October, A Touch of Zen, Fitzcarraldo, & Murder on a Sunday Morning

October was pretty good, but it's nowhere near as good as other Eisenstein films I've seen. Damn shame too, that Trotsky was edited out. Stupid totalitarians and their desire to remove all history that doesn't dovetail with the prevailing point of view. Man, totalitarians suck.

A Touch of Zen is, seriously, one of the best wuxia films I've ever seen. I clearly need to see King Hu's Dragon Inn. Interesting plot, impressive visuals, and about the only thing I can really complain about it is that the DVD kept the film in two parts, with an extra credit sequence and the fight scene that ends the first part replayed. What's up with that? If anything were different, I would not complain, but the scene was pretty long and completely unnecessary to replay. Oh, and there were, of course, some awkward subtitles, and swords that were clearly not particularly sturdy, but that's to be expected. That it was outstanding really shouldn't have been, considering it's one of the many evil eunuch films. Man, eunuchs suck.

Fitzcarraldo was long, but a fascinating look at ice-making in Latin America. Oh, wait, that was The Mosquito Coast. I mean, this was a long, fascinating look at getting a steamboat over a hill and down the rapids. To build an opera house. In the jungle. In Peru. Yeah, it's not most people's idea of a good time, but I enjoyed it. Insane, but I enjoyed it. Klaus Kinski as a part Scot? Sure! Man, moving a steamboat over a hill sucks.

Murder on a Sunday Morning is a documentary about a black 15 year old kid who gets accused by the long arm of the law of killing a white older tourist by her husband, and is clearly not given due process. The lawyer who is involved is very impressive in his investigation, especially given that he's a public defender. It's a damn shame that more lawyers aren't that good. But everyone owes it to themselves to see the film. And learn, maybe, that everyone that gets arrested by the police isn't necessarily guilty. Man, Florida sucks.