nick hadeen this movie was a little hard for me to get interested in. the way it was filmed, and how the information was presented was very entertaining, but the information itself was rather boring in my opinion. it's not a movie i would rush to the nearest rental store to get by any means. But if i saw it was on TV i might flip to it and watch it for a few minutes, then would become bored and find something a little more entertaining. All in all this is not a movie i would want to watch more than once, which is a major contribution in how i rate movies. if it entertains me enough to watch it more than once, i would give it a semi good or good rating, but if don't enjoy it enough to watch it more than once, it automatically becomes a pass in my book.

faraaj-1 Errol Morris is arguably the greatest storyteller alive today. He saved an innocent death-row victims life with the harrowing Thin Blue Line and created a historic document of the lifework of one of the most influential figures of the 20th century Robert S. MacNamara with The Fog of War. His documentary Fast, Cheap & Out of Control dealt with a subject matter I was not so interested in but which I began to have some appreciation for when I finished the film. The entire credit goes to his superb storytelling skills.Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (I still don't get the reason for the title???) tells the story and professional interests of four disparate people, none of them rich, famous or successful in the parlance of today's society. Workers, not Managers, all four have a passion for their chosen calling, are very good at what they do and share a common thread. They are: a lion-tamer at a circus; a mole-rat expert; a topiary gardener (did you know it takes 15 years to make a bear!); and a robotics expert. In some way, all four are dealing with and admire the wonder that is the animal world.The subject matter is quite distant from my experience and life and frankly I didn't think there was anything in a mole-rat or the construction of a robot and how it moves that could interest me. But I did find the enthusiasm of the four subjects under study infectious and I remained interested throughout the documentary.

FlickMan Hiding within this movie are four fairly interesting mini-documentaries about four men, each with a vision - perhaps even an obsession - about one particular facet of life. The common thread uniting them is that each of the four is fascinated by the ways in which animals, men, plants, and even machines evolve, learn, and grow. A recurring theme is training or control.Unfortunately, these four interesting stories are chopped up and interwoven in ways that often seem arbitrary and pointless. Plus, about 25% of the movie is made up of clips from other, mostly bad, movies... and the soundtrack music is often intrusive and annoying. So I'm mystified why a number of critics thought this was the best documentary of 1997. Maybe there were just a lot of bad documentaries that year! Worth watching if you have nothing else to do, but nowhere near great.

gromero001 Encapsulated reviews are misleading. I had several times bypassed "Fast, Cheap and Out of Control" on IFC for more lively sounding fare on movie channels. When I finally selected it as the least boring of an afternoon's TV movie offerings, I regretted not having picked it sooner and seen it more often.This documentary delighted me! Interviews were enhanced by display of the works of four brilliant practitioners, fanatical about the unusual focus of their work or study. We are introduced to naked mole rats, robots as the next stage in evolution, wild animal training and a visionary handicrafter/topiary designer. Each professional provided unusual insights to their efforts and perhaps to our own natures as human beings.The documentary seemed designed to hold even those with the even shortest of attention spans. Rather than engaging each subject in depth as a single segment, the interviews are presented in approximately one minute scenarios, often with a montage of old film footage relating connections and historical ideas about some of the subject matter. Just as a viewer's mind might start to drift during a segment, it collides with the next subject, often forcing mental connections that may not have come naturally.After watching this one, I felt compelled to find and view the other productions of Errol Morris, and I shall keep an eye out for his future works. I believe that its audience should comprise anyone with a spark of interest in the world around them and the desire to be entertained. Whether you are fond of documentaries or not, I think this one will offer a pleasant and quickly passing ninety minutes.Gene Romero [email protected]