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Damon Key Sponsors Honolulu Legal Film Series - September 1 - 6

"The First Thing We Do, Let's Film All the Lawyers" is a one week film series at the Honolulu Museum of Art's Doris Duke Theater.

Check out www.lawinfilm.com. I've reprinted our inaugural post there,

With apologies to Shakespeare for malappropriating his infamous quote from Henry the Sixth, “The First Thing We Do, Let’s Film All The Lawyers” is a one-week film series examining the role of lawyers in addressing our most pressing issues: when has a convicted murderer paid her debt to society; when should someone’s rights yield to another’s notion of the greater good; can a person who admits to the act not be criminally responsible? 

The series screens at the Honolulu Museum of Art's Doris Duke Theatre September 1-6, 2012. Browse this site for show times, film reviews, previews, details about the Opening Night reception, parking and transportation, and advance ticket purchases. 

The films in the series were chosen to illustrate how lawyers—for better or worse—are the critical component in answering these pressing questions, and to highlight the moral and ethical dilemmas presented to lawyers and their clients.

The series is sponsored by the Honolulu law firm Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert, and features on Opening Night the Hawaii premiere of the award-winning documentary Crime After Crime, a New York Times' Critic's Pick ("difficult to leave the theater with dry eyes and an untouched heart") that was recently shown by the American Bar Association. 

Other films include hidden gems The Castle and Counsellor at Law, and the classic legal films To Kill a Mockingbird and Anatomy of a Murder. Each film will be introduced by a Damon Key lawyer who will also lead a discussion of the issues raised following the screening. 

ABA Annual Meeting - Chicago - Free Screening of Crime after Crime

On Thursday, August 2, 2012, at 3:30 p.m., as part of the ABA Annual Meeting, the ABA and the State & Local Government Law Section is sponsoring a free screening of " Crime After Crime," the award-winning documentary from director Yoav Potash chronicling two San Francisco Bay Area land use lawyers who volunteer to provide their services to try and help free a woman who has been imprisoned for 20 years.

Robert H. Thomas has a review of the movie and more details at www.inversecondemnation.com.

Hope to see you there. 

Movie Review - Act of Valor

I was standing in line at the theater today and an off-duty Marine was contemplating going into a movie 15 minutes after it started. I asked if he was going to see Act of Valor and he said yes. He asked if it was good. On this Oscars night, I had to reply, it is ACTION. It is the action of the Naval Special Warfare community. I don't think it will win any Academy Awards for acting, but viewers will see what special operations looks like.

This is Top Gun for the Naval Special Warfare community. You will see HALO parachute jumps, underwater infiltration and riverine combat. You will see snipers, door to door close quarters combat and a hostage rescue. Typically, one would think that the SEAL team on a deployment off the West Coast wouldn't see that much action, but, well it is a movie.

This movie is special not because of the great acting or plot, but rather the knowledge that the characters are indeed real and the military capabilities you are viewing are what the Navy brings to a fight.

There are several hold-your-breath moments, perhaps the most notable is an ex-filtration of a SEAL team using a small boat unloading on some bad guys with miniguns. As you watch the scene, realize that this scene used live rounds.

The Coastie in me felt cautious about the SEAL boats blasting full bore into unknown rivers and streams at high rates of speed. One underwater tree trunk and "game over man." My sources tell me that the boats are very shallow draft and use jet drives (so no propellers). Good thing I'm not driving it, otherwise the ex-fil would be late.So, if you are a water-person, suspend that disbelief.

In sum, go see the show and be proud that America has such brave warriors who, usually, go unseen and unheralded.

The trailer gives you a little glimpse of a two hour adventure.

Movie Review - Barbarian Princess

Please excuse a departure from my regular blog topics for this post. 

Last February, I was fortunate to attend a private screening of an upcoming film entitled, Barbarian Princess.  The movie was so well done, I feel compelled to publish my praise for the cinematic achievement.

My general comments:  this movie is a rare treat.  This is a classic story of young love, complicated by class, race, geography and a revolution.  The story is set in the late 1890's and follows Princess Kaiulani as she witnesses the beginnings of revolution in Hawaii, and follows her to England, where her father esconces her with a friend for safekeeping.  Kaiulani is educated in England, falls in love with her father's friend's son, and is generally uninformed about the state of affairs back in the Kingdom of Hawaii.  Her father finally returns for her and together they travel to the United States to lobby the government for assistance in restoring the monarchy after the revolution.  Kaiulani eventually returns home to Hawaii where she actively works to provide suffrage to native Hawaiians after eventual annexation by the United States.

The movie is very well researched by screenwriter, director, and executive producer Marc Forby.  Marc's wife, Leilani, was also an executive producer and got screen time as well.  It is a rare treat to hear the Hawaiian language spoken and Marc Forby went to great lengths to ensure linguistic fidelity.  The costumes are amazing and the use of Iolani Palace and Moanalua Gardens take viewers right back to the 1800's.

While some have criticized the name (and I believe that once you see the movie, you'll know why the name fits), this movie is a story that should be told.  It isn't a documentary, nor is it held out as one.  While we all may debate the merits or demerits of annexation, the overthrow or statehood, we should agree that Hawaii's rich history and culture provides a shining example for the world.  And, what better place to start than this account of the young princess who tried to make her people's lives a little better. 

It opens at the Hawaii International Film Festival in October and will certainly be one to watch. 

Trailer: