Mini-Review: Ganz's performance is heartbreaking; it's amazing to see such depth in an actual historical figure portrayed in film. The psychological and emotional weight of many of the scenes is immense, especially the conviction of those in Hitler's inner circle. A particularly touching scene is of a group of children refusing to give up fighting as Berlin begins to fall, much to the chagrin of one of the boy's father. The interview segments with Traudl Junge added some excellent context as well.

Mini-Review: Refn has a supreme command of cinema. Here he takes elements from 80's films, a cookie-cutter plot, stock characters, then transforms them with such power and style that they transcend the sum of their parts. Obviously accolades must be given to Gosling and Mulligan for excellent performances (the dimension they give to such simple characters is astounding), but the true maestro here is Refn, who I predict will be a serious force to be reckoned with in the future.

Mini-Review: It's funny the first time you watch it but it's completely disposable. There are practically no memorable scenes to speak of, or at least any that I can remember. Did Teresa Palmer get naked? I can't remember so I suppose not.

Mini-Review: It's a shame that this documentary was so indecisive because there was some potential to explore the ideas here in greater depth rather than trying to present the story in an pseudo-objective light. Instead of having balance, we have a film that never accurately portrays the views of the subject, which makes this documentary a failure in principle. Fortunately there's a few interview portions that redeem the film from total failure.

Mini-Review: If you're already committed to the ideology of politics then there's nothing here to convince you, move along. But if you understand that the world is more complex than ideology and that the status-quo represses this complexity, then I'm sure you'll sympathize. Those along the middle will find this film most intriguing, perhaps even liberating. The important thing is that this documentary shouldn't be seen as evangelizing, but a neutral window for further exploration.