Thursday, June 29, 2006

The Only Inconvenience Is Ignorance

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Movie Title: An Inconvenient Truth.

Starring: Al Gore, Microsoft PowerPoint, Planet Earth.

Time & Date of Showing: 7:40 pm showing on Wednesday, June 21st.

Attended With:
My politically charged cohort and girlfriend, Andrea (our second official "date movie" of the summer).

Movie Synopsis in One Sentence: A documentary, presented by Former Vice President Al Gore, highlighting the issues surrounding global warming.

The Good
:
This documentary is really two stories in one: an in-depth presentation of global warming, and the personal story of Al Gore. It's amazing how the two stories are so perfectly intertwined, giving the audience both a front row seat to the global warming crisis and a backstage pass to Al Gore's past, present, and future. Furthermore, the issue of global warming (and the environment, in general) is so incredibly downplayed in our society, it is refreshing to finally see some major public attention given to the subject.

The Bad: This actually doesn't make the movie 'bad', but I was surprised by how much of the movie was simply Al Gore talking through his presentation up on stage. It's basically the difference between a dramatic documentary (think Michael Moore's style) and a traditional documentary (think The History Channel's style). Then again, drama can be found within the segments following Al Gore's life...oh, and also that whole 'humans are killing the world' part...that's pretty damn dramatic.

Global Warming Irony: As I sit here writing this post, I am currently surrounded by the weather disaster that is the Northeast. It has literally been raining on-and-off since last Friday, producing horrendous flooding resulting in 'States of Emergency' in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. The Delaware River in Trenton (approximately 8 minutes down the road from my home) is cresting at over 8 feet ABOVE THE FLOOD LEVEL! Considering global warming may be linked to increases in rainfall (the heat rays trapped in the thickening atmosphere increase the rate of evaporation, hence more clouds full of rain), this documentary is that much more relevant to the people of the Northeast.

The Verdict: While this powerful documentary may leave you feeling helpless against the forces of nature (as well as the forces of business and government), you'll ultimately experience a greater sense of empowerment to change the way we abuse our one and only planet.

If You Liked______, You May Like These: March of the Penguins, An Inconvenient Truth: The Book, Super Size Me.

FINAL GRADE: A

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