Review: Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Reviews

Sharkwater

The horrors of the "shark-fin mafia"

By BRETT MICHEL | October 31, 2007

2.5 Stars

MISUNDERSTOOD: Gentle giants in glorious high-definition.

Hubert Sauper’s cautionary documentary Darwin’s Nightmare (2004) dealt with ecological disaster as a direct result of globalization. Canadian biologist Rob Stewart would like to expose the horrors perpetrated by the “shark-fin mafia” and the various governments making billions from illegal shark poaching that has reduced the sea’s shark population by 90 percent. With media depictions of these man-eating monsters breeding hatred and fear (hello, Jaws!), who would miss them? Stewart, for one. The director makes a convincing case for the redemption of these misunderstood gentle giants, swimming among them in glorious high-definition footage, and backing up his thesis with statistics that are hard to ignore. But he sinks his picture by making himself the central figure. Sauper would have recognized conservationist Paul Watson as a stronger subject; Watson is briefly shown here clashing with pirates, only to be sued for doing so.

Related: Surf's Up, Smokin' Aces, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, More

Surf's Up
Is it coincidence or homage that a fat, sullen penguin in this animated dud resembles Michael Moore?
Smokin' Aces
Perhaps Joe Carnahan pitched his follow-up to 2002’s Narc as It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World by way of Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie, and bad wigs. Watch the trailer for Smokin' Aces (QuickTime)
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
A Disney “franchise” that began as an Oscar-nominated showcase for Johnny Depp seems to have walked the plank, but has it jumped the shark? Watch the trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (QuickTime)
Don’t go there
Of all the peculiar life choices to which people fall victim, beach-going is among the most difficult to comprehend. Summer Guide 2006: Cheap thrills from Bar Harbor to New Haven.
Scales of justice
When local college student Stephanie Bakay took a student-group-abroad trip to Russia in May, she brazenly overbought beluga caviar, flying back into Logan with four jars even though the legal limit is two.
Werner’s world
The world is doomed, and Werner Herzog, for one, is happy about it.
Poll dancers
There has been so much controversy about Peter D. Hart Research Associates’ recent poll on the proposed West Warwick, Rhode Island casino proposal — a world-class hummer rigged by Harrah’s — that Phillipe & Jorge thought we should shed some light on the matter.
Dance, Monkey: Bethany Van Delft
I’d eat a cup of salt so that I might come close to experiencing what a dolphin frolicking in the ocean might experience.
Off the hook
There’s always someone on your list that’s the hardest to buy for, not because they have everything and need zippo — or because they have nothing and need anything — but because you really can’t accept spending your hard-earned dough to get them something.
The JonBenet factor
Five summers ago, in the weeks before terrorists slammed fully loaded passenger planes into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center, national television was obsessed with what? The Taliban? Osama bin Laden? Nope. Sharks.
The ultimate SALESMAN movie
Ruthless sharks, dumpy schlubs, or a combination of the two: Hollywood loves its pitchmen.
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Topics: Reviews , Nature and the Environment, Wildlife, Marine Animals

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