NehalPatel.net

We went to see a special screening of The 11th Hour last week, with a Q&A with one of the producers and people interviewed in the movie. The movie is about 90 minutes long, and is mostly in a ‘talking heads’ format featuring environmentalists and scientists concerned with life on Earth, our connection to, and impact on everything else associated with our home.

Parts of it do come off a bit preachy or alarmist, but overall the movie contains quite a bit of interesting information. It is relatively light on data (see An Inconvenient Truth for that), but delves more into the philosophical aspects of environmentalism. Many of the interviewees emphasize that we are not above_ nature, or given dominion over the world; we are a part of nature; we are tied to every other living thing. They talk about the need to ween ourselves off fossil fuels and live in more sustainable way; we have the technology to do so today. Of course there are some accusatory/inflammatory topics and statements – especially as they pertain to politicians and corporations.

Another interesting aspect they go into is the American consumer economy (I’ve posted on this before) – and an interesting factoid – “for every 1 truckload of goods that have lasting value, there are 32 truckloads of waste.”

I recommend you check out the movie. It is very interesting and informative. The best part is that it doesn’t end on a ‘doom and gloom’ note. We can do something about this; we need to take action.

We just got home from watching “Cloverfield”, and I’m still feeling a bit nauseous. Not because two tickets cost me $20 – that’s a rant for a different day. The movie wasn’t that bad, it was the Blair Witch style camera work that had me wondering if I was going to hurl. I saw more than one person leave the theater during the movie; some of them came back.

The story is told from the point of view of the people on the ground, fleeing for their lives, documented via a camcorder. It starts off as a video at a going-away party for Rob. There is some drama (as there always seems to be at parties on movies), and then the mayhem starts. Something unknown, unseen, is destroying the city. And so there is a lot of running and screaming. Despite the ongoing military evacuation, the main characters insist on making their way through the city to save their trapped friend (the one about whom the drama revolved). She is pretty hot, so I would probably be tempted to risk life and limb in the face of a horrific monster which has set about destroying Manhattan and is pretty much impervious to any weapon our military has thrown at it to save her, too.

There are no shots of scientists or politicians trying to figure out where the monster came from, why it is attacking the city, or anything of the sort. The entire movie is focused on the survival of this small group of people.

So the story is really nothing new – how many monster-attacks-and-destroys-city movies have there been? But what is interesting about this one is the (shaky and somewhat nauseating) first-person vantage point, which adds to the suspense as you can’t ever really quite tell what exactly is coming at you. The CGI is actually really good, especially considering how much the camera moves. Overall, though, a pretty good movie – the plot keeps you interested, the pacing feels good, and there are brief moments of dork-friend humor to break up the suspense.

I went out to see American Gangster last night. It’s a 2-hour, 40-minute crime drama based on a true story, but you don’t really notice the time. For a movie this long, the story actually keeps moving pretty well.

It chronicles Frank Lucas’ (Denzel Washington) rise in the 1970s Harlem heroin trade, as well as the story of the cop who eventually took him down – Richie Roberts (played by Russell Crowe). Though they do their best to not glamorize his character, I did find myself rooting for Frank Lucas as he builds his organization, surrounds himself and takes care of his family, takes on thugs, the Italian Mafia, and corrupt cops. Frank Lucas is in part portrayed a capitalist and entrepreneur – he builds a business by selling a higher-quality product at a lower price than his competitors. He seeks out the supply channels, he builds the brand. He dresses and acts like a businessman while many of his competitors such as Nick Barnes (played by Cuba Gooding, Jr.) dress and act like pimps and thugs.

Richie Roberts, on the other hand, is a character not lacking flaws. But he is undoubtedly the good guy in this picture – he is apparently the only honest cop in a sea of corrupt ones, attending night school to get his law degree. He eventually gets assigned to a special drug task force and eventually begins the hunt for guy behind “Blue Magic”. It is initially unknown who is supplying the ultra-pure heroin that is killing hundreds, but his team’s investigation eventually leads Richie Roberts to Frank Lucas.

I’ll leave the synopsis here, for fear of giving away the entire story. Go see it.