Based on True Events Archives

7Mar

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: The Mauritanian (2021)

In 2001, a Mauritanian man was arrested by the US government in aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The govt accused him of recruiting members for al Qaeda. He was then detained at Guantanamo Bay from 2002 until 2016 without any official charge or trial. The man, Mohamedou Ould Salahi, wrote his misfortune in a 2015 memoir 'Guantanamo Diary' which becomes the inspiration for Kevin Macdonald's The Mauritanian. Related Post: Review: Dark Waters (2019) Tahar Rahim sympathetically portrays Salahi with panache and extra sensitivity. However, The Mauritanian is ironically a more collective, multi-faceted story, rather than a focused story about Salahi's ordeal. The plot adds extra perspectives to the 14-year story with the inclusions of an Americ...

Review: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

9Feb

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

Judas and the Black Messiah recounts the real life saga involving young-and-rising Black Panthers leader, Fred Hampton, operating in Illinois, with his eventual betrayer, William "Bill" O'Neal. The story is framed to juxtapose the infamous biblical betrayal as it wears the hint as explicitly in the title as The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. The story of an eloquent Black revolutionist killed by the establishment after manipulating a fellow Black man inarguably exudes the #BlackLivesMatter message strongly. It's a provocative political biopic radiating that couldn't have been timelier. (more…)

10Dec

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Featured, Movie Review

Review: Mank (2020)

David Fincher's new film, Mank, is a behind-the-scene drama about the sacred writing of Citizen Kane. Lauded as one of the finest movies ever made, which is nothing but the truth, the 1941 epic is also known for the series of disputes that follow—from the constant hassle and massive boycott by media mogul, William Randolph Hearst, after whom the movie is partially modeled; the long-lasting financial trouble for RKO Pictures, to the dispute over the writing credit split between director/star/producer, Orson Welles, and veteran screenwriter, Herman Mankiewicz. The film would go on receiving 9 Oscar nominations and only winning one for the rightful Best Writing (Original Screenplay)—to which Welles and Mankiewicz differ in opinions, originating the dispute that will last for decades. (mo...

20Nov

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Quo vadis, Aida? (2020)

Jasmila Žbanic's Quo vadis, Aida? presents one of the most horrifying war crimes in history, the 1995 Srebrenica Massacre—where more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys are executed by Serbian troops, almost candidly. There's an urgency in the motion picture that, as a Bosnian, Žbanic is compelled to bring out the story as it is—to remind the world of every victim as an individual, not just numbers. It's dedicated to all Bosnian women, who lost their husband and sons during the event; who, at this point of the history, have to continue to live in a world with the perpetrators, especially the leader, Ratko Mladic, who still denies the genocide up to today. (more…)

Review: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

23Oct

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

The year is 1968. A massive anti-Vietnam War protest at Democratic National Convention in Chicago has broken into an unprecedented turmoil. In the aftermath, Justice Department charges a group of protest leaders, soon to be called as The Chicago Seven, with conspiracy, inciting the riots, and other deranged charges. Nearly two decades later, it's the time for Aaron Sorkin to bring charges against this legal clownery in his directorial effort, The Trial of the Chicago 7. (more…)

12May

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Bad Education (2019)

Hugh Jackman and Allison Janney dive head first with their highly committed performance in portraying nasty perpetrators of the single largest embezzlement scandal in American history. Jackman portrays Frank Tassone, beloved superintendent of Roslyn High School. His character is a pretty man, charismatic and charming in any possible public endeavor. The boards hailed him as a role model, a successful orchestrator of the school's glimmering achievement. Meanwhile, Janney portrays Pam Gluckin, the assistant superintendent, who looks a tad too glamorous for someone working in academic field. Bad Education is the story of their downfall. (more…)

11Jan

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Bombshell (2019)

First of all, Jay Roach's Bombshell reintroduces the villainous apparatus, FOX News, as a powerful entity—influencing the outcome of US presidential elections since Nixon's era. And yet, things are about to get changed approaching the 2016 election a.k.a. the rise of the Trumpian emperor. The truth is about to unravel and the timing cannot be more precise; and, when it finally does, it's an unprecedented bombshell for the industry. The truth is decades of power abuse that leads to sexual abuse and harrowing rape culture within the vein of FOX News. The perpetrator is no other than the founder, Roger Aelis (John Lithgow). The Promethean figures to tear down the concealed practice are the fed-up women who work or used to work in FOX, represented in this movie by controversial anchors, Me...

13Dec

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: The Irishman (2019)

The Irishman is undoubtedly a Martin Scorsese cinema through and through. Clocking in at 209 minutes, this twilight piece de resistance funnels the director's trademarks and signature theme—making a league with Mean Streets, Goodfellas, and Casino. Extracted by Steven Zaillian from Charles Brandt's book, 'I Heard You Painted Houses', the film reunites Scorsese with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci while gives the director the chance to collaborate with Al Pacino for the first time. This whole gangster cinema, however, is more than a mere reunion; it's a poignant victory lap for everyone involved. With a story that spans for five decades—going in and out from the 1950s to the 2000s, The Irishman follows the story of the titular man, Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a trucker turned a mafia hitman. ...

29Nov

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Dark Waters (2019)

It's surprising that the New Queer Cinema pioneer, Todd Haynes' (Velvet Goldmine, Carol) new movie, Dark Waters, is a clinical legal thriller—a frigid whistleblowing drama in the fashion of Oscar-winner, Spotlight. Starring in it is Mark Ruffalo, portraying a real-life lawyer, Robert Billot, who became the nightmare for DuPont de Nemours, Inc., a chemical company mogul. Based on Nathaniel Rich's article published for The New York Times Magazine, the drama might remind us a bit of Erin Brokovich; but, there's something more about this movie that makes it more important and, most importantly, relevant. It's a 126-minute docudrama compressing a long and winding legal process, which has been going on for almost two decades. It all started with Billot's favor to return the call from Wilbur ...

19Nov

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Ford v Ferrari (2019)

In the 1960s, the deteriorating Ford Motor was desperate to boost their car sales to the first-generation boomers. In their effort, Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) had an epiphany to propose participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, which leads to Henry Ford II's (Tracy Letts) direct order to manufacture a built-for-speed car to defeat the mogul, Ferrari. There's where the poster guys, Caroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and Ken Miles (Christian Bale) make an entrance to this formulaic ambitious story and rev up the engine to make this one of the finest racing movies ever made. Just like Le Mans, Ford v Ferrari (also titled Le Mans '66) is never an ordinary race. Le Mans requires participating teams to race for a full 24 hours using the same car in the same racetrack. The movie, clocking in at ...

18Nov

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Dolemite is My Name (2019)

Eddie Murphy makes a fascinating comeback with his new Netflix production, Dolemite Is My Name, a biopic of an Afro-American comedian, Rudy Ray Moore, whose life's journey is like a joyride. From a record store employee, the comedian paved his way up to become a famous comic and, eventually, a movie star of a cult blaxploitation franchise. Directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow, Black Snake Moan) whose works are highly influenced by blaxploitation movies, Murphy's return to prominence is inevitable. Dolemite Is My Name begins when struggling Moore had an epiphany to reinvent his career. Reinventing himself using 'Dolemite' name as his moniker, Moore created an onstage persona of a pimp and started to involve in stand-up routines. Soon he would be traveling on a comic tour to the D...

11Nov

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Midway (2019)

In Midway, director Roland Emmerich quenches his aviation fetish with a World War II blockbuster. While places and people might not be at their most accurate position in this retelling of the battle that practically changes the course of the war, the movie is confident enough to flaunt the jingoism with some cheesy dialogues (which you might not believe coming from the mouth of an actual person). Imagine this as a more action-packed Pearl Harbor with the absurdity of Independence Day—set to open on Veterans Day period. We know what to expect. Instead of focusing entirely on the Midway tenure, this pseudo war epic opts to focus on several pivotal real-life characters at once. Most of the time, the story will revolve around the cocky, devil-may-care pilot, Richard "Dick" Best (British...

26Oct

By Paskalis Damar1 Comment

Focus: Indonesia, Movie Review

Review: Susi Susanti: Love All (2019)

The term 'love all' refers to the zero scores from which all competitors begin a badminton game. In Sim F's directorial debut, Susi Susanti - Love All, the term is also redefined as a credo in which all badminton players must always love all—the whole game including the crowds and the opponents—to win the game. In Susi Susanti's case, everything goes back to the beginning—to the love of her country. After all, it's a complex biopic that transcends the episodic moments in the subject's triumphant career. Transcending the usual zero-to-hero narrative, Susi Susanti: Love All tells beyond the struggle of the legendary badminton player to finally become one of the world's bests. It works as a reflective social commentary about the life of Chinese-descent people in Indonesia—a country with a...

13Oct

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Hustlers (2019)

Lorene Scafaria (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, The Meddlers) takes the inspiration from Jessica Pressler's "The Hustlers at Scores" article for New York to craft Hustlers, 2019's most exhilarating movie. It follows the story of strippers; yet, at the same time, it observes the picture beyond that scope only. Scafaria, in writing and directing it, interprets Pressler's coverage as a sexy, powerful, clever, and empowering—superlatively—take on how women taking care of each other against America's disaster called 2008. The whole based-on-true-scoop covers the backstory of Pressler's article, alternating between timelines between the interview process and the hustles. The plot follows a crew of NYC strippers who begin to steal money by drugging debauched wealthy men visiting...

Review: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

24Jul

By Paskalis DamarNo Comments

Movie Review

Review: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

In 2019 alone, documentary director, Joe Berlinger—whose passion has always been true crime documentaries and Metallica documentaries—has spawned two works related to the life of the serial killer, Ted Bundy. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, a 4-episode documentary covering taped conversation with the killer, was released on Netflix earlier this year. The second one is Extemely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile which marks the director’s return to narrative feature (after the lambasted Book of Shadow: Blair Witch, which attempts to exploit his raw documentary style). In any way, the movie is controversial. Firstly, it looks as if it attempts to romanticize the “heart-throbbing” serial killer and the movie goes as far as casting another heartthrob, Zac Efron. You’ll be s...

Tag: Based on True Events

Review: The Mauritanian (2021)

Review: Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

Review: Mank (2020)

Review: Quo vadis, Aida? (2020)

Review: The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Review: Bad Education (2019)

Review: Bombshell (2019)

Review: The Irishman (2019)

Review: Dark Waters (2019)

Review: Ford v Ferrari (2019)

Review: Dolemite is My Name (2019)

Review: Midway (2019)

Review: Susi Susanti: Love All (2019)

Review: Hustlers (2019)

Review: Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019)

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