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Reviews
Ally Was Screaming (2014)
solid, original psychological drama
(This review contains a very mild spoiler from very early in the film, also revealed in the IMDb.com summary) Solid psychological drama exploring the tenets of utilitarian morality, boasting a strong young cast with great chemistry (and a lot of promise for what they do next), Ally Was Screaming has an original script and premise, which is very welcome in this age of repeated remakes, re-imaginings and sequels. Ally often leaves you unsettled at the choices the lead characters make when they find their deceased friend left behind a winning lottery ticket (don't worry, not really a spoiler, this happens VERY early in the film), but they can just about charm you into agreeing with their choices, thanks to the strengths of the writing and Jeremy Thomas' direction, who also makes the audience ask themselves "what would I do?" Loved the naturalistic cinematography, especially the candlelight driven climax. The "coming into a fortune, but with a catch" idea has been done before, but never in such a unique way; in fact, it's one of the most unique films I've seen in a long time. Thomas seems assured and confident with his camera, never lapsing into the overused "shaky camera-syndrome" that too many of his contemporaries feel is the only way to shoot a thriller. This flick is well-paced and will spark a lot of post-viewing arguments among friends about right and wrong, morality, and the semantics behind it. It's nice to be reminded too that Canadian cinema doesn't have to be just "intimate family dramas" about quirky characters in a rural locale, but can instead be about a couple of "smart dudes" in the big city, who dig themselves in a little too deep and then may or may not want to try to dig themselves out. I look forward to what this director has in store next for us.
Loose Change: Second Edition (2005)
Do Your Research, My Friend
That's right, do your own research before you take the word of anyone, whether it's the media, the government, or a documentarian whom you've never heard of whose word is given as truth.
This documentary plays entirely as ridiculous paranoia. Don't get me wrong, I hate the Bush administration and would love nothing more than to pin terrible deeds on them, but this movie does an unconvincing job of delivering the truth of it's theory. I liken every such conspiracy I find to the "moon landing was faked" conspiracies. The first time I read the evidence for the moon landing having been faked on a sound stage, I was almost convinced. They made some seemingly very compelling arguments that I could not in my mind counter. Then I sought out the counter-explanations by experts and scientists, and they blew the conspiracy out of the water. Things that seemed unshakable now seemed outlandish and nonsensical. You see the thing is, 99% of the time, the simplest explanation is the correct one. When I think of the JFK assassination, I'd say the conspiracy does hold a lot of water, since in that case, it is the official explanation (i.e. The Warren Report) that seems outlandish to me. The magic bullet theory is simply impossible, and lets not forget that Lee Harvey Oswald was never tried nor convicted, only ARRESTED before he was himself gunned down, for those of you who are sure of his guilt. I would hope that if I was arrested for murder tomorrow, I would get a fair shake, and people would not simply assume my guilt because of my arrest.
Back to the film at hand, the film makers do make some compelling arguments, however even on the occasions when they do, they jump to conclusions that do not necessarily follow from the premises, and present conjecture and innuendo as solid fact, as well as presenting simple everyday occurrences as evidence for conspiracy. The best example is the Pentagon attack, for which they do present some evidence that it may have been a missile attack as opposed to a plane crash that are somewhat convincing (however, once again, we have to take their word for it). Even if it was a missile attack, I would ask, how did the terrorists acquire a missile while in the U.S., and then fire it at the Pentagon? I would not jump to the conclusion that it was a conspiracy by the U.S. government to kill it's own people. Also: a military helicopter was seen flying near the Pentagon moments before the attack. Really, a military helicopter flying near the Pentagon? A military establishment with a helipad that I'm sure has helicopters landing at it every day, you'll have to do better than that, Mr. Director. Then: Donald Rumsfeld was safely in his office at the other side of the Pentagon at the time of the attack. If he was part of the conspiracy and knew of the attack, do you think he would even be in the building at all that day? I would find some excuse not to be. Conclusion: the smoke filled and obscured photos of the Pentagon from 9/11 do not convince me that the Bush Admin. killed it's own citizens.
But to me the clincher for this doc. is the moment when the film makers quote Osama Bin Laden's statement from a day or two after 9/11. They quote him as saying he had nothing to do with the attacks, and then present this as indisputable proof that the official explanation is false, and that the government attacked it's own people. Most children could tell you Osama Bin Laden is probably a man not to be trusted, and to simply believe what he says at face value is folly. I give the film makers credit for trying; they have their theory and do a mildly entertaining job of presenting it, however, the theory itself falls apart under scrutiny, and has little more credibility than the Hitler is alive in South America theories.