Hannah Arendt

Arendt vs. "the banality of evil"
"Hannah Arendt" (2012 release from Germany; 109 min.) is NOT a biopic of the German "political theorist" Hannah Arendt. Instead, it brings us the story surrounding Hannah Arendt (played by Barbara Sukowa) in 1961 when she is hired by the New Yorker Magazine to cover the trial in Jerusalem of ex-Nazi Adolf Eichmann, who was famously abducted by the Israeli secret police in Buenos Aires to stand trial for his crimes/atrocities against the Jews. Arendt soon creates a controversy within her circle of friends, and later, when her articles are published, within the Jewish community at large, with her controversial, yet misunderstood, views on the trial. It was in those articles that Arendt coined the now famous term "the banality of evil".

Several comments: this is another historical drama, say along the lines of the recent "Emperor" movie. But there are differences. First, there is the amazing performance of Barbara Sukowa in the title role. She is simply outstanding. Second,...
A Movie about Hannah Arendt
Making a film about a philosopher presents challenges. Philosophers and the life of reflection are internalized and often require patience and discipline to understand. Movies for a wide audience tend to depend on action. Directed by Margarethe von Trotta and starring Barbara Sukowa in the title role, "Hannah Arendt" has the famous German-Jewish émigré philosopher as its subject. If understandably slow in places, "Hannah Arendt" is worthwhile. The movie played in an independent theater in Washington, D.C. to appreciative audiences. It is valuable that it will soon available and accessible on DVD, and that the film is now available for review and discussion here on Amazon. The movie is in part in English and in part in German, with subtitles.

Hannah Arendt (1906 -- 1975) studied philosophy in Germany and wrote her dissertation (on St. Augustine) under Karl Jaspers. She became an American citizen in 1950, and taught and wrote widely. In 1961, Arendt covered...
Expecting the exceptional.
I'm eager to see this. When I was much younger and still very impressionable, I read Hannah Arendt's final work The Life of the Mind (Combined 2 Volumes in 1) (Vols 1&2) which certainly made impressions that stayed with me, which opened, lured me to, many doors to so much more. In "The Life ..." she further examined, explored her famous phrase "The banality of evil": banality she called the absence of thought, and thought she called conversations in the head aided by imagination or images present in the mind but not to the senses. She provoked in my head conversations still going.

Von Trotta's film did not make it to the remote hinterlands where I dwell, and public television did not see fit to broadcast it. There was a time when foreign films and mini-series such as Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz (The Criterion Collection) were...
Click to Editorial Reviews

Syrup

A very funny & entertaining movie that really makes a statement about brand marketing. I really enjoyed & highly recommend. A-
"Looking at a billboard is supposed to feel like love at first sight but it's not real, it's just marketing and without it you wouldn't even know who you are." Scat (Fernandez) is fresh out of marketing school with no prospects on the horizon until he comes up with an idea for a new energy drink. When he brings it to the attention of Six (Heard) he is excited at the prospect of becoming rich but a double cross changes everything. With the job I have I pretty much watch everything no matter what it is. I usually don't watch the trailers for the movie because I don't like when they give too much away. Doing it that way makes what I watch real hit or miss as far as how good it is. What I have noticed is that the lower budget movies that I haven't heard of are 99% of the time better then the "studio" movies. This is a perfect example of that. I don't know if satire is the right word but the movie to me shows how the marketing industry will do whatever it takes to sell a product and how...
Tons of fun
Based on Max Barry's first book. His 2nd book, "Jennifer Government", would make for a great action comedy. "Syrup" makes fun of marketing, relationships, and business management. Pacing is never slow, it's really a thinker's movie. I could see why it gets a lower-than-i'd-expect rating on IMDB - it might a bit too cerebral comedy for the average joe. I hope more people watch this.
Smart but real
I am that audience member that craves smart and witty writing with a dash of real life thrown in. Syrup is more than just about marketing or the guy trying to get the girl, but the people that chase dreams. Sometimes people get lost in a dream and sometimes people die trying to make that dream come true and for others their dream is seen for what it really is and what it holds. I found Syrup to be intriguing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was definitely worth the $9.99 plus tax that I spent to rent this film.
Click to Editorial Reviews

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia

An exceptional Documentary!
This is a must-see movie for anyone with dyslexia. It is also a must-see documentary for teachers to help them understand diverse learners. This movie portrays the frustration and struggle dyslexics face in school as well as the exceptional ability and intelligence they possess.


Click to Editorial Reviews

Passione

Thrilling
A glorious film of wonderful music. Really exciting. I have watched it a number of times already and am eagerly awaiting the soundtrack CD. It has opened up a fabulous new world for me. I have the Italian DVD and I can't wait for an English subtitled version to come out now as I would love to know more about what is being sung and said. And I would love it to have a director's commentary too. And maybe some extra numbers? Thank you so much John Turturro for this magnificent movie.
Joy and love
It has been a very long time, if at all, since I have watched a film that brings so much expression, ethnic diversity, and just plain, child-like fun. The artists are so authentic, and so in love with what they do; the photography and locations are a perfect backdrop to the lucious, voluptuous, soulful exuberance of a people and a place. Italy, for all its faults, is still the place to feel wholly in love with life; the food, music, and eroticism is joyous. Thank you to all who give such pleasure and playfulness. I carry this music around in my soul.
A perfect title
I loved this film. The passion of John Turturro lights up the screen. The music, personalities, and interviews are all deserving of this title. I've watched it a number of times and still have the desire to see it again. John T. says at the beginning, "Soon you'll be singing these songs," and sure enough I keep going back to hear them again.
Click to Editorial Reviews

2 Guns (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy + UltraViolet)

Fun and Involving
So these two guys are gonna rob a bank...This is sort of a Spy vs Spy, as two undercover agents from two different government organizations, neither of whom knows of the other's link to his real employer, rob a bank together, only to discover they have been set up...plus there is waaaaay more money than they expect. $43.125M!

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur ("The Deep" one of my favorites from the 2013 Seattle International Film Festival) and written by Blake Masters (Lots of TV) based on Boom Studio's graphic novels, this is fun all the way, with enough comedy to keep ME happy and enough action to entertain the screening audience.

We enjoy:
* Denzel Washington ("Flight") is Bobby, the steady, focused DEA guy whose patience is sorely taxed by his gabby sidekick.
* Mark Wahlberg ("Broken City") is Stig, an ebullient (and very funny) Naval Intelligence officer...plus he's a GREAT shot!
* Paula Patton ("Disconnect") plays Deb, the beauty...
Entertaining buddy movie and action flick
"2 Guns" (2013 release; 109 min.) reunites director Baltasar Kormákur with Mark Wahlberg (they previously teamed up on another enjoyable crime action movie called "Contraband"), and for good measure Denzel Washington is brought along to co-star. The plot is pretty convoluted, and I don't spoil anything when I simply say that you shouldn't accept anyone being who they say they are. Apart from that, everyone is chasing $41.125 million in drug money.

Several comments: first, once in a while I need to see a great action movie, and this one certainly lives up to its billing. As the movie opens we see the characters played by Washington and Wahlberg observing a bank which they've decided to rob, from across the street in a diner. Some funny back-and-forth banter between the two ensues but before you know it we are in the middle of the hold-up, and its aftermath. Second, almost more important than the actual plot is the writing of the movie. The script is sharp from that...
AND BECAUSE ITS OUR MONEY
Bobby (Denzel Washington) is an undercover DEA agent working with Stigman (Mark Wahlberg) who in undercover Navy Intelligence. Each thinks the other is just a bad guy. Together they rob a bank on orders so as to steal money from a drug cartel. This way the money can be seized as evidence in a crime and they don't need a warrant, as if that has stopped them before. Things become confused as the there is more money than expected.

The banter between Wahlberg and Washington is what makes the film. They are too cool together. It is a fun popcorn film with comedy, dark comedy, and plenty of action. Good characters in a plot that was predictable. Worth seeing after you have seen Reds 2.

Parental Guide: F-bomb, brief nudity (Paula Patton).
Click to Editorial Reviews

Assault On Precinct 13 (Collector's Edition) [Bluray/DVD Combo] [Blu-ray]

Intense, Nail Biting Action
One should not watch this movie expecting the highly choreographed gunfight ballets that John Woo initiated & every other action movie has followed ever sense. This movie preceded all of that. The plot focuses on a small group of police officers and convicts fighting off a relentless street gang in an all but abandoned precinct. There are two central heroes of this movie: Bishop, a Black Police Chief who is new to the job & looking for a little adventure at the beginning of the film (a superior officer asks him "Do you want to be a hero your first time out?" "Yes, Sir," Bishop replies); and there is Napolean Wilson, a White man on his way to death row when the prison bus he is riding is forced to make a detour (check out this plot twist: another prisoner starts coughing & wheezing, nearly passing out, and guess what, rather than pulling a shiv on the cop who examines him, it turns out the guy is really sick! How often does that happen in a movie?)...
A classic "B' thriller is given a digital face-lift for blu-ray... but is it done right?
The film itself is three-and-a-half stars out of five; taut, eerie, violent, suspenseful and (best of all) fun, this is a fine example of a lo-fi 1970's "B" suspense-action thriller. At it's core, "Assault On Precinct 13" is a 1970's "grindhouse" feature with characters and a premise straight out of Howard Hawks and John Ford westerns. This was "B" film master John Carpenter's second feature (after the ultra-low budget amateurish sci-fi spoof "Dark Star"), and his terrific skill with suspense and atmosphere really became evident with this film; his use of lighting, shadows and darkness in the film are textbook examples of how to make a "B" suspense flick on the cheap. The music, another classic (albeit corny) John Carpenter synth score, also contributes considerably to the film's "B" movie goodness.

On the other hand, his handling of action sequences are merely workmanlike and competent, and for all the great (and not so great) films Carpenter would later go on to direct,...
They really don't make 'em like this anymore
Before there was Halloween, there was Assault on Precinct 13, John Carpenter's second movie and arguably his first masterpiece. Fans of his later work should be warned though, there's no traditional horror or supernatural elements here, just one of history's all-time great low-budget action movies. By now the plot should be familiar to just about anyone reading this review: a lone cop and a couple of lifers have to defend a virtually abandoned police station against a street gang's onslaught. However, it's what Carpenter does with this concept that makes Assault on Precinct 13 such an exciting and memorable watch. It's a brilliantly executed pressure-cooker of a movie, thrusting a few decidedly disparate people into an unimaginably dire situation and letting us watch them as they try to figure out what to do about it. Although Carpenter has made much of the influence of classic westerns on this movie (Rio Bravo in particular), there are also ample doses of the eerie minimalism...
Click to Editorial Reviews

Divergence Eve: Complete Collection

Not what I was expecting
Before I start my review let me say that I picked up Divergence Eve hoping to add a nice fan-service anime to my library. This was because the series has been hammered due to its extremely well endowed female leads. To be hoenst the only series I know of with women that are even in the same league being Eiken an eihii series. I thought I knew what I was in for when I popped in the first disc. Mainly being a show more concerned about showing panties and cleavage then story line and such. However I was pleasantly surprised. Divergence Eve is actually a really good series.

One last thing before my actual review. Divergence Eve outside of jiggle shots, which there is no opportunity lost for, it only has the normal amount of fan fair. Meaning on two or three shots of a character naked and maybe one or two pantie and braw shots. In fact doesn't take a few chances for fan fair.

And finally my review. Yes I know it took me awhile. firts and most importantly Divergence...
4 stars for story, but minus 1 for no extras!
I rented the original release of Volume 1 of Divergence Eve from an online service, and even though the disc was defective (preventing me from watching the second half of Episode 3 and all of Episode 4), what I was able to see entertained and intrigued me enough to want to spring for the "Collection" when it was released.

Unfortunately, this is not the complete collection. Yes, all 14 episodes are here - but nothing else! Instead of simply duplicating the original discs for this release, ADV actually took the trouble of pressing new discs that don't include any of the bonus materials! No clean opening and closing animation, no audio commentary, no mini-manga, nothing but the episodes themselves. Sure, it's more economical to buy this set than the three original individual volumes, but it still boggles my mind that ADV went to the trouble (and expense!) of removing the extras from the "Collection".

As for the story itself: it's "hard" sci-fi (by which I don't mean...
Outdated Anime
First I need to tell you that the ending will leave you hanging. You should not view this as a stand alone series, but as Part I; the Misaki Chronicles Misaki Chronicles: Complete Collection'being part II.

Divergence Eve is based on the idea that if you have good computer graphics and plenty of over-endowed women, no one will notice if the plot is weak. Unfortunately the graphics are no longer cutting edge and the giant foot-ball shaped breasts are more comical than sexy.

The plot is slow moving. For some reason they stuck the second to the last episode first, presumably to give the show some action early on. The overall effect is to leave the viewer confused half of the time and the other half bored with the dramatic 'revelations' which were spoiled by the first episode. Even as such the plot draws you in, but the series simply ends with no resolution and with unresolved issues...
Click to Editorial Reviews