Film Reviews
An exposure of corruption: Afghanistan, on the Dollar Trail
By Mathew Benn, October 31, 2009
Afghanistan, on the Dollar Trail, written and directed by Paul Moreira and produced by Sue Spencer
The Invention of Lying: Telling the truth, or some of it
By Hiram Lee, October 20, 2009
Comedian Ricky Gervais makes his debut as a writer and director of feature films with a comedy set in a world in which human beings never developed the ability to lie.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 6
Thoroughly lost, or playing at it
By David Walsh, October 17, 2009
Lars von Trier from Denmark, once associated with the Dogme 95 group, has been making films for some two decades. His latest effort is Antichrist. It is a murky, hopelessly contrived, and, frankly, ri...
“Obama’s War”: A glimpse of US debacle in Afghanistan
By Bill Van Auken, October 15, 2009
“Obama’s War,” the hour-long television documentary aired on “Frontline” Tuesday, provides a telling glimpse of the debacle facing the US intervention in Afghanistan, but no real explanation...
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 4
More human (and artistic) problems
By David Walsh, October 10, 2009
Where are the extraordinary and captivating film dramas, and comedies, that go to the heart of our time?
Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story
By Joanne Laurier and David Walsh, October 6, 2009
Veteran documentary filmmaker Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story sets out to examine the recent financial collapse. His aim, he suggests, is a critique of the existing economic set-up.
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired: Laying bare the facts of the 1978 case
By Hiram Lee, October 5, 2009
The 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired exposes the character of the legal proceedings from which Roman Polanski fled in 1978.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009—Part 2
“The Iraq war poisoned the water—you can’t undo that, it’s there forever”
By David Walsh, October 3, 2009
Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein have directed at least three remarkable documentaries about the US invasion of Iraq and its consequences: (Gunner Palace (2004), The Prisoner or: How I Planned to Ki...
“Law & Order” episode makes case for prosecution of Bush administration torturers
By Patrick Martin, October 2, 2009
The season premiere of NBC’s crime drama “Law & Order” was a rarity for American television: an unsparing and essentially honest examination of the crimes being committed by the American governm...
District 9, an attempt at serious science fiction
By Hiram Lee, September 17, 2009
Neill Blomkamp’s District 9 is a science fiction film about aliens forced to suffer under apartheid when their ship stalls in the skies over Johannesburg, South Africa.
GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra—yet another celebration of militarism and war
By Christie Schaefer and Hiram Lee, September 5, 2009
Based on a popular toy and cartoon franchise, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra is a film that does little more than glorify militarism and war.
Inglourious Basterds: Quentin Tarantino goes to war
By Hiram Lee, September 1, 2009
Director Quentin Tarantino’s latest film is another sadistic revenge tale, this time set during the Second World War.
