Word: missions
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...feelings of self-doubt and shame linger. But rather than centering on ethnic identity this time, The Eternal Smile's trilogy straddles the line between reality and fantasy. In its opening story, "Duncan's Kingdom" (previously published in comic-book form in 1999), a knight embarks on a dangerous mission in order to win the hand of his beloved princess, but along the way gets distracted - in a send-up of the grail quest - by the hunt for something called Snappy Cola. The second story, "Gran'pa Greenbax and the Eternal Smile," focuses on a miserly frog who must confront...
...What They're Unplugging in Cuba: The Obama Administration has taken down a 5-ft.-high (1.5 m) electronic news ticker, installed under President George W. Bush at a low point in diplomatic relations, from the windows of the American mission in Havana. The sign, used to annoy Cuban officials with pro-democracy messages, had been blocked by Fidel Castro with massive black flags. According to American University professor Robert A. Pastor, the act of goodwill "has permitted both sides to act like mature adults...
...culture. As a young man, he captured and trained Flipper--or rather, the five dolphins that played that beloved cetacean. He became a passionate opponent of keeping dolphins in captivity after the death of one of the Flippers, a bottlenose named Kathy. Now he's a crusader on a mission: In a small, isolated cove in Taiji, Japan, where O'Barry has become a part-time resident (and pest), thousands of dolphins are being trapped and slaughtered every year. Since 2003, O'Barry has been desperately trying to expose and stop this legal but secretive practice...
...George Clooney role. (He's got the tan and the big white teeth.) There's time-lapse photography, footage shot on infrared film and some nail-biting moments that are milked for melodrama. The Cove is slick and smart and, in its real-life urgency, puts Hollywood capers like Mission: Impossible to shame...
...with its lyrics about swimming like dolphins and the line "We can be heroes just for one day," it is an apt choice. There's an element of self-aggrandizement--we sense the filmmakers consider themselves heroes already. I wouldn't argue against that. This is a philanthropic mission, and Psihoyos and his team get their heartbreaking work done. You just hope the hint of boastfulness doesn't dilute the message, because when you're mopping up your tears after The Cove, you want this film to make a difference...