Joe Mills

An Inconvenient Truth

I know a lot has already been said about this Academy Award winning film, so I will keep this brief considering I just saw it. Who knew that Al Gore and a MacBook could make such an important film? I’m actually surprised that MORE has not been made of this. I guess it must be easy for Americans to ignore the destruction of their planet…

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The Corporation

I’m surprised this movie has not gotten more play in the United States. Anyway, here is a description of The Corporation from Wikipedia:

The film charts the development of the corporation as a legal entity from its origins as an institution chartered by governments to carry out specific public functions, to the rise of the vast modern institutions entitled to some of the legal rights of a person. One central theme of the documentary is an attempt to assess the “personality” of the corporate “person” by using diagnostic criteria from the DSM-IV; Robert Hare, a University of British Columbia Psychology Professor and FBI consultant, compares the modern, profit-driven corporation to that of a clinically diagnosed psychopath. The film focuses mostly on the corporation in North America, especially in the United States.

I have always been very critical of corporations, and this documentary puts it all in to one nice, neat little package. As the description explains above, it looks at the history of corporations and examines how the destruction they have cause in our modern day society. The arguments are compelling. The examples are jaw-dropping. Although this is an historical example, I was surprised to learn that IBM used to sell tabulation machines to Nazi Germany so they were able to keep track of people in the internment camps during the Holocaust. Or, that Coke could not actually sell Coke during that time so they specifically created Fanta Orange to sell to Nazi Germany. It makes me shudder to think what corporations might get away with today…oh yeah, environmental dumping, sweat shops, corporate layoffs…

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Loose Change and 9/11: Press for Truth

I’m not going to talk about these movies at length since they are at best controversial and at worst a reason to move to another country and never look back. Basically, I think they should be watched, but I’ll save my own commentary. Loose Change I actually watched a while back, but it definitely sticks with you. From Wikipedia:

The video claims that the September 11 attacks were planned and conducted by elements within the United States government. It bases these claims on perceived anomalies in official explanations of the attacks.

Nothing further. 9/11: Press for Truth is little less controversial, but it still carries a heavy impact. Once again, from Wikipedia:

9/11: Press for Truth follows three of the Jersey Girls (widows of individuals killed in the attacks) as well as other family members in their search for answers about what really happened on 9/11. Among their questions were:

• Why had NORAD failed to protect the known terrorist targets, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon?
• Why did the World Trade Center Towers, including Building 7, completely collapse when no other steel-framed skyscraper had ever previously totally collapsed due to fire?
• Why did George W Bush stay in a Floria classroom for over 10 minutes after he had been told that the second Tower had been hit?

The film uses archive news footage, press conferences and newspaper clippings to document the unwillingness of the George W. Bush administration to provide answers to the families’ questions or support a full independent investigation. It also shows how the mainstream media avoided asking the politicians the toughest questions.

Not your typical feel good movies, but I would suggest that if you can find these movies online…give them a chance.

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Who Killed the Electric Car?

So, just a couple days I write about an electric car hitting the streets in 2009. Then, I watch Who Killed the Electric Car? Wait…there was an electric car? Now, I feel silly.

I said I wasn’t going to talk about movies for a while, but I have been on a documentary kick the past couple days, and I have been impressed by all of them. Who Killed the Electric Car? follows the production and eventual destruction of the EV1 produced by GM. To make a long story short, the EV1 came about because of the Zero Emission Mandate created by the California Air Resource Board that stated that by 2003, 10% of the cars sold in California should have zero emissions. The EV1 was produced in 1997 and eventually taken off the market and off the street in 2003. Who Killed the Electric Car? examines why it was eventually “killed”. The documentary points to many factors including the government, oil companies, hydrogen fuel, and the car manufacturers.

I could spend paragraphs talking about how well I thought this movie was made and the amount of research that went into it, but I’d rather say that this is a sad story. It is sad that in this day in age when it seems SO possible for an electric car to be produced, so many people are resistant to the idea. Why are they resistant? To save their own butt. Big oil is always going to be resistant to this. Car companies are always going to be resistant to this. Why? To go full speed ahead making electric cars they would have to think of someone other than themselves. They want to protect what is there’s. They want to protect their money and what they have gained instead of looking at the bigger issue here. Gas powered cars are bad for the environment. Gas powered cars make us dependable on foreign oil. Those two things are bad things…plain and simple.

I am going to be getting rid of my Honda Civic here in a couple days so I become part of a one car family. I will be taking public transportation while my wife uses the car. I hope that when I need (or want) a car again, I will be able to buy an electric car. Hopefully, people wake up by then.

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Unclassifiable Movie Selections

I’m not sure how to classify this next batch of movies, but it is a select group. There are few movies out there that were good movies when I saw them, and they are still good movies. They are all dramatic movies (with some humor) and they excelled because of good storytelling, good plot, and good acting. With that said, over the years, these movies have taken on a life of their own. I’ve shown the most prominent ones above. They continue to be good dramatic movies, but parts of the movie become humorous for no particular reason. They were, on the surface, normal lines when I first saw the movie, but now they are hilarious. I’d like to give examples, but I think that will confuse you more because I think many people do this, but with different movies. My brother and I have started this with each other. The movie has to be initially good and out for a while…let’s say at least 10 years. It has to have lines and scenes that become humorous for the mere fact that they just work so well. I think it is a product of good acting and strong dialog. I don’t know why we have singled out these movies and maybe it is an “inside” thing, but it provides me with hours of entertainment.

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Easy Mac Micro Maniac

Image courtesy of Easy Mac Micro Maniac

I could care less about what this site is about, but the navigation on the right is superb. The site has someone putting different things in a microwave to see what happens. Yeah. On the right, you roll over what you want to see get put in the microwave and this very bold picture of that thing pops up. It is really striking and it totally catches your eye. At least, it caught my eye. I tried to put an example above, but I don’t really think it does it justice unless you check it out.

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Jamar Smith…See You in 2008

This story does not come as a surprise, but it does sting a little bit. I certainly hope Jamar gets his life back together and is able to contribute next year and during his senior year, but on a team that needs shooters, he will most certainly be missed during the 2007-08 Illini basketball season. Weber is going to have an uphill battle this year…we have a tough schedule. He does have a lot of young talent, but they are going to have to produce almost immediately. Only time will tell…and I’m looking forward to it.

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Electric Car in 2009

I didn’t think it would happen this soon, but we are getting closer!

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Raising Arizona

Let’s lighten it up a bit. When I think about favorite comedy, I could probably go with many choices: Clerks, Swingers, Old School, The Big Lebowski…the list goes on, but I’m going to go with Raising Arizona. First of all, it is one of the first true comedies I ever saw. Yes, I know growing up you see many funny movies, but this one of the first “grown up” comedies I saw. Second, it has the funniest scene in movie history…according to me. It is really a throwaway part, but when the McDonnough’s invite over Hi’s boss, Hi and his boss are talking in the trailer. The boss says to Hi, “Ol Buford (referring to his child writing “FART” on the wall), he sure is a sly one. Watch this. Hit the deck boy!” And then, he throws a handful of peanuts at him. I love this part, and I always laugh it. Finally, it has a good story. Any good comedy has to have a good story. Yes, a lot of funny jokes with no discernible plot can work, but a comedy with a strong plot makes a BIG difference. Raising Arizona married humor and plot together…now, I always be a fan of the Coen brothers.

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Kids

How to talk about Kids? Hmmmmm….let’s start from the beginning. This was, once again, around the same time Pulp Fiction came out. And, it was right after I went to college. I dragged a couple of my friends to go see it, and they still won’t let me forget it. Yes, the film is disturbing. It was controversial. And, it is certainly not your feel-good movie. But, I was obsessed with it. The documentary style and the way it was shot gave it a, if you pardon the cliche, gritty feel. The fact it was set in New York made the whole movie so much more intense. The actors were not even trained actors, but they pulled it off. They were so unpolished and perfect for the parts. I thought everything just worked. I wanted to know everything about the film. I found every newspaper and magazine clipping that I could find and read about it. (I still have all that stuff.) I was so mesmerized by the whole experience.

Why is it one of my favorites? I think because it took the concept of an “art film” to the place I wish more art films went. Tight story telling. A great look in an urban landscape. Interesting topic. It didn’t try to do too much while still doing a lot. And to this day, I think it is still relevant and shocking even though I don’t believe that was Larry Clark’s vision, although some might disagree.

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