A failed democracy. Democrats and Republicans not representing the working class who are forced into voting for people picked by the party ‘elites.’ Despotism. Nazism. Parkland. Flint. Greed. Racism. Micheal Moore’s films usually have a comedic hint to them to balance the bitter pill of reality that is being displayed by the documentary filmmaker, Fahrenheit…
Tag: greed
The Twilight Zone (1964) – The Masks, I Am the Night – Color Me Black, and Sounds and Silences
Spookiness abounds in this week’s instalment of The Twilight Zone: The Complete Series. First up is The Masks, penned by series creator Rod Serling. First airing on 20 March, 1964, the story centres around wealthy, and dying, Jason Foster (Robert Keith). Foster has invited all of his greedy heirs to a Mardi Gras party, and…
Goodfellas (1990) – Martin Scorsese
Goodfellas is the final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Godfather. Here’s the thing, the gangster genre has never been my favourite, or even high on my list of films I enjoy. But, I remember reading the original non-fiction book written by Nicholas Pileggi back…
Scarface (1983) – Brian De Palma
A story of greed wiping out any trace of humanity, and the dark side of the immigrant story, Brian De Palma’s update of the classic gangster 1932 film remains a staple of the genre as I return to the Thriller & Crime section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film. Al Pacino plays…
The Godfather Trilogy – Francis Ford Coppola
Paramount Pictures is celebrating the 45th anniversary with a re-release of the 1972 classic The Godfather, and its two sequels. I have a bit of a sordid history with these films. I’ve never been a fan of crime family stories, I can’t relate to them, and have never understood the hypocrisy that seems inherent in…
The Twilight Zone (1959) – Judgement Night, And When the Sky Was Opened and What You Need
Paramount Pictures continues my guided tour of the Twilight Zone this week as I explore The Complete Series on Blu-Ray. Rod Serling is back in fine form with the first episode up for review, Judgement Night. With an original airdate of 4 December, 1959, this episode is smart, well-penned, as revelations are made about Carl…
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) – Anthony Mann
An incredible cast fills out this recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of Spartacus. Alec Guinness is Marcus Aurelius, whose death begins the downfall of the great empire, as his son, Commodus (Christopher Plummer) assumes leadership, and is unwilling to let anything stand in his way. They…
Rififi (1955) – Jules Dassin
I love when the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film brings me a film that I’d never heard of, and then makes me fall in love with it. I dove back into the thriller and crime chapter of the book and was promptly introduced to this brilliant French film that tells of the…
Hot Docs 2015: Planetary – Guy Reid
Yesterday morning, I sat down and watched perhaps the singularly most important film that is screening at Hot Docs this year, and if you’re not in Toronto, you can track down this film online, as it was released internationally on Earth Day. Over the past century, man has advanced and for the first time,…
The Virginian (2014) – Thomas Makowski
Also available from Anchor Bay today is this updated, gritty reimagining of the classic television series, The Virginian. As I love a good western, I settled into take a look at this one, and quickly discovered that it contains pretty much all the tropes and moments you would expect from the generic western. There’s the…
The Mind Reels 