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The Oslo Diaries (7.6/10) (2017) dir. Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan
The Olso Diaries is perhaps one of the most emotionally powerful documentaries I’ve seen. The film is about the progress that the Oslo Accords almost made and the subsequent assassination of Yitzchak Rabin. It conveyed the massive appeal of Israeli-Palestinian peace, which made it extremely painful when the possibility of peace was thwarted at the…
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Tsirk (5.8/10) (1936) dir. Grigori Aleksandrov and Isidor Simkov
This strange Soviet musical epitomized the “cinema of attractions” with its eccentric circus acts and musical performances. It also exemplified the socialist realism style that was dominant in the USSR in which the glorification of socialist values is juxtaposed with realistic images. The film is about a circus performer who has a black baby and…
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It Happened One Night (7.4/10) (1934) dir. Frank Capra
It Happened One Night is a masterpiece that is a great example of the screwball comedy genre. This historical genre differs slightly from romantic comedy. Screwball comedy is characterized by shifting triadic relationship structures and not-so-subtle misogyny (man “lays claim” to woman, woman initially resists but cannot tame her desires). The fast paced banter between the…
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The Heartbreak Kid (8.4/10) (1972) dir. Elaine May
The Heartbreak Kid is hilarious, one of the most entertaining films I’ve seen all year. It tells the story of a recent set of Jewish newlyweds on their honeymoon in Miami. Lenny (Charles Grodin) is very quickly disenchanted with his new ‘jappy’ wife, Lila (Jeannie Berlin) and becomes infatuated with the ‘waspy’ blonde Kelly (Cybill…
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Darkest Hour (8/10) (2017) dir. Joe Wright
Darkest Hour was a great historical film about Winston Churchill’s steadfast unwillingness to negotiate with the Nazis. It portrays the earliest days of his role as Britain’s prime minister. The Allies are crumbling at the hands of the Germans and Churchill must decide whether or not to broker a peace deal. He firmly believes that…
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M (7/10) (1931) dir. Fritz Lang
Fritz Lang’s classic film, M, is a dark masterpiece for its time. Although the middle is a bit slow (about an hour where nothing really happens), the beginning and ending sequences are iconic and mesmerizing. M is an example of the New Objectivism in Germany with subtle hints of the German Expressionism that New Objectivism replaced. While German…
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Ice Mother (5.4/10) (2017) dir. Bohdan Sláma
Ice Mother was a strange Czech film about ice swimming, petty familial conflict, and two people in their late sixties falling in love. It told a story about transformation as each of the characters in the film overcome some flaw they are wrestling with. Again the movie was really strange. There is an almost absurd…
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Baywatch (6.4/10) (2017) dir. Seth Gordon
Despite its horrendously incoherent plot, Baywatch was very entertaining. Its substance mostly came from its beautiful actors, incredible editing, and epic music. Much of this movie was shot and edited like a music video, which was pretty awesome. Additionally, much of its humor was self-referential and self-deprecating. It was completely aware of how ridiculous it…
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Battle of the Sexes (6/10) (2017) dir. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris
Although a depiction of an interesting historical event, I did not find this film particularly entertaining. I was expecting more humor and less ideology. However, the mis-en-scene was impressive and the film was very successful as a period piece. Additionally, there were certainly some artful shots composed by these music video directors. The film clearly…
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The Women’s Balcony (6.2/10) (2016) dir. Emil Ben-Shimon
I greatly enjoyed this film despite some glaring holes in the plot. Most striking to me was the quickness by which Ettie was forgiven by her friends. Aside from this subtle issue, the film was really good. The cinematography of beautiful Jerusalem was very impressive and I was shocked by how great the acting was.…