It's
Better To Jump
(2014/Cinema Libre DVD)/Space
Voyages (2012 -
2013/Smithsonian Channel/Inception DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C/C+ Extras: C/D Main Programs: C/B
Here
a couple of new documentary releases of note...
It's
Better To Jump
(2014) has three directors and tells us the story of Akka, a land
that is now becoming slowly dragged into the Palestinian/Israeli
conflict with investors trying to move in and buy houses for insanely
high amounts of money to turn it into a tourist money machine. This
leads to a history lesson about how Israel was formed over Palestine
after WWII and how it was the native land for thousands of years
despite only being named palestine in 1918 under british rule when
the Ottoman Empire fell.
Then
we get what become a one-sided argument against Israel, America and
how they are the only force of wealth and power in the world pushing
Palestinians out of their native land. In a short, curt 73 minutes,
this ignores the trillions of dollars Arab nations have that could
easily go in and give them money and buy land if they wished as well
as the fact that other countries have power beside the U.S.,
amounting to a slanted, repetitious look at the situation with
internal contradictions (the wholesale abuse of women; two female
rappers are out to prove women can do what men do as if we did not
know) and ignores atrocities all around them that have nothing to do
with the U.S., Israel and the like.
I
learned some interesting things, but was also insulted more than a
few times in what turned out to be a confused, problematic propaganda
film that does more harm than good and cannot make a full-proof
logical argument about what it is showing.
Extras
include Bonus Interviews and a Original Theatrical Trailer.
Space
Voyages
(2012 - 2013) on the other hand is a 5 episode look at the NASA Space
Program, its innovations, highs, lows, future and the new companies
moving in to expand space flight, exploration and much more with
great film and video stock footage, new interviews, vintage footage
and more. Running 230 minutes, it does have some overlap that is
unavoidable with so many fine space documentary releases (including
iMAX) including many we have covered over the years.
This
is still well made and is worth your time, especially if you like
this subject. There are no extras, tough one show is counted as if
it were an extra, but the menu does not indicate that one.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image and lossy Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo on both releases can have their rough footage and Jump
has more new footage along with more aliasing errors and video flaws,
but its sound is worse with location audio issues and times the sound
is monophonic when it should not be. Be careful of volume levels and
switching in that case. Voyages
is more consistently Stereo.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
