FED UP

REVIEW

Much of what is presented is not new in this documentary about the problem of growing obesity rates. However it does raise the awareness of the influence the processed food industry has with setting health guidelines in the United States.

Case in point: sugar is the only ingredient with no indication of the recommended % of total daily intake. Some of the other statistics are worth noting: for example the % of the half-million processed food items that contain sugar and the % of people considered obese in the USA.

Certainly food for thought.

CLASSIFICATION

 for thematic elements including smoking images and brief language.

FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

F.Y.I.

Vivian Dorothea Maier: February 1, 1926 – April 21, 2009

REVIEW

A fascinating documentary about a nanny who had a private side to her which only came to light after her death: she was an accomplished photographer who did not exhibit her work.

Although the question of “why not?” is not really answered we are provided some insight to the woman from people she cared for or those who employed her. Interspersed with these interviews are many of the 100,000 still photographs and snippets of 8-mm home movies she took over the years.

As one movie-goer has so succinctly put it “Interesting photos from a most unusual/troubled woman. Interesting film.” I agree.

CLASSIFICATION  

INEQUALITY FOR ALL

  Documentary

REVIEW

Former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich presents the latest in documentaries about the widening economic gap in the USA. With state of the art graphs he explores the impact this has on the deterioration of the nation’s economic health.

Despite the complexity of the subject Reich makes it easy to understand his principal premise: except for the 1%, there is Inequality for All.

CLASSIFICATION

THE GATEKEEPERS

Documentary

REVIEW

Similar to the security branches in the USA with the FBI handling domestic issues and the CIA the ones abroad, the State of Israel has two agencies: the Sherut haBitachon haKlal, better known by its English acronym Shin Bet and Mossad.

Six former heads of Shin Bet speak frankly about their time in office and the major events that they oversaw. In total there are seven segments ranging from the original inception of the agency to coping with Jewish terrorism, dealing with the Palestinian situation and the aftermath of the Oslo Peace Process.

            

In each instance archival film footage or CGI recreations gives us some idea of what transpired but they were all too brief as many of these events are not something most of us are familiar with. This shortcoming results in more questions than answers for the average viewer.

CLASSIFICATION

for disturbing images.

CHASING MADOFF

Documentary

REVIEW
Although Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme is at the heart of it, this is a film about one man’s 10-year struggle to be heard.

Harry Markopoulos, a portfolio manager in a Boston options-trading firm along with his colleague Frank Casey tried repeatedly to warn the authorities of Madoff’s malfeasance. They even approached the Wall Street Journal and other reputable news outlets with their story.

How these agencies handled the information provided them is to gain an insight into what prompts people in power to wilfully ignore the facts.

The main shortcoming of this documentary is not having an on-screen interview of any of these individuals and no mention that such an attempt was made.

CLASSIFICATION

PAGE ONE

Documentary

PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS
David Carr: Media columnist
Bruce Headlam: Media editor
Richard Perez-Pena: Media reporter
Tim Arango: Media reporter
Brian Stelter: Media reporter
Andrew Ross Sorkin: Financial columnist
Bill Keller: Executive editor

REVIEW
Given that the Internet is surpassing print as our main news source and newspapers everywhere are going bankrupt this film is very timely particularly with its promise to tell it like it is. Certainly this is a worthwhile project to show how The New York Times is trying to survive in this day of changing readership habits. But it is too ambitious: there are a dozen stories that are touched upon, about half only briefly.

However the viewer of necessity must have the background knowledge to fill in the blanks that are sadly missing in these snippets. It’s very frustrating when you’re left wondering “Now what was that all about?” or thinking “What has Watergate got to do with today’s’ situation?”.

By trying to cover too much ground and hopping around from one subject to another we are left to sort out this puzzlingly jumble of story lines. That shouldn’t be: someone needs to edit out the tangential bits and come up with a movie that stays on track. That’s what the editors of The New York Times would have done.

CLASSIFICATION

for language.

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS

Documentary

REVIEW
This film about the latest discovery of rock art done some 30,000 years ago in a limestone cave in France has several things going for it: as starters it provides the viewer images of the inaccessible drawings because the French government has decided not to open the cave to the public. Only scientists are given permission to enter the Chauvet cave so the wall drawings don’t get damaged like those in the better known caves as Lascaux.

However there are a number of shortcomings including the fact there are very few animals depicted (a dozen or so) and the camera repeatedly pans over them. A lot of screen time is devoted to the concept of the humanness of the artist which I think is a given.

Instead something could be said about who these people were, how they lived (not in these caves we’re told) and their place in the development of mankind. That kind of thing.

Since there are more questions than answers, the soundtrack is suitably haunting and evocative but often becomes irritating what with the discordant sounds that at times are much too loud.

If I were to go again I’d stay for the first half hour or so. Everything after that is somewhat repetitive and there’s not a lot more to be learned, unless you want to see how to throw a spear in a manner that they may or may not have used. There is no proof one way or the other.

CLASSIFICATION

P.S.
I have yet to figure out what the closing scenes about albino alligators has to do with the rest of the movie.

SENNA

Documentary

REVIEW
Most of the 300 million fans of Formula 1 racing are familiar with the name Ayrton Senna: an incredibly talented young man who in the mid-eighties won the World Championship three times in his career. Many consider him even today to be the greatest motor racing driver of all time.

But you don’t have to be a fan of F1 racing (or know anything about it) to be captivated by the thrill of the event and wonder at the determination of the racers while trying to cope with the politics of the sport.

Fascinating stuff.

CLASSIFICATION

THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER SOLD

Documentary

REVIEW
This is a movie about raising sufficient funds to make a movie, this one. Reportedly it costs $1.5 million for this 90 minute first-person documentary and we follow Morgan Spurlock as he sets about to get sponsors. It moves along briskly and some of the comments are clever observations but there is not a lot of new stuff which most of us are familiar with when it comes to product placement in movies and television.

CLASSIFICATION
for language and sexual material.

FORKS OVER KNIVES

Documentary

REVIEW
The film presents evidence that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict mankind can be controlled or even reversed by not eating animal-based and processed foods. Instead our food intake should be a plant-based whole food diet.

By following the film’s director Lee Fulkerson’s personal journey to turn things around in his life we witness a transformation. In case the point is lost on some, there are three other sick people shown as evidence that a vegetarian diet is the best course of action to eliminate all manner of ills of mankind.

It is not subtle and makes no attempt to present differing points of view fairly. In fact those who disagree with the basic premise by promoting the beneficial contribution of meat to protein in diet, for example, get short shrift.

CLASSIFICATION
for some thematic elements and incidental smoking.

AFRICAN CATS

Documentary

PRINCIPAL “CAST" MEMBERS
Mara: 6-month old lion cub
Layla: her mother
Fang: a male lion, leader of the pride
Kali: the leader of a rival group of lions
Sita: a mother cheetah

REVIEW
As one moviegoer put it “fantastic shots and a decent storyline… we just loved it”. And I share that opinion since most films of this nature simply show you a bunch of animals without a story that ties them together. The producers have taken the unusual approach to name the key animals in the narrative so you can easily identify them. As a result you can relate to them like your own pet and not just as some animal in the African savannah.

True to life there are instances when one animal brings down another but the film cleverly cuts at the end of the chase (thereby retaining the drama) and for the most part eliminates the gruesome details of the hunt. The film is definitely for the entire family.

CLASSIFICATION


P.S.
Having recently returned from the Maasai Mara National Reserve, a major game region in southwestern Kenya where all this took place, I can truly appreciate the major challenges the producers faced to get the footage shown. Three questions come to mind:
1.. How did they get so close to the animals without spooking them off?
2.. How could they be in the correct position so many times?
3.. How did they get the orange sunsets? I tried my best without success.

P.S.S.
For a chuckle or two stick around for the end credits listing the cast and crew involved in the production.

CLIENT 9

Documentary

REVIEW
Eliot Spitzer, former New York State Governor, talks freely about his life experiences and answers most questions in a frank and direct manner. His political opponents and others opine that he is not the man popularized by the media. So we have something of a balanced look at the man once many thought was to become “the first Jewish President of the United States.”

Although he was a numbered client Spitzer did much more: as Attorney General he uncovered financial improprieties involving companies such as AIG and Bank of America which provide some insight into the subsequent total meltdown of the American economy. By not dwelling too much on the scandalized nature of his life we get to know the man for what he really is.

CLASSIFICATION
for some sexual material, nudity and language.

INSIDE JOB

Documentary

REVIEW
With beautiful animated graphs, insightful interviews and comprehensive voice-over the complexities of the global financial crisis of 2007 are a little less daunting. What is still impossible to understand is how so many well-respected senior company officers and government officials allowed this to happen. The producers offer one suggestion: human greed.

CLASSIFICATION
for some drug and sex-related material.

WAITING FOR SUPERMAN

Documentary

KEY PEOPLE
Educator Geoffrey Canada, founder of the Harlem Success Academy
Daisy Esparza, fifth grader living in Los Angeles, CA
Anthony Black, fifth grader living in Washington, D.C.
Six-year-old Bianca Hill living in the Bronx, NYC
First grader Francisco living in Harlem, NYC
Emily, eighth grader living in Redwood City, CA
Michelle Rhee, the Chancellor of Schools in Washington, D.C.

REVIEW
By following five students the film highlights some of the reasons for the failure of the public education system in the United States. Graphs and charts are used to show where the country ranks in terms of key subjects like math and reading. Interviews with the students and their parents bring the personal side of the problem to light. Another aspect of the problem that is presented is the strong stand on tenure held by the teacher’s union.

The producers present a compelling argument that so-called 'dropout factories' are the main reason why some neighbourhoods are in such an economic mess, and not the other way around. If nothing else the film adds another dimension to an old problem that will not go away.

CLASSIFICATION
for mild language and images of incidental smoking.

THE ULTIMATE WAVE TAHITI

Documentary

PRINCIPAL PARTICIPANTS
Nine-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater
Tahitian surfer Raimana Van Bastolaer

REVIEW
While waiting for the ultimate wave to arrive off Tahiti's famed Teahupo'o beach there is a brief history of this Polynesian island and some of the local customs. Making good use of CGI we get an insight into the science of wave mechanics and the formation of volcanic islands.

But the best part are the sequences of actually surfing these monstrous waves. That makes for some spectacular images.

CLASSIFICATION

BABIES

Documentary

STARRING
Ponijao, the Namibian baby girl
Mari, the baby girl living in Tokyo
Bayar, the Mongolian baby boy
Hattie, the baby girl living in San Francisco

REVIEW
A most unusual documentary in that there is no narration, no story line and very little music. As such we are left to make our own observations, to draw our own conclusions, to see things from our personal perspective.

The four newborn babies followed through their first year of life were obviously chosen to get a cross-section of humanity in two widely different socio-economic strata and being born into completely different ways of life.

The antics of babies being babies often provoke smiles and sometimes real laughs. It brings to mind how much we all have in common, despite being born to different parents and raised in different cultures.

CLASSIFICATION
for cultural and maternal infant nudity throughout.

EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP

Documentary

F.Y.I.
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property. These public markings may be just simple written words right up to elaborate wall paintings. Graffiti has existed since ancient times with examples dating back to Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. In most countries, defacing property with graffiti without the property owner's consent is considered vandalism which is punishable by law. Graffiti has for a long time been seen on railroad box cars and on subway trains. There are many different types and styles of graffiti and it is a rapidly developing art form whose value is highly contested. Graffiti artists constantly have the looming threat of facing consequences for displaying their graffiti. Many choose to protect their identities and reputation by remaining anonymous.

Street art is any art seen in public places, that is “in the streets”. The term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives. Street art can include some sorts of traditional graffiti (but not territorial graffiti), stencils, sticker art, posters and video projections.

REVIEW
The title serves only to confuse the issue; it gives no hint as to what the movie is all about. There should be a rule about stupid movie titles. But I digress.

This is a documentary about street artists, their art and their creators as seen through the eyes of Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant living in Los Angeles.

CLASSIFICATION
for some language (which is hardly justified in my opinion).

P.S.
I recently read that some people are suggesting this is all a hoax, that it is “too good to be true”. Maybe so.