Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  The Landing of Savage South Africa at Southampton 1899

  ★★½ Rewatched 10 Jun 2023

  Film History Essentials #93

  moviegoings.com/2023/05/04/film-history-essentials-the-landing-of-savage-south-africa-at-southampton-1899/

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  Maple Leaf Viewing 1899

  ★★★★ Rewatched 06 Jun 2023

  Film History Essentials #100

  moviegoings.com/2023/05/28/film-history-essentials-momijigari-1899/

Popular reviews

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  Dinosaur 2000

  ★½ Added 14

  The original plan for Dinosaur was to make it without any dialogue, a bold and innovative idea that was apparently not marketable enough for nervous Disney executives. The film opens with a stunning sequence that seamlessly combines gorgeous live-action backdrops with computer-generated dinosaur characters set to a pulse-pounding orchestral score. Then the characters start talking and the magic abruptly departs, replaced with a predictable plot and a distinct lack of thrills.

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  The Italian 1915

  ★★★★½ Watched 28 Aug 2012

  A vivacious Italian comes to America to make his fortune so he can marry the girl of his dreams. His shoe-shining brings enough money to send for her, and the two are married happily, but immigrant life is tough, and tragedy strikes. The Italian, once full of the joy of life, finds his spirit completely broken by the hardships and injustices of life in America. This is a hard-hitting, emotional look at the immigrant experience, heightened by the temporal closeness to its subject. This isn’t just historical commentary on an abstract past, it's social commentary on a literal present.