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Reviews
Gambling, Gods and LSD (2002)
Barely more interesting than stock footage.
Thank god the member's admission price at Waterloo's Princess Cinema is only six dollars, for if I had paid a cent more I would have considered asking for my money back. The film is presented in previews as a visual spectacle comparable to 1992's Baraka. However, the final result is nothing but a three hour showcase of unbearable monotony. The director could easily have cut this project down by ninety minutes. The film wanders aimlessly through completely unrelated locations, and doesn't even have the expertly shot landscapes and haunting visuals found in Baraka and other films of the sort. The fact that so much pointless, random (and not even particularly clear), camerawork made the final cut is astonishing, and speaks volumes about the pretentious aspirations of the director. Frankly, I'd rather watch random stock footage than see this self-righteous tripe.
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Every American Should See This Film
I arrived at Waterloo's Princess Cinema (the only theatre currently showing the film in the area) this evening anticipating an insightful documentary similar to Moore's other work, but targeting the weapons industry. What I found was so much more. This film, more than any other of Moore's past projects, delves deep into questioning American values, and isn't afraid to tell the honest, down-to-earth truth about what's wrong with the system. Instead of simply focusing on guns, Moore paints a broader picture of the problems that plague the USA today. We see a culture of fear, violence, intolerance and greed. We see how the media is a tool used by anyone, be it the government or big business, who has the power to do so. We also see that more often than not, things are not how they appear. I was very moved by the time it was over. Three cheers and 10/10 for Michael Moore and his outstanding willingness to tell it like it is.
The Nature of Reality (2000)
A Respectable University Feature Film...
The Nature of Reality was a project by a small group of students at Waterloo's Wilfrid Laurier University in the 1999/2000 schoolyear. Overall, it was certainly a unique concept, though at times it seems forced and contrived. One should not walk into this picture expecting a film of Hollywood quality, however. The entire movie was produced for about $5000 Canadian dollars, and as a result the film and sound quality seems almost unbearable in some scenes. The actors are able to pull the audience into the storyline in spite of the technical shortcomings, however.
As a Laurier student, I do have to give quite a bit of credit to the makers of this film for turning it into a relative success both within the Waterloo student community, as well as throughout Canada. Kudos...