bbernyjb Reviews

Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (2008)

Brilliant. A chance to learn, if you want to.

[8/10 · 27 October 2008]

Having watched "Supersize me", I decided to watch this movie thinking it'd be just another "documentary" telling us what anybody with half a brain would already know. Fortunately, I was wrong. The movie is full of small surprises, ranging from a highly divided Islamic world (in which even those who agreed with Osama's JIHAD, or with the war against a power they think is oppressing them, were amazingly polite and well mannered towards a "representative" of such oppression), to the incredibly hostile attitude of some orthodox Jews (supposedly our allies?). A great documentary, not about geography, or about data anybody can find on Wikipedia or the local library, but about people, what they think or feel, and why. If nothing else, the movie proves invaluable just by demonstrating that, not only Muslims are not all evil, bloodthirsty fanatics, but that even those that agree with Al Qaeda understand that Americans are not evil either, and are lucid enough to separate the American people from their government. That to me speaks about much better informed people than we give them credit for.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008 TV Movie)

Please, read the book.

[3/10 · 27 January 2008]

It's always difficult for me to watch a movie after having read the book it's allegedly based upon. Anyways, I decided to try this one, and I have to say I can't find any part of it that'd be based on the Jules Verne novel (except the title, of course). It's amazing to see how professor Otto Lidenbrock from Hamburg became Jonathan Brock, his nephew Axel became Abel, how his Danish guide Hans Bjelke morphed into Sergei Petrov, and how the expedition that originally started in ICELAND at the end of June, suddenly changed to Alaska in September. But most important is the complete lack of respect for the original plot and its characters, to the point that the movie shares nothing with the book they say it follows. I do understand that most books can not be adapted faithfully to the screen, but there's a difference between taking a few creative licences and making a completely different story. So, I'd like to ask Mr. William Gray to, PLEASE, read the book before saying his script is based upon it, or otherwise take the credits (and responsibilities) of signing his own stories.