Film Illiterate, wherein the proprietor records movies seen, and sporadic progress through assorted lists of the "best". Originally started after regretfully renting something forgettable for the third time. I've forgotten what, but never again! A tedious endeavour since 2005. Hello. 🙂
Low Caloric
Dissatisfying, propagandist documentary about Morgan Spurlock's experiment: eat nothing but McDonald's for 30 days, and see what happens.
It's not a very good experiment. Not only isn't it clear exactly what he's trying to prove, his methodology is so flawed that he couldn't do so anyway. He eats far too much, for example, forcing himself to finish meals far past the point at which he is actually full, so it's difficult to determine how much his weight gain and deteriorating health are due to poor nutrition and how much is due to compulsive over-eating. It'd be scarcely less healthy if he were eating fresh fruit. Moreover, he refuses to make the best dietary choices available to him -- McDonald's does serve water; he drinks half-gallon cokes.
I'll refrain from complaining more about that, though, because there's much more to the film; Spurlock's experiment is just the unifying strand. There are sections on the obesity epidemic, the nutritional value (and lack thereof) of fast food, food lobbyists in Washington, advertising aimed at children, school lunches, and a crazy man who eats more than 700 Big Macs a year.
It's all interesting -- individually. The problem is that, as a whole, it's a shambling mess. If the focus is the poor nutrition of McDonald's food, why no attempt to get blood tests from crazy Big Mac man? (He was thin; was he healthy?) There's a segment on stomach stapling: why no discussion with some less blatantly biased experts on the downsides? Why not follow through the investigation on advertising and brand imprinting on children? I'm sure the research is there.
But, no. There's no depth and no cohesion, just a bunch of disconnected, flashy gestures in the general direction of "McDonald's = Bad". It's pointless, stupid propaganda: tead Fast Food Nation instead. Or, hell, go for a run. Burn some calories...