Still Here

Though it has been a while since posting a list, I am still here. Cancelling Netflix streaming, summer activities and more book reading are some of the excuses for diminished viewing. This list includes what may be my last Netflix stream. I have not yet tapped into the Amazon Prime choices. My library list is not particularly inspiring. Now that PBS has started fresh shows, I am watching Masterpiece, Point of View, American Experience, Independent Lens and other offerings.

Hamilton's America – 2016 (3.2). All the hype about the musical will seem justified when you watch this documentary about the creation of the show and its impact on the cast members. The creative and artistic people involved in the musical and this movie are excitingly talented. Interviews, excerpts from musical numbers and visits to historical sites are nicely blended to make us share the excitement for this compelling story of an important founding father made into a show that expands the boundaries of American musical theater.

What Tomorrow Brings – 2015 (2.9). Several years in the making this documentary tells the story of a school for girls on the outskirts of Kabul. The woman who founded the school is very dedicated and capable and has managed to get all the Afghan male elders on board to support this school and the girls who attend. One teacher and a couple of the girls in particular are followed over time and present an inspiring case of women struggling to overcome very unfair challenges.

American Experience:Norman Lear – 2015 (2.8). There is a lot of ground to be covered in a biography of the personal and creative life of such an iicon of TV history as Norman Lear. This documentary does a pretty good, though the personal side gets a bit shorted.

American Experience:Tesla – 2015 (2.8). A genius pioneer in electrical engineering, immigrant Tesla made a splash on coming to America and then sort of burned out. This documentary does a good job of telling his story, from the high legacy of having made alternating current the practical technology the whole world relies on to the low of envisioning concepts that fizzled.

American Experience:The Battle of Chosin – 2015 (2.8). Archival footage from both sides, interviews with American survivors and commentary from historians are put to good use in this documentary about the MacArthur ordered attempt to take UN control of the entire Korean peninsula in 1950. The effort was met with an overwhelming Chinese response, but in spite of being greatly outnumbered in brutal weather conditions the US forces managed to fight their way out. China suffered great losses which probably prevented them from taking control below the 38^th parallel.

Room – 2015 (2.8). Adapted from a novel by an Irish author, this Canadian-Irish drama tells the story of a young girl who was kidnapped and held captive in a back yard shed for seven years during which time she gave birth to a son who was age five when the movie began. The first half of the film takes place completely in the shed, which the boy knows as "room" and which is the only world he has ever known. As the mother tries to explain to the boy that there is a world outside room, the film starts to strain credulity a bit. But when an escape plot pays off and the boy for the first time experiences the reality outside room and as the liberated captives struggle to make the transition to the wide world, some genuine emotion is evoked.

The Salt of the Earth – 2015(2.8).  Sebastiao Salgado has spent decades working as a photographer recording indigenous and suffering peoples throughout the world. He has also restored his environmentally ruined ancestral ranch in Brazil to prove that such accomplishments are possible. Wim Wenders and the son of Salgado independently shot voluminous footage documenting this work and then jointly decided on the editing and final format of the movie. The resulting Oscar nominated film is hauntingly beautiful in parts and a bit disjointed and slow in others.

Defying the Nazis:The Sharps' War – 2016 (2.7). During WWII a Unitarian minister from New England and his wife engaged in dangerous missions to rescue Jews from the Nazis. Ken Burns and associates tell the story in this documentary using archival photos and footage, interviews with their daughter and with people who were rescued and some dramatic reconstructions, but the resulting movie is at times a little hard to follow and the full impact of their work is never felt to the extent it should be.

Hell on Wheels (Season Five) – 2015 (2.7). In what should be the final season lots of ground gets covered in what seems like a rushed effort to wrap up plot lines, yet parts of some episodes still seem to drag. Unfortunately the net result is a feeling of waning interest in the characters and an attitude of "let's get this over".

Hooligan Sparrow – 2016 (2.7). A young woman returns to her homeland China and documents the activities of a female activist and her colleagues who call out failures of the government to prosecute those who sexually exploit young women and girls in this quite personal documentary. The movie is a one woman production with no crew whatsoever, so the resulting footage is more like home video. The corruption of the police and other officials is pointed out and the intimidation of the activists by the exploiters is chillingly shown but there is no particular analysis or explanation of the problem

My Friend Rockefeller - 2015 (2.7). A documentary about a German teenager who ran away to America and for decades assumed continuously changing identities including that of a supposed member of the Rockefeller clan while fooling everyone including a couple wives should have made a very interesting movie, especially when murder is added in. But this film spends too much time interviewing people he befriended and not enough time telling the actual story of his escapades. The impostor targeted upper crust people since that was the lifestyle he desired, but it also turns out they may have been more gullible than the rest of us.

Thank You for Playing – 2015 (2.7). A video game designer whose young son has  terminal cancer found himself called to use the ongoing experience of seeking treatment and carrying on life as best possible to create a video game. His wife is supportive as are his professional colleagues. Some people say it is too morbid and a bad idea, but when he demos the game at an expo, people are deeply moved. This documentary is quite personal and raises more questions than it answers.

 The only (and maybe last) movie on this list streamed via Netflix was (though the streaming rights may now have expired):

My Friend Rockefeller

Au Revoir Netflix

The increase in Netflix streaming price prompted a look at what I have streamed in the last six months and the realization that for now it is not cost effective. So I have cancelled Netflix streaming effective this coming week. The same movies of marginal interest have been in my queue for quite a while. In fact what prompts me to stream most movies in my queue is the impending expiration of streaming rights. I have likely pretty well tapped out the old Netflix movies of interest. There are probably some good documentaries and foreign films left to glean, but they are almost always available through the library. This current list of movies watched includes a final flurry of Netflix streams.

DVDs in the mail seems old fashioned since stopping them from Netflix when they jacked the price up a few years ago. Their star rating algorithm no longer works for me and the filmographies are not complete unless you subscribe to DVD service. The IMDB provides free information and Red Box kiosks are quicker (though I still have not used one). The library and PBS TV will work fine for now.

So my eleven year relationship with Netflix has come to an end. Netflix as a business has been going through some ups and downs with its stock currently rated two stars out of five by Morningstar.

O.J.: Made in America - 2016 (3.0). An extended production of ESPN 30 for 30, this five part documentary puts the OJ murder case and later trial in Nevada in historical context, particularly regarding the oppressive treatment of African-Americans by the LAPD and how that affected the jurors in the murder trial. Archival footage is expertly mingled with recent interviews of many of the people involved in the trials and surrounding events. Though we are familiar with the case, this movie not only refreshes our memory but sharpens it and keeps us riveted to the screen.

Tab Hunter Confidential – 2015 (3.0). A young heartthrob with no talent turned into a box office phenom by Warner Brothers in the 1950s and a candidate for some third rate "whatever happened to" movie over 50 years later might be what was expected of this documentary. But we are quickly corrected as an eighty something Tab looking handsome and healthy proceeds to tell us his life story, about being almost unnaturally handsome, seeking escape in the Coast Guard, having a lifetime love of horses, falling into a movie career, being overhyped, working hard to learn to act, supporting his single mother who was afflicted with mental health issues, dealing with his homosexuality while keeping it from destroying his career, and about his family, friendships, business relationships and loves. This is a very enjoyable visit with a really nice man and it is not surprising that so many notable people chose to offer their filmed comments to supplement the archival and contemporary footage.

The Last Man on theMoon – 2014 (3.0). Twelve humans have walked on the surface of the moon. In 1972, the last one was Gene Cernan and he tells his story in this effective documentary. We get his personal and professional biography as he takes us with him to revisit the sites and mementoes of his life journey. Of course he cannot take us back to the moon in person, but with archival footage and computer simulations we can come close to realizing what he experienced. The production values are high and Cernan is engaging as he gently explains how he feels today about this remarkable thrill from his past.

Paradise Lost 3:Purgatory – 2011 (3.0). After almost 18 years of incarceration, the story of the West Memphis Three gets another documentary update. This time new evidence and expert testimony are developed and presented to a new judge. All the new interviews are put in context with footage from the earlier movies and we see how prison has changed the three convicts, how many other people, including especially one surprising member of a victim family, have changed in their lives and attitudes, but how Arkansas criminal law prosecutors fight tooth and nail to prevent the men from getting new trials. As the prospect for new trials gains strength, we get a new suspect and a sudden resolution.

If I Were You – 2012 (2.9). A pleasant surprise, this romantic comedy from write and director Joan Carr-Wiggin has a nicely paced script with some clever lines, modest laughs and sincerity in presenting the issue of marital infidelity from three points of view, the husband, but primarily the wife and the other woman. Good acting by the two women, especially Marcia Gay Harding.

Paradise Lost 2: Revelations – 2000 (2.9). The makers of the original documentary about the West Memphis Three, teenagers in Arkansas convicted of supposedly satanic murders of three eight year old boys revisited the story several years later as a movement has arisen to free them as wrongfully convicted. New evidence and expert re-examination of the evidence is argued as a basis for new trials. The original trial judge handles the new proceedings and this time decides to exclude cameras, but there are plenty of ongoing interviews with the prisoners, their families, families of the victims, witnesses, police and attorneys and others. The likelihood of the boys being exonerated seems to be growing and a very likely candidate for the true killer comes into view.

Trapped – 2016 (2.8). Southern legislators have passed many laws in recent years purportedly to make abortion safer, when in fact their purpose is to make it impossible for medical practitioners to comply with the myriad of regulations so that abortion will effectively be outlawed. This documentary follows the efforts by the few remaining clinics and their doctors to stay open to serve women seeking an abortion. Roe vs Wade recognized the right to abortion, but a later case allowed states to regulate the practice so long as the laws do not place an undue burden on women. The Texas law has been challenged in the US Supreme Court with a decision due in June 2016.

Spotlight – 2015 (2.8). Somewhat in the mode of All The President's Men, this drama follows a team at the Boston Globe as they work up the story of the Boston priest sexual abuse scandal and ongoing coverup by Cardinal Law. This scandal in the Catholic Church worldwide has become quite well known and been covered in many documentaries and other media, so this movie does not break new ground other than touching on the failure of the Globe to investigate the story much earlier. What could have made the film more informative would be showing more about the other institutions and individuals who facilitated the coverup.

Taxi Teheran – 2015 (2.8). Iranian director Jafar Panahi came up with this clever movie to comment on artistic repression in his country. The premise is that he is posing as a taxi driver in Teheran and using a disguised dashboard camera to film a succession of passengers who dialogue about various aspects of their lives as affected by the policies of the regime. After first thinking this is a sort of candid camera stunt, we realize it is a smart drama blending humore with probably about as sharp criticism as could be allowed without getting the film totally banned. The movie is also titled Taxi and Jafar Panahi's Taxi.

Fruitvale Station – 2013 (2.8). Based on a true story of a shooting of a young black man by an Oakland transit policeman, this drama gives the background on the man by showing some of his past history and then going into detail by following him in his interactions the day of the shooting with family, friends, enemies, strangers and the police. Michael B. Jordan plays the role quite effectively, presenting a nuanced performance of a young man trying to figure out where his life might be headed.

The Keys of theKingdom – 1944 (2.8). Gregory Peck plays a sincere young Catholic priest from Scotland who is sent to Imperial China as a missionary in this WWII production from the A. J. Cronin novel. Good production values, fine acting by Peck and the use of Chinese actors for the subordinate roles help this movie hold up fairly well after 70 years. The loudly annoying Oscar nominated music by Alfred Newman is something that movies thankfully left behind.

Daughter of the Dawn – 1920 (2.8). A movie made in 1920 outdoors in Oklahoma with a cast composed entirely of Kiowa and Comanche Indians is so unique that it is worth watching even though it is a quite hokey drama. Thanks to film preservers and Oklahoma historians for keeping this film in being and thanks to Netflix for making it available.

Beasts of No Nation – 2015 (2.7). This Netflix drama based on the novel of the same name tells a story of a boy in West Africa whose village is caught between government forces and rebels in a civil war. His faily is killed and he is taken captive by a warlord running a battalion of boy fighters. He is quickly converted to a soldier and partakes in violence at first by being forced and then gradually of his own volition. The movie has good production values and acting but the accents make the dialogue hard to decipher at times and the fictional story is totally lacking on any bigger picture of what the war is about and who the parties are. As a first personal account of the young boy who does not understand the political issues the film is limited in what it can accomplish.

The Big Short – 2015 (2.7). Trying to explain to the general public the financial instrument machinations that led to the housing bubble and 2008 financial crash is hard enough to do in a book but even harder in a movie made from that book. The resulting screenplay won the Oscar but did not make this esoteric subject generally interesting, and the jumping around between so many characters who predicted the bubble or otherwise tried to warn others and then decided to turn the prediction into personal profits is about as confusing as this sentence. Blurring the line between documentary and drama is tricky work.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Tab Hunter Confidential

Last Man on the Moon

If I Were You

Spotlight

Taxi Teheran

Fruitvale Station

The Keys of the Kingdom

Daughter of the Dawn

Beasts of No Nation

Spring Transition

Well into spring, the PBS shows wind down their seasons providing more time the glean Netflix and to resurrect check outs from the library. This is probably a good time to go over all my waiting lists and build up queues for summer watching.

Call the Midwife (Season Five) – 2016 (3.2). The series enters 1961 and encounters the impact of new drugs on pregnancy, from Thalidomide to birth control pills. Changing times and evolving characters are nicely interwoven and portrayed with typically high British TV standards. By now we have become emotionally involved in our relationship with all the cast, but usually with personal favorites. A sixth season is on its way and if the series stays true to itself there is no reason it cannot go on for many more.

The Galapagos Affair:Satan Came to Eden – 2013 (3.0). In 1929 a German couple left their respective spouses and settled on a small Galapagos Island. Over the next few years a few others followed. Typical of such back to nature adventures, paradise did not ensue. This pleasantly engaging documentary uses a surprising amount of archival footage from the settlers, along with dramatic readings from their writings and interviews with living descendants and a few historians of the history of humans on those islands. The resulting story is told in a well edited chronology with conflicting points of view on what were thee relations between the various inhabitants and what ultimately happened to them.

Tangerines -2013 (3.0). A grandfatherly Estonian living in a Russian Georgia village of tangerine orchards is caught in the crossfire of the early 1990s civil war and takes in two wounded combatants hostile to each other, A Georgian and a Chechnya mercenary. His even handed treatment of the men gains their respect and provides pause for reflection on territorial disputes and the resulting wars. A neighbor with a tangerine crop in need of harvest pickers rounds out the small cast. Good acting, particularly by the grandfather, evocative cinematography and economical writing and direction led the movie to nominations for best foreign film at both the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

Journey of Hope – 1990 (3.0). This German Oscar winning drama about a poor Turkish farmer and his wife paying traffickers to get them to Switzerland in the hopes of earning money to bring back home will probably always be a timely subject. The actors appear to be real people and the filming of their journey has a documentary feel of authenticity. Three kinds of people are encountered on the journey: good ones who try sympathetically to help; bad ones who seek to cheat; and the authorities who try to humanely apply the immigration laws. American viewers may be inclined to feel the journey is too risky, but if our ancestors had not ventured out, we would not be Americans.

The Return – 2016 (2.9). In 1994 California passed a "Three Strikes" law mandating life imprisonment terms. By 2012 such laws were acknowledged to be overkill in many cases and voters then passed by 70% a measure to allow such sentences to be reviewed by judges to determine if the prisoner should be released as posing no threat to public safety. This sensitive documentary follows two released men as they cope with making the adjustment to life after prison. The technique used is quiet observation of the men, their families and the attorneys and other volunteers who work with them. Periodic titles provide information on the status at various points in the months the men were observed. There is no preaching or expert commentary, other than what is said by the attorneys in the course of their work.

Brothers In War – 2014 (2.9). In 1967 the last company of drafted American combat soldiers who had trained together was sent to Vietnam for one year. After that, units in Vietnam were supplemented with individual replacements as casualties were incurred. Surviving members of the original company, including the commander and some unit leaders, were interviewed for this documentary. Some home movies and a few audio tapes were also incorporated. The chronicling of the one year tour using memories of the men and footage from the time and place begin to give a feeling of the fear and resilience of these men who survived patrols in the Mekong Delta in which 26 of the original men were killed and over 100 were wounded.

Mr. Selfridge (SeasonFour) – 2016 (2.8). The series concludes at the time of the 20^th anniversary of the store, and this final season emphasizes how Harry's gambling and womanizing bring him down, ultimately being broke and squeezed out of the store he founded. It all feels a bit rushed, as if the writers knew the plots needed to build and conclude swiftly. Some of the supporting characters have more nuanced dramas in their lives but Harry and his made up love interest Mae are the main presentation. Viewers probably feel like the Board of Directors – it was time for Harry to go.

My Nazi Legacy – 2015 (2.8). Two men born in 1939 whose fathers were Nazi commanders in occupied Poland in WWII have a different view on the culpability of their father in this documentary. One has bad memories of his early childhood and agrees his father deserved the execution he received at Nuremburg. The other has good childhood memories and cannot be convinced to believe his father, who died a refugee in the Vatican where he fled to avoid prosecution, was in any way to blame for the atrocities committed under his command. A Jewish international activist attorney whose family was almost entirely annihilated under the command of the two fathers joins with the man who accepts the truth of the villainy of his father in trying to convince the other son. But the effort fails and the truth accepter concludes the truth denier is in fact a modern day Nazi. He frustrated attorney is not quite sure of that.

Winter on Fire – 2015 (2.8). When Ukrainians elected a leader who told them he was going to take the country into the EU, the people were delighted. But when he reneged and acted like a Russian puppet, they took to the streets, especially the young people. The protests were met with violent response by the government and when young people were injured the elders and ecumenical church leaders joined them in support. The violence continued until finally the leader fled into exile in Russia. This story is told in a documentary using interviews with protestors and lots of footage shot during the months of protest. There is no historical analysis or expert opinion, just film of what happened on the ground combined with protestor viewpoints.

You've Been Trumped – 2011 (2.7). Watching this documentary about the scoundrel Donald Trump scamming the Scottish powers into letting him ruin a wondrous sand dune treasure to build a golf course for the rich and then bullying local Scot farmers in an attempt to get their homes removed as eyesores is like seeing a preview of his disgusting 2016 US Presidential run. The journalist who made the film lives only 40 miles from the dunes and he could not believe the favorable press Trump was receiving so he went to see for himself and tells the story from the point of view of the little people Trump scornfully wants to trample. The movie does not have extra content that would have made it better, because potential sources of financing for the cost of including such material were afraid of being sued by Trump. Funds were raised by the filmmaker mortgaging his own home.

Los Angeles Plays Itself – 2003 (2.7). This documentary is essentially a three hour lecture class about how Los Angeles has been used in numerous movies. The narration includes comments on movie making in general but most of the attention is put on specific locations in the city that have been part of many movies through the years. The editor has compiled great clips to illustrate the somewhat professorial narration, all of which would certainly be of much greater interest to a Los Angelino.

Time Out – 2001 (2.7). A Frenchman fired from his job wanders around trying to look and act like the executive he imagines himself to be, but keeps his unemployment a secret. Soon he starts bilking family and friends to raise money which leads him down a dangerous path. This French movie is slow and overlong, though well-acted and with some saving cinematography.

The Man Whose Mind Exploded – 2012 (2.4). Watched at Netflix on a bored whim, this documentary was poorly made and was about an eccentric and unappealing man, so it ended up being excluded by oversight from the previous blog list. My two stars rating at Netflix with a benefit of the doubt produces a 2.4 here. Don't bother watching it.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden

Journey of Hope

Band of Brothers

Winter on Fire

Los Angeles Plays Itself

Time Out

The Man Whose Mind Exploded

No Mockingbird

There is something I should have learned better before now. My first chance was over fifty years ago when I took a literature class from a professor who had written a book entitled Novels into Film. Most recently the same lesson was taught in comments on this blog (back when there were some) by John from Phoenix. Now I finally get the lesson and I want to explain why.

My reading through the years has been overwhelmingly non-fiction with only very few novels. On the death of Harper Lee, I decided to finally read To Kill a Mockingbird. At the same time I read a book (Scout, Atticus and Boo) with memories by various people about when they first read Mockingbird. I was in law school when the movie came out and I thought it was great; I particularly admired Atticus of course. The screen play won the Oscar for best adaptation. So after reading these books I watched the movie again, the first time I can recall since my first viewing. I was shocked how totally disappointingly different the movie was from the book.

I know I have seen at least a couple movies based on books I had read previously, but I do not remember being bothered by differences on the screen from the pages of the book. But in the case of Mockingbird I disliked the movie adaptation so much because it oversimplified the book and left so much of importance totally out of the script that I am not even including it in this list. I will let my ancient five star rating stay in place as a respectful memory, but I have now finally learned that a novel and a movie based on a novel are two separate and wholly autonomous works of art.

Downton Abbey (SeasonSix) – 2015 (3.2). Enjoyable house guests sometimes engender mixed feeling after they leave; while we will really miss them, we are also glad they are gone. So with the final season of Downton, it is time to part company with the people who have been visiting us and we wish them well. The scripts were written to grant our wish and they did so, with everyone taking a positive step forward in life, even as we are realistic enough to know they cannot all live happily ever after. Perhaps a sequel will be made in ten or twenty years.

Matt Shepard Is aFriend of Mine – 2014 (3.2). Matt wanted to be famous, but not by dying at a young age as a victim of a homophobic beating. Using archival home movies, evocative scenes of the filmmaker traveling around the area where Matt lived, and extensive interviews with his family and friends and those involved in investigating his murder, one friend made this documentary to let us learn who Matt was and why so many people loved him. There is not much issue preaching here, but there is the encouraging example set by the parents of Matt in starting a foundation to address the need for greater respect for individual differences. There is also a provocatively thoughtful conversation between the filmmaker and a priest who ministered to the murderers.

Call the Midwife(Season Four) – 2015 (3.1). As time moves forward, some of the cast turns over though some of the old stay on, and the medical and social issues keep evolving. A few story lines keep progressing even as new angles develop in the lives of some characters. There is a valid feel to the way things move along, but it does seem a little peculiar that the narrator from old age continues her voice over role even though her character is no longer appearing in the series. There are still many calendar years for the stories to run forward and as long as the quality holds up there is good reason to continue filming.

Jackie Robinson – 2016 (2.9). With this documentary Ken Burns attempts to fill in more of the personal side of the baseball great and his attitude toward racial relations in America from his young days through his integration of major league baseball and into his political activity after leaving baseball. The task is fairly well accomplished with lots of archival footage, interviews and dramatic voiceovers.

Doc Martin (SeasonSeven) – 2015 (2.9). Louisa returns from Spain and she and Martin begin couples therapy. We know about the problems Martin has, but bow we get to find out whether Louisa has problems of which we have been unaware. Meanwhile the characters and events in the town continue to provide drama around the central couple. Unfortunately, after setting the counselling up to be not only quite helpful to the couple but also to provide a deeper personal emotional drama for the series, this story line sort of fizzles in the last episode.

PlantPure Nation – 2015 (2.9). The son of one of the doctors whose life work on the health benefits of plant based eating was featured in the film Knives Over Forks is the maker of this newer documentary. Kentucky is the state with the least healthy population and this movie follows the efforts of the film maker to get the Kentucky legislature to approve a modest study of  plant based eating. Surprised by the defeat of the proposal, a self-funded study is done in North Carolina with impressive results and the Kentucky Legislature approached again. The truth of the value of this way of eating seems quite obvious but efforts to get government involved in promoting it run into vested animal based food interests and their control of the political process.

An Honest Liar – 2014 (2.9). For decades professional magician James Randi has made it his mission to discredit people who use the tricks of his trade to fool people into believing the tricksters have psychic, spiritual or other mystic powers. Lots of archival footage is combined with interviews, especially of Randi himself, to produce this documentary. Sadly, we learn there are willingly gullible people who use the charlatans as an emotional crutch and are angered when the fraud is exposed.

Supermensch: TheLegend of Shep Gordon – 2013 (2.9). Comedian Mike Meyers directed this documentary homage to a show biz agent who seems universally admired not only by his famous clients but also by no less than the Dalai Lama. Numerous interviews and clever reconstructed videos are well edited together with the precise timing of an experienced stand up comic. The result is a fun movie that moves right along.

Welcome to Leith – 2015 (2.8). A peripatetic white supremacist provocateur bought a rundown house in a very small town in North Dakota with the intention of attracting others of his ilk and taking over the town politically, though only one other couple actually came. These invaders were so obnoxious that the townspeople rose in opposition and ultimately persuaded the prosecutor to file charges against the men for terrorizing the townspeople. This documentary uses interviews with the townspeople, invaders and the prosecutor and a spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center along with some archival footage of events that happened in the town to follow the case in a very personal way, without going into an academic analysis or criticism of the white supremacist views.

The Look of Silence – 2014 (2.8). In this sequel to an earlier documentary, The Act of Killing, the film maker follows the efforts of the brother of one of the victims of the Indonesian political genocide of the 1960s to confront the aging murderers and see if they have remorse or feelings of guilt. The brother was born after the killing as a replacement for son who was killed. The mother still lives and is kept informed as the son pursues his mission. The audacious sadism of the killers shown in the earlier film is fodder for the new journey and the people he confronts are still despicable and unremorseful. New to this film are the children of the murderers who profess varying degrees of ignorance about what happened, understandable because the murderers have been in charge of the Indonesian government since the slaughter and have tried to bury the past in silence.

How to Survive aPlague – 2012 (2.8). Archival footage and current interviews are used in this documentary to tell the story of the Act Up protestors whose persistent activism over many years finally got enough serious attention from the government and the pharma industry on the need for effective treatment AIDS victims. The film is more of a testament to the work of the individuals involved than a political history of how and why they had to work so long and so hard to get our country to properly address the problem.

Forks Over Knives – 2011 (2.8). Decades of lab research and working with patients have convinced two American doctors that a plant based diet is optimal for health. They present their findings in this documentary which also includes input from other doctors and patients who swear by the wonderful health gains of excluding animal products from what we eat. The presentation is easy to follow, though one is left with many questions about specifics, which means visiting the website and reading the book are the next steps for consideration.

Reel Injun – 2009 (2.8). A documentary film maker from the far north of Canada takes a road trip in a "res car" to visit Hollywood, the creator of American Indian mythology. Along the way he visits some historic Indian sites and talks with various Indians including some famous actors and activists. Archival footage of Indians being played by whites and cast as stereotypes provide humor tinged with resentment. But there is some good news in the more recent movies, some made by Indians, showing indigenous people in a more accurate light.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine

Call the Midwife (Season Four)

PlantPure Nation

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

The Look of Silence

How to Survive a Plague

Forks Over Knives

Reel Injun

Winter Watching

PBS TV documentaries and a couple seasons of Call the Midwife plus three singles from Netflix have provided the bulk of recent viewing.

Call the Midwife (SeasonThree) – 2014 (3.1). It is 1959 and there is a lot happening as the series continues and holds its quality. A new sister and new midwife join the cast in their new home and a young chaplain comes on the scene and provides a love interest. Sadly another male love interest leaves the cast causing a midwife to require a time away for a rest. The new mother midwife returns to work and her cold mother returns from India, impoverished and in poor health. The doctor and his wife want to increase their family. Social aspects of the stories include cystic fibrosis, Down's, spousal and parental abuse, women in prison, babies from adultery, alcoholism, and post partem psychosis. At season end, one midwife decides to try a career change and work with the terminally ill.

Call the Midwife (SeasonTwo) – 2013 (3.1). Social issues confronted include spousal abuse, infant death, child exploitation, birth defects, abortion and the expectation of new birth control pills. On the personal front one midwife and her husband go on a six month mission to Africa and come back pregnant, a painfully shy female orderly enters the cast, a friend loves one person but marries another, a younger nun questions her vocation as she is attracted to a widowed doctor, the central midwife gets a potential new love interest and the building housing the midwives faces demolition.

The Mine Wars – 2015 (3.0). Mine owners in the south of West Virginia were the fiercest opponents of union organizing in the early 20^th Century. Using archival footage and interviews with historians and former miners, this powerful documentary tells the bloody story of the battle between the mine owners and the miners which culminated in a mass armed march of thousands of men. Ultimately it took the depression and the progressive labor legislation of the FDR administration to bring a semblance of dignity and justice to these workers. Unfortunately the progress made for worker rights has been steadily eroded for the last fifty years.

The Black Panthers:Vanguard of a Revolution – 2015 (2.9). Following the passage of Civil Rights laws in the 1960s, young black Americans realized lots of whites did not get the memo, especially local police forces. Some of the more militant activists formed the Black Panther Party to arm themselves in self-defense and to engage in social service work to uplift the black community. The FBI of Hoover quickly built a huge enterprise in conjunction with local police to counter and ultimately eliminate the Panthers. This documentary uses archival footage, declassified FBI materials and factual interviews with former Panthers, police, informants and FBI agents to tell the story in a balanced and effective way. By coincidence, a few weeks after the airing of the film on PBS a Black Panther was released from prison in Louisiana where he had spent forty years in solitary confinement.

Chasing Heroin – 2016 (2.8). Following four addict stories in the Seattle area, this documentary puts a personal face on the heroin problem and shows how difficult it is for addicts to overcome their problem. There is a little science and some mention of the role big pharma and doctors played in getting people hooked, but the emphasis is on the addicts and on the enlightened approach being taken in Seattle by co-operation between the police, prosecutors and public defenders.

Murder of a President – 2016 (2.8). James Garfield and Chester Arthur are two US Presidents most of us could not tell apart, except that one of them might have been assassinated. It was Garfield; and his story is interestingly told in this documentary, using archival photographs and extensive dramatic reconstructions. Garfield had been a respected Ohio Congressman, before becoming a surprising Republican Convention choice for President in 1880. Shot by an unbalanced disgruntled office seeker after only a short time in office, Garfield received highly questionable medical treatment in the following weeks and was succeeded by his VP, Arthur, who had been handpicked by a corrupt political machine.

Best of Enemies – 2015 (2.8). William F. Buckley of the right and Gore Vidal of the left both spoke with patrician affectation and seemed to have embodied the stereotype of "East Coast Elites". In 1968 the struggling ABC TV network came up with the idea of having this duo pontificate during the party presidential conventions. The result was a verbal blood feud which Vidal won, not by making better political arguments, but by getting Buckley to blow his cool. Archival footage of the sparring and surrounding events of the times is combined with some later interviews with the men and a few people close to them in this captivating documentary.

In Football We Trust– 2015 (2.8). Mormons have created a recruiting pipeline to bring young Polynesian men and their families to Salt Lake City to play football in high school and hopefully also in college and maybe on to a lucrative career in the NFL. The culture of these Pacific Islanders celebrates the warrior and the men have bodies built for football. This documentary, co-directed by a man who was such an athlete himself, spent four years following four such athletes from three large families living on modest means. Sometimes the line between support and pressure is so confused with regard to the cultural heritage, families, gangs, football, school and Church, that it would seem better to just let the kids alone to make their own path in life.

No More Babies – 2015 (2.8). Young Chicana mothers admitted to the hospital in California in the 1970s for Cesarean sections also had their tubes tied, allegedly without informed consent. A whistleblower doctor had trouble finding a willing ear until a young Chicana lawyer took the case and filed a Federal suit on behalf of ten of these women. The whistle blower, Chicana lawyer, several of the plaintiffs and defendants and others involved in the events at the time are interviewed in this even-handed documentary which reminds us how the times have changed in so many ways.

(T)ERROR – 2015 (2.8). The maker of this documentary had a unique opportunity to interface with an FBI informant targeting a suspected terrorist and also with the suspect. Neither man was aware the other was working with the filmmaker and the FBI also was unaware of the film being made. The movie suggests the resources being expended for such undercover operation may need to be put to better use.

TINY: A Story aboutLiving Small – 2013 (2.7). Building a new home always takes longer and costs more than anticipated even when the house is about 124 square feet and built on top of a flatbed trailer. A summer documentary ends up taking a year in this personal account documentary by a young man with no previous construction experience. Brief visits and interviews with other people who have built and live in such homes created a viewer desire for a more expansive look at why and how people go smaller.

Autism in Love – 2015 (2.6). Granted this documentary is about people with autism seeking a love relationship, but spending several years following four such people would have made a better movie if it included more background material on what their lives were like growing up and more information from experts on autism helping us understand better what these people are experiencing and what society is doing to help those with autism. One of the men is older and seems to have a more severe case, but he does have a job which he enjoys and is married, though we get very little information on that marital relationship. A younger man is unemployed and in emotional pain about his life, but though his mother is close to him and tries to help by talking to him, she seems to be winging it without any professional advice. The final two people are able to function on a higher level and are in a long term relationship that may lead to marriage. Most of the film is interviews with the individuals and some with their parents.

The Truce – 1996 (2.6). An acclaimed memoir by an Italian Jew freed when Auschwitz was liberated by the Russians should have made a better dramatic movie than this one. Films are a fitting media for highly subjective observations, but here the camera seemed to spend too much time on the observer observing rather than on the observed being observed. The broken English spoken by the multinational cast may have been accurate but is often hard to follow. The production values and acting are sufficient, but the direction is a bit clumsy at times and the script quite inadequate.

Mercy Street (SeasonOne) – 2015 (2.2). What should have been an encouraging endeavor, Ridley Scott producing an original series for PBS about a hotel in Virginia turned in to a hospital for soldiers from both sides during the first year of the Civil War, sadly is instead a major disappointment.The problem is with the scripts. The intention may be to capture the chaos of the hospital but the result is a lack of concentration on any of the many characters long enough to develop an attachment to them. The dialogue is stilted and clichéd, with a villain at one time telling his victim, "What we have here is a failure to collaborate". So now we know the historical origin of the line from Cool Hand Luke, substituting collaborate for communicate. Buffoonery is inserted between gruesome scenes of amputations in a gross failure of attempted comic relief. Too many plot lines are involved, coming and going without any sense of organization and failing mostly to effectively interweave. Early episodes included annoying moving camerawork to segue from one group of characters to another. The sets and production values indicate an apparent plan for further seasons, but mixed reviews may foil that, and if it is renewed, much better reviews for the second season are the only hope for holding or building the audience.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Call the Midwife (Season Three)

Call the Midwife (Season Two)

Best of Enemies

TINY: A Story about Living Small

The Truce