Posts by Neely Swanson
“The People vs. Agent Orange” – No end in sight [MOVIE REVIEW]
“The People vs. Agent Orange” is not the first foray into this morass by co-directors Kate Taverna and Alan Adelson. They previously collaborated on “Agent Orange: La dernière bataille” (“Agent Orange, the last battle”), a television documentary for the French and German markets that premiered in the fall of 2020. “The People vs. Agent Orange”…
Read More“The Orphanage” – A Refuge? [MOVIE REVIEW]
“The Orphanage,” a film by female Afghani director/writer Shahrbanoo Sadat, is enlightening in many ways. What could be a depressing look into the abandoned in Afghanistan, is, instead, a film illustrating the French aphorism — the more things change, the more they remain the same. We first meet 15 year old Qodrat as he enjoys…
Read More“Mr. Topaze” – Not a gem [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Mr. Topaze,” a long lost film from 1961 and Peter Seller’s directorial debut was a one-off. Although maintaining a controlling hand in many of his features, this was his sole feature credit as a director. Watching the film, you will understand why. Originally written in 1928, “Mr. Topaze” was a highly regarded stage play, the…
Read More“Til Kingdom Come” – End of days for whom? [MOVIE REVIEW]
The opening moments of “Til Kingdom Come” are chilling as we watch a man set up targets outdoors and load his automatic weapon as he explains what motivates disenfranchised rural southern Christians. Believing they had been dismissed by Obama, they moved forward with Trump because he pushed their agenda. As he points out, “We are…
Read More“The Father” -Whose life is it, anyway? [MOVIE REVIEW]
“The Father,” a trip down no-memory lane, started life as one of Florian Zeller’s character plays. This powerful piece focusing on the steep descent into dementia has been brought to the screen in a translation by Christopher Hampton, with the screenplay written by Hampton and Zeller featuring Zeller in his directorial debut. Like the other…
Read More“Tell Me Your Secrets” – But hold out for more [TELEVISION SERIES]
“Tell Me Your Secrets,” Amazon’s new series is a juicy soap opera with criminal and mystery underpinnings that relies on too many story threads. It takes a couple of episodes before the series starts to jell and then it begins to take off. Created by Harriet Walter, who has written many episodes of “Call the…
Read More“Blithe Spirit” – Not too blithe and definitely no spirit [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Blithe Spirit,” the heavy handed remake of Noël Coward’s frothy bonbon is almost inexplicably awful. This will be short and definitely not sweet. Allegedly this is a refresh of a theater classic that has been given successful film and television adaptations on six different occasions, beginning with the first in 1945, directed by David Lean…
Read More“Mafia, Inc.” – Bad fellas with accents [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Mafia, Inc.” is a wild, rambling, riveting ride through the mean streets of Montreal. French Canadian director, Daniel Grou goes by the single moniker of Podz. Pulling stories from the nonfiction book entitled Mafia Inc. by André Cédilot and André Noël about the true-life Rizzuto clan, screenwriter Sylvain Guy has created a film full of…
Read More“Myth of a Colorblind France” – Poetry in motion [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Myth of a Colorblind France,” written by Jason Johnson-Spinos and Alan Govenar and directed by Govenar, is a joyful documentary that is sentimental and hard edged at the same time. It is exuberant and informative; worshipful history and clear-eyed. When African American soldiers arrived in Paris during World War I, they found a populace who…
Read More“The Mauritanian” – The survivor [MOVIE REVIEW]
“The Mauritanian,” based partially on Guantánamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, is to be seen, felt, and experienced. The true story about the courageously honest actions of two lawyers on opposite sides of the fence to deliver a fair verdict in the case of Slahi, accused of being a mastermind of 9/11, challenges you to…
Read More“Al Davis vs. the NFL” – Never a contest [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Al Davis vs. the NFL,” is the latest documentary from Ken Rodgers, a leading sports director best known for the HBO series “Hard Knocks,” and his work on previous ESPN “30 for 30” films. Rodgers definitely knows a good story when he sees one, and this is definitely a good story. Al Davis promoted a…
Read More“La Llorona” – Weep no more [MOVIE REVIEW]
“La Llorona,” Guatemala’s award-winning film is the second this year, after “The Art of Political Murder”, to tackle the difficult subject of war crimes during the civil war that began in 1960 and ended (in a manner of speaking) in 1996. Here the subject is a war criminal; an aging General who is defiant, arrogant,…
Read More“M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity” – More Isn’t Enough [MOVIE REVIEW]
M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity,” the exquisite new documentary about one of the most inventive graphic artists of all times, beautifully captures why he has been and continues to be revered. Directed by Robin Lutz, it follows a playbook created by Escher himself when he stated, “I fear that there is only one person in…
Read More“Two of Us” – It’s exponential [MOVIE REVIEW]
“Two of Us” (“Deux”) is the feature film debut of director Filippo Meneghetti. Sharing screenplay credit with Malysone Bovorasmy, Meneghetti has given us a movie of incredible depth, warmth, and insight. It is a gift, carefully encased in layers, unwrapped lovingly from the colored paper on the outside to the fragile tissue around the reward.…
Read More“Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time” – Get ready [MOVIE REVIEW]
by Neely Swanson “Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time,” directed and written by Lili Horvát, is an adventure into the tricks our brains sometimes play, or is it? Not ironically, this story about the way our minds can sometimes mislead us centers on two neurosurgeons. Márta, a star neurosurgeon who trained…
Read More“The Reason I Jump” – Because I must [MOVIE REVIEW]
by Neely Swanson “The Reason I Jump,” the compassionate documentary by Jerry Rothwell, is a surprising look at the autism spectrum. Put aside your preconceptions. This is not about Asperger’s, that garbage category that seems to include all your friends and relatives who have difficulty in social situations, lack empathy, and/or eye contact. This is…
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