Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)

A week and a half ago, after serving nearly twenty years behind bars, Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin, and Damien Echols – also known as the West Memphis Three (WM3) - were released from prison after entering Alford pleas (a plea which allows the defendants to assert their innocence while acknowledging  the existence of substantial evidence that could be used for a conviction) with the Arkansas court system.  The release of the trio was bittersweet.  On one hand, three men who appear to be innocent are free to walk to the street.  On the other hand, three innocent men were convicted because their interest in Stephen King and Metallica made them different from the bulk of the West Memphis population and they lost almost twenty years of their lives.  Most significantly, the killer or killers behind the murders of three, eight year old boys (Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Byers) have yet to be found. 

Senna (2010)

Aside from the Milwaukee Brewers and the Green Bay Packers, my knowledge of sports is often bested by my wife’s.  I’ve never really been drawn to sports and, if I was, my commitment to my graduate education has taken away most of my free time to learn about them.  I watch maybe five football games a year, a handful of baseball games, and I’m taking part in Fantasy Football for the first time since the date of my birth this year.  I mention this for two reasons.  First, prior to watching Asif Kapadia’s Senna (2010), I only knew of the existence of Formula 1 racing and I was ignorant to Ayrton Senna’s existence, let alone his racing career.  Secondly, despite this personal ignorance, I found the film to be one of the best of the year.