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fnordboy wrote: What a lot of people don't seem to realize is that this guy barely ate meat before he started doing this, he also drastically changed his exercise routine when he started this. Instead of walking like he normally does he drove everywhere. He stopped going out as much as he did too. He did this because he felt it made him closer to the average American and McDonalds consumer. Of course this is going to destroy his body. I think it has little to do with the food and more to do with the drastic change in his diet and routine.

I can see your point; I still want to see the film but I'm not going to take it as conclusive proof that McDonalds destroyed his body, and never was. Like you say, there were too many other variables kicked in there to blame the WHOLE thing on McDonalds.
I wasn't aware that he was practically a vegetarian prior to starting this, nor that he was a particularly active individual.

I have my personal feelings on McDonalds; as far as I'm concerned it's the corporate devil (read 'Fast Food Nation'), and I never ever buy from McDonalds, or any other of those junk food outlets. So, it's entirely possible that my view of McDonalds makes me want to believe the assertions in this film. That said, I'll approach it like I try to approach everything; with an open mind.

fnordboy wrote: As an answer to this "documentary" there was a woman who set out to losing weight with eating mcdonalds and did lose 10 or so pounds. I am trying to find the article but am having no luck at the moment.

If you find it I'd like to see it Although, I'm not entirely sure the maker of Supersize Me is particularly concerned with weight as the main issue; more a malnutrition argument...? If I ate one mcdonalds burger per day I'd lose weight, but I'd be lethargic, undernourished etc etc. If I eat fruit, vegetables and pasta, bread, and a small amount of meat, I'd lose weight and be healthy.

I don't know about your 'if you ate one thing for 30 days...' etc. I mean, mcdonalds does have more than one thing on its menu. Eggs, Muffins, Pancakes, 'salad' in the burger buns, the buns themselves, sauces, fries, chicken, fish, beef, veggie burgers etc. That's not like you're eating only meat for 30 days; at first glance of any mcdonalds menu there's alot of choice. Anyway, this is going OT. If and when I see the film maybe I'll start another topic on its contents somewhere.

That's part of the flaw in the argument - he didn't have any of the salads or slightly healthier options on the menu. He was ordering Big Mac combos and any idiot knows that eating that kind of food all day every day is not good for anyone. One person from the Australian McDonald's corporation said that he (the McDonald's guy, not the filmmaker) is of Italian origin but he can't eat spaghetti bolognese every day either. I understand the filmmaker's point, but I don't necessarily agree with the way he went about trying to make it. I am interested in seeing the movie, but I will probably just wait until it's out on DVD.

As for McDonald's changing their Super Size thing - at the McDonald's near my workplace, they have downsized everything but they still charge the same price. In other words, the container that they used to use for the $1 regular fries is now the container for the large fries. They still have the value menu $1 fries but they serve them in the kid sized paper bag container. All they have done is change the containers without lowering the prices. I can see how that will get people to eat healthy - charge more!



A related pet peeve - remember when sizes were small, medium, and large? Now they are called regular, large, and extra large/super size. Marketing, man.

candygirl wrote:That's part of the flaw in the argument - he didn't have any of the salads or slightly healthier options on the menu.

Ah - I didn't realise that.

Candygirl wrote: A related pet peeve - remember when sizes were small, medium, and large? Now they are called regular, large, and extra large/super size. Marketing, man.

Man, you and I have lots of the same pet peeves... only the other day I was in Soho and ordered a 'small' coffee. The guy says, 'you want regular?', so I'm like 'no, small....' turns out 'regular' and 'small' are the same thing. Bring back the days of the more descriptive 'small, medium and large', I say. Boy am I getting old. Bring out the cardigan and carpet slippers.

I am so excited for Before Sunset!!!

Has anybody seen Coffee and Cigarettes? I've read interesting reviews of it, but it seems like it might either be really good, or really bad.

Jody Barsch* wrote:I am so excited for Before Sunset!!!

Has anybody seen Coffee and Cigarettes? I've read interesting reviews of it, but it seems like it might either be really good, or really bad.

Before Sunset I am somewhat excited about. It can go either way IMO. And they got so old looking

Coffee and Cigarettes I am really wanting to see. Its Jim Jarmusch so it can't be bad IMO. Plus Tom Waits Any movie with Tom Waits is good IMO.

Both movies I am waiting for DVD though, I don't go to the movies that much anymore.

Hey all,

Well I have seen Fahrenheit 9-11 twice now; once in Vegas and once here. I have some thoughts. I liked it. For those of you with access to the European press most of what shows in not news to you. He does a good job though in creating a narrative in which he puts things together.

Some things I didn't know:
[spoiler] Moore points out that during the inaugural Bush's motorcade was egged and due to the protests he was the first President in a long time not walk along Pennslyvania avenue during the inauguration.

More interesing (no pun intended) was the scene at the very beginning where democratic members of the House tried to lodge protests against the election results in the Sentate. To have their complaints entered into record they had to have at least one (presumeable Democratic) Senator to co-sign. Not one Senator did. You see a long parade of mostly African American Congress people trying to lodge their complaints only to be ruled out of order.

Damn corporate media, I never heard about either of these incidents not even from normally trusty NPR.
[/spoiler]

Obviously Bush & crew do no come out in a flattering light. I was extremely satisifed to see how horrible the American "mainstream media" (abc, cbs, nbc) were made out. Moore showed how totally biased they were during the lead up to the War in Iraq.

More than anything I found this film to be extremely moving. Moving to see the real grief of a mother who has lost her son to the war in Iraq. Moving also to see how the poorest of Americans are most often the ones in uniform fighting and dying so that most other Americans don't have to.

Will this film change anything? Don't know. This film is a powerful one and I am glad that it is enjoying the box office success it has received thus far.

-LanceMan

Jody Barsch* wrote:I am so excited for Before Sunset!!!

It was wonderful. I loved it.

I went to see Farenheit 9/11 this weekend - it was pretty much as expected, though harder to watch than I thought it would be (in terms of a few of the more violent scenes). Moore was very successful in focussing on the oft-ignored individual human tragedies, which the mainstream media glosses quite nicely over.

[spoiler]Also quite successful were his interviews with the troops on the ground, and one particular scene showing them raiding an iraqi house in the middle of the night and removing one of the young men. It was clear the troops were just trying to do their jobs, but it was just as clear the terrifying ordeal it was for the family members in the house. Imagine the intimidation of 6 or 7 fully suited up troops breaking down your door in the middle of the night and taking away your son without telling you where he was going or what the charges were. See Moore's film, and you won't have to imagine.[/spoiler]

That said, I knew most of the facts in the film already; [spoiler]the stuff about Bush's inaugural walk was covered here; as were the objections to his 'appointment' made in Congress. [/spoiler] What the film did particularly well was remind me of stuff I knew, but had forgotten about, like major neworks calling Florida for Gore, and then changing their mind once Bush's cousin made the Fox decision to call it for Bush.

I thought the film achieved its Bush-hating message very well, and succeeded in making him look a puny clueless ignorant wimp. I honestly don't think the facts of the film are questionable - Moore does put his opinions into the voice-over, but it's pretty clear that they're opinions rather than fact at that point - Like I say, the facts in the film are ones that I'd already heard from other sources... so I'm pretty trusting of this film. It's pretty hard to be apathetic after watching it, that's for sure.

Just got back from The Terminal: very good! It's funny and uplifting, but without coming off as syrupy or cliched. Of course Hanks is almost a sure thing these days, but there were some fine supporting roles as well. In a way it is an update of the old American success story: a poor immigrant arrives in a strange, busy land with a couple of bags and a few words of English, but he manages not only to survive but to thrive. It's nice to see that spirit is still around.

Highly recommended.

Nostradamus wrote:Just got back from The Terminal: very good! It's funny and uplifting, but without coming off as syrupy or cliched. Of course Hanks is almost a sure thing these days, but there were some fine supporting roles as well. In a way it is an update of the old American success story: a poor immigrant arrives in a strange, busy land with a couple of bags and a few words of English, but he manages not only to survive but to thrive. It's nice to see that spirit is still around.

Highly recommended.

Really??? I thought it was seriously one of the worst movies I've seen, not as bad as Day After Tomorrow of course. That was really was the most excrutiating movie experience I've had in years.

Just saw Coffee and Cigarettes - very good and very funny. While some of the stories were almost painful to watch, during others we couldn't breathe we were laughing so hard (especially during the last one!). The story with Wu Tang and Bill Murray is awesome!


Okay, the one good thing in the Terminal that I liked was Kumar, I LOVE LOVE Kumar!

Movies, movies everywhere...

I saw Control Room. Very, very good. I didn't realize how smart the folks at Al Jazeera are. [spoiler] Apparently many are former BBC journalists.[/spoiler] Particulary moving was the scene when one of the Al Jazeera reporters was killed by American fire during April 2003.

I saw I, Robot. I thought it was pretty good, not spectacular, but good nonetheless. Will Smith, movie, summer, twizzlers, all the basics were covered.

-LanceMan

lance wrote:twizzlers, all the basics were covered.

That made me smile!

I saw The Notebook (I read the book), Anchorman, and I, Robot within the last week. I enjoyed them all. I wasn't sure if I would like I, Robot, but it was entertaining. I am looking forward to The Bourne Supremacy and The Village.

Megs wrote:I saw The Notebook (I read the book), Anchorman, and I, Robot within the last week. I enjoyed them all. I wasn't sure if I would like I, Robot, but it was entertaining. I am looking forward to The Bourne Supremacy and The Village.

I would be more interested in I, Robot if it wasn't for Will Smith. I really can't stand him. Plus from the commercials I have seen the effects just look cheesy. Maybe on the big screen they work better, but just didn't do anything for me otherwise. I will eventually see it just because I am an Alex Proyas fan. Dark City is one of my favorite movies, and The Crow was decent too.

Bourne Supremacy I have no desire to see whatsoever.