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Camp X (2014)
Fascination documentary of the beginnings of the US as one of the super powers.
This documentary was so interesting to me. In 1940 America had a long-standing 'non-involvement" policy about involvement in international disputes/wars. A small group of people in Canada, America and Great Britain saw the need for espionage if we were going to avoid u-boats in troop movement. They carefully selected US and Canadians with potential and brought them to Camp X, located in Canada. There, the men were trained in espionage: secret codes, bombings, killing, how to blend in, etc. Camps were also set up in the US after joining the war.
The show opens with a dig at that Camp site, which had been destroyed. As they reveal different aspects of the training, they tell the story of men who taught or were students at the Camp. The student stories are told relevant to an aspect related to a dig discovery (i.e, ammunition) and many were still alive to reflect on their espionage during WWII.
The narration of this documentary remained interesting throughout for me as it didn't lag in places. I would (and will) recommend this to anyone interested in the US' introduction to and use of espionage.
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)
A great example of neo noir film!
I'm going to go out there and make a guess that most of the lower ratings for this film come from those raised on more recent action films, or those with little exposure/appreciation of film noir...or both. I found this to be a great piece of that style and thoroughly enjoyed its campiness.
Initially, each person checking into El Royale seems to be a perfect specimen of nondescript characters: a priest, a vacuum salesman, a struggling singer, etc. The composition of each scene thereafter combines a near perfect blend of writing, musical score and set design to reveal the slow peeling away of layers with each character. As this peeling away occurs, the facets of noir film making develop to create that overstated aspect that is signature film noir. The cinematography throughout adds excellent support for the development of characters and the story line.
I'm so glad I found this to watch on a dreary Sunday morning!
Chernobyl (2019)
Legasov's final words sum up politics wherever
I had watched the first 3 episodes as they were released, then I decided to wait until all 5 episodes were out. I just watched all 5 back to back and wow, the tension and truths just keep building in this spectacular series! I especially found the "Inside Episode__" after each episode helpful for reminding me that most characters were an amalgamation of many people who actually acted in those roles, some who believed the lies and some who went against "the party line" in their search for truth. The repercussions of both directions may ultimately lead to personal annihilation.
I understand that Russia is angry about this portrayal and will be making their own documentary of Chernobyl. It will be interesting to watch that one, too.
This series combines excellent acting, great cinematography and a dynamic script that doesn't bog down. It is probably the best portrayal of Chernobyl I've seen---and this has been an interest of mine for many years. I think in many ways it is also a measure of political systems: The preponderance of lies at the top to keep the commoners focused on doing nothing but believing those lies.
Legasov's final words? "To be a scientist is to be naïve. We are so focused on our search for truth, we fail to consider how few actually want us to find it. But it is there, whether we see it or not, whether we choose to or not. The truth doesn't care about our needs or wants. It doesn't care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time. And this, at last, is the gift of Chernobyl. Where I once would fear the cost of truth, now I only ask: What is the cost of lies?"
Let There Be Light (1980)
LET THERE BE LIGHT too long in the dark
WWII, the time when young men from across American--from small farms, ethnic neighborhood blocks, survivors of the depression and the dust bowl, and survivors of mundane lives few of us today could even comprehend--all lined up to register for the draft in droves, even before Pearl Harbor happened. It was an era of stoicism, where most were assigned their lot at birth and few ever ventured beyond, until the lure of seeing a world to which they had little real exposure.
At the end of WWII, those that had survived came home to a world of hero-worship, where everything worked together to help these heroes prosper, for the most part. There was no thought of the nation not being proudly grateful and of the soldiers being the heroes. Accept your adoration, damn your nightmares! And yet, many had their nightmares that wouldn't only exist in dreams: the phantom limbs; the flashes of noise and body parts around them; the unrelenting, numbing fear. It was a different time, a different norm.
In 1946, a visionary group of filmmakers, some who had been war correspondents and some who had been soldiers, and some who intimately knew people devastated by the war joined in a vision toward educational films that accurately portrayed the social issues that the returning soldiers faced. Their goal wasn't to shock, but to educate. Okay, maybe shock somewhat in the name of awareness. This is one of those films.
Some find it trite and don't understand how profound it was for 1946. The War Department and others did not want this shown; I would guess that they did not want the hero worship to diminish and the economic boom to slow.
This was a hard movie to watch, primarily for the reasons that low reviews state: it's boring if you don't stay with it; it's too compressed with one miracle session curing everything, etc. But this film well documents the progression of each different stage of the portrayed trauma responses. For how young psychiatry was at that time, I find this film, from its inception into its concept, through the production and into the way it was banned for 35 years (1981, Cannes) amazing. It reflects the mores of that era in both everyday and professional life. Psychiatry was trying to break free of lobotomies, electroshock therapy, and other horrors.
Amazing, think about it in this perspective--this was actually still under War Department ban until after The Green Berets (1964), The Deer Hunter (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979) were released.
Let There Be Light was truly too long in the dark.
ReMastered: Massacre at the Stadium (2019)
Surprised how engrossing this was!
I kept coming back to this film, trying to decide if I really wanted to watch it. I decided to check it out early one morning. This is a surprising gem that I will probably watch again. This documentary is about the political turmoil in Chile during the 1970's. It is about the military coup in 1973 termed "the first 9/11," and the murderous regime that followed.During the coup, thousands were brutally brought to a stadium in Santiago where many were tortured and murdered. Included in those murdered was Victor Jara, a beloved folk singer and activist who's works spread internationally. Many of those murdered were never identified.
This documentary also covers the search for justice of those killed that day, focusing on Victor Jara. In telling the story in this documentary, photos, video and interviews are used to great effect in keeping the story interesting and compelling. The story line and narration don't bog down on one facet--at least to me, and kept this riveting.
Atomic Homefront (2017)
Does the EPA really care?
I debated about watching this documentary, questioning how compelling it could be. I did choose to watch it and, yes, it is compelling! Atomic Homefront documents the battle of communities around a radioactive waste dump site in north St. Louis. Several generations of families have lived close to this dump site. At times locals residents can smell the odors from the decomp of this waste. Children have played in a nearby creek for years. The EPA declared the site a Superfund Site in 1990, but has done little remediation claiming the level of exposure to local residents is minimal. Despite the EPA's findings, Cancer rates have soared and then there is that smell. That little creek floods and carries radioactive waste into homes. More recently, a Subsurface Smoldering Event has developed in another part of the dump and threatens to reach the radioactive waste.
How does a community cope with this? People find themselves trapped by mortgages, caring for sick family members, and trying to obtain accountability. This documentary is about the fight for that accountability against government agencies that are mired in red tape and are unresponsive to the plight of the people in the neighborhoods.
I Googled Superfund Sites in the US after watching this. You should, too.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service: Seek (2013)
Outstanding and beautiful episode!
NCIS is one of those rare TV series that had survived the test of time. Unlike many shows that seem to use up all their energy and stop working after only a few seasons, NCIS has not only kept the energy going, but has also built a cast and the internal continuity that has become more dynamic through the years. One of the ways it has achieved this is by including episodes that vary from the usual themes and provide an emotionally engaging story line. This is one such episode.
This was truly a beautiful episode! Sgt. LeMere, a Marine dog handler stationed in Kabul, is shot by a sniper--reportedly Taliban, after saving two children. His wife, Ruby, had received a foreboding video message from him taped the day previous to his death. She brings that message to NCIS seeking answers.
That much of this episode's story line is revealed within the first few minutes. I don't want to reduce the power of this episode by revealing any more of the story. Suffice it to say, this episode was presented with performances that had the depth and believable emotional pull to engage the viewer, and a story line that was unique. The actress portraying Mrs. LeMere and the bomb dog, Dexter, both offered outstanding performances that truly made this episode outstanding and beautiful!