Nowhere ApeDonkey: Netflix Reviews 2/8/11

Pressure Cooker - Must See - Mrs. Stephenson doesn't play. She understands her students in the Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) at Frankford High School in Philadelphia may have been dealt a shitty hand but that is no excuse for making no effort to better yourself. If you can't get on board with that philosophy then she has no use for you in her classroom. Each year her students compete for thousands of dollars in scholarships for these underprivileged kids. It's a refreshing documentary featuring kids making concerted efforts to rise above their current situation and being fortunate enough to have a teacher who's committed to pushing them in the right direction. In one of the first interactions we see between Mrs. Stephenson and her students she tells them they have to improve their McDonalds pallets and get past their ghetto mentality in order to succeed in the program. I must admit it got a little dusty in the room during the awards ceremony when these kids we've come to know and like finally reap the rewards of all their hard work. I highly recommend this doc.

The Tillman Story - See it - Here's the issue I have with The Tillman Story. The Family and filmmakers spend 90+ minutes telling us that Pat would not have wanted any of the media attention his enlistment and subsequent death garnered. Yet if it wasn't for his celebrity and that attention they wouldn't have been afforded such a broad platform to speak out against the government. I can't imagine the grief of losing your son or daughter and I can understand their anger at being lied to by the government about how their son was killed. I just feel like the message they try convey in this movie and what they say about their son sends mixed signals. The truth is Pat Tillman was a NFL player who decided to join the Army Rangers. We still don't exactly know his reasons for enlisting. I could have been a noble pursuit to serve his country or it could have been a selfish thrill seeking mission. We just don't know. It's also a fact that soldiers have been killed by friendly fire in every war. I was very turned off by the way Tillman's mother painted the soldiers involved as guys just looking to kill something. 

Was the way the government tried to cover up the circumstances of his death despicable? Yes very much so. As was the way they exploited his death for the war cause and I hope everyone involved finds judgment for their part. The sad truth is today's government is in the business of perpetuating government. Anything that comes from Capital Hill should be taken as propaganda and nothing more. I feel bad for the Tillman family and the way Pat was used as just another piece of propaganda. See the doc because he seems to have been a pretty interesting guy. I just wish they had focused more on Pat the guy and less on Pat Tillman the media tool.

Nowhere Boy - Skip it - It's quite possible that I was too well informed to enjoy this movie. Kind of like a person who loves a novel is destined to be disappointed with the movie. I've already read so much about The Beatles and John Lennon, I couldn't get past the historical accuracies in the movie. Mostly though the movie just never convinced me these were characters I should care about. The story was already written for them boy is abandoned by his father. His unstable mother floats in and out of his life. For the child's well being he is raised by his aunt and finds solace in music. Boy becomes a legend. I'm sure this won't be the last time someone makes a movie about one of The Beatles. Maybe next time they'll get it right.

Red - See it - As I was watching this movie, I kept thinking to myself "middle aged Grosse Pointe Blank." Retired CIA Black Ops agent Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) has his boring suburban life disrupted by an enemy from his past. John Malkovich is an absolute scene stealer as the paranoid and half psychotic Marvin. The always beautiful Helen Mirren and Morgan Freeman round out the rest of Frank's team.  It's a fun movie start to finish and does a better job of capturing the old action genre than its contemporary, The Expendables.

Which Way Home - Must See - This is an excellent and moving documentary about migrant South American kids trying to make their way to the US illegally. Most of the film follows Kevin and Fito a pair of 13 year old Hondurans who are trying to ride "The Beast", the Mexican freight trains from the southern tip of Mexico to the US border. The train is known as the "The Beast" for the way it gobbles up lives. Along the way, we meet other migrant children like Olga and Freddy who are nine and trying to make their way via smugglers to Minnesota to be reunited with their families. The filmmakers use the journey to tell of the struggles that face these kids. Regardless your political stance on the enforcement of immigration laws, it's hard not to feel sympathetic for these young kids who are essentially thrown out of their homes because their parents or more accurately step fathers don't want the burden of raising them. With little opportunity at home the kids are willing to face death or detention to make their way to the US. The dangers of the journey is underlined by the parents of cousins Elroy and Rosario. Your heart breaks for these parents as they await DNA confirmation that a body found in the desert belongs to their son. This is truly and incredibly eye opening documentary.

GasLand - See it- These are the facts and they are indisputable. First Dick Cheney is a crooked mother fucker. Secondly environmental conservationsists are kooks who will say just about anything to slant a story in their favor. There in lies the problem with Gasland. Yes seeing some one's tap water being lit on fire is scary and impressive but beyond a few water samples and video of some dirty wells, the film delivers very little evidence. We're never shown medical records to support victim claims of medical hardships or much in the realm of expert opinions on the long term effects natural gas drilling has on water systems. Look, I live in Houston, the energy capital of the world. I have no doubt these greedy bastards would kill every man, woman and child in Wyoming for a two point jump in stock price. I just need a little more evidence on your part to convince me of there atrocities being committed. With that said, it's still a pretty interesting piece worth watching to form your own opinion on the subject.