Ah Nazisploitation, one of my favorite sub-genres of the Grindhouse niche. After watching the “Ilsa” movies last year, I found the subset to be a very fascinating and varied area with titles attempting social relevance and failing immensely. “Blitzkrieg” is the incredible ambitious and sophisticated dip into the nazi exploitation gallery with a very unusual and original story that hearkens back to Jess Franco and Don Edmonds. “Blitzkrieg” sets down on 1955, a little over a decade after the holocaust where a secret group of officers are busting ex-Nazi death camp owners and arresting them.
Tag Archives: War
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (2007)
I was admittedly very skeptical with Robbins’ war time documentary for the simple fact that I’m frankly tired of seeing war time documentaries that attempt to sway me one way or the other. I’m either watching a cleaned up war through the eyes of the soldiers who beg for sympathy, or through some pundit bemoaning the Iraq War endlessly and harping on our doomed country in a war that may not end too soon.
Persepolis (2007)
In a world where we’re reduced to watching nothing but talking Cars preaching about pollution, and surfing penguins all for the sake of selling fast food, and action figures, it’s often very exhilarating to watch an animated film that’s about something rather than the excruciating sugary pabulum we’re force fed as film lovers and general movie goers. Even more, it’s refreshing to see an animated film that dares to challenge our views on politics and discusses misplaced man in a foreign culture. “Persepolis” has almost everything to its benefit and thankfully never pigeonholes itself as one particular genre offering, and it works so well in its favor, that it ends as an experience of discovery, rather than a simple 2D world of stark black and whites, and vibrant pastels.
Across The Universe (2007) (DVD)
One of the benefits of being a hardcore Beatles fan is that I don’t really need to buy the covers of the best Beatles songs of all time presented in “Across the Universe.” Instead I have the entire soundtrack and much more in my grasp. Ain’t it sweet? “Across the Universe” gets a lot of guff for being that representation of the Beatles that wasn’t mean to be. It’s a movie, a mainstream movie, with a rather cliché story, but you know what? Fuck it. “Across the Universe” is an absolute masterpiece, a thrilling, chilling, and incredible musical experience that takes the best of the Beatles and transfers it into an awfully excellent romance and war time story under the direction of Julie Taymor who takes a movie and makes it into a cathartic experience for the fans.
Atonement (2007)
All it took were the words of a child. All it took were the words and accusations of one child, and it set in motion events of one of the most unusual romances I’ve ever come across. “Atonement” is set around the hook of a man accused of a crime, which gives him surprising clarity on his life. Robbie is a servant for a local wealthy family in the countryside on the cusp of World War 2 where Hitler is beginning his reign of terror. But, “Atonement” is less about the lieu of the war, and more about what leads to Robbie’s inevitable interaction with the big war that he didn’t intend on. It begins on a light note, as Joe Wright, known for the moderately entertaining “Pride & Prejudice” adaptation, starts the film off as an odd series of coincidences and happenstances that take a toll on the characters all around them.
Transformers (2007)
“Transformers” has the distinction of being the first Michael Bay movie I’ve ever really looked forward to, and awaited information on, ever. Which is saying a lot considering Michael Bay is universally a terrible director who can’t create an entertaining movie to save his life. But setting aside I got over the Transformers hype a month before the release date, “Transformers” is a movie I expected to fail, and in actuality was proven wrong. As someone born in the early eighties, I caught onto the Transformers craze at the end, and grew fond of the robots in disguise, I have to say. To this day, being an animation buff and comic geek, I still have a tender spot for the robotic warriors, and felt a sense of anticipation and excitement brush over me as the film started. “Transformers” leaves nothing to the imagination.
Transmorphers (2007)
A zebra can’t change its stripes, and in spite of the rumblings from the movie world, the Asylum will not stop making rip offs of bigger movies, because money talks and it also has no dignity or artistic merit. So, I’ve come to terms with the Asylum’s ridiculous practices, and set my sights on bigger fish with more importance in the film world, than some company making low budget rehashes with similar titles. “Transmorphers” was a pathetic concept the first I heard of it, because—well, look at the title. What robot movie does the title hearken to? Regardless, I approached this new effort with optimism because the cover art is just great; whoever works at the art department should be commended for constantly adding appeal to the turds the studio trots out to stores, and hell, the cover for “Transmorphers” is just beautiful.