THIS MUST BE THE PLACE
“This Must Be the Place” is as much a piece of carefully composed music as it is a movie. Dig…
War
LINCOLN
Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln” is almost as much of a mess as the War Between the States. Its truncated script —…
LINCOLN — THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL 2012
“Lincoln” obviously fails as a history lesson. The movie also fails as a brief political epic. However, it does make…
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE – THE CRITERION COLLECTION
Agitprop, Capsules Blog, Classic Cinema, Criterion Collection, FIVE STARS, Political Satire, Political Thriller, Video Essay, War
Based on Richard Condon’s 1959 novel, “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) represents a uniquely modern political thriller of far reaching implications.…
M*A*S*H — CLASSIC FILM PICK
“M*A*S*H” ruthlessly satirizes the hypocritical U.S. military, and de facto the U.S. Government, for its systemic hypocrisies and arbitrary means…
DR. STRANGELOVE — THE CRITERION COLLECTION
Capsules Blog, Classic Cinema, Criterion Collection, FIVE STARS, Political Satire, Video Essay, War, War Fantasy, Women's Cinema
The full title for Stanley Kubrick’s magnificent political satire — “Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And…
APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX — CLASSIC FILM PICK
In cinema, the war genre is a very crowded field. That Francis Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now Redux” stands among the top…
TOMORROW WHEN THE WAR BEGAN
A resistance-combatant-primer disguised as a teen-exploitation flick, “Tomorrow When the War Began” delights in guilty pleasures. Syrupy folk music—harmonica included—from…
THIS MEANS WAR
Daft competitive seduction is at the heart of this scattershot romantic comedy that veers woefully into uncultivated screwball territory. The…
IN DARKNESS
Agnieszka Holland’s unforgettable adaptation of Robert Marshall’s non-fiction book “In the Sewers of Lvov” tells the story of a group…
THE FRONT LINE
South Korea’s impressive entry for the 2011 foreign-language Oscar race offers a different kind of war picture in its foreshadowed…
WAR HORSE
Steven Spielberg puts a sunny disposition on World War I in this shamelessly old-fashioned (read sentimental) rendering of Nick Stafford’s…
TRIUMPH OF THE WILL
The most famous and infamous propaganda film of all time is revealing for its stern depiction of the way Hitler’s…
THE DEBT
What starts out as a gripping Cold-War-era espionage thriller devolves into utter fantasy in director John Madden’s remake of a…
THE DEBT
The filmmakers attempt to shoehorn a lingering love story between Rachel and David that has simmered over the years. The…
IRONCLAD
Character study, history lesson, and bloody war story, “Ironclad” adds up to more than the sum of its violent parts…
WENT THE DAY WELL? — CLASSIC FILM PICK
Agitprop, British Cinema, Capsules Blog, Classic Cinema, FIVE STARS, Propaganda, Video Essay, War, Women's Cinema
“Went the Day Well?” was designed to remind British citizens of the ongoing need to be ever vigilant against foreign…
COLE SMITHEY’S CLASSIC CINEMA
