Director: Tia Lessin, Carl Deal
With: Kimberly Rivers Roberts, Scott Roberts
A 2008 documentary about Hurricane Katrina which struck New Orleans and destroyed its levees resulting to a massive destruction back in 2005. It contains footage of Kimberly and Scott Roberts who documented their experience before, during, and after the disaster. It did not only tackle the hurricane, but it also tackled the actions of the government and media in handling this catastrophe.
I can't help but compare the situation in the documentary to what our country has experienced during these times. We have just recently been hit by an earthquake in October and we're kind of used to typhoons now. One of the differences though is that we don't experience racism when we fight through these calamities. It's really hard to compare our situation to them because each country handle things differently. Although It's kind of funny that I've already composed a writeup for this before Typhoon Yolanda happened and I have to delete some of what I said because of it. I thought our country wasn't that bad in handling typhoons since we've already been struck by these numerous times but with Yolanda happening recently, we have proven that we're still a scuffling mess. It's hard to judge because Yolanda is way stronger than Katrina. Trouble the Water, however, showed that even a first-world country like U.S. struggle in handling these situations. It's crazy how huge the involvement of politics in managing disasters and apparently, we suffer probably worse than them even without the involvement of racism, we have to deal with corruption and a truckload of relief goods other issues. But Katrina happened in 2005 and I'm not sure if there's an improvement in their system in this present time. Point is, there should be a development in the process because as the Earth's climate keeps on changing, this will surely happen again.
Anyway, don't watch this documentary if you expect that it would tackle more about the destruction of environment, instead of politics, laws and other serious matters. You'll just end up being bored. It's probably a different story though if I watched this after Yolanda occurred. But Kimberly's rap somewhere in the film is worth seeing. You will love her! :))
Director: Simon Klose
With: Gottfrid Svartholm, Fredrik Neij, Peter Sunde
If you're wondering what the title implies, it's about the real lives of the Swedish men behind the largest file sharing website The Pirate Bay, Peter Sunde, Gottfrid Svalthom and Fredrik Neij. Gottfrid mentioned somewhere in the film that they never consider internet as not real. They view the abbreviation of 'IRL' (In Real Life) as 'AFK' (Away From Keyboard) which entails that they consider the internet part of their real lives.
These men have great stories to tell and Simon Klose brought us in and out, start to the conclusion of their trial. Their story is as interesting as their personalities and each of them has something unique that adds up to the trio's spunk. Basically, they're like Mark Zuckerberg when he was defending himself to his critics. Snarky, witty and dismissive whenever they're being interrogated. To them, they're not doing anything bad. They created the ''Bay' because they wanted to create something big with what they love, which is IT and the internet. They're being sued because of copyrights but they always tell their interrogators that they should talk to the people who upload these copyrighted materials instead of them, because they just run the site and don't have control with the users. It became more complicated when things did not go their way. A lot more issues came up, Wikileaks got also involved but the film got more serious when it tackled their personal lives in the midst of this trial. That's when the film got more depth and so are its stars.
It's very reminiscent of We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks. These men have similarities with Julian Assange. They're fighting for freedom, and it's a shame that they're dealing with trials and convictions, while millions of people are enjoying their site who probably don't know what's happening behind their beloved Pirate Bay. It's kind of heroic, thinking about it.
Director: Nancy Meyers
With: Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, Steve Martin, John Krasinki, Lake Bell, Zoe Kazan, Hunter Parrish, Caitlin Fitzgerald
A divorced mother of three, Jane (Meryl Streep) becomes 'the other woman' to her ex-husband (Alec Baldwin), who married a way younger lady. Meanwhile, Jane's architect (Steve Martin) falls for her which ends up in a complicated and bizarre love triangle. It's Complicated lives up to its name in this family romantic comedy that provides good laughs and perhaps, reflection to its viewers.
It's Complicated is probably the film with the most flirting and most sex between two old people that has ever created. LOL. But I must say that it's a good thing that I watched Hope Springs before this because the former was kind of insufferable and this one is a lot lighter. Having said these, I liked this film! It's probably one of the funniest films I've ever watched. Only few films have the ability to make me burst out of laughing and I didn't expect it from this film because the subject matter is for grown ups and for families going through divorce. I could not relate to most of the situation in this film but I still find it very fun and likable. Just shows how good the film is and man, the actors in this film are very effective in delivering the punches. Well, with stars like Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin, I should have foreseen that prior to watching. These three actors are comedic geniuses and I think this film worked more efficiently because of them.
Nancy Meyer, who wrote and directed this film, made sure that she mixed it with humor despite the knotty and mature subject. It made the film less heavy. Let's face it, the situation is perfect for an intense drama but this film doesn't have intense crying or screaming. It's a comedy after all. And what I love more about this film are the characters, especially Jane's kids who are probably the most understanding children a divorced parent wish they have, and they are adorable too! So while the film may be complicated for the characters and that it did not end with the best scenario for them, the imperfection of its ending is just perfect for the film.
Director: David Lowery
With: Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck, Ben Foster
Ain't Them Bodies Saints is a crime romantic drama that follows the lives of a fugitive named Bob (Casey Affleck), his wife, Ruth (Rooney Mara) and a local sheriff, Patrick (Ben Foster) who showed interest in Ruth while Bob is in prison who subsequently escaped to reunite with his wife and their daughter he has never seen.
The story is basically something you'll see in a melodramatic teleserye. Beautifully shot matched with enjoyable score, Ain't Them Bodies Saints is more of a technical achievement than an entertaining craft. David Lowery showed good direction style and quality carefully making the mood of each shot as melancholic as the characters' situation. While the pacing is extremely slow, the last thirty minutes of the film manages to grasp attention as Bob's character reached high levels of desperation and perseverance in seeing his family.
Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara are true stars of the film. Affleck showed depth in his portrayal of a man in love with his wife despite their distance while Mara displayed effortless acting with courage and vulnerability mixed up in her eyes. Here, she exudes her mysteriousness yet again similar to her portrayal of her other film characters. Both showed great versatility with their spot-on country accents as well.
In the end, it has great performances, cinematography and score. But it really suffers from it's slow pacing and old-fashioned story. Definitely not for me and I doubt many people would like it. This marks the fifth film with Rooney Mara that I dislike. In fact, I don't think I've ever liked any of her films. D: I'm looking forward to Spike Jonze's Her. :)
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