Nick Burton

Natural Born Killers is brilliant. Having just re-watched it after at least 10-years, I can easily say the Rotten Tomatoes rating is a criminal understatement. This is tremendously ironic considering the nature of the film. It perfectly portrays everything that's wrong with 1990s (and present-day) American media, by blowing up and romanticising serial killers through the exploration of two fictional psychopaths. It uses very clever TV and pop-culture references to show growing up in a broken home, public and policing perception of serial killers and mass murderers, and how glorifying their actions warps the public mind.

There are some very powerful moments in this film about Dr. Franticek, having assassinated Reinhard Heydrich. He seeks refuge with the Novotny family within Nazi-occupied Prague, which has now set in place a citywide curfew, warning any citizens disobeying the 7PM lockdown, will be executed. Anna Lee's Nasha Novotny, witnesses her father, Prof. Stephen Novotny's arrest by the Nazis as the likely suspect along with (eventually) over 100 other men. The Gestapo's intended goal: weed out the assassin. Nasha, whose sole focus is getting her father released, at first refuses to accept the full ramifications of this action. But Dr. Franticek eventually comes clean to her about wanting to confess to the killing (this ends in a rather comedic fashion). Considering the Black Lives Matter protests currently happening, a scene shows Anna Lee's character request from a police officer her need to speak with the Gestapo. A crowd forms around her and she is quickly ridiculed; the people expressing physical and verbal abuses, thinking (among other things) Nasha's purpose is likely ratting on someone. I couldn't help relate some aspects of this to the current social issue. I had been wanting to see this movie for a very long time, as I found it originally on a list of must-see war films. I recommend it. However, be aware there are German spoken parts and the copy I have, didn't contain subtitles. That said the story doesn't require them in order to be followed. It's simply substance lacking.

A brilliant documentary that draws many parallels to the US Netflix documentary, The 13th. This is one of those confronting pieces that should get far more exposure than its place on SBS on Demand. But at least it's somewhere. People need to see this.

While it's been some time since I watched the series, I feel the same as other reviewers here. That the U.S. criminal justice system abuses its right to falsely imprison those of poor backgrounds. Furthermore, the negligent work done by District Attorney Bill Peterson, reminded me of Ken Kratz's in the other netflix series, Making a Murderer. One thing I remember from this series was John Grisham speaking of Bill Peterson's lawsuit of the book. If I remember correctly, Peterson had asked to read the book first to make sure nothing false was being presented. Grisham responded he could wait to read it along with the general public, to which Peterson said he would sue. Grisham told him to go ahead and the book was published. Peterson sued, but the judge overturned it. When Grisham explained this, given his position, I thought it was a bad-ass story.