Movies you might have missed: "The Village Teacher"
The film is directed by Mark Donskoy, a protégé of Sergei Eisenstein, which becomes quite apparent when the viewer is caught off guard by unique camera angles and creative photography.
“The Big Fix” exposes BP oil disaster lies
In his film "The Big Fix," director Josh Tickell challenges the 'official version' of BP's story that all is well in the Gulf of Mexico after the spill.
Upper meets lower
Which is actually stronger, a monopolistic-world-dominating corporation, young love, or gravity? The Hollywood answer is obvious, but this film isn't from California. It's French-Canadian.
Semiotic Weapons: Advertising is the focus of two recent films.
Two very different foreign films focus on the advertising industry. They intersect at the idea that advertising feeds upon our innate desire for happiness.
Love and revolution: Marx family biography has lessons
A frequently heard quote from Argentine-Cuban revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is: "Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love."
Lincoln: principles and politics
In this 150th anniversary year of the Emancipation Proclamation, we are fortunate to have Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals to help us understand Abraham Lincoln.
"Behind the Beautiful Forevers" is a powerful indictment of capitalism
It isn't the first book of this kind but, in revealing the tragedy of capitalist globalization in incredibly intimate and moving detail much like a good novel does, it ranks as one of the best.
Movies you might have missed: "The Band's Visit"
The 2007 film The Band's Visit concerns the unexpected adventure experienced by an Egyptian ceremonial police band traveling to a small Israeli town where they have been invited to perform.
History, Tarantino style: "Django Unchained"
"Django Unchained" takes a central tragedy of American history and re-imagines it as exploitation-film revenge fantasy.
“Koch Brothers Exposed”: must-see DVD hits hard
Director Robert Greenwald shines a penetrating light on the way in which billionaire brothers Dave and Charles Koch have used their money to impose their conservative agenda.
