Screen_O_Genic

So here we are. A supposed disclosure of the existence of extraterrestrial beings since the supposed cover-up nearly 80 years ago of a crashed saucer and a lump of alien bodies the soulless and apathetic masses are presented with this evidence by a bunch of senior U. S. officials who the whole world have hated and distrusted for a long-time now. Why all of a sudden, and why now? According to the lead whistleblower here (appearing in the doc mostly garbed in a tight shirt, jeans, boots, tattoo-ridden and burly, looking more like a Mafia enforcer or a bouncer in a gay bar at that (makes you wonder, huh?)) his "discovery" of non-human life forms and their mind-bending technology and the threat they pose prompted him to seek confederates in government in order to inform the American government and public and for the former to make the necessary actions to counter said threat. The film then is mostly interviews of muscle boy and his fellow nerds in government and science as they relate their efforts and challenges in trying to convince the U. S. authorities in acknowledging the issue and to put in law measures to assure the safety of the American public and the rest of the world. The doc gets better at the second half as the technology of the "aliens" are discussed with how advanced they are and what their motives towards humans may be. The footage of the ones involved in the "expose" at the Senate hearings are suspicious and interesting.

Naturally, anyone aware of the topic will be taking this with an ocean of salt. One will instantly think that these "heroes" are shills tasked with spreading disinformation to mask a hidden agenda that will be unleashed at an unsuspecting public (well, to most at that). The appearance of the interviewees certainly don't help. Some look strange, some agitated, others look like they'd rather be somewhere else or are following orders. And with covid, Project Blue Beam, UFO cover-ups and expected government bad behavior this nearly two hour late to the party platter ain't going to register a life-altering epiphany to a dumb, vaccine-ridden, self-centered and ill-meaning cog numbing his way in his zombie-like existence in these stale and lifeless times.

Take it for what it is, but the kneejerk reaction to all of this from the substandard level of current human existence is a collective shrug then back to the cell phone. Some are even hoping the aliens will come to rescue them from the existential hell of their day to day infernos. With too much damage done the reality is: nobody gives a damn anymore.

Perhaps the greatest case of collective evil placed on trial, "Nuremberg" delivers in true elegant period-piece court drama the landmark event when top surviving Nazi officials were caught and judged in court for their crimes. Based on the book "The Nazi and the Psychiatrist" by Jack El-Hai the film chronicles in measured motion the actions pursued to get the war criminals tried and sentenced from the moment Hermann Goring surrendered to American troops at the end of the war. With legal ramifications tackled to surmount a seemingly impossible trial and conceiving a winning plan against some of the wiliest and cunning villains fresh off the highs of abuse and power the movie steadily and unflinchingly bootsteps into prison cells, secret discussions, court rooms and Julius Streicher's urine-drenched shoes hovering above ground. Rami Malek plays Douglas M. Kelley, an American psychiatrist assigned to assess the psychiatric condition of the Nazi fuhrers. Ambitious and knaive like all good academically cocooned rosy-eyed idealists he more than meets his match with the clever and worldly Hermann Goring, former Reichsmarschall of the Thousand Year Reich commandingly portrayed by a fittingly overweight and complex Russel Crowe. Their interaction and growing friendship set the core of the heart and soul of the film as their tense and revealing back and forth probing opens and reveals secrets and realities that bring out the humanity and flaws of each man. Michael Shannon, John Slattery and Colin Hanks provide solid lead support in this compelling psychological drama. While the usual cliched dramatic interjections used for "effect" are in attendance those don't hurt the artistic accomplishment of the film as a whole.

Of course, with a film of this nature the pc dam gates burst in inevitable drag-the-movie-down custom. With people wearied and more growingly frustrated by the one-sided slop that has been hosed on the masses for more than half a century now the irrelevant and passe tropes are still being embarrassingly used (maybe that's why the film bombed?)

It's great that a historical film and one of substance featuring a star led cast has graced the screens and consciousness of these times once again. Consistently viewable from start to finish, "Nuremberg" chronicles a tale of justice triumphant and the dawn of a new era.

Critics are among the most hated species in the entire plane of existence. Vilified as mean, nasty, envious, narrow-minded, losers and atrociously unfair these wielders of the pen and keyboard with the power to annihilate a work made in days, weeks, months or years with a single paragraph get no love or much respect from the vast seething public. That's why it's quite a delight to see a full-blown flick made to commemorate these much detested paragons of style and taste with this classy and well-done celluloid trip. Based on the novel "Curtain Call" by Anthony Quinn, "The Critic" takes one back to Depression-era Britain in darkly colored tones as the observation into the elegant world of London's theatre scene unfolds into a series of devolving events spiraling downwards into blackmail, suicide and an uplift balancing into redemption. Ian McKellen portrays the critic as everyone envisions one and what everyone wants such to be: old, conscienceless, pretentious, snobby, condescending, arrogant, bloated, ugly and gay. The weather beaten tired/trope of a script and ubiquitous pc (and in a 1930s setting at that) is offset by the fine acting, steady pace and the mod period piece occulating in visual appeal.

While a lot of films have been made about journalists (another much contempted group of irredeemables) not much has been done concerning critics which is an oversight as a lot of prime material can be used especially from a group as niched and as ditched. Hopefully, a film like "The Critic" will get minds and wallets opened and the fascinating lives of the so called "cannot do" will get the spotlight glaring at them whether they want it or not.