Paul Thatcher – Google

I've seen a few reviews and comments which imply the narration is overdone, too solemn, with Morgan Freeman's slow, emphasis-laden delivery being criticised.I have to disagree:the natural world is so awe-inspiring, and life's survival against all comers,from ice to asteroids, so amazing that it gives me shivers every time. David Attenborough is perhaps the one who set the standard, but many styles are welcome, and Morgan Freeman finds his. The visuals are great, and the explanations clear, so this is highly recommended.

Life on Our Planet

1 like

It takes some director and some actor to make a Trump-voting Make America Great Again character sympathetic, and Spike lee and Delroy Lindo do just that. A good shot at examining the contradictions of Black Americans in Vietnam - and in America today. As in BlacKKKlansman, the use of music and footage is original and ingenious. Is the story realistic? Probably not, but that is not what the real point is here, is it? The corruption to ideals that working for the Man, and for his gold brings is realistic. Another Spike joint that takes the past and uses it to speak to now, that does show all sides, and yet is partisan. Watch it, then go make a difference out there, in the street.

Da 5 Bloods

2 likes

Two systems. In one, you are free - free to fail, free to lose, free to be unequal. And in the other you are equal - they'll kill any one of you without fear or favor. In both, the people at the top are living well, and those below are dehumanized. Sound vaguely familiar? Like, a divided peninsula we might know... This is an awesome dissection (occasionally literal) of capitalism versus state 'communism'. It is also a thrilling, gory, exciting, grotesque, surreal trip into Looking-Glass Land. I cannot recommend it enough. Wonderful!

Squid Game - Season 1

1 like

Highly engaging presentation, emotive, yet historically rigorous - makes the past live in the present... I'm a history buff and an activist, yet still found plenty of new info and fresh inspiration. Couldn't always see clearly, but that was just a few tears, cos the injustice presented outrages me. A must-see for anyone interested in how we got this far and how we could go further. Watch, then go out and do!

Amend: The Fight for America

2 likes

A rare cinematic experience. I laughed out loud, yet it's not really a comedy. I was touched by the mother-daughter, wife-husband story, yet it's not really a family drama. I reassessed my life's failures and achievements, yet it's not really an inspirational film. Smart references to other film classics, and yet it's not really an art movie. Imaginative parallel universes, and yet it's not really sci-fi, either. This film shows what cinema can do, and does it with panache and style and absurdity - a scene that plays between two rocks?! A cosmic bagel?! For goodness' sake, see this and feel that all is not lost, that life is worth it!

Everything Everywhere All at Once

Sweet Home

No sci-fi writer could imagine a world more exotic, no VFX technician could equal the astounding visuals, no thriller could keep you on the edge of your seat better, no artwork could be as beautiful: our planet is amazing. And in this series, thanks to a world-class crew, Nature's greatest champion, David Attenborough, shows, educates, and warns: Our Planet is amazing. If I could give this 10 out of 5, I would. Watch - and then take action!

Our Planet

Agent Elvis

8 likes

What this documentary really shows is how gullible and greedy people in the media can be, how silly and superficial social media users can be, and how together they manage only to reinforce each other's irresponsibility. The result: if they didn't (totally) create a monster, they fed and nurtured it. As for Kai, who charmed and fooled them, if you can't see in the first 5 seconds he's on screen that he's a delusional psycho and dangerous, you have your eyes closed and/or your brain is in screen-saver mode. A documentary of people getting pretty much what they deserved...

The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker

All too often, the Vietnamese are portrayed as either heartless fanatics or hapless victims. They were neither. This book, by a veteran of the North Vietnamese Army, does not glorify their struggle, but shows how, through immense hardship, they achieved not some propaganda glorious victory, but ensured their country remained theirs, and their humanity somehow remained intact. The beautiful, surreal backdrop of the jungle and the horrors of war stand in contrast, as do the everyday details of cooking or finding a place to sleep and the epic scale of the war. There are good, terrible and great accounts of the war from the American side, but if you want to see how it was for the Vietnamese, and indeed see what war is like stripped of glory, but not of humanity, then read this excellent book.

Novel without a Name