Sorry, this movie sucks

Best movie ever!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

West of Memphis (2012) **** (out of 4)This here is basically the fourth documentary to take a look at the West Memphis Three case, which gained worldwide attention after the PARADISE LOST trilogy. Countless celebrities including Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins and Peter Jackson came to the three men's cause and they are also featured here.So what this fourth film basically does is give you an overview of the case as well as new bits of information regarding who the killer might be. Let me start off by saying that this is a wonderfully entertaining film even though it is hard to watch at times since crime photos are shown in great detail. In fact, I will say that all four films on the subject were wonderful and certainly highly entertaining.With that said, as they bring up in this movie, the case will always be controversial with some believing the three men are guilty and others believing that they were set up by some crooked cops. Some believe that the media attention got three killers off with murder while others believe that the media forced the state of Arkansas to set the guys free. Even at the end, the controversy continues as the three men admit to be guilty but take a loophole law to say they're also innocent.I must admit that the PARADISE LOST series tried to place blame on one of the stepfather's but that person is shown as a great guy here. A new suspect is brought into play with evidence linking him to the crime but due to this loophole he will never be brought to trial. All four movies have demanded that the three men be released from prison and they have been. My question is now: what about the person who committed the crimes? What about the parents to the three murdered children? Is anything being done for them?

Story: We follow the case of the West Memphis Three and how the case showed they were guilty. We then start to look at how things were not as they seemed and that the three were in fact innocent, we meet the people involved in the case and mixed together with real footage. We see how a massive group of people built a support group to prove that the boys were innocent. We also look at how new evidence that continually got dismissed and the case missed key evidence that would have looked at other suspects. We are left to see how this case is still talked about today.After watching 'The Devil's Knot' I was suggested this film by 'White on Film' as it shows more to the story. What this manages to do is show how the case was so poorly put together we do get to see how many people's lives were affected by the outcome of the case. The mix of interviews with the people involved and real footage works really well to help us turn into supporters of the truth. Sadly we still don't get the truth due to the poorly run law system in Arkansas. This is put together really well to help the story be told and it is one that should be heard by everyone. (9/10)Director Review: Amy Berg – Amy does a great job mixing the interviews and achieves footage to tell the story that managed to shock a nation. (9/10)Documentary: As the story has never been solved it is brilliantly put together to show how the whole case was put together so badly. (10/10)Suggestion: This is a must watch as it gives us the audience a chance to see more about the case that people needed to see. (Watch)Believability: This is a mix between the real footage and interviews that tells the true story of a mishandled case. (10/10)Chances of Tears: No (0/10)Chances of Sequel: NoPost Credits Scene: NoAwards: Nominated for a BAFTAOscar Chances: NoRuntime: 2 Hours 27 MinutesOverall: A Must Watch DocumentaryCheck out more reviews on http://moviesreview101.com/

'West of Memphis', the latest documentary from Amy Berg, focuses on the story of 'the West Memphis Three' – Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jesse Miskelly, three teenagers who were wrongly imprisoned in Memphis, Arkansas, in 1993, for being accused of brutally murdering three 8 eight year-old boys from the area. This documentary chronicles how they spent nearly two decades in jail before being released and also details the meticulous investigation that was carried out from the moment they were placed behind bars.The great miscarriage of justice is the primary focus here, as Baldwin, Miskelly and Echols suffer (the latter's health began to deteriorate) in prison for a crime they were blamed for because they are considered "the type of people who would do something like that", for example, Echols listened to heavy metal and was interested in the area of Satanism so the finger was instantly pointed at him. After the blame was eventually lifted from the three, it was then directed at one of the boy's fathers as he was, like Echols, considered "the type of person who would do something like that." When the documentary reaches its conclusion, it becomes apparent how ludicrous the accusations against both parties were because they were simply scapegoats and consequently very few people in the area questioned the credibility of them being the murderers. Simultaneously, we are offered a balanced look at the topic, frequently seeing opinions from both sides of the argument.The injustice that prevailed here was already explored in HBO's 'Paradise Lost' trilogy, but many have argued that this film presents a more compelling and thorough account of the 18 year saga. Produced by Peter Jackson (who appears throughout the documentary as one of the many famous guest stars) and Fran Walsh, the film expertly combines specially-recorded interviews, news and archive footage and forensic examinations. This combination results in a documentary that is by turns shocking, tragic, infuriating and always gripping.

Martin Luther King said, "The arc of history is long but it bends toward justice." Justice has been a long-time coming for Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, three marginalized teenagers wrongfully convicted of the 1993 murders of three eight-year-olds: Steven Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers, found dead in a creek in West Memphis, Arkansas. The subject has been brought to the screen before in the "Paradise Lost" trilogy, yet the documentary West of Memphis, directed by Amy Berg and written by Billy McMillin, adds another dimension to our knowledge and understanding of the circumstances and the characters involved. It is a film of extraordinary power that has the ability to stir a range of emotions from frustration, anger, depression, to even joy.After the victims were found beaten, bruised, and sexually mutilated, hysteria gripped the town and word circulated about the killings being the work of a satanic cult. Despite a lack of physical evidence, the accused teenagers were charged with three counts of capital murder and brought to trial. Damien Echols was sentenced to death, while Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley both received life sentences. Jesse confessed to the crime but the audio recording of Jessie's interrogation reveals that the prosecution took advantage of the mildly retarded boy by feeding him the desired answers. Soon after the verdict was handed down much to the relief of the bereaved parents and frightened residents, critics of the case began to point to serious discrepancies in the evidence.It was also found out later that many of the visible physical injuries were caused after the children's death by turtles living in the swamp. The subsequent media attention led to a twenty-year campaign to free the inmates who become known as the Memphis 3. West of Memphis includes archival footage of the trial and press reports, a police investigation video, and contemporary interviews with victim's families, supporters of the convicted men including their attorneys, and celebrities such as Johnnie Depp, Eddie Vedder, and filmmakers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh. If not for the courage and, of course, the financial support of those who fought a long battle to overturn the convictions, Damian might have been executed years ago. Of the three convicted men, much of the film's focus is on Damian, a self-educated and highly articulate young man, describing his correspondence and subsequent marriage to New York Landscape Architect Lorri Davis. Despite the community protest and continued investigation of the case that unearthed new evidence, particularly DNA evidence, it became increasingly apparent that the justice system in Arkansas would rather perpetuate a lie than admit serious mistakes and become vulnerable to a series of damage suits. Even though he is presented with overwhelming evidence for a new trial, the original judge, David Burnett (now a state senator) refused to reconsider the case.As a result of the continued pressure by those working for the boys' release, another suspect emerges who has never been investigated before and was the last person seen with the murdered boys. The thrust of this new lead propels West of Memphis toward a dramatic and surprising conclusion. Although some of the tactics of the investigation are open to question, such as filming a young girl's session with a psychiatrist and recording a private telephone conversation, West of Memphis is a riveting experience that suggests incidents of injustice and abuse of power such as this may be more common than we think.