DISPATCHES FROM WEIMAR AMERICA: Eco-Terrorist ‘Pipeline’ Bombs at Box Office.
James Cameron caught little heat for a shocking admission. He hearts eco-terrorism.
It’s one thing for the “Avatar” director to be so green he makes his cast and crew eat vegan. That seems quaint compared to a quote that got ignored by most press outlets.
Now, we have an entire film dedicated to eco-activists willing to employ violence to suit their needs. And it’s clear where the story’s empathy lies.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” deserves some sort of Truth in Advertising award. The story follows a gang of eco-thugs plotting to deliver on the title’s promise.
HiT guest critic Joshua Sharf called it “really good agitprop” along with this warning.
In other exchanges, we hear the familiar refrain, “you can’t make omelets without breaking a few eggs,” unaware that violent revolution generally produces a lot of broken eggs and few omelets.
The film enjoyed a limited release April 7 but expanded to north of 500 theaters last weekend. The results?
I’m glad to see the film bomb, but it will likely have a quite a shelf life in the form of DVDs, cable and satellite reruns and streaming platforms. (See also: Oliver Stone’s 1991 film JFK, which is an excellent Manchurian Candidate-style political thriller, but execrable as a history lesson.)