Day of the Dead (2008)

"Quasi-remake" of director George Romero's 1985 film of the same name. Government experiment gone wrong turns most of the residents of a small Colorado town into zombies. I'd rank this film pretty close to the middle of the zombie flicks I've seen. Nice to see Mena Suvari not playing a slutty character. 2 1/2 out of 5.

Black Sheep (2006)

IMDb

Genetic engineering allowes herds of carnivorous sheep to wreak havoc on a New Zealand farm. This turned out a lot like a zombie movie. Bad.

The Special Relationship (2010)

IMDb

Made for television film is the third entry in writer Peter Morgan's 'Tony Blair Trilogy', the others being 2003's The Deal (about how Blair not eventual successor Gordon Brown became the Labour Party standard barrier in the mid 90's) and of course The Queen (2006). Morgan knows exactly what he's doing here, as dose Michael Sheen whose made something of a career out of the part. This is the type of behind the scenes, inside baseball, talkie political film that really fascinates me, probably because it largely consists of interesting people having interesting conversations. We know that the two performers who play the Blair's really know their parts, but its the The Clinton's that kind of steal the film, Dennis Quaid surprisingly good as Bill (he also played a kind of spoof version of George W. Bush in American Dreamz (2006)), and Hope Davis gives us perhaps the first really sympathetic portrait of Hillary Clinton maybe ever (Hillary Clinton herself is not actually that great at giving a sympathetic portrait of Hillary Clinton), I think she might well get an Emmy (Davis not Clinton). All and all engaging look back at the global political situation in the prosperous 1990's, film reveals a surprisingly complicated relationship between that decades two most charismatic and successful politicians. Recommended. 4 out of 5.

Fury (1936)

Direct Fritz Lang's first American film is an indictment of mob violence. Joe Wilson (Spencer Tracy) is the target of mob 'justice' when circumstantial evidence built up by rumor and exaggeration lead most of the residents of a small town to believe him responsible for the kidnapping of a young girl. A mob forms with the intent to lynch Wilson, and they burn down the jail were he was being held. Wilson is presumed dead, but miraculously he escapes alive to secretly plot with his two brothers to put a number of local residents on trial for his murder (newsreel footage helps identify the would be killers). Wilson does not however inform his fiance (Sylvia Sydney) of his survival, as her testimony will be vital to the case. Will a sense of guilt over trying to legally lynch the hysterical townsfolk who tried to lynch him prompt Joe to reveal to the world his survival? I recommend you watch as this is the type of movie Fritz Lang did better then any director of his time (sort of the anti-Frank Capra).

See Also: M (1931) and The Big Heat (1953)

The Day of the Triffids (1981)

The original BBC mini-series adaptation (later redone in 2009) from the 1951 post-apocalyptic novel by John Wyndham. Triffids are roughly man sized, mobile, carnivorous plants from outer space, for years after they first starting appearing on Earth in roughly the 1960's, humans kept them around in cages to harvest for there clean burning oil. As the series begins gamma radiation from a passing comet renders all humans who look at it directly blind, the triffids get out of there cages and start eating, and a mysterious new disease appears wiping out many of the surviving people. The story follows Bill Mason (the great John Duttine of To Serve Them All My Days) who had worked as a biologist at a triffid farm and Josella Payton (Emma Relph) a young female 'sighted' survivor as they struggle to survive and stay together amidst a world plunged into chaos. The story actually raises some interesting issues concerning various approaches to reorganizing a society after a catastrophe, the good and bad in human nature, the limits of technology ect. While the triffids are kind of corny looking (remember there carnivorous plants on a 1980's British television budget) the story, its themes and characters are compelling, and somewhat reminiscent of Stephen King. If you can get past the production limitations (which aren't as bad as they could be) you'll probably enjoy it, I did. Recommended.

The Case for Faith (2008)

Documentary (or rather filmed essay) by former atheist turned Christian apologist Lee Strobel, attempts to answer common arguments against the existence of God. The film chooses to focus on two major objections to belief in the Christian God, namely the exclusivity of Christian salvation claims through Jesus, and the argument that there is too much evil in the world for there to be a God. The answers presented are theological/philosophical in nature, nothing all that objective can be sighted in there support, and I felt the arguments presented contained many assumptions and logical leaps which rendered the answers given rather weak. For example the film stresses that the Resurrection of Christ can be substantiated by over 500 witnesses. This is not actually true, the Bible claims it can be but only offers four actual accounts, which were written many years after the claimed events, and belief in them resets on the assumption that that the writers were credible, even that the writers were even who they claimed to be, and if you study the history of the compilation of the Bible there is room to doubt on that front. I could go on, but ultimately all Christian answers to such questions require a leap of faith, which leaves them empirically wanting. The films okay as a starting point for discussion, but beyond that not recommended.

84 Charing Cross Road (1986)

Sweat, charming, often slow, but filled with great period atmosphere, 84 Charing Cross Road is the story of a New York City based writer (Anne Bancroft) and her decades long correspondence/friendship with a London book seller (Anthony Hopkins) who she hasn't even meet. Needless to say not a lot of action, but a nice character study, recommended for anglophiles and book worshipers, of which I am both.

Doc Martin: Series 1 (2004)

British dramady stars the odd looking Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham, a once successful surgeon who do to a late onset fear of blood brought on by his high pressure job accepts the post of general practitioner to the small sea side village of Portwenn, so think of it as House meets Northern Exposer. Likable, quirky show, filled with requisite cast of small town eccentrics, and the village they use for filming is really quite beautiful. Supporting cast includes the cute Caroline Catz as well as Stephanie Cole, who at this point in her life looks a lot like my late maternal grandmother. Recommended.

Chisholm '72: Unbought & Unbossed (2004)

Documentary on the groundbreaking yet quixotic quest for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination by Shirley Chisholm, the first black women ever elected to congress. Film gives brief biographical data on Shirley, but mostly follows her through the '72 election from her announcement in January, to defeat at the national convention in Miami Beach that July. Shirley Chisholm was well aware of the obstacles against her but wanted to take the campaign seriously, not just be symbol, but actually try to get enough delegates to have some influence in the drafting of the party platform (in order to push the party to take stronger stands on issues important to women and minorities). This she unfortunately was unable to do, but it seemed a noble effort, and watching this documentary I don't know how you could not respect the lady, she was sincere and wanted to change things for the better. An enlightening documentary on a women I knew hardly anything about. The film also sheds a lot of light on the notoriously crowded and ill fated Democratic quest for the presidency in 72', plus I enjoyed the waka-waka soundtrack and use of all the period news clips and campaign commercials. Recommended.