What the Bleep Do We Know!?
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Movie Reviews of What the Bleep Do We Know!?
Movie Review: Buyers (and Channeled Spirits) Beware!
Summary: 1 Stars
Any Amazon buyers who are thinking of purchasing this DVD are strongly encouraged to first go and do some checking on the Internet about this movie and its background. What you find out may or may not surprise you.
I didn't check deeply enough, and regret the money I spent on buying this DVD. I watched only one side of the three double-sided discs (the original theatrical version) and then filed it away under "DVDs to be pawned off at my local record/video shop". I will not watch the other five sides of the discs, and that is something very unusual for me as a regular Amazon buyer.
Don't get me wrong: Marlee Matlin does a decent job of holding up the "drama" side of the film and there is lots of humor, intriguing testimony and amazing graphics in the "documentary" side of "What the Bleep Do We Know!?". But after watching this movie just one time, the word FISHY kept coming up in my mind. I went on the Internet and did some searching, and found out why.
What the filmmakers of "What the Bleep Do We Know!?" do not tell you in the film's trailer and in the film itself is that they, the filmmakers, as well as some of the interviewees, are affiliated with the mega-million-dollar organization founded by JZ Knight, famous for her channeling of a 35,000-year-old spirit named Ramtha. Her organization is based in the rural city of Yelm, Washington state -- the same city where "What the Bleep" was first premiered and where the producers of the film are reported to be based.
What the filmmakers also don't tell you (but which you will find out if you check around on the Internet) is that one of the credible sources in the film has completely denounced "What the Bleep" and the way his interview was misrepresented to promote the film's premise. The filmmakers also will not tell you that there are a number of people (including Knight's late ex-husband) who have left her organization and called it little more than a cult in New Age clothing. This is distressing.
Spirituality is one thing, but deceit is quite another. We all want more spirituality in our lives. But we need to be cautious and selective about this because there are just as many so-called New Age organizations out there that will take our money as quickly as some mainstream Christian churches will.
Which is exactly why I give this film the same low rating of "1" that I gave to the DVD "George W. Bush: Faith in the White House". If there is one thing worse than being conned by a bunch of true-believing, right-wing Christian fundamentalists, it is being duped by a group of true-believing New Agers who align themselves with left-wing causes (see "What the Bleep's" website store for examples). I would give both the Bush and Bleep DVDs a rating of zero if I could.
To be fair, JZ Knight and Ramtha are given only a few cameo appearances in this film. But those appearances are just enough to weave their way into the scientific dialogue and dramatic acting scenes to give Knight, the millionaire spirit-channeler, some much-needed credibility in the movie. Plus, hers is the only "non-expert" interview featured in the film, making you wonder why she's even in this movie in the first place. Again, the filmmakers make no mention whatsoever in the film of their connections to Knight and her organization.
But the good news is that spiritually hungry people everywhere are waking up and smelling the coffee. Using their brains, people are increasingly coming to tell the difference between true, dedicated people of spirit, like the Dalai Lama of Tibet, and fishy facsimiles. Buyers in the New Age marketplace are not the only ones who should beware -- channeled spirits also have to be on guard for the growing numbers of human beings who are thinking more deeply before spending their hard-earned money on movies like this.
If you must buy this DVD, then at least first spend some time on the Internet checking out this film's background. If you decide to buy it after that, well, it is up to you. At least consider yourself a forewarned (and wiser) consumer for having read this.
Enough said. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to shut down my computer and go out for a long, quiet walk in nature -- where I'm more likely to encounter Spirit in its purest form than I would in this film.
Movie Review: New Age Sewage and Pseudoscience
Summary: 1 Stars
Why one star?
1. The entire logical chain of this film is rendered null by a misunderstanding of the "observer effect" in scientific research. Ask any high school science teacher to explain it to you in simple terms, and you will understand why this movie is nothing more than a farce and fallacy.
2. Masaro Emoto's work does not follow the scientific method.
3. Through clever editing, the producers often twist the words of the authentic scientists featured in the film to support the supernatural claims made in it.
4. The filmmakers are members of a cult religion.
Movie Review: The Quality of Thinking
Summary: 4 Stars
When "What the Bleep Do You Know" came to the theatre, I was almost alone in the audience. I told a lot of my friends about it; and the second time I went there were seven of us in the audience, six of whom I knew. So this was not well publicized in our small city, but still drew people to it. Had it played more than a week, perhaps we'd have had a dozen! I recently saw a used copy and decided to add it to my collection.
I really enjoyed this docu-drama. I found the use of actors, scientists and animation to have enough diversity to keep my attention. It was both informative and entertaining. Marlee Matlin won an Oscar & Golden Globe for "Children of a Lesser God" in 1986. She does good work as Amanda who has come out of a marriage with an unfaithful husband and chip on her shoulder. Her houseguest Jennifer is played by the perky Elaine Hendrix, who gets to foot paint. I also thought John Ross Bowie as Eliot that Amanda meets while she photographs a wedding did a nice job.
The subject matter intrigues me. As I've thought about this film, I keep considering how our expectations color our perceptions. If you ever heard a record by Harry Nilsson called The Point! (Deluxe Packaging), I keep recalling, "You see what you want to see; and you hear what you want to hear." In much that same way, if we work to make our thinking positive, I believe we perceive the positive aspects of things happening around us and draw more positive things to us. I particularly was impressed when I watched the DVD how one scientist planned his day. I've been trying to work with this idea, thinking about being positive and loving with the people with whom I'm in contact, even praying for those where disagreements seem to persist. My experience is that when I do this, I have a better day!
I was also very impressed in The Urantia Book how it says that thoughts are things. We know although it's not able to be seen, air is a thing. For those of us living in the hurricane belt, we know air (wind) can be destructive. In the same way, I think this film illustrates the chemical counterparts of thought in the brain. Just like air can be positive and life-giving or destructive and life-taking, I believe the consequences of thought can also be similar. Yet few work to seriously address the quality of their thinking.
When I watch this film, I don't perceive it as having to believe everything in it before I can get something from it. Parts of it have relevance to me, particularly I'm in a bit different place in 2008 than I was when the film came out in 2004. So I recommend this film. I seem to get new things as I watch it over time. Enjoy!
Movie Review: Pretty Good Worth Watching
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed it very much. The scenarios with the deaf woman were really unnecessary but not so distracting to make it unwatchable. It was fun, thought provoking, etc. I would recommend it if you like this genre.Movie Review: what the bleep?
Summary: 5 Stars
I viewed this film in theatre at the time of its release and thoroughly enjoyed it. Life is so full of wonders and this was still another way of exploring another level of it. Another level yet the basis of our daily living we are unconscience of. Great film to view either alone or in group setting.