As if “Titanic” wasn’t worse enough, now we have to go back and re-visit it for what reason? Tell me, Mr. Cameron. He never explains to us why he’s documenting a voyage to the bottom of the sea to look at the Titanic yet again. My theory is that he’s still riding on the success from it so he milked this cow one last time, but what’s the point of this mission? Is someone going to study this and say “Yes, the titanic sure did sink after all, and even better People actually did die!” Well, thanks for reminding me, I wasn’t sure if the the titanic sinking was actually an event that happened in history or if it was fictional like the NASA launch.
Tag Archives: History
Cold Mountain (2003)
“Cold Mountain” wants to be grand. Oh how Minghella wants it to be a grandiose civil war epic, this generation’s “Gone with the Wind”, but sadly, it will never reach those heights, and throughout the running time it never reached those heights because it is such a short-sighted piece of filmmaking, it could never reach the possible limits that Minghella wanted it to. After viewing this, it was plainly obvious this was so utterly manufactured for Oscar, it was nauseating. But “Cold Mountain” is not underwhelming because of that fact, it’s underwhelming simply because it’s so utterly short-sighted in its stories and characters.
Crusades: Crescent & the Cross
“The Crusades”–most recently depicted in the epic “Kingdom of Heaven”–is the focus of yet another documentary in the History Channel’s sprawling documentary epic called “The Crusades: The Crescent and the Cross”. The Crusades was the ultimate holy war, one the world is experiencing now, but it was less a war of religion, but more a journey to prove their religion wasn’t in vain. As an interviewee declares, it was less of a search and more to prove their love of their religion, and ultimately futile effort that would prove later on.
Troy (2004)
“Troy” is ultimately the prime example of how such an immense concept ripe with possibilities and potential can be so botched in the wrong hands. While an achievement in visuals, “Troy” fails in every other aspect including its writing and storytelling. Peterson excels at creating a half hour too long epic with just no point in sight. The film has so much going for it, but quickly blows it as we drudge on and on for three hours without any real substance nor do we take anything away from this demanding experience. As they say, if a film is great, three hours can fly by, but with a poor film, three hours can drag on, and this did indeed drag on with melodrama, romantic sub-plots and everything that drags this down. I love the legend of Helen of Troy and the face that launched a thousand ships, but this is not what I was hoping for, and it doesn’t pay homage to its true storyteller.
Ape to Man
The ape or the poof, evolutionism, or creationism, this is an argument that has basically set man apart with their own theories and views for decades, and after the constant discovery of the proof of evolutionism and inevitably Darwin’s book the Theory of Evolution published in 1859, there was obviously much discussion to be had, especially pertaining to the theory’s conflicting with the bible which it managed to disprove immensely. Darwin knew immediately that these very logical theories would lead him to hot water, and as the documentary emphasizes, he was afraid to admit his findings in fear of what would happen to him. In the end of “Ape to Man”, whether you be evolutionist or creationist, there’s no doubting the logic of the theories presented during this stunning document of the chronicling of not only the evolution of man, but the evolution of science, and the study of primitive man and its conflicting theories.
King Arthur (2004)
I’m a fantasy nut. You couldn’t really tell but I am a real fantasy nut and am especially fond of the King Arthur legend. Whether or not King Arthur did or did not exist, it’s obvious that the fantasy of his legend never happened, but it is a lot of fun to think so and it’s a lot of fun to study and learn about the Excalibur, the lady in the lake, or the sword in the stone (which ever happened first), and the wizard Merlin cast spells to aid his king in battle or whatnot. Director Antoine Fuqua score yet again with an entertaining and beautiful looking epic that will basically entertain audiences with a riveting action adventure. The film, which is mostly appealing for its production values, really does manage to make for an engrossing two hours that will really involve the audience in what it has to offer. Fuqua creates a very grim and stylish mood that fits what the concept is attempting to accomplish very well.
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) (DVD)
On the brink of war, documentary director Michael Moore, a man whose become synonymous with many labels depending on which political party you belong to, creates his next outrageous documentary/ expose which leans towards the left and garnered many a controversy. Exposing the motives behind the Iraq-American war from the United States, Moore manages to give a disturbing and rather intriguing look at the intentions behind the war, the intentions we were told, and what really happened while showing the things the news never shows, the suffering of the families of the soldiers, how Iraq is suffering just as much and maybe more than we are during this senseless conflict. I’ve never been much of a fan of Moore; he’s a manipulative opportunist and “Bowling for Columbine” was a documentary with much potential that trailed into different topics, but Moore hits the mark with “Fahrenheit 9/11”.