Blog Two - October 16th, 2011

Inside Job

Inside Job (2011) is a documentary directed by Charles Ferguson that takes a very close look at the collapse of the US economy in the late 2000s.  Inside Job won an Academy Award as the Best Documentary for 2010.

The film uses an excellent assortment of interviews, computer graphics, and the narration of Matt Damon to thoroughly explain the debt and disintegration of the US economy.  It describes the people involved and the poor ideas put into motion such as sub-prime loans and derivatives that were large parts of the throwing the population into debt.

The film has a meticulous flow, in-depth, thorough research, and beautiful shots all over from interviews to b-roll.  The graphics with graphs and charts further amplified the numbers related to debt and potential loss, which I found very useful.

What surprised me the most was that, unlike many other documentaries, this one focused solely on the national and global problems rather than taking individuals or families who have been struck by the debt crisis and chronologically detail their problems.  I found this approach less emotional, but more shocking and engaging.  I feel stylistically that this approach was the right choice.   It’s quite obvious why this documentary is the best one of 2010 after watching it.  It’s excellently executed and thought through.

For more information on Inside Job visit their imdb page here.

CTV’s W5 with Lloyd Robertson, Victor Malarek, and Litsa Sourtzis – Aired October 15^th, 2011

Victor Malarek discusses the question of assisted suicide and dying with dignity when your life is completely reliable on others.  Victor interviewed many people including those struggling with MS, those who have gone to another country for assisted suicide, and those detailing the potential risks of allowing assisted suicide.  The story details the origin of assisted suicide and the future of the court battles as well as where the battle lines are drawn in this debate.

With many different points of view the report covers both sides of the debate over euthanasia.

Litsa Sourtzis delivers a detailed story of the face of women’s rights Gloria Steinem and the future of the feminist movement.  They discuss how her face has faded away and that many women these take the rights they have now for granted.

It’s an important report on women’s rights.  It has very interesting information like the Ms. America Pageant is the place that delivers the most scholarship money to women in the US, which are surprising to hear.

The interview is done in one well lit studio, but W5 follows her all over from her talks with the Canadian Women’s Foundation to the creators of SlutWalk in Toronto.

For the euthanasia report visit here.

For the Gloria Steinem report visit, here.

Planet Earth – Ice Worlds

Ice Worlds details life on the glaciers for life as the Planet Earth team dives into the rich arctic waters of Antarctica and the North Pole and fly high into the frigid skies.

The cinematography makes you feels like you’re discovering the continent of Antarctica for the first time.  The mammoth world full of cathedrals of ice is beautifully displayed with aerial shots and life itself is brilliantly displayed in close up fashion.

The most interesting part in my opinion is the Antarctic penguins and how the males struggle to keep their eggs warm as the females leave.  Through speeding up the time you can see how penguins cram together in a huddle to prevent heat from escaping.  They can only survive 100mph winds and -60 degree weathers through teamwork.

The most interesting shots are done in the water.  There is so much life in the ice waters that I didn’t expect as well as a ton of life and green foliage in the Arctic Circle.

As with many nature documentaries, it is the sound accompanied by the life that creates the atmosphere.  It did an excellent job in this documentary combining animal noises with narration and effects.  To me I felt like I was watching another planet.  Antarctica is a place that despite being barren rock and mile-high snow is captured in all its beauty in this documentary.

To see clips of Planet Earth, visit here.