4 out of 5

Tonight I finished watching Ghosts of Abu Ghraib (2007). It's currently playing on HBO and examines torture of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. So disgusting. So disgusting.

Last night I watched Ararat (2002,R). From the Wikipedia entry:

Ararat is a 2002 film by Atom Egoyan about the Armenian Genocide, an event that is denied by the government of Turkey. In addition to exploring the human impact of the specific historical event, the film also examines the nature of truth and its representation through art.

I thought it was good. I give it 4 out of 5.

Last night Lisa and I watched the documentary SHADYA from PBS' Independent Lens series. From its website:

Seventeen-year-old Shadya Zoabi is a world champion in karate, but in her traditional Muslim village in northern Israel, succeeding on her own terms is no easy feat. SHADYA is the coming-of-age story of a young Israeli-Arab woman struggling to balance her dreams with tradition and cultural expectations.

It was good. The interaction between Shadya, her sister, her brother, her husband. I give it 4 out of 5.

The other movie I watched on the flight back from Amsterdam was The Queen (2006,PG-13) (ScreenIt! Review). From the Wikipedia entry:

An intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse at the interaction between Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Tony Blair during their struggle following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, to reach a compromise between treating her death as a private tragedy for the Royal Family and appeasing the public's demand for an overt display of mourning.

I enjoyed it..the interaction between Blair and the queen. The queen driving a hummer. That's something I hadn't imagined.

On the flight from Detroit to Amsterdam a couple weeks back, one of the films I watched was The Last Kiss (2006,R) (ScreenIt! Review). From the Wikipedia description:

The Last Kiss is a 2006 film which is based on the 2001 Italian film L'ultimo bacio, directed by Gabriele Muccino. The film stars Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Casey Affleck and Rachel Bilson. The screenplay was written by Paul Haggis, and directed by Tony Goldwyn. The plot revolves around a young couple and their friends struggling with adulthood and issues of relationships and commitment. Much of the movie was filmed in and around Madison, WI.

I enjoyed it. Somehow it reminds me of films like All the Real Girls...budding relationships, issues of fidelity and infidelity, etc. Somehow films like that resonate with me. I give it 4 out of 5.