The Bibi Files
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Using what looks like some clandestine filming of interviews, Alexis Bloom offers us a critique on the personality that has led Israel for four terms as it's Prime Minister. At this point it's probably worth pointing out that if you are an any way a protagonist of this man, his methods, beliefs and principals then this is not a documentary that you're likely to love. Indeed, throughout it's two hour duration there are few with a good word to say about the man. From the perspective of a neutral "observer", that's fine but the lack of balance and it's nature as a piece of rather shameless character assassination does render it impotent after about half an hour. Certainly this man was charming and charismatic; I remember him regularly appearing on British television as a spokesman for a nation that seemed to be living in a constant state of siege. Now he needs to answer his own questions. Does the end ever justify the means? What he is trying to achieve is "total victory" for his people. Does that mean perpetual warfare, complete annihilation of their foes, territorial expansion? He is seen with both Trump and Putin; he addresses an applauding Congress in Washington D.C. and yet the editorial here is so obviously skewed against him that all it does for me is bring into question the relative merits of all of our "democratic" leaders. From the interior of his less than sumptuous office we don't get any sense of a structured investigation into his alleged corruption. We, instead, witness what appear to be some informal spatting sessions between a man in a tie and some others in uniform. There is no arbiter, no sense of the seriousness of what's being discussed. It's not just about a few cars or a bottle of Louis Roderer, but the judicious use of political power in return for favours. Nicholas Sarkozy is currently on trial for corruption. Donald Trump is on the wrong end of almost $500 millions in fines and compensation. It's hardly an uniquely Israeli problem, and neither Germany nor Canada are sheltering armies of terrorists or missile launchers. Power corrupts. Fact! Is he grooming a dynasty? Is he using his office to shield himself from investigation? Is he trying to geld the Supreme Court? Does his wife Sara really pull the strings? Well possibly, probably - even almost certainly, but the absence of contributions from any of his proponents left me thinking this was just a hatchet job done by those on the left - traditional home of the moral high ground; without actually structuring a critical assessment of a man who leads a nation that's divided, and divided profoundly along grounds of religion zealousness and territorial ambitions. It seems to suggest he is some sort of despot, but again - show me a nation in that part of the world where leadership is not concentrated in the hands of one man, family, tribe? The very fact the people are free to take to the streets and protest has to be worth noting. The last twenty minutes veers perilously close to suggesting that he used or procured funds to prop up the regimes he is now so actively fighting and, indeed, that many other nations are complicit in this game of regional dominoes. That could have made for an interesting discussion in itself if it had been presented in a less simplistically linear fashion. Tunnels under hospitals for hostages or sewage pipes? Yes, it stimulates debate but only if you are prepared to look past it's obvious blinkers and accept the man represents a significant section of a radically polarising nation. Is he cause or effect, both or neither? Sadly, you won't really find any answers here.
Movie Recommendation
Hard Truths2024-12-06Pansy is a woman so full of rage that every interaction she has devolves into lashing out, whether at her utterly cowed husband and son, or random strangers who have the temerity to address her. In contrast, her younger sister Chantelle lives with her two vivacious daughters and plies a successful trade as a hairdresser, putting clients at their ease all day long. Yet beneath Pansy’s abrasive exterior are hints of a more fragile psyche, one motivated by fear and damaged by repressed pain.More...
Apollo 13: Survival2024-03-08Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and the struggle to bring its astronauts safely home.More...
Hill of Freedom2014-09-04Kwon, a language school instructor, stops by her old workplace and receives a thick envelope addressed to her. A Japanese instructor named Mori had proposed to her two years ago. She turned him down. Mori had immediately gone back to Japan, but now was back in Korea looking for her. The envelope enclosed letters he had written to her during his search through Seoul. After Kwon finishes the first letter in the lobby, she grows faint coming down the staircase and drops the letters. She gathers them off the floor and sees there are no dates on the letters. She now has no way of knowing the order in which they were written.More...
Quality Time2020-09-20A stoner teenager before army recruitment and his retired military career father are forced to stay alone at home for the first time when the mother goes on vacation. The tension between them leads to an explosion - But not the kind that they expected.More...
The Marvels2023-11-08When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, Carol's powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol's estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe.More...
Barbie2023-07-19Barbie and Ken are having the time of their lives in the colorful and seemingly perfect world of Barbie Land. However, when they get a chance to go to the real world, they soon discover the joys and perils of living among humans.More...
Inception2010-07-15Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.More...
The Substance2024-09-07A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.More...
Dune2021-09-15Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.More...
Blink Twice2024-08-21When tech billionaire Slater King meets cocktail waitress Frida at his fundraising gala, he invites her to join him and his friends on a dream vacation on his private island. But despite the epic setting, beautiful people, ever-flowing champagne, and late-night dance parties, Frida can sense that there’s something sinister hiding beneath the island’s lush façade.More...
GoodFellas1990-09-12The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.More...
Amélie2001-04-25At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?More...
The Super Mario Bros. Movie2023-04-05While working underground to fix a water main, Brooklyn plumbers—and brothers—Mario and Luigi are transported down a mysterious pipe and wander into a magical new world. But when the brothers are separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi.More...
Green Book2018-11-16Tony Lip, a bouncer in 1962, is hired to drive pianist Don Shirley on a tour through the Deep South in the days when African Americans, forced to find alternate accommodations and services due to segregation laws below the Mason-Dixon Line, relied on a guide called The Negro Motorist Green Book.More...
Us2019-03-14Husband and wife Gabe and Adelaide Wilson take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends. But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited.More...
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001-12-18Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer and make sure that the ring arrives at its final destination: Mt. Doom, the only place where it can be destroyed.More...
In Bruges2008-02-08Ray and Ken, two hit men, are in Bruges, Belgium, waiting for their next mission. While they are there they have time to think and discuss their previous assignment. When the mission is revealed to Ken, it is not what he expected.More...
Mufasa: The Lion King2024-12-18Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.More...
Inglourious Basterds2009-08-02In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.More...
Saltburn2023-11-16Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, student Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.More...