I will refrain from making any spelling jokes in this review, tempting though it may be. The spelling bee, to my still somewhat European eyes, seems a very alien tradition, though I’d be hard pressed to say just what exaclty it is about fidgety bespectacled eleven year old kids with overzealous parents spelling words much […]
Okinawa is located on an strategic spot of ocean real estate, and has been occupied by numerous foreig powers throughout its history. This stormy military past has forged the island’s strong martial arts tradition, but a side effect of a multitude of traders and soldiers passing through is a multilayered cultural richness. This compilation collects […]
A gripping real life story of an honest cop in the late 60s in New York, and the breakthrough for Al Pacino as a big movie star (though I was a bit surprised to hear both the producer and director Lumet talk about how the Godfather was truly Brando’s movie. While old tissuecheek certainly is […]
Bei manchen dokumentarischen Büchern fragt man sich unweigerlich, warum man sich die deprimierende Abfolge unheilvoller Tatsachen ins Denkgebäude schraubt. Nun ist es andererseits natürlich Unsinn auf dem Niveau der Erstmal-besser-machen Kritikverneiner, Unschönes nur deshalb abzulehnen, weil es keine konstruktiven Schlüsse anzubieten hat, aber erbaulich hätte ich es doch gefunden, nach der Durchsicht all der Naziwiderlichkeiten […]
This is a nice enough movie, I suppose, but it left me with a feeling of emptyness where meaning should have been. It can’t possibly want to tell me something about human relations, or the male character’s faults wouldn’t be so blatant and unsubtle, and it can’t be entertainment either, for though there is quite […]
Ever since the first of the Lord of the Rings trilogy came out, Middle Earth has been a holiday* staple for me. I liked the original theatrical versions well enough, but it’s only in the extended cuts that the story’s pacing works and the rich undertones of Tolkiens mythology get a chance to resonate through […]
Though the lack of meaning and its pulpy plot development are part of the concept of this highly stylish science fiction comic come alive, it drags a bit toward the end, when even the vestiges of development devolve into a series of ever fancier military gadgetry being deployed. The design is quite nice, but with […]