Favorite films

Recent reviews

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  Yardie 2018

  ★★★½ Watched 15 Sep 2018

  Best part was seeing the scenes shot around Hackney Downs and Pembury Estate - that’s my hood!

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  The Shape of Water 2017

  ½ Watched 14 Feb 2018 1

  I thought that there were several overtly racist scenes in the film, including:

  * the diner, when the two black patrons were told their kind was not wanted and to leave
  * the treatment of the supporting lead by her boss over several scenes

  Why were these necessary, in such an otherwise whimsical and fantastical and sometimes beautiful film?

  Were those scenes necessary in order to portray realism? That was one argument I heard for the scenes' inclusion - the…

Popular reviews

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  Koran by Heart 2011

  ★★★★ Watched 16 Jan 2017

  I was somewhat skeptical before watching...I was worried whether American director Greg Barker would somehow find a way to weave some sort of his own narrative about Islam into what was advertised as a sweet documentary about brilliant children studying and reciting the Quaran

  And he did, in places he inserted lines about the conflict between fundamentalists and moderates, which may have only served to satisfy his own intellectual questions

  In any case all of that was kept mostly to…

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  Difret 2014

  ★★★★½ Watched 23 Dec 2016

  This was a fantastic film

  The leading ladies were entirely believable and gave heartfelt performances

  I'm not sure what is at root of all of the quibbles regarding the plot, production, or cinematography in other reviews on this site

  I personally think it is a treat to see Ethiopia on film in any capacity, and in any case did not notice any of the flaws mentioned while watching as I was completely involved in the plight of Hirut and other happenings in the film.