THE
VICE GUIDE TO TRAVEL (Vice)
DVD/Book. Vice Magazine. Documentary. Approx 60 min. Taking undesirable
travel locations to the public, Vice magazine offers seven mini
documentaries detailing the seedy and dangerous sides of places you would
never want to visit in the first place. In
Chernobyl
, site of that nasty nuclear reactor explosion 20 years ago, the cast
playfully watches Geiger counters go crazy. Oh, the cast is also drunk,
helps fight radiation poisoning, and hunts for known mutated wolves. In
Pakistan
, the illegal arms market is detailed, while the crew examines the insane
slums of
Rio
. The hunt for a dinosaur in the jungles of
Congo
goes hand in hand with the hunt for an Aryan utopia in Nueva Germania. On
the frightening side of things,
Beirut
’s martyr schools and
Bulgaria
’s rich history of illegal bomb making and selling are brought to the
forefront.
While
the title of this release is not quite accurate of its content, the seven
mini documentaries are interesting and takes a good look at places not
covered on The Travel Channel. I could have watched the
Chernobyl
segment for days on end with its funny dialog, creepy isolated building
tours, and made me wonder how PETA would respond to the hunting of
radioactive mutated animals. The martyr, illegal arms trade, and bomb
making certainly makes one pause for thought. Along with the DVD is a 72
page hardcover companion book that delves deeper into each documentary and
includes some great pictures. DVD extras include other mini footage that
averages maybe 3 minutes in length. Nicely package, the DVD sits in a slip
within the book, which slips into a sturdy slipcase. Hey, now you can turn
a blind eye in your very own living room! – Denis Sheehan
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