The Insider
The movie tells the story of how Dr Jeffrey Wigand blew the lid on the tobacco industry’s lies about smoking addiction. There is also a revealing insight into the fear that big business can bring to the media.
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Articles in the Reviews - Movies Category...
Tokyo Blues: Jazz and Blues in Japan
I enjoyed the short film “Tokyo Blues”, about the popularity of jazz music in Japan.
The film was made by my friend Craig McTurk. Craig lived in Japan while making the movie in the late 1990s.
The movie traces the development of jazz through its introduction from the US in the 1920s (when Tokyo and Shanghai were [...]
City of Joy
A young-looking Patrick Swayze stars in this 1992 movie about paths to enlightenment, failed dreams, poverty and fulfillment through helping others.
An American doctor (Swayze) is devastated when his young patient dies in the operating theatre. He quits his job and goes to India to find enlightenment (or at least to get away from the trauma [...]
The Privileged Planet
The Privileged Planet
Illustra Media, 2004 (www.illustramedia.com)
It looked like it was going to be a promising title. From the cover:
“The same factors that make a planet like Earth suitable for life also provide the best conditions for scientific discovery.”
and
“Does it point to a deeper truth about purpose and intelligent design within the cosmos?”
However, this movie turned [...]
A brief time in history
I saw an excellent movie about Stephen Hawking recently.
The acting was brilliant (Hawking’s muscular deterioration and growing frustration were portrayed with realism and sensitivity), the story is compelling (tragedy, romance, discovery, brilliance) and there was strong encouragement to reflect on the meaning of life, the universe and everything.
Ever read his “A Brief History of Time”? [...]
H20
I just finished watching a brilliant Canadian movie, H20. It was intelligent, well-written, well-directed and very thought-provoking.
A conspiracy involves the son of a recently-assassinated Canadian prime minister. A group of businessmen attempts to change the political landscape of the whole of North America. The bargaining chip? Water.
Full of mystery and danger, the movie cleverly [...]
Nobody Knows
Nobody Knows (誰も知らない - ‘Dare mo Shiranai’), directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu, is a fictional reconstruction based on the true story of 4 children who were abandoned in a Tokyo apartment in 1988 (”Affair of the Four Abandoned Children of Nishi-Sugamo”).
It was a very moving film for me, especially as it seemed so disturbingly possible. The [...]
Where were the Few Good Men?
Tom Cruise stars in the JAG-based “A Few Good Men”. I’m still not quite sure why it was called that and I have to say, the JAG tv show normally has better story lines.
The location of the crime (a marine gets roughed up and dies) was most intriguing - it was Guantanamo in Cuba. The [...]
Sayonara to Marlon
‘Sayonara’, starring Marlon Brando, was set in post-war Japan. Brando plays a Korean war flying ace who is stationed in Kobe in 1951. This is meant to encourage him to marry the general’s daughter, but somehow he gets distracted by a female Japanese performer. This is a no-no in post-war Japan, with ’strict’ regulations against [...]
