Ricky’s Quickies: Movie Review
Sharkwater
Sunday night a few of us sat down to watch the kickoff of Shark Week on the Discovery channel. We turned it on and were really disappointed with the first show, some lame Mythbusters special. Then I remembered I had this Netflix DVD sitting around the apartment and our shark night could be saved!
And boy was it. This doc was terrific. The story of a young biologist who sets out to make a film to demystify sharks and show how many varieties of them (including the Great White) are now endangered.
In the process of making the film, he gets arrested, chased out of a country, and almost dies. He also goes up against the shark fin industry and its organized crime connections. The shark fin industry is the reason sharks are endangered. The Chinese are the biggest problem here (as they are with so many other world issues) since they eat shark fin soup at formal events.
Perhaps the coolest thing I learned about in the doc was the Sea Shepard organization/ship, which travels the ocean looking for violators of international fishing laws (a boat illegaly whaling, for example.) They then ask the boat to surrender and follow them into shore for arrest. If the boat doesn’t give in, they sink it! How badass is that? I have such a soft spot for renegades.
Anyway, see the movie. It’s good. A trailer is here.
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