Monday 21 November 2011

Movies Seen Recently - Tintin, The Tale of Despereaux, 400 Years of the Telescope, Food Inc, The Blind Watchmaker, The Enemies of Reason



The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011)


Outrageous and fun. You can see why Spielberg used animation. He could direct outlandish stunts here, that he couldn't in the Indiana Jones films. A live action Tintin film with incredible action sequences would not only cost more to make, but also wouldn't have attracted the same respect. People are more accommodating when it comes to animated films.


The Tale of Despereaux (2008)


This animated film has a lot of good dark thematic moments, and excellent storytelling material (like the mouse who isn't afraid, in spite of being repeatedly told that he must). However, it turns out to be a mostly underwhelming experience overall. 


People don't watch animated movies to feel intelligent. They want to be overwhelmed, entertained. Anything less than that can only garner you critical acclaim at best.


400 Years of the Telescope: A Journey of Science, Technology and Thought (2009)


PBS documentary that's just O.K.


Food, Inc. (2008)


Documentary on the effects of increasing corporatisation of the food industry in the US. Explains why junk food is cheap, and healthy food expensive. Recommended watch.


BBC Horizon - The Blind Watchmaker (1987)


Dawkins led documentary on evidence for evolution, in which he suggests with examples how evolution is merely mutation guided by natural selection.


The Enemies of Reason (2007)


A 2-part Richard Dawkins led documentary on the possible futility of various forms of pseudoscience. Many forms of pseudoscience do not have any backing proof, and are based on Belief, which is antithetical to Reason, but people still choose to believe in them.


I'd love to see a follow up documentary on the morality of judging people who choose Belief over Reason.


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