Hello
everyone, you may call me TheCinemaChick.
I’m all about what’s hip, what’s cool and what’s new. So, let’s talk about what’s new in
theaters. Well, it’s also limited. There were two showings of this film and
tonight was the first. So that means
there is only one more chance to see this.
That’s right, your only other chance to see “One Life” is this Sunday at
7 PM at Harkins Theater. Now, you’re probably
wondering why you should see this movie.
Well, for one, it’s really, really, awesome. I’m not kidding. Visually, the entire thing is just
beautiful. Not only do you get to see a
bunch of adorable baby animals, you get to see where they live.
And the
documentary doesn’t just stay in one area.
It’s like a worldwide trip that goes from Florida to Africa and back up
to Canada. If that’s not enticing
enough, you have to take my word on all this.
The cinematography is to die for.
It’s like a high definition masterpiece.
While watching, I was amazed at how close the cameras could get to the
animals and still get an amazing shot.
Plus, the documentary was so bright and colorful. I never would have known there is such thing
as a strawberry poison frog if I hadn’t seen this. It’s tiny, bright red, climbs trees. Did you know it’s also smaller than a human
thumbnail?
Or…there’s
a frog in South America that can literally bounce of stones when it falls from
a great height. It’s called a stone
toad. I guess that should have been
obvious. It can’t hop, but I can climb
up mountains. When it encounters its
archenemy, the frog eating spider, it just tumbles down. What was really cool about it is that it
lives near a waterfall and it’s just like the falls from the Pixar movie “Up”.
I could
go on and on about each animal that was shown, but I shouldn’t. This is one of those cases when something is
so good, I dare not ruin it. Also, it’s
no one long drawn out thing. “One Life”
is almost like a series of short films.
With each species, there is a new story.
There’s no confusion as to whether you’re watching something about capuchin
monkeys or komodo dragons. And the
transition is seamless so you’re not taken away from the experience. Each location is written out in a small
subtitle so you always know where you are.
It’s noticeable but not thrown in your face.
Normally,
I’m not a fan of documentaries, but this one really got me. It was just a bunch of facts being thrown out
as you watched the film. It actually had
moments of humor, sadness, joy, fear…it ran the gamut of emotions. There were only ten people in my showing,
which is a little sad, but that means ten people got to enjoy it. I wish I had asked them what they thought,
but most of them hurried out, like normal people do at theaters. We were all laughing about the stag beetles
though. See, the male tries to find a
female by climbing a tree. He encounters
rivals but has to throw them off the branch in order to proceed. If the female rejects him, he throws her down
too.
There
are some moments that might be scary to little kids. Seeing an ostrich get taken down by three
cheetahs disturbed me a little. I also
got a little nauseated seeing a group of komodo dragons devour a water buffalo. It’s not graphic at all. The violence and gore is tasteful. For me it was just the fact that the dragons
killed a buffalo and I felt sad for it.
Then I realized I didn’t know a giant lizard could take down an animal
that huge.
I
usually need a few hours to soak something in before I review it. “One Life” made me want to go to the library
and learn more. There is so much
information packed into the 85 minute run time.
That’s really the only thing that bugs me. It was too short. I mean there was about 10,000 hours of
material shot, but they only used 85 minutes?
I wish it had been much longer.
Well, maybe not much…but still, there was room for more.
Having
Daniel Craig narrate the film was a very wise idea. His voice was very smooth and relaxing. He taught without sounding like he was lecturing. One again, I wish there was more of it.
As you
all know, I rarely see a film that leaves me speechless. And when I do, it usually means it was just
that bad. This is not the case. “One Life” is an amazing film that you can
take the whole family too.
Seriously! For me, I think about
my four and six year old nephews. If I
think they could see it, then it is suitable for all children. Not only is it visually stunning, it’s packed
full of cool information about animals and the planet. I would seriously see it again. I can’t because I’m going out of town for my
great aunt’s birthday, but you should.
The
ONLY other showing for “One Life” is this Sunday at 7 PM at Harkins
Theater. It’s located in Southlake, over
in the town center. It’s only 85
minutes, about an hour and twenty five minutes.
You could easily do dinner and a movie.
I
cannot recommend this film enough. I’ve
already got it on my best 13 of ’13 list.
It’s seriously that amazing. It’s
something you should not miss.
And if
that’s not convincing enough…there’s a baby ibex climbing a mountain in
it. You can’t say no to the baby ibex. There are birds that eat bones. Monkeys know how to crack nuts with rocks. The film even has a baby elephant stuck in
mud! Baby elephant, mud and Grandma
Elephant coming to the rescue equal total awesome-ness.
I’m
TheCinemaChick and I wish a very happy birthday to my great aunt.
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