This week on Moviewallas we discuss:
– 22 Jump Street
– Jersey Boys
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It is easy to dismiss Underwater Dreams as yet another David vs. Golliath tale as it chronicles the epic story of four teenage boys from the desert who built an underwater robot from Home Depot parts and went up against engineering powerhouse MIT in a NASA contest and won.
However, there is way more to this documentary written and directed by Mary Mazzio than first meets the eye and narrated expertly by Michael Pena. Hidden behind the robotics and competition is an incredible story of immigration, aspiration and what happens when smart people are given opportunities that others often take for granted. It’s true, nerds come in different shapes, sizes, cultural backgrounds and ethnicities.
We’ve all heard the phrase “behind every successful man is a woman”, well behind every successful student is a passionate teacher and in this documentary, the boys are lucky enough to have two; Fredi Lajvardi and Allan Cameron, two energetic high school science teachers, who on a whim, enter their high school, a Title I school where most of the students live in poverty, into a sophisticated underwater robotics competition sponsored by NASA and the Office of Naval Research, among others.
Winning the competition was never a consideration and what comes across in this heart-warming tale is the enthusiasm and verve each of the four boys (Lorenzo Santillian, Oscar Vazquez, Luis Aranda and Cristian Arcega) plus their teachers bring to the project. Despite advice from oceanic engineers that their underwater robot (aptly named Stinky) would require expensive glass syntactic flotation foam, the group charge forward with all they could afford which was PVC pipe, some duct tape and oh yes some tampons!
This documentary is timely given the current state of immigration in the US where unprecedented numbers of illegal minors are bombarding the US for a chance at a better life. Although the documentary doesn’t advocate one way or another, what it does do cleverly is create empathy for smart kids who just want to make something of themselves and contribute to moving the field of robotics further; One can’t argue with that.
The most moving and haunting part of this movie for me is ten years on from the memorable win, how the lives of these four incredible boys has evolved and diversified and just how much these boys; sons of undocumented parents themselves are willing to give back to kids who they have inspired as a result of their actions.
Website: www.UnderwaterDreamsFilm.com
AMC Theatres Release: AMC will release the movie theatrically on July 11, 2014 at AMC Burbank in Los Angeles and AMC Empire 25 in New York. In addition, beginning July 19,
AMC will host community screenings free of charge for schools, non-profits and other communities whose members would be inspired and entertained by this movie. Requests for community screenings can be submitted via the film’s website: www.UnderwaterDreamsFilm.com or by email requests@50eggs.com.
Check Local Listings for viewing details
Heading to the Movies this 4th July weekend? Should you see Transformers or Begin Again? Find out in this episode of Moviewallas.
– Begin Again
– Transformers: Age of Extinction
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We’re playing catchup this week with reviews of:
– Million Dollar Arm
– Godzilla
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It’s time for Moviewallas! This week we review:
– The Fault in Our Stars
– A Million Ways to Die in the West
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I have been lucky enough to see one comet in my lifetime so far and fortunately it did not come with half of the drama that faces the group of eight friends at dinner in the movie Coherence.
On the night of an astronomical anomaly namely one Miller’s comet flying through the skies, eight friends at a dinner party experience a troubling chain of reality bending events. Part cerebral sci-fi and part relationship drama, Coherence is a tightly focused, intimately shot film whose tension intensely ratchets up as its numerous complex mysteries unfold.
There are many thing to like about this movie including the fact that this is an incredibly original idea. Like all of the best sic-fi movies, what is most enjoyable to watch is the depth of the characters and the relationships between them. Good writing ensures that we understand the meaningful history between this group of eight complete with conflicts and ex boyfriends/girlfriends which add spice to the movie as the tension builds and we try and make sense of exactly what is going on. The mystery unfolds slowly, posing interesting existential questions as it does so. This married with innovative editing as each scene cuts to black often creates horror-esque tension leaving you wondering just how everything will wrap up. When you do finally get to the end of the movie, it will leave you with many questions about your own life including
Some of the things that I enjoyed most about this movie were impressive around the dinner table scenes where the conversation seemed so natural and organic as it weaved and morphed that iI almost forgot I was watching a movie and watching a fly on the wall documentary instead. In addition, the way that group think is portrayed both when faced by a problem and also how people react under severe stress and pressure was well acted and directed.
Coherence is written and directed by James Ward Byrkit and stars Nicholas Brendon, Emily Foxler, Maury Sterling, Elizabeth Gracen, Alex Manugian (who conceived of the story), Lauren Maher, Hugo Armstrong and Lorene Scafaria.
Coherence will be in theaters beginning June 20th, check local listings for show times