National Geographic - Inside Hurricane Katrina (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Aired in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this National Geograph program does an exceptional job of detailing the disaster, both natural and man-made, that overcame the city of New Orleans. Unfortunately, it also does an extremely poor job of describing the disaster that struck south Mississippi.
In terms of natural disaster, New Orleans was actually on the weaker western side of the storm. It took a glancing rather than a direct blow from Hurricane Katrina, a fact that is never really noted by this documentary. If New Orleans "dodged the bullet" in terms of natural disaster, however, it was not so fortunate in terms of man-made disaster. The levee system, long neglected by state and federal officals, failed under the weight of water the storm piled against it. Situated below sea level, New Orleans began to fill water like a great bowl.
INSIDE HURRICANE KATRINA does an excellent job of presenting the details of both the levee failure and the chaotic local, state, and federal response, a response that effectively made a very bad situation incredibly worse. Communications failures, sloppy planning, and arrogant attitudes probably cost more lives in New Orleans than the hurricane itself; the portrait is disturbing, to say the least, and you are left with a great desire to give everyone from mayor to president a good swift kick in the pants.
As previously noted, however, INSIDE KATRINA largely fails in its consideration of the Mississippi gulf coast, which was in the northeast and strongest quadrant of the storm. Hurricane Katrina would unleash a storm surge of thirty feet that caused more than 90 percent of all shorefront structures, no matter how well built, to fail; large tracts of metropolitan districts flooded while relentless winds and hurricane-spawned tornados devastated inland areas, and hurricane force winds were felt as far inland as the state capital of Jackson.
Just as New Orleans and southeastern Louisiana endured a largely incompetent first-response from state and federal teams, so too did Mississippi, where FEMA authorities feared rioting due to their own poor planning in everything from food supplies to emergency housing (and indeed there was some rioting in inland cities, where citizens were largely unprepared for Katrina's far-reaching impact); to Mississippi's credit, however, these failures were not further complicated by the political bickering that tended to characterize events in Louisiana.
If Mississippi receives little attention from this documentary, Alabama receives still less--even though Mobile, one of the gulf's major port cities, experienced some of the worst flooding in its history. Simply put, Hurricane Katrina was too large in scope for a documentary running slightly less than two hours. The south Mississippi television station WLOX has created a similar documentary that focuses on the Mississippi coast. Titled KATRINA: SOUTH MISSISSIPPI'S STORY, the DVD includes a two-hour documentary as well as four hours of extended footage; at present, however, it is available only through WLOX itself. Those interested in hurricanes in general or Hurricane Katrina in particular would do well to seek it out as a companion to this National Geographic production.
Gary Taylor, Amazon Reviewer
And Resident of Biloxi, Mississippi
In Memory of James and Shamsi Hyre, killed in Hurricane Katrina
29 August 2005

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From the creators of critically acclaimed Inside 9/11 comes another powerful journalistic account, Inside Hurricane Katrina. Go beyond the round-the-clock news coverage for a comprehensive look behind the devastation caused by nature's fury and human error. How did this happen? Can it happen again? Why weren't emergency personnel fully ready to respond to a real disaster? Using comprehensive analysis of events, hours of government audio tapes, and personal interviews, National Geographic takes viewers into the eye of Katrina to uncover the decisions and circumstances that determined the fate of the Gulf residents.

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Feast Of All Saints (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)i [tried] to read this book, but couldn't get past the first 250 pages or so. while it was fascinating to read and i found the characters intriguing, i didn't have the TIME to sit down and read it through: the pacing was entirely too slow. so, i put it down and promised myself to 'come back to it,' wishing SOMEONE would adapt it to film so that i could have time for the actual STORY.
i was thrilled when i discovered this dvd at the local blockbuster.
the film, which outlines the lives of one french-creole-haitian family in louisiana who--by a series of questionable and irreversible decisions made through generations--enjoyed the privilege of being part of the 18,000-strong community of those both black and free in early-1800's louisiana, is paced WONDERFULLY.
i found that the film adaptation was true to what i'd read in the book and the characters, except for anna bella who i thought would look more african, were just as i had imagined them in my mind. this is def. the best book-to-film I'VE ever seen. the movie was beautiful to look at and of altogether intriguing subject matter. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. on the contrary, because it was a made-for-tv movie, i was expecting quality far LESS than that which i actually saw. the relationships between the characters were believable, as was the plot of the film. it's about 3 1/2 to 4 hours long, but it certainly didn't feel that way. in fact, i was disappointed when it ended.
the acting was great (the accents, less so). and my goodness, the cast read like a who's who in black hollywood. forest whitaker, pam grier, jasmine guy, ruby dee, ozzie davis, james earl jones, eartha kitt, goodness...the list goes on. however, those that were newer to me, such as the films protagonist marcelle (robert richard) did as well--sometimes better--than the veterans.
i love historical movies, especially those about wwii and america in the 1800s. this is the best movie of the latter category i've ever seen. it neither over-dramatizes or under-dramatizes the situation of the people it depicts (which is more than what u can say for classics such as 'gone with the wind').
i'd recommend this one to anyone.

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Anne Rice’s The Feast of All Saints is a tale set in 1840’s New Orleans about "free people of color", who formed their own class at a time when the predominant role of blacks in society was as slaves. The film focuses on the ordeal of one young man named Marcel Ste. Marie (Ri’chard), who searches for the truth about his heritage. As he finds his individual path into the future, Marcel is fully aware that he is a child of African and European descent, but his story is uniquely American.

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Steven Seagal Lawman: The Complete Season One (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Tonight I watched my first two episodes of Steven Seagal Lawman and I am hooked. Let me tell you what first grabbed me: Seagal is a REAL person. He has no fluff, no (apparent) plastic surgery, no entourage, and no arrogance. He's a real man, doing a tough job with a fair amount of (well-deserved) celebrity attached to his name. Watching Seagal go through the paces with his deputies is fulfilling and enjoyable, and you feel like you can connect with him.
The second fun part of the show for me is when the suspects recognize him. In one traffic stop in tonight's episode, the two suspects are drunk. The driver says to Steven as he is questioning him, "YOu remind me of Steven Seagal." Steven keeps talking, and the the driver says to his friend, "Doesn't he look just like Steven Seagal?" And then Steven says, "Yeah, I get that a lot." Then he goes back into explaining why they shouldn't drink and drive and what they need to do next. It just adds a little fun to your regular 'COPs' Type program.
And thirdly, Seagal is working in Jefferson Parrish, New Orleans so they cover a lot of ground devastated by Katrina. Seagal and his men were there during the clean-up and have first-hand knowledge to the rebuilding of the areas affected. And they care -- they really care. No fake speeches, just real caring.
Seagal has been a cop for 20 years, and only now is he making it public. He has the skills and his notoriety can be used to bring attention to this area that needs a helping hand and your prayers.
I recommend this program whole-heartedly.
Ellen C Maze, author
A Vampire Tale for the Discerning Reader

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Steven Seagal's movies have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. An expert martial artist with a 7th-degree black belt in aikido, he ranks among the film industry s greatest action stars. But Seagal isn t just an action hero in the movies. For almost 20 years, he has been working as a fully commissioned deputy with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in Louisiana where, in addition to going out on patrol, the expert marksman works with the SWAT team and instructs Jefferson Parish officers in firearms and hand-to-hand combat. Get in on the action as Steven Seagal Lawman chronicles Seagals extraordinary life in law enforcement, riding shotgun as he and his hand-selected team of deputies respond to crimes-in-progress. Then, follow Seagal off-duty as he pursues his many ventures including musical performances and philanthropic efforts in Jefferson Parish and New Orleans.

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