#DOCUDRAMA

[phantomladyoverparis]

 Little Girl Blue (2023), dir. Mona Achache

[draganwhorror]

Ted Raimi as Steve Bales - Apollo 11 (1996)

[addictivecontradiction]

The last emperor, 1987

[diana-andraste]

Kaneto Shindō's Children of Hiroshima, 1952

[whynot-movies]

Rush (2013)

[neonfeel]

Oppenheimer (2023)

[machetelanding]

[coutelier]

Oh hey; it's that Dragon docudrama I mentioned ages ago when I was talking about The Flight of Dragons. Not watched this in ages either.

And as we all know, it's a real mark of quality when something has been uploaded in full to youtube for four years and no company has noticed or cared.

[oswaldosrm]

#WarfareMovie A platoon of Navy SEALs embark on a dangerous mission in Ramadi, Iraq, with the chaos and brotherhood of war retold through their memories of the event.

Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐★

Went into this expecting a military movie like those that get rolled out on Netflix periodically, however this is a huge step above. The fact it's a true story too also adds so much to the events shown. The filmmakers go out to put you in the middle of the action. It's a very intense movie that does an amazing job of making you feel the tension in the situation. Performances keep you locked in but the real star of the show is the sound. From the gunfire to explosions you feel every hit. The 'Show of force' they use NEEDS to be heard to be believe.

#ᴍᴏᴠɪᴇɴɪɢʜᴛ 🍿 #ᴡᴀʀ #ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ 👀 #ᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴ #ᴅᴏᴄᴜᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ #ᴡᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢɴᴏᴡ

[phantomladyoverparis]

 Little Girl Blue (2023), dir. Mona Achache

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

COMMEMORATING 40 YEARS OF A GOLDEN AGE HIP-HOP CULT CLASSIC IN 2023.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on the front and back of a (J B5 Chirashi) 2015 Japanese re-release movie poster to American hip-hop docudrama film, "Wild Style" (1983), written, directed & produced by Charles Ahearn.

BONUS PIC: Alternative and/or variant 2015 JB5 Chirashi/Japanese movie poster to "Wild Style."

Sources: https://posteritati.com/poster/48794/wild-style-original-r2015-japanese-b5-chirashi-handbill (Posteritati 2x).

[draganwhorror]

Ted Raimi as Steve Bales - Apollo 11 (1996)

[theantonian]

FIRST BATTLE OF PHILIPPI, 3RD OCT, 42 BC

Several early attempts by Antony and Octavian's troops to draw the enemy down to the plain failed completely. As a consequence, Antony, while still making a show of troop maneuvers on the plain, attempted to cross the reed marshes undetected by building a causeway and, when behind the Republican camps, try to cut their supply lines.

Cassius soon got wind of the strategy and responded by trying to cut off Antony's advance forces by himself building a transverse wall from his camp to the marshes. Seeing his plan had been discovered, on October 3rd, Antony led a direct assault on Cassius' wall overwhelming the stunned left flank of the enemy and destroying their fortifications. Then, while the bulk of Cassius' army was engaged on the plain, Antony went straight for Cassius's largely undefended camp. As things swung against Cassius' legions on the plain and when they saw their camp routed a chaotic retreat followed.

Meanwhile Brutus was doing well against Octavian's legions who, caught by a surprise charge from Brutus' over-eager advance troops which had necessitated the whole Republican army mobilising in support, were routed in a chaotic battle during which Octavian's camp was captured. Octavian, either pretended or was ill again, missing the battle - had taken refuge in the marshes and avoided certain capture. Brutus, on discovering the loss of Cassius' camp, sent reinforcements but Cassius, holding out with a small force on the acropolis of Philippi, interpreted them as more of Antony's forces and so committed suicide - as it happened on his birthday - rather than be captured. While all this was happening Antony and Octavian's reserve troops, arriving by sea, were destroyed crossing the Adriatic by the Republican fleet. Thus, the first battle of Philippi ended, more or less, in a 1:1 draw, with 9,000 losses on the Republican side and more than double that figure from Octavian's army.

Images: Paweł Deląg as Mark Antony, Destiny of Rome (TV miniseries 2011)

Sources: Si Sheppard, Philippi 42 BC.

Arthur Weigall, The Life & Times of Marc Antony

[drsonnet]

Leila and the Wolves (ليلى والذئاب) is a 1984 drama film from Lebanese director Heiny Srour and assistant director Sabah Jabbour.

It was filmed in often treacherous areas and the filming lasted seven years. In the film, the protagonist Leila, a modern Lebanese woman living in London, time travels through the 1900s to the 1980s, with each trip focusing on the centrality of women in Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements. The film won the Grand Prize in the Third World competition at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg.

فيلم - ليلى والذئاب  (1984)

ليلى تلميذة لبنانية، تتمرد ضد مناهج التاريخ التي يفرضها المستعمر. تقرر القيام برحلة عبر التاريخ، في فلسطين الواقعة تحت الانتداب البريطاني حتى الغزو التاريخي للبنان، وتتفهم أن علينا دور في صنع التاريخ فتغير حياتها.

ﺇﺧﺮاﺝ:

هيني سرور (مخرج)

ﺗﺄﻟﻴﻒ:

هيني سرور (مؤلف)

طاقم العمل:

رفيق علي أحمد 

ليلى حكيم 

أوديت ملكون 

هالة حسني 

صباح عبيد 

نبيلة زيتوني

[whynot-movies]

Ainda Estou Aqui (2024)

[agentnico]

Better Man (2024) review

Robbie Williams just told me to go f*** myself right before credits rolled. Baller move.

Plot: Better Man is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. The film is uniquely told from Williams’ perspective, capturing his signature wit and indomitable spirit. It follows Robbie’s journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

“LET MEEEEEE EN-TER-TAIN YOU!” Yes, the soundtrack of this movie absolutely slaps, as it is Robbie Williams re-recording most of his greatest hits, and they are wonderful to hear, accompanied by some fantastic dance choreography (they closed off the busy Regent Street in London one night for the elaborate “Rock DJ” sequence featuring over 500 extras which is mad!) and visuals. It was honestly a great idea to have The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey direct this movie, as he’s proving to be a truly slick visual stylist, as this movie looks absolutely amazing. The editing and transitions from shot to shot are so smooth and creative, with so much energy, that I do wish he was handpicked to direct Wicked over John M. Chu. Don’t get me wrong, I think Wicked is a great musical adaptation, but I believe Gracey would have infused that movie with so much more colour and vibrancy, instead of making it look like another Marvel movie. Better Man looks wonderful.

We should also acknowledge the elephant (or should I say monkey) in the room - Robbie Williams is played by a CGI monkey. I’m not that much acquainted with Robbie Williams’ stardom, though my wife tells me that Williams at one point compared himself to a cheeky monkey, and if so I absolutely love that due to that one time he said one phrase has resulted in a whole movie being inspired by it. Turns out the most crazy bonkers aspect of Better Man is also its greatest asset. Even though it takes a few minutes to get adjusted to seeing the main character be a monkey whilst everyone else is still human, this monkey ends up being so engaging, as there is so much emotion that it’s able to showcase through its eyes and facial expressions, more than a human would. The special effects are provided by Weta Workshop, who are also behind some of the greatest motion capture character work in film from the likes of The Lord of the Rings’ Gollum and Planet of the Apes’ Caesar, and it shows, as the monkey truly feels real and alive, as it’s a combination of the CGI and Jonno Davies’ performance that results in the best part of this film. Love the monké!

“Who is Robbie Williams?” he asks at the start of this film. He then answers his own question: he is “narcissistic, punchable and just a f..king twat”, but ­despite that, or because of that, he is here to entertain you. And in some ways this movie does - the sarcastic “fuck-everyone” narration by Williams himself is great, as it really personifies his personality of the British bad boy of boy bands. It is a shame then that the movie is hindered by generic music star biopic tropes. I get that this film is based on Williams’ real life story, but no offence to him, the story told here is like most other music stars’ backstory. Drugs, identity crisis, rough father-son dynamic, depression, band break-ups… we’ve seen it all before. My wife says that the Netflix documentary that came out a few years back was much more interesting and focused on more unique aspects of Williams’ life. This movie however goes for the bare bone basic narrative and as such it gets really boring. There’s a part where the movie completely stops and focuses on Williams drug additiction, and though it’s amusing to see the CGI monké get jerked off and snort cocaine, it does get repetitive. For as eccentric as Robbie Williams and the usage of the monkey is, the movie itself lacks depth to match that.

The two things that really work for Better Man are Michael Gracey’s superb visually colourful directing style, and the decision to have Williams played by a CGI monkey. However outside of that this film offers hardly anything new to the tired music star biopic genre. I mean it shows that even Hollywood realises how tired this genre is, as with them having a CGI monkey here and Pharrell Williams’ Piece by Piece be showcased through LEGO characters, it feels like they are trying to throw some really bonkers idea to revitalise the genre. Admirable, but a dull genre is still a dull genre, and the most important part of a movie is to tell an interesting store. Better Man does not.

Overall score: 5/10