movie review

Movie reviews of popular politically-driven films that portray the good, bad and ugly of government happenings.

Movie Review: 'The Candidate' Is Criminally Empty Political Theater
With the release of the Seth Rogen-Charlize Theron political romantic comedy, Long Shot, the Everyone's a Critic Movie Review Podcast chose to look back at a relic of political comedy past, Robert Redford's The Candidate. In doing so, I did not expect to find that Long Shot, an ostensible stoner romantic comedy would demonstrate sharper political barbs than the 1972 film that is remembered mostly for sharp elbowed politics. That perception some have put forward over the years anyway.
By Sean Patrick7 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists'
Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists, the new documentary on HBO, is lots of things. A paean to an age of journalism (Breslin would say "reporting," as this movie tells us) which is either gone or transmuted into another form, depending upon whom you listen to. A story of New York City, which, also, is either dead or transformed. But definitely a story of two uniquely gifted writers who indeed worked on a deadline, the deadline of timely reporting (i.e., at most, last hour's or yesterday's news, not last week's).
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
Review of 'Brexit' (HBO 2019 Movie)
The new movie Brexit, released 13 days ago on HBO, provides some important lessons for America, in the parallels of what led to the Brexit win in the UK referendum and the election of Donald Trump President of the United States in the Electoral College. That difference—success in a straightforward plebiscite verses a complex and indirect electoral college, in addition to Trump's opponent winning the popular vote in the US—points to a crucial way in which the two exercises in democracy are not comparable. But let's look at the similarities, first.
By Paul Levinson7 years ago in The Swamp
A Short Review of 'Peterloo' (2018, Mike Leigh)
Strong and intense was the experience I found with Peterloo. Based on the Peterloo massacre that occurred in Manchester, 1819, writer and director Mike Leigh presents to us a tale of true sorrow and shocking repercussions, displaying one of the most truly horrible events in the darker side of Britain's history.
By Craig York7 years ago in The Swamp
The Brilliance of a Speech—Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin, one of the great film figures of the 20th century and known for his silent work in film, took a great leap of faith and showed moral courage by his performance parodying Adolf Hitler in The Great Dictator. This film was the first one where Chaplin had any actual dialogue even though he had been in numerous silent films in previous decades from the 1910s through the 1930s. By that time of the late 1930s, Chaplin had achieved worldwide success and critical acclaim as an actor and a comedian but at that tumultuous time in world affairs, he knew he had the responsibility to speak out about growing militant nationalism that was surging in both Europe and Asia.
By Ben W7 years ago in The Swamp
'Fahrenheit 11/9'—Review
Let me just start by saying that I am going to try to keep my political stance out of this review as much as possible. However, it is going to be rather difficult to do so because this movie is a look into the world of Donald Trump's White House. So I don't even know where to begin. I guess I should state that I am a Canadian so although I find myself hanging more towards the left side on certain issues, I couldn't vote in the last election even if I wanted to.
By Brandon Wettig7 years ago in The Swamp
Film: 'White Right: Meeting The Enemy'
Deeyah Khan is everything a right-wing white supremacist hates. She is a Norwegian-British woman of Pujabi/Pashtun descent and therefore, a person of colour. She is a Muslim, a feminist, and a left-wing liberal who is not just a filmmaker but a dedicated activist.
By Heavenly Peachy8 years ago in The Swamp
Top 10 Funniest Political Movies
In today's political climate, we could all stand to have a few more laughs in our lives. So much is going on around us these days that flipping on a movie, throwing your feet up, and having a quality chuckle or two is the only way to decompress after a long day, week, or god help you, anything longer. Politics are what divide and irritate us the most, so why not turn that around and enjoy some movies that make a mockery of the whole political landscape? They make for a great stress reliever and abs workout if you pick the right ones. I have seen my fair share of movies and while I do not consider myself an expert, I am confident enough in having my favorite picks seen by the world. So in the hopes of giving you some much-needed joy and quality abs right before beach season, here are the ten funniest political movies you can watch.
By Jesse Kinney8 years ago in The Swamp
Best Political Comedy Movies to Keep Your Mind Off Politics
Political satires are some the most poignant and blunt of all artistic endeavors that which seem to make fun of the natural order. Without political comedies, like the beloved Saturday Night Live skits and MAD Magazine spoofs, how could we truly express ourselves in the light of our own democracy? As such, we can look to some of our most talented individuals for their satirical insights and comedic slapsticks pertaining to the governance of our own country.
By Donald Gray8 years ago in The Swamp
5 Movies Featuring the Most Virtuous U.S. Presidents. Top Story - March 2018.
In 2018, the frantic pace of political news cycles can make every week feel like a year. It can be difficult to keep an optimistic view of our national governing institutions, which ought always to be full of civil servants who put the good of the citizenry above their own.
By Christopher Royce8 years ago in The Swamp
The Best Film Nobody Is Talking About
On March 14, 2014 the film Cesar Chavez was released into theaters. It told the story of the legendary farm-worker and civil rights leader Cesar Chavez during the 1960s and 1970s. On paper it seemed like a film critics would praise and audiences, particularly Latino audiences, would embrace. It had a great cast that featured Michael Pena as Chavez, America Ferrera as his wife Helen Chavez and Rosario Dawson as civil rights leader Dolores Huerta. It was a film co-produced by Participant Media, a production company with the mission statement of producing films with a story that revolves around social and civic change. Despite all of this, it was a film that came and went with almost no real buzz surrounding it, and no significant word of mouth to propel it. The film was panned by critics and made very little noise at the box office. I must admit, as excited I was to see that a film like this was being made, it took about two weeks after its initial release for me to actually see the film. When I saw it, I was disappointed. I was still happy that the story of arguably the most important civil rights leader in Latino-American history was made into a feature length film, but more importantly, I was saddened to see that the film itself didn’t live up to the standards that it should have. It was also disappointing to see a film like this not reach any kind of critical or fan success, because had it been successful it would have opened the door to so many other stories like it. People so easily forget that Latinos, specifically Mexican-Americans have been living in the United States for centuries. We didn’t start to suddenly immigrate here over the last twenty years, and we definitely are not guilty of doing the things that Fox News and the Trump regime accuse us of doing. I say all of this because the stories of our people and of our cultures are very deep and complex. Had the film Cesar Chavez become a success, it would have been a precedent to produce future films like it, but it wasn’t, and I along with many other Latino film fans had to wonder where our next story would come from.
By Carlos Navarrette8 years ago in The Swamp
Movie Review: 'Wag the Dog' (1997)
In Barry Levinson’s 1997 political satire Wag the Dog, actors Robert de Niro, Dustin Hoffman, and Anne Heche make covering presidential scandal with patriotic frenzy look like a walk in the park. The movie mixes Hollywood and politics into a satirical comedy with issues that hit close to home during the time it was produced and filmed.
By Breanna Sahr8 years ago in The Swamp