movie review

History of culture as a History of Choices

February 1, 2023 by Maria Kondorskaya

Today let’s talk about the history of culture as a history of choices or the subtle beauty of The Thief and the Cobbler versus straightforward shine of Aladdin. Yesterday I saw the Thief and the Cobbler animation film for the first time in my life. And I am pleasantly surprised. Despite its messy production history, … Read more

Alita – The Antithesis of Toxic Feminism

April 12, 2021January 12, 2021 by Ian Kummer

Summary: Alita is fun and beautifully done, and well worth seeing. Feminists’ reviews were savage. Their attacks reveal much about them and the new puritanism (ideological, not religious) sweeping America.

Spielberg Saved Private Ryan and Killed Patriotism

April 12, 2021November 22, 2020 by Ian Kummer

Synopsis: The classic 1998 gory D-Day movie Saving Private Ryan is a triumph of war cinema that lesser filmmakers have attempted to imitate countless times in the following decades up to the present day. Saving Private Ryan practically defined the entire genre of American war films, but also helped destroy it, perhaps irreversibly.

Super Women In the Trenches!

February 5, 2021October 25, 2020 by Ian Kummer

Synopsis: One boring night on Amazon Prime, I stumbled across the 2015 Russian WWI flick Battalion. Woman warriors march to the front lines, bayonets fixed, ready to charge into no man’s land! As I watched the drama unfold, another movie came to mind; Wonder Woman (2017) charging the German lines. How do the two movies compare? Uhh… different would be putting it mildly. Yet, despite being so different, they go hand in hand. They offer insights on their own, but when put side by side, create a whole picture. Wonder Woman and Battalion are polar opposites and teach opposite lessons. But they both serve the same purpose; to overwrite a dark moment in history, replacing it with a fantasy that’s both inspirational and comforting.