After Nazi Germany attacked Poland in 1939, the Soviet Union demanded military bases from Finland. Helsinki refused, whereupon the Red Army attacked Finland in November 1939 in what is known as the Winter War. Using skis, the Finnish army held back the Soviets for several months but ultimately surrendered, signing a treaty of peace in […]

ETHNIC CLEANSING BEFORE YOUR EYES IN HARRISON’S FLOWERS Harrison’s Flowers, directed by Elie Chouraqui, ups the ante on the reality of ethnic cleansing over earlier efforts, notably Savior (1998) and Behind Enemy Lines  (2001). Based on the novel Le Diable a l’Avantage by Isabel Ellsen, the film begins in New Jersey on October 9, 1991. We become acquainted

RAMBO ARNOLD VANQUISHES COLOMBIAN TERRORISTS Collateral Damage, one of the films delayed by the events of September 11, is a Ramboesque movie about Colombian terrorism. Early in the story, Gordy Brewer (played by Arnold Schwartzenegger) stops to pick up his son and wife at a mall in Los Angeles that happens to house the Colombian

A teenage boy’s fantasy may to be inherit millions and be surrounded by beautiful girls, but the reality is that high school kids are often driven by peer pressure not to strive for anything but chasing girls, and even that pursuit can be frustrating. In Who’s Your Daddy?, directed by Andy Fickman, Chris Hughes (played by

The native peoples of North American migrated from Asia some 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, bringing various customs and languages, which in turn changed over time. Ironically, one such people, the Navajos, played a part in defeating Japan during World War II, a story told in Windtalkers, directed by John Woo. When the film begins, the

The film Vulgar not only lives to its name, but also gives new meaning to the word. Will Carlson (played by Brian Christopher O’Halloran) scrapes out a living as Flappy, a party clown. Aside from his best friend Syd (played by Bryan Johnson), he is bullied by everyone, including creditors, but kids and parents love his performances.

A seven-year-old boy in the United States is likely to be sent to summer camp to learn survival skills and perhaps a little about himself. In The Way Home (Jibeuro), Sang-woo (played by Seung-Ho Yoo) is parked by his mother (played by Hyo-Hee Dong) in the rural hamlet of Youngdong with his mute, aging grandmother (played

Current films from Iran have been pushing the envelope very far in raising political consciousness about the gap between pious principles and rough realities. Under the Moonlight, directed by Reza Mir-Karimi, continues the effort to persuade those holding back progress to wake up and face social problems. Sayyed Hassan (played by Hossein Parastar), a theological

The Tuxedo, directed by Kevin Donovan, is a comedy with very little fighting on the part of the forty-eight-year-old martial artist Jackie Chan. The protagonist is James Tong (played by Jackie Chan), and the main joke is that his pronunciation of “James Tong” sounds like “James Bond.” Hilarity abounds, often slapstick, but there is a

The biopic Ted Bundy, directed by Matthew Bright, spares no obscenity in depicting the world’s worst mass murderer. With more than one hundred deaths in his path of rape, titles at the end tell us that the term “serial killer” was coined to describe him. Although the film begins with stills of Bundy (played by Michael