Buy it!

Would you recommend it? Definitely. In fact, I think most of us in the Western World are so in the dark about water, I think this documentary should be required watching.

Technically any good? While it does come across as very heavy-handed and preachy and doesn’t try too hard to present any opposing view points (though it does try), the facts it presents are undeniable and incredibly disturbing. It’s downright scary how much power big business has over the water in the ground. And just think about how important water is to commerce–as a result, water ends up being the number 3 commodity behind oil and electricity. Yeah. I didn’t know that either. Another fact it presents is that humans account for just 10% of the water use in the world. The rest is split unevenly between agriculture and business–the majority of which goes to business.

How did it leave me feeling? Angry, for two reasons. First, because no one seems to be aware of or have a problem with these giant companies using and controlling so much water. Second because the film pretends that a few isolated victories against these corporations means that we can stop them. Protests have stopped some companies from essentially stealing water, but Coca-Cola, for instance, is a huge company. They didn’t lose that battle in India, they just put their resources someplace else instead of wasting time with a bunch of protesters. So, I could have done without the corny, “speak truth to power” BS and stuck with the fear-mongering since that’s what is needed.

Would you sit through it again? YES! I want to go over the facts presented again and try to pick up on things I missed the first time through. This docu is jammed with interesting stuff and interesting people.

Seriously, watch this movie!!

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely! It put a human face on these people we know only from the news.

Technically any good? Everything was very solid. The acting was incredible. The script was tight and the story was believable. The only “however” I have here is that the title suggests the movie is actually about the Queen of England. It really isn’t. It’s only about a part of her life. As such, I found it disappointing.

Maybe it was because I was alive and paying attention during the time period the movie takes place and as a result I didn’t need the review of events the film puts its viewers through. That’s not to say it wasn’t a nicely done review, I just wanted to know more about her life. I mean, of all of the incredible things Queen Elizabeth II has lived through, they picked how she dealt with (former) Princess Diana’s death. It was an interesting period, but surely, World War II, or the Falklands, or even the build-up to the Iraq War would have made for better cinema.

How did it leave me feeling? Definitely happy that I saw such wonderful performances from Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen, but ultimately disappointed that we didn’t get more of a history lesson. I won’t even go into how it was definitely a pro-British-Royalty propaganda movie. (Talk about white-entitlement issues! SHEESH!)

Final Rating? NFI – NetFlix It. Worth seeing for the good acting, but ultimately, I don’t think it’s really that worth seeing.

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? It was entertaining, but it was pretty damn preachy.

Technically any good? The story holds together and is entertaining (as I mentioned) but ultimately it comes off like a screed against the Republicans. Not that the film’s criticism aren’t fair, it’s just that pounding on Republicans for the entire length of a film does not a good movie make (at least, not usually). The good news is that the plot and acting were interesting enough to keep me paying attention.

The story and script are both as tight as you’d expect from a John Sayles film, and the acting is as solid, too. Most notably for me, Danny Huston who, I believe, is now among my favorite actors thanks to his performance in this movie. I already liked him quite a bit after his turn in The Proposition but seeing him play the flawed-but-trying-to-do-the-right-thing detective in this film allowed me to really see his range. The guy is pretty damn good.

How did it leave me feeling? Satisfied and unsatisfied at the same time. While it was obviously a diatribe against the Bush Administration, I found myself wishing it wasn’t so ham-fisted about it. Not that I feel sympathy for the Republicans, but because I feel like Democrats aren’t entirely innocent, either. In this film the liberals are portrayed as just generally loserish and not corrupt. I wish!

Final Rating? NFI – NetFlix It – That’s what I did. By far one of Sayles’ worst movies (but Sayles is brilliant, so keep that in mind). I have yet to see Sunshine State, but give me something infinitely more subtle like Lonestar or even Passion Fish over this.

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Well, I’ve got to say no, not really. I know it seems silly to even review a film like this, but hey, I watched it, might as well write about it. But no, this was not a positive experience.

Technically any good? This is your standard, bad b-movie, designed to entice dumb teenage boys to watch in the hopes of finding some nudity and there is a bit of it, so that’s nice for those of us who enjoy seeing topless women. Of course, one of them gets raped, so you might want to bear that in mind.

Aside from the rape scene, the film is generally what you would have expected to see on MST3K since it’s pretty much on the level of Hobgoblins (and even shares a cast member). The acting is as flat as you’d expect, though I never blame the actors. The story is damn near non-existent, though I have to say it’s more coherent than what we’ve got going on Battlestar Galactica, so there is that.

How did it leave me feeling? Achy neck from shaking my head so much. Even as a dumb b-movie, this isn’t one I’d recommend. I also found it kind of weird that while we see a topless woman get raped, during the healthy, nice sex scene between consenting adults we see later on, there is no nudity. Kinda sad if you ask me. I always prefer to see boobs in a positive situation.

Final Rating? DNS – Do Not See. There are loads of better (read: more fun) bad b-movies out there (even with nudity) if you’re interested in doing your own MST3K-style DIY quipathon.