Movie #1161 "Last Day of Freedom" is well wroth the time/effort to stream this film (if you have netflix) to see what probably will win an Academy Award 2016 for the best short documentary. It is amazing how this story unfolds. At first, the narrator (Manny's brother) suggests that this film will be one case that might persuade us to be against capital punishment, but the film, by the end, is about so much more (and they are listed below in the netflix synopsis). But what makes this one stand out in the crowd of the other short documentaries is the way it is done --- I won't be able to do this style justice if I just say it is animated, because it is so much more --- sometimes the pictures become symbolic in color or visual, sometimes the camera just stays there for a while on one picture or prison bars or whatever.........and then there's this mystery he dangles to the viewer: What exactly did Manny do to the person to get the death penalty, and he rightfully withholds that info until the very end. So cool. I would be so proud if I put together this film, and it can be very persuasive if you are in favor of the death penalty ----- it makes me think twice about the issue! And isn't that what the creative process (like film) is all about? See it, if you can!
"LAST DAY OF FREEDOM"
2015 31 minutes Oscar nominated 2016 Short documentary I'd give it 5 out of 5 stars
Netflix synopsis: A man's choice to stand by a brother who commits murder puts him at the nexus of racism, war, mental health care issues and criminal justice.
Genres: Adult animation, documentaries, biographical This movie is: Provocative
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Movie #1160 ........................."Chau, Beyond the Lines"
Movie #1160 "Chau, Beyond the Lines" is well worth the time to stream on netflix because it gives a lot of information on a variety of subjects. Just a slapdash list from me: shows his hopes and dreams, suggests the extent of the Agent Orange problem (2 million + in Viet Nam), shows the don't care attitude of some nurses and parents, shows where the kids live and how they cope with their physical problems, tourists take pictures of these kids as if they are in a zoo, kids make a family of each other in the asylum (hospital), some parents take the money the government gives to the kids for their disability (like in Chau's case), shows how difficult life is for him once he decides to move out and go back home, and then once he goes it on his own, getting job and apartment, etc. The camera just goes to the various places and isn't preachy at all, which is what I liked about it --- the viewer makes up his mind how he should feel about the situation. I didn't know how extensive the damage was in our use of Agent Orange so this was very enlightening.
"CHAU, BEYOND THE LINES"
2015 33 minutes Nominated for Oscar 2016 for Short Documentary I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars
Netflix synopsis: In this inspiring short documentary a teenager becomes an artist despite birth defects resulting from Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War.
Genres: Documentaries, biographical The movie is: Inspiring
"CHAU, BEYOND THE LINES"
2015 33 minutes Nominated for Oscar 2016 for Short Documentary I'd give it 4 out of 5 stars
Netflix synopsis: In this inspiring short documentary a teenager becomes an artist despite birth defects resulting from Agent Orange used in the Vietnam War.
Genres: Documentaries, biographical The movie is: Inspiring
Friday, February 19, 2016
Movie #1157 ........................."World of Tomorrow"
Movie #1157 "World of Tomorrow" is one of the few Oscar-nominated animated shorts that you can stream and watch before the Academy Awards, and I did just that a few minutes ago. I have now seen three out of the 5 (am trying to find "The Bear Story" and " Prologue" yet) Anyway, I watched this twice because I thought maybe I was too tired to watch it the first time, but when I watched it again, I had the same feeling --- it is too long and boring in the middle, even if it is only 16 minutes. The animation isn't that good to sustain interest, and the little girl, though hysterical and my favorite part of this film, doesn't step in enough with comments in the middle, so it drags a bit. It is a cool idea and I think has a good chance taking this category, but we'll see next Sunday. The film, because of the subject matter being a look into this little girl's depressing future, is a downer, but it ends on an up note, and that's good!
"World of Tomorrow" 2015 16 minutes I would give it 3 stars out of 5.
Cloning may be in our future, but living the best today is still the most important life lesson.
"World of Tomorrow" 2015 16 minutes I would give it 3 stars out of 5.
Cloning may be in our future, but living the best today is still the most important life lesson.
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Movie #1156 .........................Cartel Land
Movie #1156 Cartel Land" is a documentary nominated for an Academy Award this year, and I think it is one of the better ones (I have seen them all except "Amy" and this seems to be the best to me, so far). It is concerned about the vigilante groups that have set themselves up by the Mexican/Arizona Border to prevent the drug cartels from doing what they have doing for several years: kidnapping, mercilessly killing children, raping, etc. to the innocent people who live around the area. Mileres is their leader and the main group is the autodefenseria (or something like that) --- they we are white t-shirts and carry guns and they are the common man, protecting the common people who live in the area. The problem is when some of them start to commit atrocities themselves. Then, the people question: are these people any better? And they can't go to the government for help because some of them are corrupt. But these people continually ask for help, and the government can see there's a problem, so they decide to take the autodef.'s idea and don black t-shirts and use a different name and put the head of the autodefen. group in jail--- and by the end of the film, we seem to be at the same place ---- what a mess! and if you have been trying to understand the border drug problem, I'm not sure this film will clear everything up, but it does explain the foggy goings on by the drug cartels. I thought it was fast paced, some of the footage I was surprised they had gotten, and I thought it was informative on how confusing this situation is and that there don't seem to be any pat answers to the problem. Kudos to those who put this film together and to those who nominated it, and thus brought this subject to the forefront, because it is truly an important one! I'd give this 3.8 stars out of 5 (and I saw this on t.v. --- actually, I t-voed it and watched it at a later date so it is easily available to see, I think)
2015 Rated R
Cartel Land
With the law failing to protect citizens from the drug cartels wreaking havoc in Mexico, vigilante groups have sprung up on both sides of the border. This potent documentary tracks two such groups, one in Mexico's Michoacán state and one in Arizona.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Movie #1155 ........................."Madoff"
Movie #1155 "Madoff" was a film I caught most of on t.v. last week, and I found it an unbelievable story that deserved to be told. The actors were all very strong, and I thought this was one of Dreyfus's finest roles --- he sometimes tends to chew up the scenery, but this is a character that could be like that. I can't say the film gave me much insight into just how detailed his illegal activities were, but I got the general idea of how he robbed these people (some of them their livelihoods, operations and futures) and just what an unbelievable scumbag he was to his friends and family! I forgot how his one son committed suicide because he was so ashamed. The film goes into all that, and his trysts behind his wife's back, etc. I'm not sure how honest of a portrayal it was, but I also watched the short documentary afterwards showing us the real people and going into more detail on the consequences of this "joker's" dastardly deeds. It was fascinating t.v. watching and better than the debates, for sure.
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