REVIEW: Harsh Times [2006]

“Soldiers of the Apocalypse” Harsh Times is an intense film. Keeping you on the edge of finding out how crazy events can become seems to be a staple in the writing of David Ayer. He penned the script for the gritty cop drama Training Day and saw its star, Denzel Washington, win an Oscar for his portrayal of the conflicted beast at its core. With his new film, and directorial debut, Ayer has crafted another street drama about people who themselves don’t know whether they are the good guys, the…

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REVIEW: Babel [2006]

“The brightest lights on the darkest nights” The final piece to Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo Arriaga’s unofficial trilogy has finally reached theatres. Babel is a sprawling tale spanning multiple countries and languages as a lone gunshot leaves reverberations throughout the world, interfering with the lives of many people who at first glance are seemingly unrelated. These two men, director and writer respectively, have crafted two previous masterpieces with themes of love and sorrow, pain and redemption. From Amores Perros and 21 Grams, we are shown a steady progression of…

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REVIEW: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [2006]

“Jagshemash” About every year a movie comes out that is hyped to the extreme. Buzz around the world causes electricity that you know will fizzle out or not come to fruition in the first place. Snakes on a Plane caused a stir earlier this summer with internet chatter, but never really became a phenomenon nor seemed to strike with the “so bad its good” moniker. Well this week saw the opening of the movie that really started being talked about around festival season with its’ raucous debut at Cannes and…

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REVIEW: Catch a Fire [2006]

“Hamba Kahle” Apartheid-era South Africa was a time of abuse and persecution by the white minority onto the black majority. The black South Africans were looked down upon and segregated at every turn. Any instance of fighting back was a sign of terrorism and treason. This film, Catch a Fire, is based on the true-life story of Patrick Chamusso whose life was turned upside. A man who was apolitical and loving to his family, Chamusso was unaccounted for during a span of time in which the oil refinery he worked…

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