An Inconvenient Truth
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Movie Reviews of An Inconvenient Truth
Movie Review: Thank God, Al Gore is Persistent and Passionate About This Subject
Summary: 5 Stars
If you haven't seen this movie, you should, and I'm not just recommending* the movie because I like Al Gore and tend to lean toward the left politically. I'm recommending this movie because I care about the environment and there is actual evidence to back up what Al Gore has been saying for years: Global warming does exist.
Speaking about global warming is clearly Al Gore's forte. While some of his campaign speeches back in the 2000 Presidential election had been trite and boring, you can tell global warming is a topic Gore sincerely believes in and cares about because he speaks very passionately about the topic.
In addition to sharing his extensive knowledge about global warming in "An Inconvenient Truth", Gore's very candid about the disappointments and low times in his life; however, he reiterates that he refuses to give into bitterness and despair. Gore's perseverance and determination is something we can all apply to our lives in some way. For example, after the whole voting fiasco in Florida and the Supreme Court's decision in favor of George W. Bush, Gore states: "That was a hard blow, but what do you do? You make the best of it." Gore did make the best of the situation and started giving his slide shows about global warming again.
Thank God, Gore is persistent and continues to speak out about the global warming crisis. He remarks that he thought this story would be "compelling enough to get Congress to act", that it is "frustrating that people don't understand that we're the worst contributor" and that he looks for "meaningful signs we're going to change" while clip after clip is shown of him being shot down through the years as he has appeared before Congress for hearings on global warming. There's even a clip of George Bush, Sr. remarking, "This guy wants us up to our necks in owls...this guy is crazy" while another politician declares "This is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people."
I don't understand how people can say global warming doesn't exist. The signs are everywhere. Carbon dioxide levels are at the highest they have ever been; glaciers all over the world are disappearing; tornadoes, typhoons, floods and hurricanes are rampant and showing up in places where they never have before, and animals and insects, affected by all of the climate changes are migrating to places at unnatural times or dying off because their natural habitat no longer exists.
During the closing credits of An Inconvenient Truth, "I Need to Wake Up" by Melissa Etheridge -- a really inspiring, motivating song, by the way --plays and different ways we can change the way we live flash across the screen. A few that jumped out at me are:
Recycle
Use Mass Transit
Vote for Leaders Who Pledge to Solve This Crisis
If They [the leaders] Don't Listen, Run for Congress
Speak Up
Reduce Our Dependence on Foreign Oil
Pray people will find the strength to change
*A recommendation for the movie was first featured on my blog and has been edited for publication here.
Movie Review: Forever grateful
Summary: 5 Stars
This book may not have the meat to satisfy the scientifically hungry, yet it finds common ground that I think we can all relate. All the profits received from this book (and the movie) will be donated to support efforts to combat global warming, so financial reward was not an enticement for creating this book. Mr. Gore has devoted a large part of his life to politics yet this book seems hardly political. So, where's his motivation? I believe it is through a genuine concern for our planet and in seizing an opportunity to bring this important issue to the forefront of public discourse especially in this country.
The book presents a set of undeniable facts supported by the global scientific community together with a plea to reverse our fate. It is a call to turn lemons into lemonade and left me felling hopeful rather than depressed that we still have an opportunity to not only change our destiny but to find opportunity in making that change. The end of the book sites concrete and practical suggestions that allow all of us a part in this grand plan. I believe it's an insightful and courageous book and I'm forever grateful to Al Gore for sharing it with us.
Update: September 3, 2010
I recently read my old reviews and realized the need to update a couple of them, namely this one and my review on Barrack Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope.
I have no defense for publishing my pathetic review and naïve assessment of this book. I was duped into believing it was a labor of love, a product of altruism, a wakeup call to save our planet!
In reality, Al Gore is nothing more than an opportunist, a scum-sucking socialist, a liar and a fraud. "Do as I say, not as I do" is the hallmark of Al Gore. Like Barack Obama and all the rest beholden to those who will not stop until the world is totally under their control, Al Gore has done us a great disservice.
The Fourth Reich is upon us and our national sovereignty is dissolving at an ever more rapid rate. A powerful group of international socialists together with a NeoNazi congressional delegation are in control in our country and represent an amalgamation of the Democrat and Republican leadership working in concert with a CFR infested Administration.
For those uninitiated with the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), they are an organization established in 1921; they meet in secret and are represented by some of the most powerful people in our country. Members of the CFR dominate cabinet level positions in federal government and many of our most powerful corporate boards. The mission of the CFR lies in the establishment of the supranational state - one government, one justice system, one military, and one people - a world oligarchy. Their membership and operations overlap with those of the Bilderberg Group and the Trilateral Commission. Only one country effectively can foil their plans, The People of the United States, and we are going down fast.
By the way, Al Gore is a member of the CFR. God help us.
Movie Review: An Awakening Call to All of Us
Summary: 5 Stars
I applauded what Al Gore did. Should he have won the election in year 2000? What would have the US and the world be like? Was he that passionate about global warming back then or would he have been pulled left and right and not able to focus on the global warming issue if he were elected?
One can ask many "what ifs" to that year's election. One thing one can be certain is that what happened gave Al Gore the chance to study and travel the globe to speak and educate us this pressing topic that needs all human beings attention NOW. I am thankful Oprah featured his DVD on one of her shows so to give me the opportunity to rent this DVD.
To not spoil the movie for readers, I will only put the highlights of what I have learned. Al Gore gave a presentation of what has been happening to the globe nowadays 1.) Climate change - Tornados, Hurricanes, Typhoons, draught, floods all because of the temperature change in the ocean 2.) The rising sea levels 3.) The destruction of habitat - e.g. Polar Bears 4.) How consistent the scientists have warned us about global warming issue.
It is a persuasive and powerful movie to wake us up to do every bit we can to slow down global warming and going green. I am glad Al Gore now brings it to the screen for us to view. The most striking scene is about that scale of balancing economy and the globe from a nation's perspective. From a personal perspective, it is about balancing our own bank account versus the environment we live in. Yet, it does not have to be completely that way. If we see renewable energy, fuel efficient cars, recycling (does not cost us anything to recycle other than taking the time to separate garbage), conserving energy (saves us money but we need to be aware of what energy we are using at the moment) as an investment to a greener, cleaner globe, it is apparent that everyone can act on creating a greener, more environmental friendly globe. We all just need to do our fair share and be aware of the little old habits have to do to mother Earth.
NOTE: Al Gore has a web site that educates us how we can save energy in affordable ways. It is worth reading and adopting some of his advice to our daily lives - many of his advice also help us save money in return!
Watch the movie and educate ourselves is great. However, what actions are we going to take now is more important than just watching and educating ourselves about the issue. One can maybe argue the details and the facts. But the truth is that global warming (in general) is real and it is happening. So, I ask the readers, myself the same questions Al Gore asked at the end of the movie. Do we want a greener world to be passed on to our future generations by doing our share? Or do we want to carry our old ways of living and let our dear innocent children, grandchildren to suffer the consequences of our own actions? We get to make a choice today and let us make one, follow through the choice that shows integrity and compassion to the world
Thank you for reading my review.
Movie Review: The message is more important than the messenger
Summary: 5 Stars
I first heard of the movie 'An Inconvenient Truth' watching the last Oscars where it won the Best Documentary award. I was somewhat surprised that a politician was the purveyor of this movie. The skeptic in me thought it was reelection propaganda but when I got to see the movie this morning, the messenger (US Vice President Al Gore) and his motives became insignificant next to the message.
In the movie, there were some throwbacks to his personal life and political career that in my opinion should have been in the features section of the DVD instead. It was a bit confusing as you would expect to be watching about the problem with the environment but instead, you get snippets of Al Gore's life here and there. But over-all, the snippets seemed to provide a pause during which you have time to get yourself ready for another dollop of facts and figures. And I say dollop not chunk because the information was presented in a well thought out manner - simple, not rocket science terms were used, video was used judiciously to illustrate a process, graphs and charts were used judiciously as well. In other words, easily digestible.
But it does pack a punch. In the space of 1 1/2 hours, you learn the official definition of global warming by watching how it happens, the effects of global warming on worldwide temperatures, marine life and other species, sea levels, hurricanes, human diseases. The impact is worldwide - anyone and everyone who is on this planet cannot escape the consequences. The impact is cumulative - if we sit on our butts and wait around, it may be too late when we finally wake up.
As Melissa Etheridge's accompanying song puts it: 'I need to wake up... I need to shake up'. I was half expecting the movie to end with a doomsday tone so that it could really wake up and shake up people into doing something to reverse the trend. But instead, the movie ended on a positive note - we as a people in this day and age have the capacity to solve this problem; it's just a matter of perception on the individual level whether we think there's a problem or whether global warming is what God intended i.e. a natural phenomenon.
It does boil down to the individual. But sometimes with problems like this which are on a massive-scale, a person can feel lost and not know where to start. The website tie-up can help: (...). It includes a link where you can 'Calcuate your personal impact' i.e. calculate how much carbon dioxide you are emitting into the atmosphere and how you can reduce your CO2 emissions. The suggestions may seem oriented toward those living in the U.S. so you may want to check local websites for more suggestions on how to help in this effort in your area. In Singapore, I've come across some recently published issues of magazines dealing with the environment namely 8 Days and Shape. There are very useful and localized tips and reminders in these.
Other related websites you can explore:
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Ok, what are you still sitting around reading this for? Go watch the movie!
Movie Review: Powerful and informative without never being preachy
Summary: 5 Stars
In a weird way, the title, "An Inconvenient Truth" fits perfectly how certain people see big concerns and social concerns even though it's an awkward and clunky title to say. Like Bill Maher said once at Just For Laughs, President Bush standing in front of a tree once a year saying "I like the environment" does not make him a crusader for global awareness. Al Gore though has been actively pursuing the need for a bigger awareness among the world to slow down and eventually stop global warming. While Gore certainly had his share of jokes during the 2000 Election, namely a monotonous speaker, here he's actually a bit captivating as he gives a presentation to a group of people about where we were, where we are and where we're going.
The film largely centers on Gore's presentation, or as he calls it, his "slide show", where he shows with graphs and charts mounting evidence that the world is on its way to global warming. While Fahrenheit 9/11 seemed like a big budget rant you'd see on blogs where they're trying to make us see things his way, Gore just shows us what the facts are and is passionate about what he's saying. And unlike lecturers I've seen where they spend so much time talking in science speak and you have no idea what they're saying, him and his arsenal of slides lets you understand just how the environment is changing.
Intercut with this is basically the "Gore at Home" scenes where he narrates things about his life such as the near-fatal car accident of his son to the death of his sister. While it does give a needed break after so much explanation and facts, it also slams the brakes on the pace. You're getting so caught up in the fact that Japan had a record number of typhoons in one year only to have it slow down with melancholy acoustic guitar as Gore narrates about his life. The film's more effective in showing his passion for his cause in the lecture rather than a bit of griping about him losing the election.
Now as for the issue, I for one do feel sometimes like the issue just seems too big to handle. Yes, we do recycle, and I actually don't even own a car and spend most of my time walking or riding the bus(and this is Canada where -30 Celsius in the winter is considered a good day) but at the same time it feels like "me and a large group of people are going to save the world". Sure it can be done but it just feels like this huge project to start. Also Gore himself doesn't even offer any suggestions in the film. He does an effective call-to-arms plea about taking action and saying "we can do it" yet he doesn't say how. All that comes during the end credits and they ask to use different light bulbs and we should recycle. Um....recycle? "Alright ladies and gentleman here is your mission: we're to save the Earth from global warming. Our battle strategy: recycling." Seems strange.
It's probably one of the best social issue films I've seen but also one of the more flawed but just strictly based on facts and projected figures, it's certainly a bit scary.