In a plentitude of musical bio-pictures, we are getting one movie with true American love; food. Unfrosted (2024) tells a story about making nonliquified breakfast for Americans and the battle between business rivals Kellogg’s and Post. The story is probably ridiculous to non-Americans and some Americans; the proof is that this is a Comedy with Jerry Seinfeld as director, producer, and main actor.
Unfrosted won’t be an Oscar contender but if it makes us laugh it doesn’t matter; it does not pretend to be a super realistic true-story drama. The movie has a star cast: Melissa McCarthy, Hugh Grant, Amy Schumer,Peter Dinklage, Christian Slater and Patrick Warburton.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz trailer is out. The series is based on a novel of the same name by New Zealand novelist Heather Morris. Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, is in the center story of Holocaust survival in 1942 and falling in love with a girl he was tattooing at the concentration camp.
Heather Morris met Sokolov a few times before he died in 2006 but the story is fictional. This kind of fictional story is the worst; it uses real-life tragic events to sell something that never happened the way it is shown, just like AIDS and the concert in Bohemian Rhapsody. It would be great if showrunners write down what things are fictional.
Real Lale Sokolov tattooed prisoners so he had better treatment than other Jews, and he used this treatment to sell prisoners valuables for food. No wonder he did not want to return to Europe because of fear that he would be accused of collaborating with Nazis.
Harvey Keitel is playing old Lale and Jonah Hauer-King is playing old Lale. The series will premiere on May 2, 2024 on Peacock, Sky Atlantic, and NOW.
Good news for history lovers because soon we will be able to see an adaptation of the early business years of Donald Trump. The movie will depict how a young Donald Trump started his real estate business in 1970s and 80s New York with the helping hand of lawyer Roy Cohn. The movie is just called The Apprentice, reminding us that Trump was also new in business.
Sebastian Stan will play Donald Trump and Jeremy Strong will play his ruthless mentor. Perhaps some questions about why Trump behaves as he does today will be answered. There is no information on whether Trump will be shown as good or bad, but knowing Hollywood’s “love” has for him, he certainly will not be a good guy.
The Apprentice will premiere in Cannes this year. Ali Abbasi, an Iranian-Danish director, will direct the movie, and Bulgarian Maria Bakalova will play Trump’s Slovenian wife Ivana Trump.
On month after release Netflix’s drama-documentary Alexander: The Making of a God is making big rumble in todays politic, but not because historical accuracy. Lina Mendoni, a Greek minister of Culture and Sports, has criticized a the series as “extremely poor-quality fiction” and “low content, rife with historical inaccuracies.” Mostly Mendoni’s critics was aimed on portraying gay relation between Alexander the Great and his confidant and friend Hephaestion. She was even asked if whether the government would take action against Netflix. She replied; The ministry of culture does not exercise censorship, does not carry out actions that result in prosecution or ban, does not manipulate, does not limit, does not control the dissemination of information and ideas neither preventively nor repressively.
Docudrama without “Ifs”
Gay portrayal od Alexander the Great in Alexander: The Making of a God is not biggest crime; biggest crime is that this docudrama shows no Ifs and Buts. There plenty of unknown in Alexander’s life and Netflix slashes all that like Gordian Knot. Docudrama shows like we all know everything in his life; from every motiv to every detail. Historians and Archeologist are reduced on affirmation what docudrama shows. They also are depict as enthusiast that passionately collect artifact from that era and religious believe in everything they find is from Alexander himself: few bricks in archaeological excavation for them is clear sign of Alexander’s grave??!!.
Connection of Alexander: The Making of a God and Queen Cleopatra (2023)
Ptolemy and Cleopatra; what a difference 300 years make
There is a funny connection between Netflix’s docudramas Alexander: The Making of a God and Queen Cleopatra (2023), except low historical fidelity. In Alexander we see Ptolemy, Alexander ‘s general and founder of Ptolemaic dynasty; his dynasty ended with queen Cleopatra 300 years later. Although, in Queen Cleopatra (2023) Egyptians remind Cleopatra that she is no true Egyptian, there is no physical reassembly between Ptolemy and Cleopatra. Main reason is Netflix’s decision to cast a Black actor as Cleopatra. They even throw whole science of History in a mud with one sentence from this docudrama; I don’t care what they tell you in school, Cleopatra was black.
Perhaps that kind of historical ignorance secured 1,2 IMDB rating for Queen Cleopatra. Do not make historians angry.
Netflix has released a trailer for true story movie Shirley that will be released March 22, 2024. Shirley trailer show us Regina king as Shirley; first Black woman elected to Congress that makes run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination. Time will tell how good iz Zeitgeist in the movie.
The Ballad of Davy Crockett trailer for a new Davy Crockett movie. From the trailer we suspect to see any actual event; there wont be battle for Alamo because story is from far earlier Crockett life. Trailer seems to be more lika Liam Neeson’s Taken character set in 19 century US frontier than actual history. Nevertheless, it is joyful to se this part of american history.
The movie is actually named Savage Lands and it will be released in select theaters and through video-on-demand on Friday, March 8.
After TOP 5 ALTERNATIVE HISTORY MOVIES here comes the same thing, but with series. In this TOP 5 list, we included series with a big shift in history (WHAT IF MOMENT) that is a past event in the story and it changed the course of known history. Alternative history is more frequent in books than in the movie, and here is TOP 5 ALTERNATIVE HISTORY SERIES.
An Englishman’s Castle
Early bird of alternative history series deal with favorite alternative history theme; WHAT IF Nazis won the Second world war. Kenneth More plays a writer who lives in 1978s London and writes popular show An Englishman’s Castle that is highly valuable to the Nazi authorities. One fine day, he starts to realize how things are standing.
The Plot Against America
One again series that revolve around WW2 and Nazis. WHAT IF moment is Charles Lindbergh win over Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940s U.S. presidential elections. The plot revolves around the Roth family during the Lindbergh presidency, as antisemitism becomes more accepted in American life. This miniseries is based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Philip Roth, which premiered on HBO on March 16, 2020.
For All Mankind
For All Mankind is a little shift from Nazi themes. WHAT IF moment is related to another battle in US history; What if USSR won the race to the Moon. In an alternate timeline, a Soviet cosmonaut, Alexei Leonov, becomes the first human to land on the Moon and series shows the aftermath: NASA’s effort to prevail in the space race.
The Man in the High Castle
Probably the most known alternative history series deals with always the inspiring question: WHAT IF Nazis won WW2. Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan have divided the United States into the Greater Nazi Reich in the east, with New York City as its regional capital, and the Japanese Pacific States to the west, with San Francisco as the capital. The plot is set 60’s and shows resistance to fascist regimes; we could say that it shows a partisan movement in the US. The series is based on Philip K. Dick‘s 1962 novel of the same name.
1983 (TV series)
1983 is a Polish crime television series created and written by Joshua Long. WHAT IF moment is that fall of the communist Polish People’s Republic never happened, and the Iron Curtain is still in place. The plot is set in 2003 and it revolves around 1983 terrorist attack that
For the alternative history movies list we need to put aside that all historical movies are showing alternative history because not a one shows actual history as it happened. In historical movies, there is always more drama and more righteous heroes that save day/world/lady in the last seconds, etc. A pure example is Queen’s bio picture Bohemian Rhapsody. That movie has so much made up drama and facts that it could be placed among alternative history movies. Here you can check TOP 5 Bohemian Rhapsodyhistorical mistakes.
Alternative history is more frequent in books than in the movie. Perhaps, book authors more wonder about a reality that might be if history luck briefly switched sides. Usually, alternative history stories are built in realty were bad guys won in clash of good and evil, reminding us that we should be thankful for good side victory. Of course, that main fixation in alternative history books is what if Nazi won a second world war.
In this TOP 5 list, we included movies with a big shift in history (WHAT IF MOMENT) that is a past event in the story and it changed the course of known history. Out of this list are movies that have WHAT IF MOMENT happen at the end. Like sadistic kill of Hitler or sadistic kill of whole Charles Manson gang.
Here are TOP 5 ALTERNATIVE HISTORY MOVIES.
Fatherland (1994)
Probably the first movie that most of the people think when they hear alternative history movie. Fatherland is an adaptation of Robert Harris‘s book with the same name. WHAT IF MOMENT is Nazi victory in WW2 in Europe because D day was not successful and the US withdraw from Europe battlefields, only maintaining war with Japan. The story is set in 1964 with Germania as ruler of the whole of Europe except Vatican City, Switzerland, and the USSR. Antisemitic Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. is selected as US president, and it is an opportunity for Nazi leadership a chance to secure a détente with the United States. The main character is S.S. officer investigator Xavier March (Rutger Hauer). Absolutely must watch.
Fatherland (1994) – What if Hitler had won the war?
It Happened Here (1965)
The movie also WHAt IF MOMENT where Nazis won WW2. It shows a history where the United Kingdom has been invaded and occupied by Nazi Germany after the Dunkirk retreat. The plot follows the experiences of an Irish nurse working in England, who encounters people who believe collaboration with the invaders is for the best whilst others are involved in the resistance movement against the occupiers and their local collaborators. The plot is set in the year 1944, and England is governed by the British Union of Fascists
It Happened Here (1965) – What if Hitler had won the war (again)?
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977)
WHAT IF MOMENT of this 1977 movie is what might have happened if Lee Harvey Oswald had not been killed by Jack Ruby and had stood trial for the murder of President John F. Kennedy. The plot is set in a courtroom and it has no intention to give you straight answers, only doubt and suspicion.
The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald (1977) – What if this never happened?
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004)
This 2004 American mockumentary WHAT IF MOMENT is the Confederacy win in the American Civil War and establishing the new Confederate States of America that incorporates the majority of the Western Hemisphere. The “documentary” story is told by British eyes and showing continuing existence of discrimination in American culture.
C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004) – What if Confederacy had won?
History of the World: Part I (1981)
In a lack of some other good alternative history movies and to bring some comedy in this grim list, it is good to remember a parody gem form, Mel Brooks. The movie is divided into few main segments; from The Stone Age to The Old Testament, The Roman Empire The Spanish Inquisition, and The French Revolution. Part II never came out; it was never planned.
Gotti (2018) has disappointed us two years ago and now we have a new mafia boss movie; Capone (2020). The main character, one of the most known mafia boos aka gangster Al Capone, is played by Tom Hardy. This could be one of many of Hardy’s roles with a mask because he wears tone of makeup just to resemble Capone. Gangster and Hardy do not look a bit alike.
The movie shows last days of Al Capone life; his struggle with dementia at age 47 also remembering his violent crimes. The movie also shows pressure from FBI to recall the location of millions of dollars he hid away on his property.
The Capone movie trailer and actual movie ate out and by first reviews, it is not great, not even good. To bad for Hardy and Kyle MacLachlan who also plays in the movie. Perhaps lately, no movie with Matt Dillon (plays character Johnny) can be good or time of good mafia movies are long over. Capone is ready for rent on Amazon’s Prime Video and below is Capone movie trailer.
The second part of #stayhome motivation is here. Series could be better than movies in showing long term effects of a disease outbreak; from patient zero to social and economical effects. Big BUT is that there are no series devoted to a real pandemic, only few that use disease to make more drama or support main plot. As in movies, and as mentioned in TOP 5 DISEASES OUTBREAK MOVIES, we are overwhelmed with mindless horror zombie action rather than real stuff. Perhaps, the reality is scarier and less interesting than flesh-eating zombies.
Here are 5 BEST DISEASES OUTBREAK SERIES:
Pandemic: How To Prevent An Outbreak
Netflix docuseries shows people who work on the front lines to battle influenza and stop the next global outbreak. Episodes feature people like doctors in the U.S. and Asia, health care workers in the Congo fighting outbreaks of Ebola, scientists conducting testing on animals, and more. The series also discusses controversial topics like vaccines and anti-vaxxers, religion, prayer, faith, and viral outbreaks around the world.
The Plague (2018) / La peste (original title)
Spanish historical drama television is set in the 16th century Seville during an outbreak of the bubonic plague. If plague and falling of the old world are not enough, there is also and the inquisition.
World Without End (2012)
This eight-episode 2012 television miniseries is based on the novel of the same name by Ken Follett. Beside Black Death, you can see chronicles of the English town of Kingsbridge during the start of the Hundred Years’ War.
Medici (2016- )
One episode of excellent TV series Medici has Plague, aka Black Death shown. The third episode of the first season called Pestilence depict the political influence of Plague on the might of Medici family. It s not whole season devoted to disease pandemic, only this episode, but it is somethin.
Utopia (2013 -2014)
OK, it is not a historical story but it can send you shivers down the spine. Writers took most frightening theories about diseases outbreak and connected it with modern reality. The result shows that will make you doubt all news that you hear and true intentions of people in power. Must watch for conspiracy theories lowers.
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