Earth - Disney Documentary

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Plot: This a giant nature video about animals all around the world. It hopscotches from animal to animal, from winter to summer, and from continent to continent. 

Review: This movie has some awe inspiring photography especially the scenes with thousands of birds or fish. The movie is disjointed as it travels across the world -- after all it tackles the whole "Earth" in just ninety minutes. A really inspiring score could have helped, but this score was only serviceable. 

My wife tells me that the polar bear walrus fight was in the Planet Earth TV series, so there is some repeat between the two. The producers say that they are distinct creations. 

I thought this was good for a while, but it got tiring, and I would have liked a story. Unlike some viewers, I did not think that there was too much narration. 

Cast and crew:
Narrated by James Earl Jones; Written and directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield  
Rating: 1.5 flasks


More: 
A better movie would have focused on part of the "Earth," not the whole thing. 

Even More:

You have to feel sorry for the Daddy Polar Bear.

Frozen River

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Plot: Frozen River is a drama about a single Mom, Ray Eddy played by Melissa Leo, who undertakes smuggling illegal aliens across a frozen river from Canada to the US in order to buy herself a new doublewide trailer-home. She is assisted by Lila Littlewolf, played by Misty Upham, and meets state cops and assorted criminals.

Review: This movie is too slow -- way too much time showing the scenery and allowing the mood to build. The two actresses, Leo and Upham, give us interesting characters that we want to follow. The dialog could have been less wooden. Charlie McDormott is the boy actor who plays Ray's son. His performance is important to the success of the movie as he tries to rein in Ray's schemes as well as take care of his younger brother. Ray and Melissa are both disfunctional women who are in trouble due to their husbands as well as their own weaknesses. 

Cast and crew:
Melissa Leo, Misty Upham; written and directed by Courtney Hunt
Rating: 2.0 flasks


More: 
The films is set in the Akwesasne Mohawk nation, but actually filmed elsewhere in New York state. The St. Lawerence river scenes were actually shot on a frozen lake.

Even more:

Better than most Sundance award-winning movies.