I
Am Rebel/Killing Reagan/Sea Monsters: The Definitive
Guide (2016/National Geographic/Fox DVDs)
Picture:
B/B/C Sound: C/B/C Extras: D/A/D Main Programs: B/B/B+
I
Am Rebel
National
Geographic explores the radicals, the extreme of society and for
those who break the law or challenge it via 4 categories: hijacking
air planes, photos of violence and violent crime, psychedelic drugs
and computers and hackers. But in order to break the law, there
first has to be a law in I Am Rebel, exploring some of the
origins to what would be now considered as 'rebels' and perhaps even
illegal?
Most
people think hijacking airplanes originated with terrorism, but it
first started with civil rights when people were getting tired of
corrupt police and racism. Violent photos was at first a way for
criminals to become infamous, but eventually lead to the crack down
of crime, mobs and corrupt police. People think psychedelic drugs
started in the '60s with hippies, but it was first created for the
military in chemical warfare and WMDs. Hackers are feared for
stealing information and government and company secrets, but it lead
to the creation of modern day whistleblowers and now governments
hiring them (they rather them working for them than someone else).
A
lot of what is considered 'rebels' and 'rebellions' a lot of time
have humble origins. The abuse of anything or can cause destructive
and damage towards society. Ethics becomes only involved when there
is a political agenda or propaganda. More often, the abuse of any of
these things can be bad and cause trouble, but keep in mind it ALSO
created a moral ethics code, stop drug abuse and is a now a part of
Homeland Security. We have to ask, has it slow or advance the
sciences of these fields in the future? There will always be rebels,
whether they work for us or against us that will determine on how we
see things ...a wake up call? ...or a threat?
No
extras.
Killing
Reagan
Ronald
Reagan (Tim Matheson), barely after 2 months into his presidency, was
shot by an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr., but what let
up to the events of Ronald Reagan and John Hinckley? Reagan had just
won the presidency for the Republicans, but there were Americans who
was not happy with him ...was Hinckley (Kyle S. More) a result of
that? Even after almost dying, Reagan continued to face an uphill
battle against the political vultures that surrounded him and the
Cold War with the Russians in Killing Reagan.
Reagan
was also Republican who took the Presidency from Gerald Ford in
promise of change and improvement to the American economy, but many
Americans feared that that only applied to the wealthy (those who
earn more than $50,000 a year) and no aid for the poor. That all
change with the attempted assassination by John Hinckley on March 30,
1981 almost ended it all. After the attempt, it galvanized support
for Reagan and his administration, but who was John Hinckley? He
came from a wealthy family, had an education... but was he a product
of the system, a product of the wealthy class? He was lazy, spoiled
and had an obsession with a certain movie star actress and was a
stalker. Instead of looking for work, John Hinckley wanted glory,
fame and popularity through infamy to impress others, but was later
deemed criminally insane and psychologically unstable.
This
was more a retelling of the attempted Reagan Assassination than his
Presidency. It was a rare chance for filmmakers and director to make
this film while being able to talk with the doctors and people who
helped save Reagan's life and witnessed the incident. Many old stock
footage clips of Reagan are used and the film painted Reagan into a
martyr-like character. Extras include interviews with actors,
historical accuracy, behind the scenes and trailer.
Sea
Monsters: The Definitive Guide
Are
sea monsters real or imagined? National Geographic explores some of
the legends that have existed throughout time, from the kraken, to
the leviathan to the famous Lock Ness Monster. They take a look at
it's closest relative and examine if it was possible for a 'monster'
version could of existed.
For
centuries, sailors have claimed they have seen sea monsters and
monsters have even drag down ships and sailors to a watery grave.
Nat Geo examines a giant squid to see if there could have been some
larger man eating creature. Huge rotting corpses of unidentified sea
creature found on the beaches. And if the Nessy was no more than a
prank or optical illusion. When legends and stories become more real
than reality, people will see 'monsters'.
If
you like legends and sea monsters, National Geographic explores the
'theory' of if some of these 'monsters' could of existed. Of course,
there is very little to research if they are 'legends' people
continue to explore the theory and deep waters, perhaps one day one
of those creatures will come to the surface. No extras.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on all three releases are as
good as they can look, save Sea looking weak a little too
often, unfortunately. The lossy Dolby Digital on all three releases
are closer, all weaker than I would have liked (be careful of volume
switching), save Reagan, which sounds good.
-
Ricky Chiang
