Movie Wrap Up

I saw 2 movies on the big screen this week:

Batman: The Dark Knight - I really enjoyed it. I saw it on an IMAX screen, right up close and that made it all the more engrossing. I would highly recommend it, there's been a shift from the original campy comic book feel from the movies with Micheal Keaton to a dark plot driven and action driven story about heroism and the baser mentality of people. I thought Heath Ledger was an awesome Joker, really creepy!

FLOW (For Love of Water) - A documentary on the world water crisis. Visiting numerous towns and villages around the globe we were shown how water is becoming a commodity that is increasingly controlled by large multinationals who aim to profitize the water supply/distribution in regions were people can't afford the water and will continue drinking water from polluted rivers and streams. Other issues are the displacement of people with dam development and the other problems associated with dams - algal growth and methane production (methane is a greenhouse gas). Closer to home, Nestle, CocaCola, Pepsi who sell bottled water often go into a community and develop a large well that draws so much water from the aquifer that streams dry up, sink holes form, and other people's wells dry up.

This movie was shown at the Hollywood Theater as a benefit for Engineers Without Borders. I haven't heard how much money it brought in for projects, but the theater was full and a bunch of raffle tickets were sold - so I'm sure the goal was acheived.