• 5Dec 09

  The Cove Review

  

  "The Cove" is what I would call the most important film of the year. It is one of the best documentaries I have seen, and one of the best films of the year.

  I think I would first have to give you a little background on myself for you to fully understand my point of view on this film. I've have always had a huge interest in the sea. Marine life and the Ocean, ever since I was a young boy, have been something I have admired and loved. Up until my freshman year of college I had planned to get my degree in marine safety and environmental protection, but due to some more personal reasons I decided to go a different route. I don't know if I would call myself an environmentalist but I do have a very strong view against many things and one of my strongest is my total hatred towards the killing of whales and dolphins. This has been with me for years. So of course this film really hit me hard.

  The film documents Ric O'Barry's life guest to show the world and hopefully stop the mass slaughter of dolphins in Japan, specifically in a small hidden lagoon in Taiji, Japan. Here they are herded and blocked in to sit and wait to be either selected for sale for show or killed. One interesting thing about Barry is that he used to be the trainer of the dolphins used for the show 'Flipper' and he had a strong part in kick starting a globe attraction to capturing and showing off dolphins, something that has become very profitable. After a traumatic moment he almost instantly became an activist against such capture and for the past 30 plus years has set out to free dolphins, protect them from capture and slaughter which has resulted in a rise of hate towards him. When Louie Psihoyos learned of Barry, and met with him and was told about and shown where the slaughter took place Psihoyos decided to recruit a group of men and women to help in trying to enter this guarded, gated and restricted lagoon to capture what exactly was going on. It was very clear to them all that the Japanese in the area did not want this secret to get out and had a constant surveillance on them including multiple unmarked cars which would track their every move. After some careful planning and surveying of the area the crew set out to place cameras and sound equipment around the lagoon at night. Various methods were used including hiding cameras in rocks. This was very tricky to do without being caught and they had to go out in the total darkness using night vision and thermal cameras. After some close encounters and constantly being shadowed they finally got the footage they wanted, and the video was horrifying.

  One thing that really stood out about this documentary was the way it was done. It does, as most do, include interviews with various people and organizations. It also has a lot of back story on Ric O'Barry and the whole dolphin killing/capture industry; however where it really gets interesting and stands out is the footage of this crew, the trouble they encounter and the way they go about getting the footage. It is like watching a spy thriller unravel right before your eyes and it actually had me on the edge of my seat. These people risked imprisonment and even possible death doing what they did but it is clear that their determination was too strong to let this frighten or stop them.

  I think it also did a great job at providing the facts, at least those that we needed and some of it is really scary. For example the mercury levels in dolphins and the fact that their meat is sold to schools around Japan. Or the steps the Japanese government seems willing to do in order to gain support by smaller and impoverished nations in the IWC (International Whaling Commission) to vote in their favor. It really does open your eyes to a lot of things some of which made me very angry.

  With all this said, I think the thing that the film does best is teaching us about dolphins, giving us a glimpse of them that some of us may not have ever seen. You really come to understand why exactly dolphin killing is so wrong. These are incredibly intelligent, and many believe to be self aware creatures. They speak to us and try to communicate although sadly we do not fully understand them. There have been numerous cases of them coming to the aid of humans who were drowning, stuck out at sea or being attacked by a shark. People, including the Japanese, have tried to defend what they do by comparing it to Americas own slaughter of cows and chickens, and although you never can truly defend this it doesn't even compare especially when one of these species runs the risk at extinction and isn't a valuable food source.

  Now of course not everyone will agree with the film or me. They will question the somewhat bias documentary and blow it off. I on the other hand think it is an extremely important film, one that needs to be seen by all. It made the very interesting point that if we can not gather support to stop the slaughter of dolphins in one tiny lagoon in Japan, then how do we ever hope to achieve things on a larger scale and I couldn't agree more. This isn't some global disaster. It doesn't take billions of dollars and a total transformation of our lives to stop this yet it goes on. What really can be done? Well this documentary is a great start because education and spreading the message are the first steps that should be and need to be taken. I remember when the Al Gore documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" was released teachers were allowed to request a free copy to show their students and I can only hope they do the same for this film. I also really hope it wins the Academy Award for Best Documentary to help introduce the film to the world. It is good to know that it has already had some effect and the aftermath of its release has shown and I hope it grows.

  I think by now you can see that this is less of a review and more of a rant but you must understand that "The Cove" really hit me hard. It was such an emotional experience for me and I will say that my eyes watered a few times. This really is one of if not the best documentary I have ever seen and in my opinion one of the most important films of the year. 10/10

  http://www.takepart.com/thecove/

  http://thecovemovie.com/home.htm

  • Posted Dec 5, 2009 11:34 pm PT
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• 3Dec 09

  Panama! Basterds! Beatles!

  Panama!

  So it has been almost two months since I made a blog post which has to be a record for me. One reason I'm making this one has a lot to do with the title and song so let me explain.

  So my first semester of junior year is coming to an end. It has been a rough ride and I still have two weeks left of presentations, research papers and finals to go but I got some really great news this week. My school (Mass Maritime) requires all cadets in my major (International Business) to do two co-ops/internships to graduate. Of course in this economic climate finding a job is hard enough let alone a co-op. I had plans to do one this winter but the time was ticking away and I and many others had heard nothing. Well just recently I found out that one I had my attention on and was hoping would come through, finally did yesterday. If all goes as planned, and I see no reason for it not too, I should be spending four weeks of my winter in Panama. Yup, the Panamanian Maritime University will be inviting about 10 cadets in my major this winter down to Panama. The only cost to me (after already paying tuition fee) is the flight and cost of living, room and board is going to be provided by them.

  This was really exciting news for many reasons. First off I have been very stressed this past week and this was just one large thing that I was able to not worry about anymore. Also it means I get to go back to Panama! I wentin January of'08 but only for 3 days, thought it was a very good place and I had been interested in going back and now I can, and at the same time do a co-op. This whole situation really made my whole semester, and really kicked started December on a great foot.

  Other than that not much has gone on with me. I have watched a whole lot of films since Oct. 9th, one of my favorites that I must mention was Inglorious Basterds, my new favorite Tarantino film and in my opinion one of the best of the year.

  

  Christmas is coming up this month, as well as many film releases that I'm highly interested in seeing (Avatar, Nine, Up In The Air, A Single Man)and hope to see at least one in theaters but this really hasn't been a good year for me and actually going to the cinema.

  Some more fairly interesting news is that I have become obsessed with The Beatles. I watched Across the Universe again (which I love although I know many Beatles fans don't) and it made me start listening to them, finding songs I had never heard before and since then I can not stop myself! This also makes the fact that my brother is getting The Beatles Rock Band this christmas that much better.

  

  So that is about it. I plan to try blogging a bit more in the next month. I hope everyone is well and had a good thanksgiving.

  • Posted Dec 3, 2009 9:02 pm PT
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• 28Oct 09

  Oh noes, I've been tagged!

  Tag me once, shame on...shame on you, tag me twice...I can't let myself be tagged again...

  1) My favorite band is the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the last time I was tagged months ago it was Metallica...my how times change.

  2) My favorite book/novel is "Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield.

  3) Don Draper is my hero.

  4) Favorite food: Pizza, favorite dessert: Cookies and cream ice cream.

  5) I'm currently a junior at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy

  6) This is one of my favorite websites ever.

  7) One of the best moments of my life was being on the bridge wing of a training ship as it went through the Panama Canal.

  8 ) I had 4 root canals, 4 caps put in and all my wisdom teeth removed this year.

  9) One of the things about me is a lie.

  10) The above post is a lie.

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  So there you have it.

  As for what has been going on with me lately, I've watched a bunch of films:

  Moon: 10/10, my new favorite of the year.
  Up: 10/10, one of Pixars best.
  The Girlfriend Experience: 9/10, I really enjoyed this film.
  Antichrist: 8.5/10, weird and disturbing yet fascinating.
  Stalker: Unknown, didn't really enjoy it, need to watch it again.

  I also finished the third season of The Wire which was so amazing. It ended so perfectly I'm almost afraid to watch the 4th season, I mean they could have ended it with the 3rd season and I would been satisfied. But of course I shall be watching the 4th season soon enough.

  • Posted Oct 28, 2009 3:23 pm PT
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