Skyline/Harry Potter 7 part 1

Happy day after Thanksgiving!

So, Skyline was not as bad as everyone said it was.The plot was pretty much: aliens attack with blue light that sucks you in. 5-7 survivors stay in big building. Some die. They run downstairs.
Aliens scare them. They run upstairs.
Aliens scare them. They run up downstairs.
Aliens scare them. They run upstairs.
Aliens scare them. They run up downstairs.
Aliens scare them. They run upstairs. Aliens scare them. and then just to switch it up, they go to the roof! And fight aliens.
           The best part is watching the aliens fly around and fight because they actually look pretty cool. The acting here is not stellar, but it feels like a less nausea inducing version of Cloverfield. While the ending was not as full of closure as I would have liked, it was a entertaining film to watch. It felt a  tad long, and it also didn't have the best script. I saw it at the dollar theater so, for a dollar, this was well worth it. I suggest seeing this movie once it comes out on DVD or going to see it at a dollar theater.It's hard to give this movie a rating. I liked it, but wouldn't have wanted to pay full price for admission. So it's worth a watch but still only gets a 2.7 out of 5.

Image via Wikipedia

Harry Potter 7 part one was great! Some people complained that it was too long, but they probably stayed through the credits (which are reallllllly long). This has been my favorite Harry Potter film so far and when it ended I would have been happy to watch more if it had been there. Dobby as comic relief was brilliant as was the animated sequence in which Hermione tells a story. I would be happy to watch an entire movie with that art style. My only issue was a weird scene in which a silvery version of Harry and Hermione make out in gigantic from. It was just unnecessary and I can't say I remember the book describing it quite like that. But still! Everyone should go see this movie which is (mostly) just plain fun.  HP7 part 1 gets a 4.5 out of 5.

The Cove

Cover of The Cove

 I had to write this for my independent study. Here it is!

        The Cove, directed by Louie Psihoyos, is a film about one man’s quest to end dolphin hunting in a small cove in Taijii, Japan. This man, Ric O’ Barry, believes that if he can stop the killing in Taijii then he can stop the industry all together.  It seems this movie would be biased against dolphin hunters, and it is, but this bias is what fuels the movie. Without the hatred of dolphin hunters, this film would not be as compelling to watch. It is interesting to see how the opinions the fishermen have of hunting are challenged by the filmmakers.

This bias is backed up with the knowledge the arguments for dolphin hunting are not viable. Reasons for the hunting are presented, but throughout the film the arguments are shown to be unrealistic. Some opinions of hunting are based on with the tradition of hunting dolphins in Japan, while other arguments are founded on the belief that the animals are killed in a humane way. Both of these opinions are proven to be based on fallacious knowledge over the course of this film.

The dolphin hunters reason is they have been hunting dolphins for decades and it is tradition to hunt and eat dolphins in Japan. The filmmakers go to Tokyo and interview people walking down the street about eating dolphin. It turns out that none of the people interviewed know people who eat dolphin, let alone there are dolphin hunters in Japan. While this section was most likely edited just people who didn’t know about it were shown, this section of the film suggests that while it may be tradition in Taijii, not a lot of people in Japan eat dolphin. Most of the dolphin meat is sold under a different, more common, type of meat, so there is not actually a market for dolphin meat itself.

            The Japanese delegate to the International Whaling Commission tells the IWC the dolphins are being killed humanely and their death is quick and instantaneous. O’ Barry and his crew of friends climb into the fenced area in Taijii where you can see the water below where the dolphins are killed. They set up specially designed remote cameras that are disguised as rocks and hide audio equipment in the water so they can hear the dolphins. After almost being caught, they drive back to their hotel. Days later they return and retrieve their equipment after a day dolphins have been killed in the cove. The footage shows the dolphins are repeatedly stabbed with spears. The dolphins swim around in panic and are stabbed as they pass by the fishermen’s boats. It is not a quick or painless death. The film coupled with the audio of the dying dolphins is horrific.

O’ Barry wears a screen with his captured footage playing on it to an IWC meeting. He was banned from all future meetings previously in his life, so this is something that he is doing knowing he will get caught  quickly. As he walks around the room people see the film he has collected. He is quickly escorted out of the room but not before people see his footage. With the footage open to the public through the movie The Cove, Ric O’ Barry hopes to teach the world about the awful truth of dolphin hunting.

Image via Wikipedia

            While The Cove is a biased movie (it demonizes fishermen who hunt dolphins) it presents a valid point: the dolphin hunting in Taijii is not acceptable. Each year dolphins are stabbed to death with spears and do not die painlessly. The dead dolphins are often sold as meat not labeled as this type of meat because many Japanese people do not eat dolphin.  The filmmakers shed light on these facts and help start the beginning of the end for dolphin hunting in Taijii. After the film has finished, ways the viewers can help support the fight against dolphin hunting appear on the screen. 

I liked this documentary alot! I give it a 4 out of 5. It would get a 5 out of 5 but it is a little too long.