05
Sep
Tuesday Media Roundup #8
Finally I was in one place long enough to sit down and focus on Control Room, the al-Jazeera documentary dating to the start of the Iraq war. It is really interesting watching them try to get information and work hard to present a high quality news report. I like when they reason that the information given is crap because they know the area and know what is and isn’t possible. The best parts of the film though are when they are just sitting down and talking with their American counterparts and military information officers about the conflict and the middle east in general.
In America has been on loan to me for probably close to a year so I figured it was time I watched it. It’s a modern-day immigrant’s tale which is refreshing because I think we have a good idea how immigrants dealt in the 30s. The movie has a deeper feel, like it is based on a book, but that isn’t the case.
Another borrowed movie (same time) that I just finished watching is Crash. What a fantastic movie on all levels. I cared about every character and every story. It reminded me of Grand Canyon but more coherent and involving. I wanted it to keep going. Why isn’t there some 3-hour director’s cut for this?
And because it makes me laugh whenever I watch it, Denis Leary ripping into Mel Gibson