The Ambassador

/ / Home Video
  • Title: The Ambassador
  • IMDb: link

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A funny film about blood diamonds? As odd as that sounds, it’s exactly what The Ambassador delivers. For his latest work Danish journalist and filmmaker Mads Brügger undertook the challenge to expose the corruption of diplomatic titles sold on the black market and the African conflict diamond trade in the Central African Republic by purchasing a diplomatic title and becoming the newest ambassador for Liberia.

Through the use of hidden cameras Brügger is able to document the alarming amount of corruption, bribes, and backroom dealing for those with enough money the grease the wheels of the corrupt government of the CAR.

Despite good intentions, Brügger is no white knight. The filmmaker never takes a moral stand on the situation, and his involvement only increases the wealth of the corrupt officials he exposes while giving false hope to citizens who believed the man’s cover story of opening a match factory in the region which would have employed hundreds, if not thousands, of workers.

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Lincoln

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Lincoln
  • IMDb: link

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Director Steven Spielberg‘s follow-up to last year’s disappointing War Horse is a far more personal character study of a single man during one of the most tumultuous times in America’s history. Adapted from Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, rather than give us a Hollywood version of “This is Your Life,” Lincoln chooses to focus on the final four months of Abraham Lincoln‘s presidency and the end of both the Civil War and slavery.

Daniel Day-Lewis carries the movie with yet another strong performance as our title character, and Sally Field is surprisingly terrific in the role of Mary Todd Lincoln. Although there is more going on, much like Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master, Spielberg’s movie can really be boiled down to two performances that elevate the story around them.

Tony Kushner‘s script focuses on the law, backdoor politics, and Lincoln’s struggle to reunite the Union and abolish slavery rather than the Civil War, which is only used as a backdrop to the events occurring in Washington D.C.

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Arrow – Legacies

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Green Arrow – Legacies
  • tv.com: link

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DC’s favorite all-purpose C-List bad guys, the Royal Flush Gang (Currie Graham, Kyle Schmid, Tom Stevens, Sarah-Jane Redmond), show up in Starling City and kill an off-duty police officer during their latest bank robbery. Diggle (David Ramsey) seizes the opportunity to try to convince Oliver (Stephen Amell) to widen his focus beyond his father’s list and protect everyone who needs Green Arrow‘s help.

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Super Dinosaur #15

/ / Comics

super-dinosaur-15Super Dinosaur #15 concludes the Inner Earth storyline as Derek is able to escape the clutches of The Exile, reconnect with Super Dinosaur and his friends, and make his way home. The action is certainly fast and furious, but Derek’s reunion with his friends does feel a little rushed compared to the amount of time the arc has spent with the other aspects of this story.

Although Derek, Super Dinosaur, and the other children manage to make it back home from Inner Earth safely, writer Robert Kirkman lays down quite a bit of foreshadowing and the events from this arc are likely to have long term consequences for everyone involved.

The Exile is imprisoned but his theory on life on the surface has been proven and he has plenty of time to plot his revenge. We also get SD finally making a connection in Inner Earth when the group is saved thanks to help from another Tyrannosaurus rex, only to have to abandon his new friend to help Derek get safely home. It may be a bit rushed, but Super Dinosaur #15 is a good conclusion to the arc. Next month: Super Dinosaur in space! Worth a look.

[Image, $2.99]

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Covert Affairs – Quicksand

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: Covert Affairs – Quicksand
  • tv.com: link

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With Auggie deploying to Iraq to be a “battle buddy” for a soldier (Jocko Sims) suffering from post-traumatic stress Annie (Piper Perabo) has to rely on the help of Barber (Dylan Taylor) and Eyal (Oded Fehr) when she is set up in Luxembourg attempting to retreive to possible intelligence from a murder victim she believes to be her former asset (Michelle Nolden). After avoiding capture and making to Zürich alone, Annie reconnects with Eyal, but rather than take a safe trip home the hunted becomes the hunter as the two spies agree to go after Khalid (Haaz Sleiman) together.

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