Security guard Richard Jewell saves hundreds of lives from an exploding pipe bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, only to be railroaded as the prime suspect by an incompetent FBI and cynical press. Based on a true story. [ Richard Jewell credits: Dir: Clint Eastwood/ Paul Walter Hauser, Kathy Bates, Sam Rockwell/ 131 min/ Drama/ Incompetent government, Government as bigot, Law … [Read more...]
FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers | Film Review
Two romantically-involved FBI agents assigned to “objectively and dispassionately” investigate possible crimes by the Trump presidency privately discuss their loathing of the president and his supporters. [ FBI Lovebirds: Undercovers credits: Dir: Richard Kuhlman/ 82 min/ Written by: Phelim McAleer/ Dean Cain, Kristy Swanson, Bruce Nozick, Christopher T. Wood/ Film (Stage … [Read more...]
Pad Man | Film Review
An heroic and independent entrepreneur creates a low-cost sanitary pad for the world’s poor, but must overcome cultural shame associated with menstruation to get his invention accepted. Based on a true story. [ Pad Man credits: Dir: R. Balki/ Akshay Kumar, Radhika Apte, Sonam Kapoor/ 140 min/ Biography, Comedy, Drama/ Creator-as-Hero, Individualism/ India/ 2018/ aka Padman … [Read more...]
Lord Jeff | Film Review
An orphan boy is saved from a criminal gang and reformed by a private charity. [ Lord Jeff credits: Dir: Sam Wood/ Freddie Bartholomew, Mickey Rooney, Charles Coburn/ 85 min/ Family, Drama/ Voluntarism/ 1938] No trailer available. Lord Jeff is a delightful, uplifting classic film that also highlights one of the greatest private charities of all time: the “National … [Read more...]
Bitter Harvest | Film Review
A young Ukrainian fights for his freedom, and to survive, as occupying Soviet troops deliberately starve his country into submission during the infamous Holodomor holocaust. [ Bitter Harvest credits: Dir: George Mendeluk/ Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Terence Stamp/ 103 min/ Drama, Romance, History/ Democide, Anti-socialism/ 2017] “The land belongs to the State. You, your … [Read more...]
Kinky Boots | Film Review
When a young man inherits a failing shoe factory, he discovers that the only way to save it is to abandon its traditional product and manufacture…custom boots for transgenders?! Based on a true story. [ Kinky Boots credits: Dir: Julian Jarrold/ Chiwetel Ejiofor, Joel Edgerton, Sarah-Jane Potts/ 107 min/ Comedy, Drama/ Creator-as-hero, Individualism, Social … [Read more...]
Ghostbusters (1984)
An entrepreneurial ghost-removal service runs into opposition from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) -- and other creatures of evil. [ Ghostbusters credits: Dir: Ivan Reitman/ Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis/ 105 min/ Comedy, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Horror/ Creator-as-Hero, Anti-Regulation, Pro-Capitalism] "Personally, I like the university. … [Read more...]
The Death of Stalin (2017)
When socialist dictator Joseph Stalin dies unexpectedly, a chaotic power struggle between surviving Soviet officials ensues. [ The Death of Stalin credits: Dir: Armando Iannucci/ Jason Isaacs, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko/ 106 min/ Comedy, Drama/ Anti-socialism/ 2017] External Reviews "This delightfully silly movie is an intelligent, hilarious circus crammed full of … [Read more...]
Shin Godzilla (2016)
Godzilla returns to attack Japan, but this time with an unlikely ally: a sclerotic Japanese government that is disastrously slow to respond. [ Shin Godzilla credits: Dir: Hideaki Anno, Shinji Higuchi/ Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara/ 120 min/ Action-Adventure, Sci-Fi/ Incompetent Government, Individualism/ a.k.a. Godzilla Resurgence/ Japan] Mary … [Read more...]
Good Bye Lenin (2003)
A young man in newly liberated East Germany tries to hide the fall of communism from his enthusiastically socialist mother because doctors say the shock would kill her. [ Good Bye Lenin credits: Dir: Wolfgang Becker/ 121 min/ Comedy, Foreign/ Anti-socialism] This German-made comedy captures, in its own ironic way, the fall of communism far better than any straightforward … [Read more...]