Jan 28

Jan 28 Joseph Sargent's "Something The Lord Made"

Very few movies accurately depict either research-based advances in life-saving surgery OR the deadeningly real impacts of racism on life, mind, and spirit. To see these two themes intertwined with such ferocious dramatic impact in a film is nothing short of amazing. Yet here it is.

Dec 20
Dec 20 Jean-Pierre Jeunet's A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT

Dennis D. McDonald

Drama, Emotional, History, War

Nov 9
Nov 9 JAPAN's LONGEST DAY

Dennis D. McDonald

History, Japanese, War

Sep 2

Sep 2 Santosh Sivan's “ASOKA”

Dennis D. McDonald

History, Indian, Shahrukh Khan

This epic film by Santosh Sivan (The Terrorist) follows the historic emperor Asoka as he brutally unites ancient India through warfare, then recants and proselytizes Buddhist philosophy after seeing the errors of his power hungry ways. His road is littered with broken hearts, family infighting, murder, massive battles, and tragedy.

May 8
May 8 Oliver Hirschbiegel's DOWNFALL

Dennis D. McDonald

History

Watching this movie about the last days of Hitler in his bunker as the Red Army slowly made its way through bombed-out Berlin, I recognized something -- the actor playing Hitler is Bruno Ganz, who also played the lead guardian angel in Wings of Desire.

Jan 11

Jan 11 Steven Spielberg's MUNICH

Dennis D. McDonald

History, Intelligent, Spielberg, Thriller

That the issues raised by this faux history of events kicked off by the massacre of Israelis at the 1972 Olympics are still so relevant is a testament to Spielberg’s intelligence and sense of morality. It also helps that he’s a terrific film-maker who is willing to attack complex topics in an intelligent, personal, and thoughtful way.

Dec 1

Dec 1 Expo: Magic of the White City

Dennis D. McDonald

Documentary, History

This documentary about the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago is the perfect companion to the book The Devil in the White City. While the latter's serial murderer is never mentioned in the documentary, the visual splendor of the Fair is portrayed in a detailed and awesome manner on the screen.

Sep 5

Sep 5 Oliver Stone's “ALEXANDER” (Director's Cut)

Dennis D. McDonald

Antiquity, Drama, History

Contrary to popular opinion, it IS possible to find positive reviews of this movie onlne.

Feb 15
Feb 15 Mani Ratnam's BOMBAY

Dennis D. McDonald

History, Indian

The theme of this movie is religious intolerance. What starts out as “forbidden love” between a small-town Hindu boy and Muslim girl becomes a horror story as they take their “forbidden love” to the big city, Bombay. There they land right in the middle of the vicious religious cultural riots of 1992-1993.

Jan 2

Jan 2 Martin Scorsese's THE AVIATOR

Dennis D. McDonald

Aircraft, History

The Aviator is a grand and unique combination of glamour, adventure, intrigue, spectacle, humor, tragedy, and melodrama. It's about big, famous people doing things that we expect big, famous people to do. And it uses all the power that modern filmmaking technology has to offer. But its focus, ultimately, is on people and the things they do. The fact that the people inhabit (and helped create) the world of today is a definite plus, and Scorsese makes the most of this.

Dec 5

Dec 5 The Passion of Joan of Arc

Dennis D. McDonald

Classic, Drama, Emotional, History

This 1928 silent film is emotionally wrenching. We follow a fictionalized account of the “trial” of Joan of Arc by an English-controlled religious court. The “trial” spans a day leading up to her being burned at the stake.

Oct 22

Oct 22 Lewis Gilbert's “SINK THE BISMARCK!”

Dennis D. McDonald

History, War

When Germany’s Bismarck sank Britain’s Hood in 1941, 1,415 men lost their lives; only three survived. The final explosion that sent Hood down is dramatized as one of many fantastic occurrences in this tense and realistic film.