Movies

[Rusty]

772 - The Battle of Berlin (1973) - 8/10 - This German documentary chronicles a year in Berlin, though it includes events from the frontlines as well. Berlin undergoes several months of daily bombing raids from the western allies and the Soviet forces slowly advance toward the city. Things get pretty bad in the city with the destruction and the lack of food. There was a lot of footage here that I hadn't seen before.


773 - Chariots of the Gods (1970) - 4/10 - There are some cool places shown here that I would love to visit in person - Egypt, Easter Island, pyramids in Mexico, etc., but the ancient astronauts theme wasn't very believable.


774 - 20 Feet from Stardom (2013) - 8/10 - A film about a few of the black ladies who sang backup on many records back in the 1960s, 1970s, and beyond. A few of them had their chance at the spotlight, but others found that path blocked. I enjoyed the music, the stories, and the people.


775 - The Cove (2009) - 7/10 - A film about dolphins being captured for sale to aquariums and also an annual dolphin hunt in Japan where dolphins are herded into a cove and most are slaughtered. The film seems to go in a number of directions and is clearly one sided, but the espionage aspects of it were good.


776 - One Day in September (1999) - 8/10 - The events of the Munich Olympics in 1972 are covered here, including archival footage and interviews with a surviving terrorist who has been in hiding for over 30 years, a surviving Israeli athlete, the wife of one of the athletes who died, and others. It certainly seems like the German police messed things up based on what was presented here.


777 - Streetwise (1984) - 7.5/10 - This film follows a group of homeless teens in Seattle who survive on the streets in a variety of ways - dumpster diving, panhandling, prostitution, etc. Life is hard, but things probably aren't all that different for a number of similar kids today.


778 - The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009) - 7.5/10 - Daniel Ellsberg is a former Marine who worked for the Rand Corporation in the 1960s. He had access to a huge amount of top secret documents that showed that U.S. Presidents had lied about the causes of the Vietnam War and U.S. involvement. He leaked these to the press in what became known as the Pentagon Papers and led to a Supreme Court decision strengthening the first amendment rights of the press.

[Rusty]

779 - O.J.: Made in America (2016) - 9/10 - This was pretty comprehensive and was very well done.


780 - Last Men in Aleppo (2017) - 7.5/10 - The White Helmets are a volunteer organization in Syria and the film shows them rescuing people from the rubble after Russian airstrikes during the Syrian Civil War. They also secure the dead bodies, clean up some of the rubble, and try to help people. All of this takes a toll and some of the members die during their work. It's a good film, though I was already familiar with the topic due to the earlier White Helmets short and Watani: My Homeland.

[Rusty]

781 - The Power of the Dog (2021) - 7/10 - Benedict Cumberbatch is a mean rancher named Phil in 1925 in Montana who lives with his kind hearted brother (Jesse Plemons). When the brother marries a widow (Kirsten Dunst) and brings her home, Phil does what he can to belittle her and sap her confidence. The widow's son is a somewhat effeminate college student who also has come under Phil's scathing attacks. The acting and setting are excellent, but I didn't really enjoy the film all that much. Sure, Cumberbatch's character is pretty unlikable, but I think it was the mood of the film and the languid pace at times that I didn't care for.


782 - Winged Migration (2001) - 8/10 - This film features many types of birds from all over the world. There are many shots of them flying, but also nesting, eating, etc. The camerawork is excellent and the film of the birds in flight is really good, especially in a pre-drone era. The narration is pretty sparse and we mostly just get to enjoy watching the birds in action.


783 - An Inconvenient Truth (2006) - 7.5/10 - Al Gore is a fairly effective speaker as he gives his presentation on global warming. The film also delves a bit into his background and motivations.


784 - Jim: The James Foley Story (2016) - 7/10 - A look back at photojournalist James Foley after his execution by ISIS. It is mostly told through interviews of Foley's family and friends with some of Foley's footage thrown in.


785 - Free Solo (2018) - 6.5/10 - The film documents Alex Honnold's preparation for climbing El Capitan without any safety equipment. The feat is very impressive and something that seems reckless to even attempt. The scenery during the climbs is good, but the film itself is not quite as engaging.


786 - Food, Inc. (2008) - 7.5/10 - A look at the food industry and how large companies have taken over a high percentage of the market and implemented factory processes. It's kind of a horror story, but probably didn't lead to much in the way of changes.


787 - Five Broken Cameras (2011) - 7.5/10 - Emad is a Palestinian who lives in a small village in the West Bank. Israeli settlements are taking their land and conflicts with soldiers happen with some regularity at the weekly nonviolent protests. Emad got a camera when his fourth son was born and documents the protests, though his cameras eventually get broken. Five cameras are used to document about five years worth of protests, arrests, deaths, and so on.

[Rusty]

788 - Buena Vista Social Club (1999) - 7/10 - An American musician gathers together a group of older Cuban folk musicians, some in their 90s, and they record an album. They also go to New York and play at Carnegie Hall. The music is great and some of the people were interesting.


789 - Racing Extinction (2015) - 6/10 - This looks at a number of species that are threatened due to overfishing or other factors. They go undercover to investigate the shark fin trade. The message is pretty good, but the film itself could have been better.


790 - The Wild and the Brave (1974) - 5/10 - This film documents the handover from a white park ranger at Kidepo Valley National Park in Uganda to a black park ranger. There is a difference in stye and some racial tension. Unfortunately, many scenes seem artificial - likely recreations or scripted with clumsy acting. There are some decent bits here and there, but overall it is a bit dull.


791 - Waste Land (2010) - 7.5/10 - Brazilian artist Vik Muniz lives in New York City, but decided to return to Brazil for his latest project, which was to create art out of objects found at Rio de Janeiro's largest landfills. He hired some of the people who worked in the landfill to help create portraits of themselves out of found materials which he subsequently photographed. Proceeds from sales and a museum exhibit went to help the workers and their organization. It was an interesting film.


792 - The War at Home (1979) - 8/10 - A look back at the anti-war movement on the Madison campus of the University of Wisconsin, starting in 1965. They use contemporary interviews along with archival footage and photographs. It makes for a decent film.


793 - The War Room (1993) - 6/10 - A behind the scenes look at the Clinton campaign for the 1992 election. There was no narration, lots of James Carville, and very little Clinton. It was mildly interesting, but it didn't really add anything new.


794 - Legendary Champions (1968) - 7/10 - Heavyweight champions from 1882-1920s are profiled here with plenty of boxing footage where it was available. The earliest ones were bare knuckle fights and before motion picture cameras had been invented. Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey are the two that really stand out.

[Rusty]

795 - Spellbound (2002) - 8/10 - The film follows eight kids who are participating in the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. They have interviews with the kids, their families, friends, teachers, etc. and show them in action. They all make it to Washington, D.C. and then we get to see the spelling bee along with interviews after their part in the competition is over. One kid annoyed me, but the rest were cool. It is a pretty nice film and brings back memories from when I was in spelling bees in junior high, though I didn't make it out of regionals.


796 - 4 Little Girls (1997) - 8/10 - Spike Lee directs this film about the 16th Street Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four young girls. The civil rights movement at the time is examined. Relatives, friends, and others who were there are interviewed. An elderly George Wallace looks like a fool in his brief interview. Fortunately, most of the time is spent with people who knew the girls.


797 - A King's Story (1965) - 6/10 - The life of Edward VIII is covered here from his birth through his abdication. Orson Welles narrates and Edward himself is interviewed throughout the film. It is a decent film, though it leaves out many of the more questionable parts of Edward's character - sexual affairs when younger, racist attitudes, Nazi sympathies, etc.


798 - For Sama (2019) - 8.5/10 - A Syrian journalist composes a video letter to her young daughter documenting the civil war through film that she had taken from 2012-2016. Her husband is a doctor and much of the footage revolves around the hospitals he works at and the people who are brought in there plus time with her daughter, who was born there in Aleppo during the siege. I've seen a few films about Aleppo and this is very good.


799 - Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (1996) - 7/10 - Suzanne Ferrell discusses her ballet career starting from when she moved to New York City with her mother at age 15 and soon joined the New York City Ballet. She had a 29 year career as a ballerina and then became a ballet teacher, often associated with the Kennedy Center. Her mother, husband, and friends are interviewed as well with archival footage from her performances thrown in along with video in her role as instructor. I'm not into ballet at all, but it was interesting.


800 - Trouble the Water (2008) - 7/10 - A film about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, focusing on one family that used a handheld camera to record events before and during the event. It was decent.

[Rusty]

801 - Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (1998) - 7.5/10 - An interesting biography on Lenny Bruce, including interviews with his mother (also quite a character), his friends, and others.


802 - Super Size Me (2004) - 6/10 - Morgan Spurlock goes on a McDonald's diet for a month with dire results.


803 - Prisoner of Paradise (2002) - 7/10 - Kurt Gerron was a popular actor and director in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. However, he was Jewish so he left Germany after the Nazis took over, but stayed in Europe. He didn't take advantage of opportunities to go to Hollywood and eventually ended up in a model concentration camp for artists and intellectuals, making a Nazi propaganda film in order to stay alive. This is a decent biography as told through narration, interviews of survivors, and archival footage/photographs.

[Rusty]

804 - Fire at Sea (2016) - 4/10 - Life on Italian island gets disrupted with regularity by having to rescue migrants at sea who are having trouble for a variety of reasons. This film couldn't seem to decide where it wanted to go and there was a lot of filler. They spent a ton of time on a boy making slingshots, getting tested for lazy eye, going to school, rowing a boat, etc. The migrants were included only occasionally.


805 - Last Days in Vietnam (2014) - 9/10 - The Fall of Saigon and the evacuation of Americans and South Vietnamese is discussed by a number of people who were directly involved. There's also a lot of archival footage that is used very well in a very interesting film.


806 - Hollywood on Trial (1976) - 7/10 - A look back at the Hollywood Ten and the House Un-American Committee in the 1940s. I knew quite a bit about this already, but it was interesting to hear members of the Ten tell events from their perspective.


807 - Ra (1971) - 6/10 - Noting the similarities between ancient Egyptian pyramids and those in Central America, Thor Heyerdahl had a large reed boat constructed using old techniques and assembled a crew to attempt crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the boat. He made two expeditions and there are definite similarities to his earlier expedition in the Pacific in Kon-Tiki. I didn't find this movie quite as interesting as that one, but it was okay.


808 - Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994) - 7/10 - Maya Lin was a 21 year old college student when she entered a design contest for the Vietnam War Memorial. Her design ended up winning, but was met with some resistance from some Vietnam veterans. The movie is pretty good when the design of the memorial, the contest, and the controversy are being discussed. It's a bit less interesting when they go on to look at and discuss some of the other memorials and structures that Lin has designed since that time.


809 - Gasland (2010) - 6/10 -The filmmaker received an offer to lease his land to a gas company so that they could extract natural gas. He turned them down and started traveling across the country to look at the effects of hydraulic fracking and found numerous places where the water was contaminated as a result and could even be set on fire in some cases. The issue is pretty important, but I don't think the narration was all that great.


810 - The Battle Over Citizen Kane (1995) - 6.5/10 - This is more a biography of William Randolph Hearst and, to a lesser extent, Orson Welles. Hearst was upset with Citizen Kane for a number of reasons, though the treatment of the Marion Davies character was likely the biggest sticking point.

[Rusty]

811 - Citizenfour (2014) - 6/10 - Edward Snowden flees to Hong Kong and meets with a couple of journalists to explain why he is leaking secret documents about NSA activities in spying on regular citizens. It was okay, but certainly could have been better.


812 - Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) - 7/10 - A film about the house of cards that was Enron, one of the biggest firms in the world, but one that was rife with fraud and eventually fell apart.


813 - Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - 7.5/10 - Werner Herzog went to Antarctica to interview the people who lived there and to visit some of the unique sights not often shown. He wasn't interested in making another penguin documentary. I didn't really care for some of the music used in the nature scenes, but the visuals were cool and the interviews with people were good.


814 - What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015) - 7.5/10 - A biography of Nina Simone, a talented pianist and singer who was also an activist in the Civil Rights movement, but suffered from mental illness that wasn't diagnosed until later in life. It's a pretty standard, but good film.


815 - Berkeley in the Sixties (1990) - 7/10 - A look at the protests that started in Berkeley in the 1960s for free speech that led to a crackdown by the University and later to the counterculture movement. Then there were the problems at the end of the 60s with the People's Park. I mostly knew Reagan from his movies and as President. Seeing him making speeches about this as Governor of California shows that he was more of an ass than I thought. I liked him when he was President, but I was young and didn't know any better then.


816 - Promises (2001) - 7.5/10 - A filmmaker interviews Israeli and Palestinian children who live in or near Jerusalem and eventually sets up a meeting between some of them. It was interesting seeing the various perspectives, though I think long term solutions are much more complicated, unfortunately.

[Rusty]

817 - Best Boy (1979) - 7.5/10 - Ira Wohl made this film about his 52 year old mentally retarded cousin, Philly. Philly's parents are elderly and Ira wants to help Philly become more independent so that he will be able to survive after his parents have died. Philly seems to have a happy disposition and is able to do some things on his own. It's a decent film.


818 - Bowling for Columbine (2002) - 8/10 - Michael Moore looks into gun violence in the United States with special emphasis on the Columbine High School incident in 1999 and the shooting death of a six year old girl by a six year old boy in Moore's hometown of Flint, Michigan. He interviews Charlton Heston, James Nichols, and others. There are the usual Moore ambush tactics mixed in, but it is a good film.


819 - Faces Places (2017) - 8.5/10 - French photographer JR and director/artist Agnes Varda travel around rural France taking pictures of people, putting up large murals of the photos, and hanging out with each other. It's a very cool film and fun to watch.


820 - The Betrayal (Nerakhoon) (2008) - 7/10 - When the Laos government fell after the U.S. withdrawal from the country, soldiers who fought for the regime were rounded up to be reeducated or killed. The family of one such soldier escaped to Thailand and eventually arrived in New York City due to the danger they were in. However, instead of finding the paradise that they expected, they found a whole new set of problems. The film takes place over a number of years and is about their struggles in Laos and here in the U.S. Most of the narration comes from the oldest son, who assumed some of the absent father's roles, and the mother. It is an interesting film.


821 - The Cave (2019) - 7/10 - Dr. Amani is a rarity in Syria - a female doctor. During the film, she also managed a hospital that was located underground with a series of tunnels connecting it to the outside. The film is mostly a slice of life film that follows her and her coworkers in action during the Syrian Civil War, including during a chemical weapons attack by the regime.

[Rusty]

822 - Undefeated (2011) - 8/10 - The story of a Memphis, Tennessee high school football team where the team has never had much success and the students face many challenges. The coach tries to teach them how to play winning football, but also, more importantly, how to overcome adversity and succeed in life. It's a pretty good film.


823 - Anne Frank Remembered (1995) - 8/10 - Interviews with people who knew the Franks, including those who helped hide the family and some who were interned with her is combined with archival material to paint a more complete picture of Anne Frank.


824 - Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got (1985) - 7/10 - A decent biography of the well known clarinetist and band leader from the 1930s-1950s.


825 - Amy (2015) - 8/10 - The film documents the rise of Amy Winehouse's career as a teenager through her fall due to alcohol and drugs. The interviews and archival footage do a good job telling her story. I was never really a fan of her music, but I did enjoy her performances here and it is a sad, but well told story.


826 - Tupac: Resurrection (2003) - 8/10 - The story of Tupac's life is told through movies, photographs, and interviews. A lot of my students were fans of Tupac around the time this film came out, but I was only slightly aware of who he was other than being a rapper. Still, I thought the movie was pretty good.

[Rusty]

827 - Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000) - 7.5/10 - In 1938 and 1939, thousands of (mostly Jewish) children were rescued from Germany and allowed to go to England, thus allowing them to escape what was to come. Most lost their parents during the war. A number of the children selected for this program are interviewed here along with one of the women who took a child in.


828 - I Am Not Your Negro (2016) - 8/10 - Samuel L. Jackson narrates this movie which uses James Baldwin's unfinished novel as its basis. It's a pretty strong film about being black in the U.S.


829 - Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) - 8.5/10 - Nicely done. Very nicely done. I enjoyed it about the same as the previous two installments.


830 - The Act of Killing (2012) - 6/10 - In 1965/66, 500,000 to 1,000,000 "communists' were killed by the army and others, often in brutal ways. A British filmmaker interviewed a number of the surviving killers about their activities and encountered almost no remorse for what they did, instead finding many taking pride in their actions. Some of the men even make a film recreating their actions and we get to see scenes from that film within this documentary. I didn't really enjoy the film, though I guess there is some benefit in seeing what these killers are like in person.


831 - The Look of Silence (2014) - 5/10 - This film follows The Act of Killing by following an optometrist who was born two years after the killings around as he meets the people or family of those responsible for murdering his older brother during the purge. We also get plenty of scenes with the optometrist's parents and children. He isn't looking for revenge, but is taking a big risk in confronting these people.

[Rusty]

832 - Restrepo (2010) - 6/10 - Two journalists spent a year embedded with an American platoon in Afghanistan. The movie is assembled from video that they took during that time along with interviews with survivors after they had returned home. I didn't really find it all that interesting overall, though it was okay.


833 - The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003) - 7/10 - In Mongolia, a family that raises camels and sheep has a problem when their latest camel colt is rejected by his mother after a difficult birth. The film is pretty laid back, but I enjoyed it.


834 - The Fog of War (2003) - 7.5/10 - Robert McNamara looks back on his life and discusses his time in the service during WWII, his time at Ford, and his time as Secretary of Defense, among other topics. Eleven lessons from his experience are presented and supported by what he discusses and archival footage.


835 - American Factory (2019) - 8/10 - A Chinese glass company opens a factory in a closed Ohio auto factory (see The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant from 2009). Everything seems great and optimistic at first, but it isn't long before the Chinese management starts getting frustrated with the expectations and work of their American employees and the American employees bridle at some of the demands that are put on them and the lack of concern for environmental and safety standards. It's a pretty good film about the clash of cultures, at least in part.


836 - Iraq in Fragments (2006) - 6/10 - Three stories are told here. The first is an 11 year old boy in Baghdad who wants to work instead of going to school. The second is about the Shia in southern Iraq who did not like Saddam, but don't like the Americans either. The third story focuses on the Kurds who have some hopes for the future due to the American influence in Iraq.


837 - The Hunting Ground (2015) - 8/10 - The topic of rape on college campuses is explored with interviews of victims who have decided to speak up and pursue justice. In most cases, the universities let the alleged rapists go with minimal punishment, even if they are found to have committed the rape. It's a pretty messed up situation, though perhaps it has started to change at least a little bit since the documentary came out, though I doubt if the rape culture has changed all that much.

Freebird (2021) - 8/10 - (6 minutes) - An animated short about a boy with Down Syndrome growing up.

Leylak (2021) - 8/10 - (17 minutes) - A Turkish gravedigger who lives in Queens lives with his 11 year old daughter, but is unable to tell her an important secret.

[Rusty]

838 - War Photographer (2001) - 6/10 - A documentary about photographer James Nachtwey who is highly acclaimed and goes into a lot of dangerous situations. Unfortunately, the film is a bit dull.


839 - The Invisible War (2012) - 6.5/10 - This film is about rape in the U.S. military. I probably shouldn't have watched it so close to having seen the director's later film about rape in colleges, but this seemed pretty repetitive throughout with the various interviews, even though the subject matter is important.


840 - Pina (2011) - 7.5/10 - This film features the work of the late German choreographer, Pina Bausch. A lot of the dancing is pretty creative with a few performed in unusual settings. I thought they were entertaining, though seeing it in 3-D would likely have enhanced the enjoyment.

[Rusty]

841 - Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life (1998) - 7/10 - I read a few of Rand's books back in the 1980s and they didn't do much for me, but I thought this was a somewhat interesting biography and helped me understand her a bit more.


842 - King: A Filmed Record… Montgomery to Memphis (1970) - 8/10 - A biography of Martin Luther King as told (mostly) through archival footage from the 1950s and 1960s. It's pretty well done.


843 - The Edge of Democracy (2019) - 6/10 - A look at Brazilian politics with a focus on two former Presidents - one who was a labor leader starting in the 1970s and was a popular President for two terms, but later faced corruption charges. His successor was initially popular, but later faced impeachment as a political maneuver, though her popularity had also declined quite a bit as well. It seems that corruption is rampant in the legislature. It's put together fairly well, but I didn't find it that engaging.


844 - Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997) - 7/10 - The film looks into the Branch Davidians and the siege which resulted in a lot of deaths. The evidence presented in the film seems pretty damning that the FBI/ATF were at fault and lied to Congress about it.


845 - Woodstock (1970) - 9/10 - The music is great and this serves as a very nice time capsule for that era.

[Rusty]

846 - The Conquest of Everest (1953) - 7/10 - A chronicle of the successful attempt to climb Mount Everest in which Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first known climbers to reach the peak. There is a lot of great scenery and it was interesting seeing what was involved in the climb.


847 - Super Chief: The Life and Legacy of Earl Warren (1989) - 7/10 - A decent biography of the influential Supreme Court Chief Justice. They cover a number of his important cases, including segregation and miranda rights, along with the Warren Commission, his time as Attorney General in California, and his family life.


848 - Manson (1973) - 7/10 - This is an odd movie because much of it is fairly upbeat and is sort of a hippie film, except that the people in the picture are Manson Family members and they talk about cutting the heads off of people and other 'fun' stuff. It's kind of disturbing at how normal this stuff seems to them.


849 - Scottsboro: An American Tragedy (2000) - 7.5/10 - In 1931, a group of black boys got into a fight with a group of white boys aboard a freight train. At the next stop in Alabama, two white girls made a questionable accusation of rape against the nine black boys. The boys were quickly convicted, but the Supreme Court intervened, leading to a retrial that made headlines.


850 - From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China (1981) - 7.5/10 - Isaac Stern made a trip to China in 1979 after they reopened their doors to the West. He interacts with a number of students and teachers of music and gives tips while also demonstrating what he is talking about it and explaining his philosophy of music.


851 - Raoni (1978) - 6/10 - A look at the problems faced by one of the indigenous tribes of the Amazon due to the encroachment of 'civilization'. It is narrated by Marlon Brando.


852 - To Die in Madrid (1963) - 7/10 - This chronicles the Spanish Civil War with lots of footage that I hadn't seen before. It also documents some of the suffering that the civilians endured.


853 - Albert Schweitzer (1957) - 6/10 - The film documents Schweitzer's work in Africa at the hospital he helped build and also shows a visit to his home in Europe. His earlier life is covered briefly. It's a decent enough film, though some of the attitudes espoused in the narration about the African natives are suspect.

Step into the River (2021) - 8/10 - (15 minutes) - In a rural village in China, two girls become friends and see the ghosts of newborns drowned in the local river.

Aguilas (2021) - 7/10 - (14 minutes) - In the desert of Arizona, volunteers search for the remains of migrants who crossed into the U.S. from Mexico and likely died there.

A Broken House (2020) - 8/10 - (21 minutes) - A man was studying architecture in the U.S. when 9/11 happened and had to stay in the U.S. or else he wouldn't be allowed back in. He creates models of the Damascus of his memory from before the Syrian Civil War and also meets with refugees to try and bring their stories to life in art. I liked it, but wish that they had shown a bit more of his overall models rather than just the up close views that we get.