Michael DeNobile's Movie Reviews

THE BANALITY OF EVIL: A REFLECTION ON THE FILM HANNAH AREDNT (2012) AND THE BOOK EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM (1963) Michael DeNobile reviews the 2012 film  Hannah Arendt  and Arendt's 1963 moral political thesis Eichmann in Jerusalem and their moral implications. I am, of course, as you know, a Jew. And I’ve been attacked for being a self-hating Jew who defends Nazis and scorns her own people. This is not an argument. That is a character assassination. I wrote no defense of Eichmann. But I did try to reconcile the shocking mediocrity of the man with his staggering deeds. Trying to understand is not the same as forgiveness. I see it as my responsibility to understand. It is the responsibility of anyone who dares to put pen to paper on the subject. Since Socrates and Plato, we usually call thinking to be engaged in that silent dialogue between me and myself. In refusing to be a person, Eichmann utterly surrendered that single most defining human quality, that of being able to th...

THE PURPOSE OF LIFE: A REFLECTION ON THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY (2013) Michael DeNobile reviews the 2013 film  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty  and its moral implications. To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of LIFE. One day, we may wake up and realize that we have not been or done anything noteworthy or mentionable. We get caught up in the mundane of our lives, time passes, and we allow it to slip away. We forget that we are truly unique—that no one of our chromosomal make up, born in the exact time and place we were, with our parents, friends, and family, thinking the exact thoughts when we thought them, experiencing the experiences when we experienced them, has ever, is, or will ever walk this earth, and because of that, by virtue of science we possess a unique place in the universe. And that we have this wonderful gift of a planet for us to discover, explore, experience, e...

 Movie seen on September 15, 2021, a return to Alamo Drafthouse (Yonkers) since the pandemic. TILTED: A REFLECTION ON THE FILM THE CARD COUNTER (2021) Michael DeNobile reviews the 2021 film The Card Counter and its moral implications. Movie seen at Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers, NY. The last time Michael DeNobile went to his favorite theater (Alamo Drafthouse in Yonkers, NY) was to see Disney’s Onward in March 2020, the week before the world locked down due to the pandemic. It’s good to be back at the Alamo. Life can be unfair. While we must be responsible for and own up to our own choices, when our superiors condone and create an environment for those choices to flourish, it is unfair when only we are punished and not them. In fact, it is even more unfair when they are rewarded in the long run. The odds are always in the house’s favor, regardless of the game. And if you are able to count cards and stay under the radar, you can create a sense of harmonic justice in the universe if yo...

Movie seen on August 12, 2021 at Oswego 7 Cinemas in Oswego, NY. THE IMPORTANCE OF GREATNESS: A REFLECTION ON THE FILM THE GREEN KNIGHT (2021) Michael DeNobile reviews the 2021 film The Green Knight and its moral implications. Michael DeNobile wishes to ask his audience, how is it that something written over six centuries ago still has relevance today? Not only that—but how can something written by a poet we know nothing about have intimate relevance so many centuries later? Is goodness enough? Or must we strive for greatness? Michael DeNobile challenges this: why can’t it be both? What if the keys to greatness, glory, honor, courage, renown, lie in simple acts of mundane goodness? The keeping of a promise? Giving without expectations? Loving another without conditions? Companionship and hospitality, whether for another human being or for an animal? Michel DeNobile acknowledges that life is ever fleeting; its transitoriness makes every choice we make that much more important...

  Originally watched on July 6, 2021 WHAT DOES SUEÑITO MEAN?: A REFLECTION OF IN THE HEIGHTS (2021)  Michael DeNobile reviews the 2021 film In the Heights and its historical significance. "What does sueñito mean?" In the iconic Washington Heights community, what happens to a dream deferred? Join us as we sing along to the dreams of the barrio of a tale as old as time yet told in a new and exciting way. If you've ever struggled to attain a dream, this is the movie for you! In the Heights is more than a musical, and comparing it to West Side Story doesn’t do it justice for its historical significance. Michael DeNobile believes that it’s more akin to Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972). Here’s DeNobile’s argument: While there were Italian characters in American film prior to The Godfather and even some that depicted the plight and culture of the Italian American experience, it was The Godfather that popularized Italian American culture like no movie...

A REFLECTION ON THE FILM DOWNFALL (2004) Michael DeNobile reviews the 2004 German film Downfall, and its historical significance.  "For me, the terrifying thing is that he [Hitler] was human, not an elephant or a monster from Mars. If he had been a monster rather than a man, it would take the guilt away from other people--from his millions of followers. A monster is capable of anything, but everyone knows that one man could never have puled it off alone."  ~Bernd Eichinger, producer of Downfall History can get dirty. It's painted in shades of ambiguous grey, not black and white. Sometimes the stories are difficult to tell. Oftentimes, is can be uncomfortable to share. Michael DeNobile asks readers, how does one share one's own uncomfortable history, parcelling out the condemnation of what was wrong while salvaging pride in one's own culture and history? As an American, Michael DeNobile recognizes that telling stories of the Civil War, especially if you're some...

It's been over two years since Michael DeNobile’s last movie reflection. He apologizes for being away so long. This isn't an excuse but an explanation: life happened and then the pandemic (which you would have thought would have given him more time but it actually didn't). However, he is back and is going to do a COVID series of many of the things he binged while in quarantine. But let's come back with a bang... A REFLECTION OF (WHAT WILL HOPEFULLY BE SEASON 1 OF) DISNEY+'S BIG SHOT Michael DeNobile provides a reflection of season one of Disney’s new series, Big Shot. Sacrifice. If there's anything the last year has taught us, it's what we have and are willing to sacrifice. It has also put life into perspective. Survival. Both literally and metaphorically, the last year has also taught us about survival, as human beings, as families, as communities, as a society. Strength. It's more than just a Kelly Clarkson lyric, what doesn't kill you truly does m...

The Game of Thrones Collection Game of Thrones: All 6 Seasons These are quick links to my reviews of all 6 seasons of Game of Thrones: Season 1 Season 2 Season 3 Season 4 Season 5 Season 6 ~Michael DeNobile