Posted on 22 April 2010 by Codrin Arsene
In my country is the type of movie one might see no reason in reviewing. The seriousness of the topic combined with the predictability and banality of some of the characters, the sloppy writing and the cheesy nature of some of the scenes makes me just want to get through my review as soon as [...]
Posted on 23 February 2010 by Codrin Arsene
The idea that you can make a musical about apartheid gives me chills. To see it on my laptop screen seems even more inappropriate. In recent times, some wise directors tried to give a new perspective on the Holocaust by using movie genres other than dramas, and they succeeded. I cannot say the same about [...]
Posted on 18 February 2010 by Codrin Arsene
After I reviewed Clint Eastwood’s latest movie, Invictus, an anthropologist I care deeply for sent me an email with her insights on the movie. She had this to say at the time: “I have complex feelings about Eastwood and his libertarian politics: for me, he has never understood social processes, and works with lone, heroic [...]
Posted on 14 February 2010 by Codrin Arsene
A French team of journalists traveled to Congo, Brussels and Paris in order to reveal to the general public some of the reasons why the Democratic Republic of Congo is still a war torn zone. Instead of providing the audience with a larger picture, something I would have done instead, they focused on one commodity [...]
Posted on 13 February 2010 by Codrin Arsene
The State of Denial is a heartbreaking documentary that explores the difficulties HIV-infected South Africans face on a daily basis. And their inspiring struggles. It provides an insider’s view, South African born director Elaine Epstein, into the complicated factors that allow HIV/AIDS to spread at such an alarming speed. The documentary focuses on what used [...]
Posted on 12 February 2010 by Codrin Arsene
Blood Monkey is a movie set in Africa which is not even worth the envelope Netflix used in order to ship the DVD to me. It is so bad that I find it is my civic duty to write this movie review and convince you never to borrow or buy the movie. Blood Monkey features [...]
Posted on 11 February 2010 by Codrin Arsene
Senator Obama goes to Africa is a travelogue / movie propaganda made by Bob Hercules and Keith Walke. The directors follow the then senator Obama through this short African odyssey. In this documentary, Barack Obama visits the city of Kisumu in western Kenya, the capital of the country, Nairobi, as well as South Africa and [...]
Posted on 30 January 2010 by Codrin Arsene
Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls Is a 2008 direct-to-DVD movie loosely based on H. Rider Haggard’s classic novel King Solomon’s Mines. It stars South African actor Sean Cameron Michael as Quatermain. The movie was actually shot in South Africa, with mostly local actors and the story is somewhat similar to the original book. Quatermain is [...]
Posted on 01 January 2010 by Codrin Arsene
There are no easy solutions in life, and Disgrace, the movie adaptation of Nobel Laureate J.M. Coetzee’s Booker Prize winning novel of the same name, tends to express that reality more dramatically than any movie I have watched in recent years. Before going into details about the movie, I would to stress the fact that [...]
Posted on 27 December 2009 by Codrin Arsene
Written, directed and filmed by famous South African director Jamie Uys, this hilarious documentary about the anthropomorphized creatures living in the Namib Desert will most likely be enjoyed by children, young folks and adults alike. Animals are Beautiful People is dedicated to the creatures that were able to adapt to the extremely harsh conditions of [...]