More on Top Gun 2: Flailing Empire Needs Propaganda

The tens of thousands of men, women and children bombed to death by craven American 'top guns' will never see this Tom Cruise movie. Only the brain dead will applaud it. https://t.co/RQApF7BdSl

— John Pilger (@johnpilger) June 8, 2022

Top Gun: Maverick’ And The Military-Entertainment Complex

We’re Number One–on movie screens.

Top Gun 2: Endless Propaganda Of Course

Hollywood is operating as its propaganda machine

Top Gun for hire: why Hollywood is the US military’s best wingman

“Productions love us because we provide authenticity and credibility. And also, they get substantial cost savings. …Applicants must submit their entire script for approval, and accept any changes required.”

According to estimates, recruitment across the US military jumped by 500% that year.

Also:

Propaganda in the Cinema

And, they ARE recruitng in movie theaters now (just like in my book!)

OMG you can’t make this up 😂 https://t.co/8cEni5wkpm pic.twitter.com/KQouoxMr5Q

— Ian TB (@ian_tb03) May 27, 2022

So…who’s gonna tell’em…?😆 #TopGun #aviation #pilot #FighterPilot pic.twitter.com/wCzHs7I1ki

— @miami_rick ✈️🇺🇸 (@miami_rick) May 28, 2022

Emotional Visuals

Film Movements Through History

Propaganda in Movies/TV (101)

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If you haven’t read this before, it’s a primer on propaganda techniques and how they work.

Propaganda in the Cinema

Color & Film, the Joker Cinematographer

 

The Captain – Review

Twisted Satire

Somewhere between Salo and Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, this surprising journey twists things around unexpectedly.

I found this story amazing and disturbing, but with gag moments thrown in to lighten the mood. It’s a very strange take down of the fascist mindset, by having a rogue fascist, a deserter no less, turn the tables and out-fascist the fascists.

It kind of boggles the mind what Private Herold managed to accomplish, more so as we learn that this is a true story! 

The character gets darker and darker and darker. If that’s your kind of tale…

 

Summer ’19 Free #Movies Online (Part 2)

Election

Yes, with young Reese Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick. Funny political humor.

American Beauty

If you can stomach spending some more time with Kevin Spacey, this 90s classic brings the creepy dark comedy to suburbia.

A Boy and His Dog

It’s the rapey wasteland apocalypse, not Lassie.

Triangle

This is the greatest mind-fuck movie I’ve ever seen. Highly underrated.

Chinatown

The Polanski Los Angeles noir classic.

Chaplin

Robert Downey Jr. becomes Charlie in perhaps his greatest role.

Fitzcorraldo

Classic Herzog subverting expectations time and again.

Aguirre the Wrath of God

My favorite Herzog film, kind of twisted, kind of poetic.

Monster

Charlize and Christina Ricci, and the true crime stories begin.

An American Crime

True story shows the depravity next door. So angering.

Kid Cannabis

The lightest crime story of the bunch.

Fear City

Pulpy 80s crime noir with an actually decent villain who is attacking strippers late a night out of some twisted moral code.

See also:

Summer ’19 Free #Movies Online (Part 1)

 

 

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DEMIGODS ARE COMING

Summer ’19 Free #Movies Online (Part 1)

 

There were so many decent ones over at Crackle that I had to divide the post into two parts. Next time we head over to PopcornFlix.

District 9

Possibly the best movie that year, it works because it’s about more than it appears to be on the surface.

Postcards From the Edge

Carrie Fisher’s semi-autobiographical dark comedy about addiction and Hollywood.

Easy Rider

One of my top 3 films of the 1960s. It’s a journey into the heart of America, and it’s pretty great.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Robert Rodriguez does what he does, but bigger this time. Johnny Depp as a quirky CIA villain, Cheech shows up as a priest. It’s fun satire.

The Wackness

Ben Kingsley as a psychiatrist who’s more fucked up than his drug dealer patient.

True Romance

Tarantino brings his verbose underworld characters to life again, this time with an Elvis fetish.

Peggy Sue Got Married

Subverts the idiot culture of the 1950s, as Peggy Sue goes back in time and finds that she was perhaps misled on what life is about.

Blind Date

Funny high-concept relationship comedy, may have inspired me a bit for my next project. She told him not to give her any alcohol.

The Cable Guy

He’s only looking for a friend. Will you be his friend?

Black Dynamite

Modern Blaxploitation movie that is hilarious, full of satire and ass whoopin.

Zathura

Technically a kids’ movie, but it’s a great movie about a game that may be real, like Jumanji in space.

 

There are more at Crackle that you may like better, and you’d, of course, be wrong.

 

 

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DEMIGODS ARE COMING

Movie Roundup – Spring ’19

J. Giambrone

I’ve compressed all the reviews into these compendiums, except for a few exceptional titles:

• Destroyer

• The Wife

• The Seagull

• Bad Times at the El Royale

• Gore Vidal: United States of Amnesia

• Fahrenheit 11/9

• All film related links

Burning

This Korean crime drama takes too long to get moving, with a sad sack of a protagonist–a writer, of course. It does bring a memorable ending though.

Mary Queen of Scots

Like many, I’m absolutely entranced by Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie as well. I meant to review this in full, but nobody reads reviews anymore. I wasn’t sure how closely they stuck to the real history, as the writer even admitted to fabricating a key scene. Is history improved through embellishment?

Ask Me Anything

This oddball story twists everything at the end. That’s the best thing I can say about it.

Humans S3

I thought I had reviewed this, as I…

View original post 401 more words

#MOVIES | Recent Rental Roundup March’19 + Freebies

First the Freebies

I sift through the muck, so you don’t have to. Here are some underrated gems online for free right now:

Europa Report

I’ve talked about this before, and it remains a haunting, realistic science fiction thriller.

Triangle

I don’t think I have talked about Triangle. This is a great, twisted, deceptive story. It burrows deep into your mind and won’t let go.

The Last Seduction

I have mentioned this one on a list of sexy thrillers. Linda F. is a powerhouse and kind of evil.

Monster

Charlize Theron shows the depths she’s willing to go to be the world’s top actress. Serial killer Aileen Wuormos was almost unredeemable, but Theron plays her with unflinching humanity–the buzzword actors do love.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Such a lush, immersive world, apparently based in Chinese myths, this is an unforgettable kung fu extravaganza, not least because of the two female co-leads.

Starship Troopers

Paul Verhoeven slides somewhere between satire and action-thriller. It’s an ugly planet, a bug planet. Potentially mocking his own source material, this film was ahead of its time, with our real-world slide to fascism in full gear.

Numerous other films at those sites.

 

Onto the recent stuff

We Are the Night

This lesbian vampire thriller from Germany is a mixed bag. Without trying to second guess anyone, I’d call it a b-movie at best that could have used a rewrite.

Papillon

This remake of the Steve McQueen film is based on a true story, and they tried to be accurate to the source material. The first film was more memorable, however, and is a classic. They diverge in styles and in some of the subplots. I prefer the original.

November

Oddball Eastern European legends mish-moshed into some kind of religious/steampunk insanity. It dragged a bit slowly, but it’s not like anything else you’re likely to come across this year. A true WTF film.

Risk

A documentarian selectively edits the story of the world’s greatest living truth-teller. Laura Poitras does a disservice to all concerned with this sly hit piece on Julian Assange. She was invited in to tell the story of Wikileaks, but she instead let her personal biases affect the outcome. A real disappointment, years are compressed into seconds, and she disparages Assange with innuendo, rather than doing the hard work of fact finding in the case of the Swedish accusations against him. From the start she says that Julian didn’t trust her, but this was revealing that she didn’t trust Julian, and she made a film to spread her distrust to others.

Small Town Crime

Good small-scale crime film. I liked this one, but couldn’t think of enough to say about it to post a solo review. It’s a low-budget, gritty detective story with a very flawed main character.

Hot Summer Nights

This was interesting, but the filmmakers didn’t seem to know where it was going. Case in point, they shot an unused ending that was completely different. Chalk it up to a young, inexperienced bunch. Some good scenes about wasted youth pushing the limits in the summertime. Not terrible, but never makes it to poignant.

Submission

Poignant. A writer’s film, one of many. Stanley Tucci is a great actor, and he delivers a twist on the professor/student forbidden tryst. Some hard-hitting scenes with real stakes.

Lights Out

Borderline unwatchable. The “high concept” drivel Hollywood hacks can’t get enough of, but I can. Skip.

The Train

A cult classic second world war film with Burt Lancaster bellowing his American accent and not even trying to pretend he’s French. While the rest of the cast is French or German. A nice plot about stopping a Nazi from stealing France’s greatest paintings as they are run out of the country.

Bombshell: The Heddy Lamar Story

Surprising, and most of the film has suspense and build up. The ending kind of fizzles. This exceptional woman was an inventor of military radio technology, which the government was too stupid to appreciate at the time it was needed most! And a beautiful actress with all sorts of issues.

Leave No Trace

This was highly recommended in the indie scene, and it’s shot well. I did like the completeness of the story, the multi-generational aspect, the coming of age and the unique perspective on society that it dramatizes.

Plus other films with full reviews.

Banned in Chinese #Cinema

19 Subjects Banned from Chinese Cinema

Talking Animals, Dystopian Themes, Nuclear Weapons, Homosexuality, Time Travel and more…

#7 Criticizing government