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O.J. Simpson: Blood, Lies & Murder (2023)
**Warning** Very graphic. Not for the squeamish....
"O. J. Simpson: Blood, Lies & Murder" stars Tom Lange, one of the lead police detectives in the infamous Orenthal James (O. J.) Simpson double murder case that happened in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California back in 1994. In this film, Tom presents evidence to show that O. J. Simpson was indeed guilty of the murders of both Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Right from the start, Tom along with assistance of Crime Scene Reconstructionist Rod Englert, go over the evidence that was collected. How they collected it. The testing of the collected evidence and also crime scene reenactments. They go over the timeline of the crime. And they show how they believe the victims were killed. They also mention the mistakes the State made in the prosecution of O. J. Simpson - ex. Like withholding what they felt was "good" evidence from the jury. Tom (and Rod) also dismiss the defense notion that the Los Angeles Police department was trying to frame O. J. Simpson for the murders. Tom also speaks about his "never-before-seen" case journal that he made during the investigation. And they did some demonstrations that they claimed wasn't shown in court.
Two other persons that testified in the trial also appear in this film: limo driver Allan Park and O. J.'s house guest Kato Kaelin. They both tell what they experienced that horrible night. Philip Vannatter, another lead detective in this case wasn't interviewed for this film, he passed away back in 2012. And of course, O. J. Simpson wasn't interviewed. Only previous file footage of him is shown.
Overall, i believe the show was very informative. They gave good, detailed explanations, with collected evidence, showing why the jury should have found O. J. Simpson guilty. But in my opinion, at times the program could have had better pacing. In parts of the program, they were pointing things out at rapid fire pace, then slow in other parts. Keep the pacing even. And sometimes the background music was a bit too loud and i had trouble hearing what the person(s) were saying.
The main thing that really surprised me about this program was just how explicit and gory it was (hence the review title). I'm not kidding. It was very, very graphic. Very little was censored or blurred out. They showed full color crime scene and autopsy photos of both Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman throughout the program. A lot of them very close up, the camera inches away from the stab wounds, cuts, etc. Sometimes they flashed quick images. And other times the gory images would be on screen for a while. Again, nothing censored. Even though it was "cable" TV, i've never seen anything this gory and graphic on it. On the internet: yes, TV: no. And this is coming from someone who's seen numerous other programs with graphic images shown (ex. War and crime documentaries). But none i've seen so far even compares to this one. But it does really show the audience just how violent the murders were.
And another thing i found amazing - for gory movies of this type, with the "Viewer Discretion is Advised" warning, they had either an "R" (Restricted) or "TV-MA" (Mature Audiences) rating. But with all the very real, very explicit, very gory, grisly photos and videos contained in this program, "O. J. Simpson: Blood, Lies & Murder", had a TV-14 rating!
So if you can't stand very graphic, grisly images, don't watch this. But if you're not really bothered by gore and you also want to hear retired detective Tom Lange views regarding the O. J. Simpson case, you should check it out. And as for the TV-14 rating!? In my opinion, this is strictly for Mature Adults Only.
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
Amazing performances!!
The performances in this film were great! Wow!! Those who are fans of soul, gospel and rhythm and blues (r&b) music will be happy! Stevie Wonder, David Ruffin, The Edwin Hawking singers - and many more put their heart and soul into their performances on stage! They came to put it down!
Speaking of the performances, they were all "hit sets". But in my opinion, the ones that were the "best of the best" were the performances by Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone. Also watch out for Mavis Staples singing with the gospel great Mahalia Jackson. Simpy amazing!
It was said that the concert was held to prevent people from rioting and resorting to violence because of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King about a year earlier, discrimination and the living conditions in many African-American neighborhoods across the U. S. After seeing the performances, i can understand! I wish i could have been at this concert!
One quip: while the musicians performed their magic, the film then goes to interview a few of the artists and some of the people who attended the concert in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park) back in 1969. While this was cool in some spots, in other parts, it got in the way. I wanted to see the artist(s) perform their whole song without interruption. It would have been nice if the makers of the film had put some of the interviews before or after a complete performance. I hope they bring this out on dvd with the full performances of all the artists! Oh and the extras they could add....!
The music was so entertaining, that the film, even at almost two hours long, i wasn't bored at all and still wanted more! I saw it in a movie theater, and while the sound was adequate, i doubt audiophiles will be ecstatic about it. Maybe the movie theater had cheap speakers? Well anyway, still well worth the price of the ticket! See it!
And Marilyn McCoo (from the group 5th Dimension) was ADORABLE!!
The Last Days of Left Eye (2007)
A disturbing, yet very touching film....
This is the last film by TLC group member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. She filmed most of it in Honduras in late March and throughout April 2002, and the idea behind it was to give her fans an inside look into her life.
The film starts off with Lisa leaving the U.S. and heading off to her spiritual retreat in Honduras. While Lisa narrates (with voiceovers and audio clips from previous interviews she did), you see rare photos and old film clips of Lisa Lopes when she was a baby and as a teen. She talks about her turbulent childhood and growing up under a very strict father. And she tells the story about how TLC began, talks about her ex-boyfriend Andre Rison and the infamous fire incident at his mansion. She also talks about her interest in numerology and being spiritual.
Unfortunately Lisa did not live to finish this documentary, but after seeing what she did film, in my opinion, I felt I got to know her much better. I definitely saw a different side to her as opposed to what i've seen previously (ex. the interviews, videos, etc). I see she had a sense of humor. She was gifted (could play the piano by ear at the age of four), and she was artistic. But she also had deep emotional pain/problems too (ex. carving the word "hate" on her arm).
The picture quality is good and the sound is in stereo. But for some reason, the song "Let's Just Do It" isn't on this DVD (at least not my copy). I received an email response from the Left Eye Legacy website and they stated that VH1 was provided with the song, but for some reason they didn't put it on the DVD. Hmmmm. And the DVD is also censored (any nudity is digitally concealed). Also it would have been great to have had more clips, and any other interviews she did when she was alive. The video extras are OK, but they are the same ones you can see on the VH1 website. I understand that the upcoming "Eye-Legacy" cd will have more deleted scenes from this documentary, but why couldn't they have just put those scenes on this DVD? That would have been more appropriate in my opinion. Also, there are two things regarding this film that I believe are not accurate:
1. At least as best as I can tell, after watching this DVD in slow motion a few times, Lisa Lopes was NOT wearing a seatbelt. I didn't see ANY type of restraint device in use - no shoulder belt or lap/waist seat belt. Nothing. It's also ironic that after the accident clip where she loses her life, you see the following sentence come up on screen: "Lopes, who was wearing her seat belt, was the only fatality." I didn't see her wearing any seat belt.
2. Another thing that isn't accurate is the timeline. In the film, after the graphic: "day 25 of filming" is shown, you then hear about the accident that happened while she was in Honduras - a child ran in front of the van Lisa was riding in. The van hits the child (Bayron Fuentes Lopez), who later dies at a hospital. The film gives the impression that the accident happened in late April and then Lisa Lopes lost her life two or three days later. From what i've read this is not true. The accident involving the boy took place on April 6, 2002. Which is in early April. Lisa Lopes lost her life on April 25, 2002. Late April. So this is a few weeks difference, NOT a few days as the documentary seems to state. Or at least gives the impression.
I first remember seeing Lisa Lopes back in 1992, at the beginning of the "Ain't to Proud to Beg" video taking off those huge sunglasses and showing those big, round, beautiful eyes she had. I was infatuated with her ever since.
If you are a fan of Left Eye and/or the group TLC, you should definitely get this DVD.
Michael White.
**Originally posted by me on Amazon.com 12/2008**