"Cool It"

I'm a big Ondi Timoner fan (see "We Live in Public" post) and I think her most recent documentary, "Cool It," looks absolutely fascinating. The trailer basically speaks for itself but I also think that part of my intrigue stems from my recent viewing (and love) of "Gasland". I realize that our planet is fragile and I believe that global warming/climate change exists, but I, too, can't help but be skeptical of the scare tactics imbued upon the masses.

Additionally, the trailer mentions the film "An Inconvenient Truth" and some of its erroneous claims. Interestingly, the director, Davis Guggenheim, also directed "Waiting for Superman" which also received some flack for its occasional purported instances of mendacity. How truthful are documentaries?

"The Elephant in the Living Room"

I am absolutely stunned right now; the way that certain things find us just amazes me. Today when I got home from work, I decided to take a walk. I took my ipod and queued up episode #12 of a podcast titled "The Documentary Blog Podcast." On this particular episode one of the guests is documentary filmmaker Michael Webber. My ears perked up when he said that he grew up between Cincinnati and Dayton. My ears perked up even more when he said that his most recently released film stems from the experiences of a police officer in the Dayton area. The tertiary perking of the ears came when Webber began discussing the premise of his film: exotic animals living in extremely domesticated situations--one of the locations being Dayton, Ohio. Needless to say, this really hit home for me. After listening to this podcast, I'm slightly terrified of what could be behind my neighbor's door but I'm also riveted by the notion of this film. Check out the trailer and if you get a chance, download the podcast.

I also thought it was strange/sad/disappointing that this film was not scheduled to play at either of the local independent theaters in Dayton. Sigh.