Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (Sophie Scholl – Die letzten Tage) (2005)

Posted on February 6, 2006 by Felix Vasquez

In 1943, German teens Sophie and Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst along with many others, were convicted of crimes against their country during the end of the second world war. Sophie, Hans, and Christoph were convicted and executed after being caught distributing leaflets and pamphlets speaking out against Hitler and his army. What’s depicted in “Sophie Scholl” is the utterly heroic and courageous war fought by these three people to survive and send out their messages of impending defeat to the Nazi’s. “Sophie Scholl” is a brilliant and utterly magnificent exploration not only in to the battle of these freedom fighters, but also an insightful glance at the last breath of the Nazi regime. I insist I’ve yet to see an awful depiction of the holocaust, and I stand by it. “Sophie Scholl” can be added to that list as one of the best depictions of Nazi wrath, and defiance ever made. It’s a masterpiece, pure and simple.

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Super Size Me (2004)

Posted on October 24, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

Why did Spurlock pinpoint his attack on McDonald’s? Because it’s the most famous franchise in America, it’s everywhere and has paved its way into pop culture and our very daily activities, kids whom are interviewed here could not identify pictures of George Washington or Jesus Christ, but quickly identified Ronald McDonald, the McDonald’s mascot. But surely it’s also due to the lawsuits given to them from obese people who claimed their food affected their life. I bet you’re saying what I thought: “They ate the food, it’s all their fault”, and in some cases it’s true, but the fast food companies are to blame as well. Documentary director Morgan Spurlock attempts to prove the judges who claim there’s no proof fast food had any effects on the victim’s health, and brings to the table the message of the severity of fast food consumption by going on an all McDonald’s diet for thirty days.

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Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) (DVD)

Posted on October 10, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

On the brink of war, documentary director Michael Moore, a man whose become synonymous with many labels depending on which political party you belong to, creates his next outrageous documentary/ expose which leans towards the left and garnered many a controversy. Exposing the motives behind the Iraq-American war from the United States, Moore manages to give a disturbing and rather intriguing look at the intentions behind the war, the intentions we were told, and what really happened while showing the things the news never shows, the suffering of the families of the soldiers, how Iraq is suffering just as much and maybe more than we are during this senseless conflict. I’ve never been much of a fan of Moore; he’s a manipulative opportunist and “Bowling for Columbine” was a documentary with much potential that trailed into different topics, but Moore hits the mark with “Fahrenheit 9/11”.

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Chernobyl Heart (2003)

Posted on September 26, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

On April 25th and 26th, 1986 the worst nuclear power accident in the world, and in history occurred at Chernobyl in the Ukraine (formerly the USSR). The Chernobyl nuclear power plant located had 4 reactors and while testing reactor number 4 numerous safety procedures were disregarded. At 1:23am the chain reaction in the reactor became out of control creating explosions and a fireball which blew off the reactor’s heavy steel and concrete lid. Thus the Chernobyl accident killed more than 30 people immediately, and as a result of the high radiation levels in the surrounding 20-mile radius, 135,00 people had to be evacuated, a lot of the cleaning workers who came to fix the accident died quickly, and some in a matter of years due to the immense amount of radiation they’d received while cleaning, but Chernobyl left a lasting legacy with the accident, a legacy within the city’s children.

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Head of State (2003)

Posted on May 23, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

This reminded me a lot of the Robert Redford vehicle “The Candidate” which was smart, witty and funny, but the difference between the two is that ultimately, this was much dumber, vapid, very derivative, and pretends to be a political satire when it’s just another Chris Rock vehicle. In this very far-fetched fairy tale, we meet May Gilliam a small time politician for the inner city of Washington DC who works for the people despite the fact we never actually see him at any rallies, holding any conferences or talking with any other politicians and he’s still pretty poor. He claims he wants to work for the people and help the people out yet never actually makes a difference in office. Hell, there’s even a scene that mimics “Harry and Tonto” where a woman refuses to leave her building which is about to be demolished because she can’t find her cat.

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Bowling for Columbine (2002)

Posted on February 29, 2004 by Felix Vasquez

We’re raised at early ages to fear in America, and we’re also bombarded with images of violence and sex, so much so it becomes numbing. As many of us have periodic moments of violence, many of the people in this tend to look at violence with a sort of comfort, almost as if they perceive violence to be apart of life, almost expected of us. Such is shown when a man accused of aiding the Uni-bomber sticks a gun to his head to demonstrate the accuracy of his gun. In another part of the world, a young boy in kindergarten shot another classmate; why he did what he did is never explained, or perhaps it can’t be explained. When asked why he did so, he replied with an uncertain answer; perhaps he was angry, or mentally disturbed, but that seems too easy. No one is really sure why he shot another student, but it seems the young boy simply shot her; almost as if it was an expected course of action, a first response.

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