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mcguirk193
Reviews
Swim Team (2016)
Moving Forward
An honest and direct portrayal of the magical moments one year for a team of swimmers and their parents. Day to day life as an autistic kid isn't easy so it's compelling to watch as the boys lose their cares while swimming and amaze their parents at how they excel in the pool. The film also deals with the boys' transition into adult life and the difficulties they face. But most of all, seeing the strength of the parents as they supported and encouraged their sons every step of the way was inspiring. Started watching this on TV one night and stayed up way later than I intended!
Spooks: I Spy Apocalypse (2003)
wow!
I have to agree with most of what "brucev13" said - this episode was very difficult to watch. (note: I happened on this episode, clicking through the TV channels, so I missed the first 15 minutes but then got completely drawn in by it....) And as I happened to be a civilian in New York City on 9/11 (although thankfully not anywhere near Ground Zero that day), I can say that the most frightening thing about that day was not knowing what was going on, not being able to reach those you cared about and feeling completely unable to do anything helpful. So although like "brucev13" said the loss of professionalism among the staff in the control center was shocking (compared to their behavior in other situations in the show), I actually thought it was pretty realistic. Most of them weren't able to actually DO anything that they were specialized in to directly work on figuring out the situation because they were trapped in the control center, which is why to me it was believable that some could be so irrational about taking great risks just to get out of there.
I believe that intelligence forces are skilled professionals, but also people just like any of us. Which is probably why they really do training exercises like the one dramatized to make sure that people are prepared. Also, just as a note - the two characters who were most extreme in their unprofessionalism were actually in on the secret, weren't they? So thinking back over the episode, they pretty much started every incident or egged on the others - the ones who didn't know, for the most part, stepped up well. (I really didn't expect them to actually build a working robot!)
Frontières (2001)
a compelling look from a different point of view
I happened upon the second half of "Frontieres" playing on TV and couldn't turn away. While the film clearly takes the part of advocate for the Africans trying desperately to reach Europe and their dreams of a better life, it doesn't preach, or sentimentalize their experience. The daily struggles and occasional joys of these characters are easily recognizable, humanizing people who are too often described in terms of statistics.
I definitely will be hunting down this film to see it from the beginning, but even from a partial viewing, I think it speaks strongly from a point of view that tends to get overlooked, at least here in the 'developed world'.