Come
Hell Or High Water: The Battle For Turkey Creek (2013/Bulldog
Films DVD)/Cooking At World's End (2015/Film Movement/Omnibus
Entertainment DVD)/The Girl From The Brothel (2017/Cinema
Libre DVD)/Resistance (2011/Film Movement DVD)/Speed
Sisters (2015/First Run DVD)
Picture:
B/B-/B-/B-/B- Sound: B/B-/B-/B-/B- Extras: C-/D/C+/D/C
Main Programs: B/B-/C+/C+/B
Come
Hell Or High Water: The Battle For Turkey Creek
Leah
Mahan's moving documentary Come Hell Or High Water: The Battle For
Turkey Creek (2013) focuses on Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher,
who moves back to his home in coastal Mississippi when the graves of
his ancestors are bulldozed in order to build some commercial
property in the city of Gulport. Over the course of a decade,
Derrick and his neighbors stand up to powerful interests to stand up
for their rights and their are consumed by the effort to protect the
community where his great grandfather's grandfather settled as a
former slave. Things finally start to look up but then when
Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast and everything changes.
Presented
in standard definition with an anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1
widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo track,
all of which sound and look fine for this nature of documentary film,
comparable to what you would see on a streaming service. This is one
of the best entries on this list.
A
Trailer is the only Special Feature.
Cooking
At World's End
Step
into the cooking world with this interesting documentary about food
that is set against the backdrop of Galicia's coastal provinces. I
would suggest watching this on a full stomach, as some of the dishes
made in this film are simply mouth watering to look at. Cooking is
very much and art and these talented cooks give it their all and take
extreme care when serving their guests.
Alberto
Baamonde's well shot and cut documentary Cooking at the World's
End (2015) follows nine young Chefs, who join forces and share
knowledge to transform the cuisine of Galicia and make it a delicacy.
Grupo Nove uses radical new techniques to develop an idea of cuisine
that brings ties back to the land and tradition in this insightful
journey that is about more than just food but of a way of life.
Presented
in standard definition with an anamorphically enhanced widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a nice sounding, lossy 2.0 Stereo Dolby
Digital track, the film looks and sounds fine on DVD as it was
obviously shot digitally and loses some detail that it would gain in
HD.
There
are sadlt no extras
The
Girl From The Brothel
Ilaria
Borelli's The Girl From The Brothel (2017) exposes the dark
truth about children in brothels in foreign countries sold as sex
slaves to the pedophile market. The film aims to raise awareness of
this gross and serious topic, and does so with rich cinematic
storytelling and great acting by Ilaria Borrelli, Philippe Caroit,
Cannelle Helgey, and Seta Monyroth. However, due to this topic the
film is kind of a one time watch for me, though for what it is well
executed.
When
a woman catches her husband cheating on her with a child at a
brothel, she decides to take matters into her own hands and adopt the
child and free her from the oppressed society she lives in. Soon,
becoming responsible for several children, she finds herself on the
run from the evil conspirators of the brothel who care more about
prophet than humanity.
Presented
on DVD in standard definition with an anamorphic widescreen aspect
ratio of 2.40:1 with lossy Diolby Digital 5.1 language tracks in
English and Khmer. The transfer looks fine for DVD but this film is
sure to shine brighter in 1080p. The film is short at 88 minutes in
length, but moving pretty quickly and has an interesting soundtrack
as well.
Special
Features...
Behind
the Scenes
''Moon
Eyes'' Music Video
Trailer
Photo
Gallery
Resistance
If
you're a fan or scholar of movies about Nazis, scenic country sides,
and characters that you love to hate, then Resistance (2011)
might be a film for you! Starring two Game of Thrones actors,
Iwan Rehon (one of the most hated characters in Thrones
history) and Tom Wlaschiha, plus the always on-point Michael Sheen
(Masters of Sex, Passengers, Frost/Nixon), the
film isn't much new in the way of Nazi period piece dramas but hits
the points that it aims for and features clean filmmaking, however,
the pacing is painfully slow, which make deter some.
In
1944, the D-Day for the invasion of Normandy by the Allies has failed
and Europe has not been released from their German foes. The men of
an isolated Welsh village disappear and their wives believe that they
have joined the resistance. Not too long after, German soldiers
arrive at the village armed and ready. The farmer Sarah Lewis and
the German Commander Albrecht befriend each other along the year
despite the hell that is unleashing around them.
Presented
in standard definition with an anamorphically enhanced 2.40:1
widescreen aspect ratio, lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround track and
2.0 Stereo track as well, the overall presentation of the film on DVD
is up to standards and lacks the detail that a 1080p transfer would
solve. For a film of this scale, a lot of detail is lost in the
compression with the quality comparable to streaming.
No
extras.
Speed
Sisters
Finally
we have the Amber Fares documentary Speed Sisters (2015) for
sports car nuts in particular, as it centers around members of the
Middle East's first all-women racing team as they fast and furiously
speed between the cities of the West Bank in high-octane car races.
As mentioned in the doc, it is easy to race sports cars in most
places of the world with the exception of Palestine, where the
military checkpoints get in the way, and this presents these female
races with a whole new challenge in this informative and entertaining
documentary film.
In
a male-driven sport such as this one in Palestine, it's interesting
to see the dedication that these women have to their sport and some
of the dangerous situations that they get themselves in. Aside from
being beautiful, these women are fun to watch, as they go pull off
some nail-biting stunts that racing fans (and feminists alike) will
want to be sure to check out.
Presented
in standard definition with an anamorphically enhanced widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo language
tracks in both English and Arabic (with English Subs), the
presentation here is pretty standard for DVD and works fine
considering the subject matter of the film. As with anything
originating in HD, a high def update would be nice.
Special
Features...
-
Listen to the official Speed Sisters Soundtrack.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
