Reviews
Peter Camejo's 50 years of struggle for socialism
North Star — A Memoir
By Peter Camejo
Haymarket Books, Chicago, 2010
Reviewed by Barry Sheppard
Doco wants you to think before you eat
Food, Inc.
Directed by Robert Kenner
Written by Robert Kenner and Elise Pearlstein
Runtime: 94 minutes
DVD available for order online
Reviewed by Dani Barley
Inside the Iraq 'surge'
The Good Soldiers
By David Finkel
Scribe Publications (2009),
287 pages (pb), $35.00
Reviewed by Allen Myers
Two vastly different takes on the Iraq invasion
Green Zone
Directed by Paul Greengrass
Written by Brian Helgeland
(based on the book by Rajiv Chandrasekaran)
Starring Matt Damon, Greg Kinnear, and Brendan Gleeson
Runtime: 115 minutes
The Hurt Locker
Directed by Katheryn Bigelow
Written by Mark Boal
Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, and Brian Geraghty
Runtime: 131 minutes
Both films in cinemas nationally
Reviewed by Dani Barley
Alistair Hulett 1951-2010
By Nick Everett
On January 28, 2010, singer, songwriter and socialist Alistair Hulett died from cancer at just 58 years old. I recall first seeing Hulett perform at the Sandringham Hotel, in Newtown, Sydney, in 1989. His band, Roaring Jack, which performed regularly at the “Sando”, had become legendary as one of the best left-wing political bands on the Australian pub scene in the 1980s, fusing folk and punk culture in a chorus of rebellion.
Nightmares from the American right
Going Rouge: An American Nightmare
Edited by Richard Kim & Betsy Reed
OR Books (2009)
335 pages (pb)
$26.95rrp
Reviewed by Dani Barley
Why the Oscars are a con
By John Pilger
Why are so many films so bad? This year’s Oscar nominations are a parade of propaganda, stereotypes and downright dishonesty. The dominant theme is as old as Hollywood: America’s divine right to invade other societies, steal their history and occupy our memory. When will directors and writers behave like artists and not pimps for a world view devoted to control and destruction?
Venezuela's revolution viewed from the 'grassroots'
Inside the revolution: a journey into the heart of Venezuela
Directed by Pablo Navarrete
65 minutes
Alborado Films 2009
Available at http://alborada.net
Reviewed by Nick Everett
Avatar: visual shock and awe
Avatar
Written & directed by James Cameron
Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana & Stephen Lang
Runtime: 162 minutes
In cinemas now
Reviewed by Max Lane & Dani Barley
Invictus drops the ball on South African history
Invictus
Written by Anthony Peckman
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Starring Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman
Runtime: 133 minutes
In cinemas now
Reviewed by Dani Barley
