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Blind Spot: Hitler's Secretary, a review by Danae Cassandra

Blind Spot: Hitler's SecretaryOverview:
The astonishing true story of Hitler's private secretary coming to terms with working alongside unspeakable evil after remaining silent for nearly sixty years.

In 1942, Traudl Junge was an apolitical 22-year-old chosen from a clerical pool to work as one of Adolf Hitler's private secretaries. Working day-in, day-out for Hitler, Junge viewed him as a surrogate father figure, private and polite, nothing like the crazed rhetorician of his speeches. Shielded from the knowledge of Hitler's acts of atrocity and convinced she was in the center of information, she was actually in a blind spot. As the Nazi regime teetered on destruction and Hitler plunged further into madness, Junge witnessed everything up to the final chaotic days in the bunker.

Completed just months before Traudl Junge's death, BLIND SPOT: HITLER'S SECRETARY is a riveting personal history which demands to be seen by all.

My Thoughts:
Powerful testimonial from the now-elderly Traudl Junge, who served as Hitler's secretary. You might be surprised how much this will hold your attention, since the entire film is just her talking about her memories of that time. Really powerful stuff here, in how monsters are human beings ... and human beings are monsters. That one can be complicit in evil through ignorance, and that perhaps ignorance is not an excuse. What is your culpability, what are your responsibilities, and what is your guilt? Really a story everyone should hear.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3.5/5

(From March Around the World 2016 on March 11th, 2016)

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a review by Critter

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time



Anime Type: Movie

Year: 2006

Director: Hosoda, Mamoru

Plot:The power to travel through time... It can be used for the good of humanity, or just selfishly abused. While many may fantasize about obtaining such a power, it has become nothing less than reality for otherwise-normal schoolgirl Konno Makoto.

After a fated event, her life takes a turn for the extraordinary. Though she initially uses her power to literally "leap" into the past and change little things in order to make her life easier, she soon has to face the fact that changing the past can have drastic consequences.

My Thoughts:
This was a very entertaining and enjoyable film. I loved the contrast within the storyline of quite dark and gritty scenes as well as many light-hearted and often quite funny scenes. The clean and simple character animation worked well with the fantastic and largely detailed backgrounds which gave the film a strong atmosphere, and indeed, some scenes (one in particular) were eerily beautiful. The storyline of this film was one of many twisting paths and was quite complex, for that matter I feel it is a film I will have to watch more than once to really understand it fully. The Japanese voice acting in the film was very relaxed and suited all the characters well which gave them all believable personalities.

My Rating



(From Critter's Animated Film/Anime Marathon on January 14th, 2010)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

18. Origin
Original Air Date: 4/21/2004
When Connor and his new parents show up at Wolfram and Hart asking for help, Angel refuses, leading Wesley to uncover how Angel had everyone's memory altered.

Guest Stars:
Vincent Kartheiser
Dennis Christopher
Jack Conley
Jim Abele
Adrienne Brett Evans
Adam Baldwin

My Thoughts:
This one I enjoyed quite a bit. It was good to see Connor again. And I had to laugh at the scene with Spike and Illyria.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 24th, 2010)