all sides and certainly gives credence to all viewpoints, which is vital for any documentary to work. This will be an overlooked gem, but please give it a shot as it is currently on Netflix.
Saving Brinton (2017)
A solid documentary that loves its subject
Touchingly capturing a man who saves things only when they seem to be beyond disrepair, "Saving Britton" is an uplifting documentary that, while at times needlessly meandering and amateurish, is decidedly enriching.
A Washington, Iowa man, seemingly in the guise of Dumbledore, has faithfully kept a myriad of olde tyme things, but most notably a treasure trove a film canisters and artifacts from the dawn of cinema (as far back as 1895). With the aid of archivists and restorationists some movies that were believed to be forever lost have been found. And that is wonderful and fascinating, but the movie isn't as concerned with that as one might expect. The documentary is clearly focused on the man and his philosophy, which is rural Iowan to its core, utilizing everything to its fullest.
It is indeed touching and even at times profound. Unfortunately a better editor could have made a top notch film, but at no point is the heart of the movie lost. I had a wonderful time at the cinema, basking in the wonders of ancient film and learning again that the past forever speaks to us.
@Me (2016)
Poignant and hilarious short
This short follows a woman on her lonely New Year's Eve walk. Framing every street corner, sidewalk, building and tree with beautiful cinematography our screen steadily gets filled in with Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and everything else. No longer can our main character see anything for what it is, but what a cellphone can make it. An inventive, funny and poignant short. Reminded me of the cubist and fragmented design of "Speed Racer" in its handling of the frame.
Selfied (2016)
Hilarious
An absolutely hilarious short. Examining a selfie-centered woman, this short's laughs are built on a great character and great character development. Nailing the dichotomy of someone who wants universal attention, but can't handle any criticism, this movie brings laughs with dialogue and visuals. I will never forget our main character sitting alone, crying, half-naked while rubbing one out just wanting to be appreciated. Perfect imagery and great hilarity.
A Dark Song (2016)
An unapologetic occultist horror movie.
Woah. This movie is about the occult and it doesn't beat around any bush. We are starting crazy with eight month long occultist rituals from the get-go. The plot, story and characters are all intriguing and well- designed. However, we have a (maybe) $100,000 budget when $3 million would have made an excellent movie. The director gets everything there is to get from his budget, but the script deserved more. Give Spielberg his very needed return to horror with this script and he makes an instant classic. As it is, very creepy with grotesquely good music.
The Sounding (2017)
A fascinating and very well made movie
This is a fascinating and very well made movie. A women decides not to talk, despite being mentally capable, and after her grandfather dies will only talk in Shakespearean quotations. It's a movie that asks the fundamental question of communication and let's you answer it. With a tremendous supporting performance from Harris Yulin, the grandfather, a well designed and written screenplay by newcomers Catherine Eaton and Bryan Delaney and a, quite simply, intriguing plot, this movie certainly succeeds. While it needs a little polish, as it drags in spots in the beginning and doesn't nail its ending, it is already very good nonetheless.
Watani: My Homeland (2016)
A transformation caught on camera
Few people have used 40 minutes to capture more than "Watani: My Homeland." This a harrowing short documentary where the filmmakers allowed themselves to be taken wherever their subjects went. Whether that be the hell-fire of battle, the playful streets of a child, the first day in a foreign land or the empty coffee table of a lover whose lost her lover. The movie lucks out with its fascinating, playful and soul-bearing subjects. And the movie lives with them. At no point did I feel manipulated to make a political stand; manipulated to make a definitive decision; or manipulated to feel for anyone. The movie, like all great documentaries, offers a lens of truth and allows the viewers to be with these brave people for a short period of time. We are allowed to take from it what we will and are not demanded to side with the filmmakers. And what I took away were feelings of loss, sadness, joy with pain, pain with love, freedom and above all hope. This family transforms before our eyes, but never truly leaves their Watani.
Keepers of the Game (2016)
A unique and moving sports story told with adept filmmaking
I just witnessed what may be the best sports documentary I've ever seen in "Keepers of the Game." I think this does indeed top "Hoop Dreams." This movie has 25 votes on IMDb so no one has seen this movie, but I hope it starts getting the attention it deserves. This movie takes place in upstate New York on a Mohawk Native American Reservation. Teenage female members of the tribe want to play lacrosse, a sport created by their ancestors, but meet immediate resistance by public funding at their school, chastisements from their fellow students and worst of all, outright denial by their tribe (since they are women). This movie captures all of that conflict with adept understanding. There are moments littered throughout the first 20 minutes where I genuinely cried as I felt as squeezed and walked over as these girls. It does an absolutely marvelous job of putting the viewer in their head-space.
And as a sports movie, this picture somehow finds the appropriate tone, whether by editing style, music, or where to put the camera, for every individual lacrosse match. On the fly, they seem to figure out the story-line of the game and cinematically capture that. Unbelievably adept filmmaking. I could not recommend this movie highly enough. It's on Netflix Instant right now. Go view this.
198 (2015)
A film that flourishes as a short comedy
She doesn't understand why, but a woman is stuck. She's at that part of life where one doesn't know where one's at or whether the path they're on will lead to a happy future. This predicament is manifested right on frame. The camera is always stationary, suggesting from the start, that this story is going nowhere. But that's the beauty of this short. It captures life's dilemmas and with great comedy. Seemingly nothing is played for laughs, but they simply emanate from wonderful characters and ingenious situations. Utilizing the rotating turns of a bowling game so that all three characters have to talk to each other individually provided great folly and added immensely to the storytelling. A seemingly simple short wonderfully ends with a question of which none of the three characters have a good answer. Fantastic!
Hon-ja (2015)
A low budget indie movie made by a skilled directer, but without clear vision
For a movie that had my attention rapt for the first hour it's amazing at how far it fell off by the end. A man sees an assault at a rooftop from across the street, but before he can call the authorities he is spotted and attempts to hide. The story alone worked well and the genre elements played with in the first part of the movie were very effective, but the movie was determined to completely undermine your assumptions as it progressed. And when that worked in conjunction with the story it was trying tell about a man in deep despair and depression it really worked. But then it slipped the rug out from under you again. And again. And again. And again. And eventually I didn't care anymore. There was a point when a particularly effective character arc was revealed in a bathroom that would have been a perfect ending point that would have left me puzzling over the movie long after I had left the theater. But the movie continued on at blisteringly slow pace for another half hour. Too bad, because the set up was very good.
The Alchemist Cookbook (2016)
A movie with a lot of promise that doesn't deliver
The movie is, from the get-go, a tale about a man who's having a mental breakdown. Then some horror elements are introduced. But there isn't any push or pull for the viewer. We know none of this is real so the drama is lacking. Without any narrative drama we are left to follow a character who is given zero backstory and is grossly uninteresting. There are moments of great dialogue between the only two characters. Amari Cheatom is particularly good. In addition, there is some superb sound design for the horror surrounding us. The director wisely shows us little and leaves the horror all to our imagination and the sound design is the best element of that. But it's all for not as the story plods along at an uninteresting pace and ends up right where we suspected it would all along.
Alena (2015)
A well-worn story told very well
This movie proves that Hollywood is getting worse and worse at making horror movies. There is nothing unique or special about "Alena"'s story yet the movie is engaging, unsettling and genuinely unnerving by superior craftsmanship. The story takes place at a Swedish private school filled with positively "mean girls." When a public school student is thrust into the system after having left her school on mysterious grounds the story begins. All of the girls are perfectly cast. How can you not hate them?
When the horror and thrills begin they are uniquely surprising, not resting on the tropes of the well-trodden story. This movie knows what it is and provided a very enjoyable evenings worth of entertainment.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A story within a gallery of art
I don't usually write comments, but this movie made me think about it for so long that I had to share my views.
First off, this is a fantastic film. I love Stanley Kubrick's previous works and this is one of his best. I was always astounded about how they did that. I can't even see some of the stuff they did now it was so good.
But there was more than that. There was a story within a gallery of art that made me think two, three, four times before coming to a conclusion. If a movie can make you think about it for over a day than you know it's a classic.
I was always trying to catch up with what was going on and I love it when a film can make me do that. I always wanted to know what was behind that cliff, that moon, etc. My heart was pounding all the time especially when Kubrick cleverly used only the oxygen tank and the man's breathing as sound. The movie was always one step ahead of me.
I know I've rambled on, but I would like to close by saying that Star Wars is my favorite movie. I like action, I like speed, and I like loud sound, but as they say: "Opposites attract" and this was the one that attracted me. This is one of the best movies of all time.
Nuremberg (2000)
TNT has done it again. A compelling story about the Nuremberg trials
One of the better made-for-TV movies ever made. It gives a very good story with great character stories as well. In some places it makes you feel sorry for the Nazis and see a good side in Hitler and at the same time it shows the terrible horror done at Nazi concentration camps with actual historical footage. This is a good movie and I recommend you watch it.
U-571 (2000)
This is a perfect, solid-acting, film! 10-10 Stars!
When you're listing to those depth charges, you can feel the fear of the sailors. It feels like you are actually on U-571! It is the most realistic submarine movie yet made. And with a solid script like this and the best acting I've seen in a long time, sound effects that are clearly the best of the year, you'll see what an excellent movie this is. I recommend it to everybody! This is a 10star movie. Even if you don't like action, it sure is a thriller!