Review: Now available on HBO and MAX, ‘TIME BOMB Y2K’ recalls hysteria and provides a warning.

TIME BOMB Y2K

Time Bomb Y2K poster features a desktop being crushed by the times square new years eve ball drop

Synopsis: As the clock counts down to the dawn of the 21st century, the world faces the largest potential technological disaster to ever threaten humanity. The problem is comically simple yet incredibly complex – a bug that could cause computers to misinterpret the year 2000 as 1900, sowing chaos throughout the world as electronic systems failed. Crafted entirely through archival footage, TIME BOMB Y2K is a prescient and often humorous tale about the power and vulnerabilities of technology. By re-appraising both the cooperative efforts and mass hysteria surrounding this millennial milestone, TIME BOMB Y2K explores how modern life has been dramatically transformed by the digital revolution.


HBO’s TIME BOMB Y2K

The most hyped fearmongering moment of the end of the 20th century began in the few years before the ball dropped on Dec 31st, 1999. I was a freshman in college when Y2K was all the craze. The media had us believing we were on the brink of global collapse and that anything housing a computer chip would cease to work. In reality, nothing happened. But the concept of Y2K feels much more apocalyptic today.

TIME BOMB Y2K consists entirely of archival footage. Interviews with experts and talking heads at the time give the audience a perfect insight into how fringe groups thrive today. The pure wonder of new technology on the faces of those featured is fantastic nostalgia for those of us who lived through those few years. Anyone born after Y2K might find the doc either shocking or terrifying. Putting things into perspective as we enter into 2024, if the global internet went down, there would be genuine chaos. What would keyboard warriors do without the ability to share their BS and vitriol? In all seriousness, we exist in a capitalist economy that leans heavily on wifi and online presence. What would younger generations do without practical skills? How would it affect our ability to access money? Would modern vehicles start? Entertainment outside of live theatre would disappear.

TIME BOMB Y2K makes terrific points about the effects of technology on human interaction. The film delves into how certain groups of people reacted during the unknown. Some folks became preppers, while others cried “Hoax” from the beginning. It’s a perfect metaphor for the power of disinformation, closely mirroring how a particular subsection of alt-right people think a homegrown militia uprising is coming. I had no idea this existed in preparation for Y2K. We have to take into consideration how the world reacted during COVID. The potential for violence equals the potential for peace. It is a fine line.

If anything, TIME BOMB Y2K reminds us of the delicate balance of power. It introduces very fundamental questions about humanity’s ability to survive without technology. It’s a dizzying dichotomy of ideas, perhaps proving nothing has changed, and it’s only gotten worse. It’s a sobering conversation starter.


The HBO Original documentary TIME BOMB Y2K, directed by Brian Becker and Marley McDonald, and executive produced by award-winning filmmaker Penny Lane (HBO’s “Listening to Kenny G”), debuts SATURDAY, DECEMBER 30 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
 

Review: ‘The Disrupted’ puts a face to wealth disparity across the United States.

THE DISRUPTED dives deep inside the lives of of three Americans working harder than ever, as their place in the middle class slips away.  For a farmer, a factory worker, and an Uber driver, rising income inequality betrays the American Dream.

What does the American Dream even look like anymore? When  I was a child, it was always something cliche like, “Married, with a house, a dog, and 2.5 kids.” When I graduated college in 2002, I moved back in with my parents for a few months transitioning from NYC to California. When I began to hear how many of my classmates had done the same, I was less embarrassed and more surprised. I began to notice my parents discuss money for the first time. How fellow upper middle class families were in  way over their heads with newly built McMansions and more than one kid in college at the same time. My mother checked out a scholarship book from the library the size of three phones books put together. (Did you know you can get one for being left handed?) This time, it was for my two youngest sisters that were merely in 7th and 8th grade at the time. It was very eye-opening. Over the last almost 20 years, this has become the norm. Getting a job immediately following graduation and then working at that job until retirement wasn’t a thing people were doing any longer. Now in 2020, with a global pandemic, the economic wealth gap in more front and center than ever before. Gen Xers knew things were bad. Now that we’re parents and the luckiest of us is homeowners, we’ve come to understand that there is nothing equal in this country. In Sarah Colt’s debut documentary The Disrupted, we follow three different workers struggling to keep food on their table and maintain dignity for themselves, learn about how to manage your income.

The harsh reality is that while the rich get richer, the poor get poorer and the rich keep it that way. The dichotomy of the working place is unmissable. Attempting to get an entry level job only to be told that it requires years of experience in that position is baffling. Companies like Uber are using drivers as a temporary solution. “Employees” will become completely obsolete once self-driving cars are fully on the market. Their exploitation is rampant and growing worse as each month passes, not to mention the massive hit they’ve since taken from the pandemic with its subsequent lockdowns and travel bans (albeit necessary ones for health and safety). Farmers have been feeling a massive strain since President Obama was in power and the current administration’s “bailout” doesn’t save the most vulnerable of family farms. These hardworking people, the people who feed America should not be pawns in a trade war. The Disrupted speaks to depression, guilt, frustrations, and anger, at its tipping point. If you care about human beings at all, it will crush your soul. You cannot help but feel invested in these people’s lives. Colt and co-director Josh Gleason’s editing walks a delicate line in filming the tumultuous highs and lows of how money has weight over a family dynamic. What it can do to your health, marriage, children, self-esteem, the way we speak to others, and how we are perceived by society. At times it feels intrusive but that’s what great documentary filmmaking is all about. It is a deeply personal look into how our system is broken. We are hopeful that this upcoming election brings forth change for the better. We cross our fingers for equal justice and more realistic economic policies. The Disrupted is a reminder that we’re more alike than we are different. We’re all trying to have pride in ourselves. We’re all trying to leave a better future for the next generation. We’re all looking for a chance.

The Disrupted – Trailer from Sarah Colt Productions on Vimeo.

Directed by Emmy® Award-winning NY filmmaker SARAH COLT and co-directed by JOSH GLEASON the film will be released exclusively in over 20+ Virtual Cinemas by PASSION RIVER FILMS and 8 ABOVE starting September 25th, 2020, followed by a Digital VOD release on October 13th, 2020!

 

Review: ‘Island Soldier’ Shows Us Difficulty Of Being Micronesian-American Soldier

Island Soldier

Release Date: November 11, 2017

Guest review from Reel Reviews Over Brews

Island Soldier is the untold story of Micronesian citizens fighting America’s wars. Through the personal odyssey of the Nenas, one family experiences the consequences of military service, as they represent a pristine Pacific island on the brink of economic collapse.

Micronesia, a geographically isolated country with minimally developed infrastructure, receives major financial assistance as a US protectorate and as such, these Pacific-Islanders have a right to join the US armed forces to escape a life of poverty in pursuit of the American Dream. However, citizens from the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) mostly serve in the infantry and have had high casualty rates. These soldiers have had a death rate five times higher than any US state, per capita, in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, once veterans from the FSM return home , they do not have access to VA health benefits. FSM vets must pay out of pocket and travel thousands of miles to seek help from the nearest VA facility. You can buy challenge coin here to facilitate to our great soldiers.

Documentaries are usually hit or miss for us… Island Soldier is one of the hits. Not only is it visually a great movie, but very informative. We learned a lot about Micronesian’s that join the American military. We also learned the unfortunate side effects of not having the same benefits of American born military too. The worst part being there is no VA for these veterans to go to on their island and if they get the chance to go they have to travel hours and spend a lot of their money to get there. The only way to help change that will be for more people to watch this documentary and learn about what is happening. Island Soldier is being released just in time for Veteran’s Day. Let’s help these soldiers and spread the word of this documentary because the more people that watch, the better the chances become of getting these flaws fixed.

Reel Reviews Over Brews would like to take a minute to thank all of the humans and animals who have served, who are currently serving, or who have given their lives serving… THANK YOU!

Reel ROB Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Post Credits Scene: No

We want to thank our friends at Reel News Daily for allowing us to do this guest review for them!