MOVIE: My Octopus Teacher (2020)

by benmweilertNo Comments
My Octopus TeacherYear: 2020Rating: RLength: 113 minutes / 1.88 hours Nature documentaries are perhaps some of the most educational movies ever made. Sure, there are documentaries about extreme sports (like Senna (2010)), historical events (like The Look of Silence (2014)) or people (like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (2018)) but nature documentaries usually leave me with a sense of awe. This feeling comes from learning something about Earth that has been that way for millennia and will continue to be that way for millennia to come. There are so many amazing things to learn from nature that I can’t help but be amazed by it. My Octopus Teacher (2020) is just the latest in a long line of nature documentaries that have wowed me with the new knowledge I gained. Being from a landlocked state, I don’t have a lot of experience with aquatic life. I’ve occasionally seen something about octopuses being a little peculiar but never fully understood the full extent...
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MOVIE: Vice (2018)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Vice Year: 2018 Rating: R Length: 132 minutes / 2.20 hours It’s a little weird to me how a director like Adam McKay has gone from directing movies like Anchorman (2004) and Talladega Nights (2006) to entertaining exposés like The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018). Sure, I can see how his comedy background could lead to the razor-sharp wit used to educate the movie-going public about the 2008 mortgage crisis and the former vice president, respectively. It’s evident the Academy likes his new style as well, as both The Big Short and Vice were nominated for Best Picture. While I liked The Big Short a lot, Vice certainly had its moments. I’ll give props to Christian Bale for his ability to mimic Dick Cheney’s mannerisms in this role. Sam Rockwell was also pretty great as George W. Bush, but I couldn’t get past Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld. I also appreciated the tongue-in-cheek “false ending” in Vice, as it was probably one of the funniest moments in the film. Just like how learning about the mortgage crisis was...
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