Weekend Dad & Daughter Documentary Time: An Inconvenient Truth

Movie watch time: 9/25/2011 afternoon

Dad's questions:

Q: How do you rate the movie? And why?

Vania: 10/10. It is so touching. You can actually feel that we need to do something about this.

Q: How do you think of global warming after watching the documentary? Is it a real issue or a fake topic?

Vania: It is a real issue. Global warming is a very emergent issue. It destroys the world.

Q: What shall we do to help control or eliminate the global warming?

Vania: Reduce energy usage. Start recycling. Maybe riding more bicycles.

Q: How do you feel about Al Gore after watching this movie?

Vania: I feel like he should be the president.

Q: What do you think about the political opponents to the global warming advocates such as Al Gore?

Vania: They are doing the bad jobs. They should be more serious about the issue of global warming.

Q: What is the shortcoming of the movie? Is there any material you wish the director might have included in the movie?

Vania: The movie is pretty clear that global warming is an important problem and we should do something about it. I cannot think of any shortcoming.

Daughter's questions:

Q: How do you rate this movie?

Dad: 10/10. This is a well-directed movie. It describes a very important issue and it has presented it very clear.

Q: How do you think of Al Gore after watching this movie?

Dad: Al Gore is a politician with great passion on some topic that is very important to all of us. I feel sorry of his failure in year 2000 election. And I believe that United States could be better under his leadership from 2001 to 2008 than under the leadership of President George W. Bush.

Weekend Dad & Daughter Documentary Time: The War Room

Movie watch time: 9/17/2011 afternoon

Dad's questions:

Q: How do you feel of this movie?

Vania: I am confused. I have no idea what the movie talks about. I do not know the background and the movie does not provide enough explanation.

Q: What is your rating of the movie?

Vania: 1/10. Because I totally lost.

Q: Do you like politics?

Vania: I really do not know.

Q: How do you think of the political movies?

Vania: I do not know. I think I am not interested in politics.

Daughter's questions:

Q: How is your rating of the movie? And why?

Dad: 7/10. The movie tells me much I do not know before. It is informative. But I also got somehow lost in the middle. I think I am quite naive to American politics too. But I would like to learn more about it.

Weekend Dad & Daughter Documentary Time: Spellbound

Film watch time: 9/10/2011 afternoon

Dad's questions:

Q: Which speller in the movie does you like the most?

Vania: Nupur, the ultimate winner.

Q: Why do you like her the most?

Vania: She is very dedicate, has a lot of passion, and works hard.

Q: Do you have some other comments on the other kids in the movie?

Vania: It looks like Neil was with the least passion. His parents wanted him to do so. Besides, Harry was very much talkative.

Q: Do you want to attend the spelling bee contest after watching the movie? And why?

Vania: No. Because I feel the contest is very scary after watching the movie.

Q: But all contests must be scary. Are you willing to attend some other contests?

Vania: Yes. I think I may be better in the other contests.

Q: What is the most important thing you learned from the movie?

Vania: To work hard and have a lot of passion.

Q: What is your rating of the movie?

Vania: 10/10. Very good. I feel the dedication, the passion of these attendants except Neil.

Q: If you were the director, might you edit the movie better?

Vania: No. The director had done a perfect job.


Daughter's questions:

Q: How do you like the movie? And why?

Dad: The movie is terrific. I agree to give it 10/10. The movie is engaged with passion and dedication. I, even as a parent, feel the excitement of participating such a great event.

Q: Who is your favorite kid?

Dad: April is my favorite kid. April was with great passion on spelling. She is the one who was with the greatest passion about the contest among the eight. She was willing to trade anything for her time of spelling. Vania, I want you to have such a passion on the subject you like the most. You will have a very much joyful life for sure once you could be with such a passion in your life.

Q: Who is your least favorite kid?

Dad: This question is a tough because in general I like them all. But if you insist, regretfully I have to say it is Neil. Among the eight kids, Neil was the one who was likely passive. Many times it looks like that his father and mother were more passionate than himself of the contest. Although it must be unfair to him since he must be passionate for otherwise he could not win the regional championship, his passion of the contest was weaker when comparing it to the other seven kids in the movie.

Weekend Dad & Daughter Documentary Time: The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl

Movie watch time: 9/5/2011 afternoon

Dad's questions

Q: What are you going to say about Leni?

Vania: She is a great lady with successful career.

Q: Why do you say her career is successful by knowing that she was forced to be out of her career after the second world war?

Vania: She had already made great films. Moreover, she became a great photographer afterward. Even after her 70s, she started shooting pictures under the sea. She had a blossom life.

Q: Was Leni bad because of her relationship to the Nazi party?

Vania: It is hard to say. Few people can resist the pressure from Hitler at the time, don't they?

Q: what is your rating of the movie?

Vania: 10/10

Q: Wow, you think the documentary is perfect! Why is the movie so impressive?

Vania: The director collected much information that tells the entire life of a great lady. The film is well paced in its story. Very impressive.


Daughter's questions

Q: How do you feel about the movie?

Dad: I only give it 7/10 because I felt the director himself did not have a focused theme in the movie. It is a well-written narrative, but without the soul. Leni did have a great life, and it was both wonderful and horrible. Unfortunately, however, the director had not been able to deliver this theme to me, at least.

Weekend Dad & Daughter Documentary Time: Fahrenheit 9/11

Movie watch Time: 9/3/2011 night

Dad's questions:

Q: What is your rating of the film?

Vania: 9/10

Q: What is the most impressive part of the film?

Vania: Learned a lot of facts that I have never heard before

Q: What is the most disappointed part of the film?

Vania: the director wants us to hate President George Bush

Q: What have you learned from the movie?

Vania:

1) War of Iraq is for business and oil
2) I feel George W. Bush might have lied to many of us about the war.
3) Everyone was terrified of terrorism

Q: What do you want to learn but the documentary does not include?

Vania: Who is indeed responsible for 9/11?

Q: If you were the director, how would you have developed a different plot from the director Micheal Moore?

Vania: I want to treat President Bush a little bit fairer. I want to have some positive reviews about Bush in my film.


Daughter's questions:

Q: How do you like this movie?

Dad: I like it. I think the movie tells us many things we did not know originally. The movie certainly has its own bias. But it shows the greatness of United States as a nation---the right of free speech, which is critical to every human being.

I do not like wars and I do not like the war of Iraq in particular. But I do not agree to the director in the movie who declared the total innocence of Iraq with the terrorism. Unquestionably Saddam Hussein is a bad guy and he had many connections to the global terrorists. On the other hand, however, does it give us enough reason to invade the nation and kill so many civilians?

Mama's comment: the spread of fear was exaggerated in the movie. There are no enough evidences in the movie showing that the Bush administration had intentionally made the circumstance of fear in order for their "evil" plan. Michael Moore had created a great plot of storytelling. But it is insufficient to the conclusion of the documentary.

Q: what is your rating?

Dad: 7.5/10. Superior storytelling. But it is significantly biased in its theme.