120 posts categorized "War"

January 17, 2023

WILDCAT

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

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ColeSmithey.comMore Direct Cinema than documentary, "Wildcat" takes an invisible approach to capturing its unfolding narrative.

Melissa Lesh and co-director Trevor Beck Frost spent several years working in the Peruvian rainforest with American wildlife rehabilitation specialist Samantha Zwicker and British Afghanistan war veteran Harry Turner.

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Samantha and Harry have what it takes to handle living in the middle of the jungle. They make for a badass team. Naturally, carnal romance enters their entwined lives.

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Both Samantha and Harry do battle with personal demons, his from war experiences, hers from growing up with an abusive alcoholic father.

Harry struggles with depression.

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Samantha is more of a trooper. She doesn't wallow in the past.

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Raising a lost ocelot cub for the 18 months it takes for the fierce creature to be released into the wild, allows for a similar trajectory for our complex leading characters, Samantha and Harry.

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This is the first time such a rescue and release has ever been attempted.

No rule book for this shit.

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Suffice it to say "Wildcat" is a deeply personal film that makes a transparent comparison between the jungles of Peru, and the jungle of society that we all traverse.

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Challenging, thought-provoking, and suspenseful, "Wildcat" is a lot of movie.

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Hearts will be broken.

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Hearts will be healed.

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Long live the wildcat.

Rated R. 106 mins.

5 Stars“ColeSmithey.com“

Cozy Cole

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March 20, 2022

ATTICA

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

Welcome!

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon.

Thanks a lot acorns!

Your kind generosity keeps the reviews coming!

Cole Smithey on Patreon



AtticaNo justice 'till Brooklyn.

When Al Pacino’s Sonny Wortzik walks from the bank shouting “Attica, Attica!” at the gathered throng in Sidney Lumet’s “Dog Day Afternoon,” it was powerful code that the crowd and cops understood.

Those citizens knew the atrocities committed by a racist American authoritarian militia willing to kill its own members so long as they got to savor an orgy of killing black prisoners like shooting pickles in a barrel. 

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More unspeakable brutalities followed.

Sick depravity.

Vomiting may occur.

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Authorities rewriting history as it's being made is nothing new.

What do you know? 

Rated TV-MA. 116 mins. 

5 Stars

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon. Thanks a lot pal! Every bit helps keep the reviews coming.

Cole Smithey on Patreon

March 05, 2022

JUST A GIGOLO

Screen Shot 2022-03-04 at 3.37.05 PMIt's an understatement to say that David Bowie carries this flawed film.

However, Bowie's follow-up to "The Man Who Fell To Earth" is a bitter gem if only for that reason.

Bowie is never less than stunning.

That "Just A Gigolo" also features Marlene Dietrich's final film appearance, makes for value added.

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Director David Hemmings (of "Blow Up" fame) has his heart in the right place about showing Berlin's lead up to adopting Hitler's Aryan rhetoric.

Best intentions aren't enough for poor writing, or editing, which ever the case may be.

Screen Shot 2022-03-05 at 9.21.44 PM

Still, queer logic gets its say. 

Rated. 105 mins. (U.S. version)

2 Stars

COLE SMITHEY

Groupthink doesn't live here, critical thought does.

This ad-free website is dedicated to Agnès Varda and to Luis Buñuel.

Get cool rewards when you click on the button to pledge your support through Patreon. Thanks a lot pal!

Cole Smithey on Patreon

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