Posts Tagged ‘climate change’

CTV NEWS AT 11:30: MORE MOVIES AND TV SHOWS TO STREAM THIS WEEKEND!

Richard speaks to “CTV News at 11:30” anchor Andria Case about movies on VOD and in theatres to watch this weekend including “The Secrets We Keep” (digital and on-demand), “I Am Greta” (in theatres) and “Totally Under Control” (Digital and on-demand).

Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 19:34)

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

Richard sits in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to theatres, VOD and streaming services including “The Secrets We Keep” (digital and on-demand), “Vampires vs. the Bronx” (Netflix), “I Am Greta” (in theatres) and “Totally Under Control” (Digital and on-demand).

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

I AM GRETA: 2 ½ STARS. “verité depiction of Thunberg’s methods and message.”

Swedish filmmaker Nathan Grossman has been documenting teen activist Greta Thunberg since before she became a worldwide cause célèbre. From her early protests encouraging a “School Strike for the Climate” to her famous journey across the Atlantic Ocean en route to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City, Grossman was there assembling the footage that became “I Am Greta,” a new documentary now playing in theatres.

Charting the course of the polarizing eco warrior’s life and career in two flashpoint years, 2018 and 2019, Grossman paints a glossy but ultimately superficial portrait. His unprecedented access to his subject allows for a lively look at Thunberg’s concerns about climate change, punctuated by her fiery addresses to world leaders.

The incendiary headline making speeches are all represented here—”You lied to us,” she admonishes London’s Parliament. “You gave us false hope.”—and her, “We haven’t taken to the streets for you to take selfies with us and tell us you admire what we do,” dismissal of bandwagon jumping celebs is as zingy a barb as we’re likely to hear from a public figure but as exciting as those public moments are Grossman never gets really up close and personal with his subject.

In part it’s understandable. Thunberg is a public figure who has been open about her activism and Asperger syndrome, which she describes as a superpower that allows her to cut through the information overload of her cause and focus on her mission, but she’s also a young woman thrust into the glare of a judgmental press and public. She isn’t obligated to reveal her personal life but the title “I Am Greta” promises insight that never appears.

Still, as a verité depiction of a time when the world was focused on Thunberg’s methods and important message, “I Am Greta” is sure to interest her supporters.

CTV NEWS AT 11:30: MOVIES AND TV TO STREAM DURING THE PANDEMIC.

Richard speaks to “CTV News at 11:30” anchor Andria Case about television and movies to watch during the pandemic including some new movies on VOD including darkly comedic revenge story “Judy and Punch,” the home invasion “thriller” “Survive the Night” and the eco doc “2040.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CTV NEWSCHANNEL: NEW MOVIES COMING TO VOD AND STREAMING SERVICES!

Richard and CTV NewsChannel anchor Andrea Bain talk about the latest movies coming to VOD and streaming services, including the darkly comedic revenge story “Judy and Punch,” the Hitchschlockian thrills of “Last Moment of Clarity,” a pair of home invasion movies, “Survive the Night” and “Becky” and the eco doc “2040.”

Watch the whole thing HERE!

CFRA IN OTTAWA: THE BILL CARROLL MORNING SHOW MOVIE REVIEWS!

Richard sits in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk the new movies coming to VOD and streaming services including the darkly comedic revenge story “Judy and Punch,” the Hitchschlockian thrills of “Last Moment of Clarity,” a pair of home invasion movies, “Survive the Night” and “Becky” and the eco doc “2040.”

Listen to the whole thing HERE!

2040: 3 ½ STARS. “shows the world of possibilities that exist on the planet.”

Many parents wonder what kind of world their children will inherit. The question played on filmmaker Damon Gameau’s mind so he did a deep dive. The result is “2040,” a relentlessly upbeat documentary about what a sustainable, environmentally aware world would look like in twenty years when his daughter Velvet will be 25 years old.

Crew in tow, Gameau heads off for a worldwide trip to study how various countries are utilizing already existing technology to combat climate change. But instead of heading out with a head full of thunder, he brings a tone we don’t often hear in the enviro discussion, optimism.

Using inventive talking head interviews mixed with cute kids, animation, humour and CGI recreations, he’s looking for answers to difficult questions surrounding the mass assembly of cars, the over-harvesting of land, beef production and other hot button topics. An exercise in what he calls, “fact-based dreaming,” the idea is simple, What would happen if we used already existing technologies and systems to improve the planet? It’s a question designed to inspire, not alarm the viewer. He uses real life examples of these technologies at work—i.e., a micro-grid solar-power sharing in Bangladesh—to show the world of possibilities that exist on the planet.

Gameau is an entertaining host in the mold of Michael Moore, a documentarian who is also part comedian. He’s the spoonful of sugar that keeps the movie’s scientific information at eye level. He’s an amiable presence, although an erotic yoga scene feels out of place and even inappropriate.

“2040” is clear, simple and uplifting in its message and even supplies a hopeful, dramatized glimpse at what the world could look like when Velvet (played by Eva Lazzaro) is an adult. That Utopian vision of the future is all the more interesting in that it is based in technologies and systems that already exist.