'Criticism is the only thing that stands between the audience and advertising.' - Pauline Kael

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Paul Robeson With Oakland, Ca. Shipyard Workers, 1942

Black August

So in order to best cover all bases, progressive film critics tend to consider three categories of assessment, rather than two: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The first two are self-explanatory. And the third category is reserved for movies that may have been impressively put together, but there's just something offensively anti-humanistic about them.

Stay tuned......

The Organizer

Thursday, July 30, 2020

The Big Ugly: Gangster Thriller, Greed, Oil And A Rural Appalachia Uprising


Move over, The Ugly American, boasting Brando front and center or not. A gangster thriller gone global that may endure for it's provocative title if nothing else, The Big Ugly could not have encapsulated planetary US imperialism thuggery more. Playing out in discovered West Virginia oil-rich land around a local creek known as Big Ugly, this Scott Wiper sophomoric sendup of well worn gangster territory, promises so much more while delivering exceedingly less.

The film follows the unfortunate escapades of London mobsters played by Malcolm McDowell and Vinnie Jones, as they are lured to rural West Virginia to invest in a money laundering oil venture concocted by shady businessman, Ron Perlman. And though by no means saintly operatives themselves, the comparatively gentlemanly Brits get caught up in the deadly bully instincts of those avaricious oil Yanks, with tragic consequences. And while dredging up oil exploitation gangster capitalism via the otherwise tired narrative proceedings, Appalachian rebels as the ripped off rural masses happen to rise up to reclaim their confiscated land - though they should have grabbed a lot more screen time, and been placed decisively front and center in the story. 

Meanwhile, with UK sacrificial racketeers turning up, would that be British Brexit anxiety chiming in - now that Boris has left the country vulnerable and on its own for the anticipated US economic feeding frenzy? Who can say. On the other hand, spending screen time with the likes of that OG - or rather OJ, original Joker  - that Clockwork Orange classic unhinged thug, Malcolm McDowell while pondering his take on gangsters then and now, usually tends to feel like it might have been an otherwise missed opportunity.

Prairie Miller

Friday, July 17, 2020

Dateline: Saigon Review: Fake News, Nothing New



 Though the notion of fake news has a specific connection at this moment in time to the sitting president lashing out at media reports unfavorable to him, that concept has a surprisingly much longer and secretive tarnished US history - with no particular party affiliation in collusion with the media as well. And Dateline: Saigon, the documentary delving into the Vietnam War as covered by fearless journalist back then, simultaneously reveals a huge trove of US state secrets conducting that war covertly as if, say - directing a Hollywood movie.

Written and directed by first time filmmaker Tom Herman and narrated by Sam Waterston, Dateline: Saigon revisits the efforts of Viet Nam war correspondents - Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, Malcolm Browne, Peter Arnett, and photojournalist Horst Faas, to record the truth on two war fronts, not just one. In other words, struggling against US government censorship bent on discrediting them, pressuring to report the Viet Nam War their way dishonestly, and as a winning venture.

And revealing not just about what transpired decades ago in that regard, but that nothing has changed - no matter which political party. And by extension, what the past can reveal concerning our present time, both historically and about the media.

While in the case of Peter Arnett,  covering Middle East US invasions and wars, along the US assault on Viet Nam - the JFK/Johnson government, CIA and Hoover's FBI were bent on destroying Arnett by shutting him down professionally, And necessitating personal protection as well for reporting the truth.

Dateline: Saigon - A rigorous and scathing chronicle of devastating defeat: The US War on Viet Nam, and on the US media.

Prairie Miller