A Corner in Wheat (1909)

Posted on September 5, 2024 by Phil Hall

Notable as being among D.W. Griffith’s earliest attempts to blend cinema and politics, the 1909 short film “A Corner in Wheat” depicted the rise of the “Wheat King,” a speculator who manages to corner the commodity market on wheat. His success brings him great wealth that is spent on opulent entertainment for his friends, while the farmers who grow the wheat are stuck in hardscrabble lives and the lower classes who cannot afford the price gouging by the Wheat King – the cost of bread loaves is hiked from five to ten cents, forcing many to go hungry. However, the triumph of his business ruthlessness occurs moments before a freak accident where he crushed to death in a grain silo.
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J.K. Rowling Steals Shit (or How a Bigot Got Rich Off of Other People’s Ideas)

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Brian Pittman

Many years ago my good friend Felix asked me if I’d write about J.K. Rowling for his site, which I gladly obliged. That article is long gone now and, frankly, I’m a much better writer so I proposed taking another swing at it. When I originally wrote it I focused on the most obvious issue with Rowling. Since then, though? Oh my god, the flood gates of negatives regarding her has been opened nonstop.

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Feels Good, Man (2019) [Fantasia Festival 2020]

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Felix Vasquez

Director Arthur Jones’ documentary is probably one of the most important and depressing films of the last five years. It’s mainly a movie that doesn’t just touch upon the snowballing of a mascot for pure hatred and violence, but the horrifying power of the internet and its litany of sub-cultures. It also explores the little known fact that its original artist never intended to give it the kind of purpose that’s given it a notorious unstoppable life inside and outside of social media.

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You Have to See This! Winter Soldier (1972)

Posted on August 23, 2019 by Felix Vasquez

“In boot camp, we used to every night we had to say–before we went to bed, we’d have to sing the Marine Corps Hymn, and laying at attention in bed,we’d sing the Marine Corps Hymn, and then we’d say,”Another day in the Corps, sir, for every day’s a holiday and every meal’s a feast. Pray for war. Pray for war. God bless the Marine Corps. God bless my drill instructors. Pray for war.” And every night we had to say that, and when we’d run and we’d sing songs, we’d sing, like, they’d say, “Kill, kill, kill.” And when we–at our–at judo practice and knife fighting practice and bayonet fighting practice it was always, that was the yell: “Kill, kill, kill.”’

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Knock Down the House (2019)

Posted on May 3, 2019 by Felix Vasquez

“For every ten rejections you get one acceptance. And that’s how you win.”

Rachel Lears’ political documentary “Knock Down the House” might appear to be a documentary exploring the campaigns of a group of women that sought to win positions in the House in Washington, but deep down it’s about hope. For too long, America has been convinced that frankly only established politicians and those within inner circles can claim positions of power. “Knock Down the House” shows how four women rose from obscurity to shake up the government, and how Alexandria Ocasio Cortez rightfully won her position as congresswoman.

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Playing God (2017) [Hot Docs 2017]

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Emilie Black

In the US (and other countries), when mass casualties happen, people and organization plan the payouts and how much each person gets. This person often times, in the biggest cases, is US attorney Ken Feinberg. Playing God is a documentary about him and his life, working on some of the toughest cases in the country including 9/11, the BP oil spill, and a case of pension funds being taken away. Through the film, his persona is slowly shed to reveal the man behind the cases, making him more human and more relatable.

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The Bootleg Files: Another Nice Mess

Posted on April 21, 2017 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 586: “Another Nice Mess” (1972 comedy film starring Rich Little).

LAST SEEN: It is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Even the film’s producers admitted it stank.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

Humorist Leo Rosten once commented, “Satire is focused bitterness.” It is hard to find a more accurate description of satire – and in view of today’s surplus of Alt-Left comedians going out of their way to denigrate the president and his family, the level of bitterness has become hopelessly poisoned.

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