Ernie the Attorney's Nawlins

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, a four hour HBO documentary set to debut over two nights, Aug. 21 and 22, just in time to mark the first anniversary of Katrina's landfall, is reviewed by film critic Joe Leydon in Variety and on his movingpictureblog.

Charged with profound sorrow, galvanizing outrage and defiant resolve, Spike Lee's extraordinary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" renders the worst natural disaster in U.S. history -- Hurricane Katrina's unforgiving assault on New Orleans and other Gulf Coast communities -- as a perfect storm of catastrophic weather, human error, socioeconomic inequity and bureaucratic dysfunction. The four-hour HBO documentary will debut over two nights just in time to mark the first anniversary of Katrina's landfall. Unfortunately, as Lee and his many interviewees repeatedly emphasize, rebuilding and recovery in the Crescent City have only just begun.

Acts I and II premiere tonight, August 21st, followed by Acts III and IV on Tuesday, August 22nd. All four acts will be seen Tuesday, Aug. 29, the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Blawg Review #72, hosted by Ernie the Attorney, comes to us from New Orleans on the eve of the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Those who know New Orleans attorney Ernest Svenson, and are familiar with the engaging style of writing on his blog, will appreciate it's gonna be personal.