movie review
Movie reviews of popular politically-driven films that portray the good, bad and ugly of government happenings.
Documentary Review: 'I Am Here'
In 2019, a group of white nationalists in South Africa started engaging in Holocaust denial. One woman, a longtime resident of South Africa, responded not by meeting their hate and ignorance with more hate but by bravely asking these young men to meet with her and talk with her and hear her story. That woman’s name is Ella Blumenthal, she’s 98 years old and she survived stints in three different German extermination camps during World War 2.
Sean PatrickPublished 2 years ago in The SwampReview of 'Munich: The Edge of War'
I guess this was a perfect night to watch Munich: The Edge of War on Netflix. Russia is on the verge of invading Ukraine. The Trumpists -- including Trump himself -- have still not been brought to justice for their insurrection and attack on our Capitol last January 6. And the movie is based on the novel Munich by Robert Harris, author of the alternate-history masterpiece Fatherland, in which Germany won the Second World War. Not as much of a masterpiece as Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle (made into an incandescent series on Amazon), for sure, but I'd watch a movie based on a Harris novel any time.
Paul LevinsonPublished 2 years ago in The SwampDocumentary Review: 'American Gadfly' Pays Lovely Tribute to Progressive Icon Mike Gravel
American Gadfly is one of the most exciting and fun documentaries I have seen in some time. Most political documentaries are so dry that they make great kindling. That’s certainly not the case with American Gadfly which is colorful and engaging while also being intelligent, thoughtful and enlightening. If you don’t know who former United States Senator Mike Gravel was or you think he was just some crackpot who ran for President a couple of times, this documentary sets the record straight about a hero of Progressive Democratic politics and the generation he so unexpectedly enlivened.
Sean PatrickPublished 2 years ago in The SwampDocumentary Review: 'Punch 9 for Harold Washington'
Punch 9 for Harold Washington documents the rise to Chicago Mayor of former Congressman Harold Washington, a brilliant, charismatic, and dedicated reformer. After years of patronage determining the fate of Chicago under the Mayor Daley regime, Washington’s rise to the highest office in the third largest city in the country felt like a breath of fresh air. The optimism and heart of Washington’s leadership felt like a new dawn and made his far too early death all the more tragic, especially as Chicago sank back to the depths of Daley era duplicitousness.
Sean PatrickPublished 2 years ago in The SwampA Critical Review of Dim Sum Funeral
Back in May 2010, I decided to watch a film called Dim Sum Funeral. I had been interested in Asian culture since the end of my sophomore year in high school. Maybe even a little before then. In the spring of 2010, I was just starting to learn a little bit of Mandarin Chinese. So, this film around a supposed-deceased matriarch of a Chinese American family caught my interest. My family still had digital cable and also had a free one year subscription to HBO that ran out by the end of the month. It was also Asian Heritage Month, which I wasn't completely aware of until May 2010. Dim Sum Funeral revolves around a dysfunctional ABC (American Born Chinese) family called the Xiaos. In the film, these group of five siblings who can't stand each other spend a week together planning their mother's funeral and trying to "resolve their differences" with each other. Their children also spend time together as well.
Jessica SmithPublished 3 years ago in The SwampMovie Review - "The Art of Letting Go: The Erica Jones Story"
The fabric of building wealth and generational greatness in Black America’s communities has historically been woven together by two key elements: Black-owned business enterprises and the strong families that incorporate them.
Victor TrammellPublished 3 years ago in The SwampThe Swamp’ Review: An HBO Documentary About Three ‘Drain the Swamp!’ Republicans Who Can’t See Their Own Swamp
If you want to meet a Republican politician who’s the ultimate poster boy for shameless apple-polishing — the kind of eager conservative loyalist who would crawl across broken glass to shine Donald Trump’s shoes — you should watch “The Swamp,” the new HBO documentary, and get a load of Matt Gaetz, a congressman from Florida who got swept into the U.S. House of Representatives by the Trump tidal wave.
Jordan RobertPublished 3 years ago in The SwampContextualizing Terror: Why 102 Minutes That Changed America's Footage is Morally Acceptable
This is an essay that I wrote for a film class in high school last year about the History documentary 102 Minutes that Changed America. The essay as a whole summarizes my opinions on the importance of archival footage, documentary filmmaking, historical preservation and education, and filmmaking as a medium. Unfortunately, 102 Minutes is a rare documentary and its DVD is currently out of print. There are still DVDs available on Amazon if you're curious about the documentary, but I hope that someday the documentary will be accessible for a wide audience again.
Jamie LammersPublished 3 years ago in The SwampSnowden(2016) Movie Review
In the event that Edward Snowden didn't exist, Oliver Stone may have concocted him. One can envision a Stone film about a previous worker of the U.S. government who gets baffled with his country when he learns the profundity of its misleading. Truth be told, that last sentence could depict a couple of Stone movies, thus "Snowden" has been generally foreseen as a re-visitation of structure for the head of show-stoppers like "Unit," "JFK" and "Brought into the world on the Fourth of July." It's his first film in quite a while and his first with a genuine story behind it in just about 10 years ("W.").
100xgems.netPublished 3 years ago in The SwampMovie Review: 'The Mauritanian'
While it has slipped from the American public consciousness, the international community will likely not soon forget what America did at so-called ‘Black Sites’ around the globe and at the well known island prison of Guantanamo Bay. Many of us would like to put this memory out of our minds and pretend like it was not important. Movies like the new legal drama The Mauritanian refuse to allow that to happen.
Sean PatrickPublished 3 years ago in The SwampIncredible Documentaries To Watch If You Liked A Life On Our Planet
David Attenborough’s A Life On Our Planet, one of the most talked-about documentaries, is a living reference of a historian who has seen the planet. The film was released on 4 October 2020 on Netflix alongside the book of the same name.
karen jodes capananPublished 3 years ago in The SwampSocialism, Revolution and Foreign Policy: A Black Panther Analysis
Black Panther is one of the greatest comic book movies ever made. The film is rich with visual style, overflowing with culture, and completely immersive into a literally unseen world. This analysis of the film is somewhat spoiler-laden, assuming that the reader has seen the film and understands the plot. This analysis is more focused on the ideas, symbolism, themes, and philosophies in the movie. The YouTube channel Wisecrack has already explored some of the ideas in the film, and this analysis is an attempt to explore them further, build upon them, and explore other ideas that Wisecrack did not cover.
Johnny RingoPublished 3 years ago in The Swamp