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Happy New Year from Philly!
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo rating 3/5

A look at Frida Kahlo, the Mexican surrealist self portrait painter. For neophytes, it supplies an appreciation of Frida's times, revolutionary Mexico, a marriage to the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera, her work and the terrible pain she endured due to a bus accident as a young woman. For those already familiar with Frida's work and story it gives lots of film of Frida working and teaching in her beautiful gardens surrounded by adoring students, dogs, parrots, monkeys, flowers and cacti.
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Louise Vale first woman to play Jane Eyre in the flickers.




the movie


Will keep my eye out the Doco
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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha



Once Upon a Time: Sergio Leone

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379417/

I'm not a big fan of his, but I always like to check out documentaries about directors, whether I like them or not, as it's a good way of having your eyes opened to things you miss/didn't know/etc.

This was ok, but as his classics are Westerns, there's still not much chance of me looking at them again anytime soon.



Keep on Rockin in the Free World
Herzogs latest doc looks interesting.

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"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo.



Keep on Rockin in the Free World


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1194612/


This film explores the question of preparing the site so that it is not disturbed for 100,000 years. Even though nothing else ever made by man before has lasted even a fraction of that time.

"Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storage, which is vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and societal changes. In Finland, the world’s first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock – a huge system of underground tunnels – that must last the entire period the waste remains hazardous: 100,000 years."
Once the repository waste has been deposited and is full, the facility is to be sealed off and never opened again. Or so we hope, but can we ensure that? And how is it possible to warn our descendants of the deadly waste we left behind? How do we prevent them from thinking they have found the pyramids of our time, mystical burial grounds, hidden treasures? Which languages and signs will they understand? And if they understand, will they respect our instructions?
Experts above ground strive to find solutions to this crucially important radioactive waste issue to secure mankind and all species on planet Earth now and in the near and very distant future."
Into Eternity - A documentary about a Finnish nuclear waste disposal site that's being built and is designed to last 100,000 years. I bet it'll be quite the mindf+ck for whatever future civilization that might re-discover it.

Full Doc here:
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Ah, that one looks really interesting.

And I've actually heard poor reviews about the 3-D in Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Some users on IMDB say it's grainy and the images are difficult to make out. When I see it--and I definitely will, it's Herzog, after all--I'll see it in regular format.



Keep on Rockin in the Free World
I was relieved that a film by Michael Madsen wasn't the celeb rehab guy, though Mr. Blonde could probably store nuclear waste in his liver, and wouldnt be any worse for wear.



Keep on Rockin in the Free World
This Land is Our Land



For more than three decades, transnational corporations have been busy buying up what used to be known as the commons -- everything from our forests and our oceans to our broadcast airwaves and our most important intellectual and cultural works. In This Land is Our Land, acclaimed author David Bollier, a leading figure in the global movement to reclaim the commons, bucks the rising tide of anti-government extremism and free market ideology to show how commercial interests are undermining our collective interests. Placing the commons squarely within the American tradition of community engagement and the free exchange of ideas and information, Bollier shows how a bold new international movement steeped in democratic principles is trying to reclaim our common wealth by modeling practical alternatives to the restrictive monopoly powers of corporate elites.

This film was previously titled Silent Theft.
Waiting on my copy to arrive, will post a review at that time, looks really interesting though. Several of the issues I believe have been touched on in other Doc's like Gasland (water re-distribution), The Future of Food (GMO's) and so forth.

Terriffic interview with the producer David Bollier





"A great deal of what we all own we own together -- our world, our air, our water, our oceans, our environment. These and more form what we know as The Commons. No one understands this and conveys it to the rest of us like David Bollier. Your children do not have a greater advocate. I suggest watching this film as a family."
- Norman Lear



Keep on Rockin in the Free World




The aphorism "The poor are always with us" dates back to the New Testament, but while the phrase is still sadly apt in the 21st century, few seem to be able to explain why poverty is so widespread.

Activist filmmaker Philippe Diaz examines the history and impact of economic inequality in the third world in the documentary The End of Poverty?, and makes the compelling argument that it's not an accident or simple bad luck that has created a growing underclass around the world.

Diaz traces the growth of global poverty back to colonization in the 15th century, and features interviews with a number of economists, sociologists, and historians who explain how poverty is the clear consequence of free-market economic policies that allow powerful nations to exploit poorer countries for their assets and keep money in the hands of the wealthy rather than distributing it more equitably to the people who have helped them gain their fortunes.

Diaz also explores how wealthy nations (especially the United States) seize a disproportionate share of the world's natural resources, and how this imbalance is having a dire impact on the environment as well as the economy.

The End of Poverty? was an official selection at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival



Keep on Rockin in the Free World
Freedom Fries: And Other Stupidity We'll Have to Explain to Our Grandchildren

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0893403/





"Freedom Fries: And Other Stupidity We'll Have to Explain to Our Grandchildren" is a whimsical look at patriotism and consumerism in America. It explores the absurdity of many of the symbolic gestures that have recently pervaded American culture, such as the wasting of French wine and the waving of Chinese-made American flags. Freedom Fries shows that these idle gestures stem from our culture of consumption and do real damage to our democracy as well as our humanity. With the aid of a leading scholar and an outspoken social activist this film draws a concrete relationship between American consumerism and patriotism
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Keep on Rockin in the Free World
Presenting Gashole, the neatest documentary you've never heard of.



The film, narrated by Peter Gallagher, features interviews with a wide range
of viewpoints from US Department of Energy Officials, Congressional leaders both Democrat and Republican, Alternative Fuel Producers, Alternative Fuel Consumers , Professors of Economics and
Psychology and more...

Directed by Jeremy Wagener & Scott D. Roberts, the film takes a wide, yet
detailed examination of our dependence on foreign supplies of Oil.

What are the causes that led from America turning from a leading exporter of
oil to the world's largest importer? What are the economic and sociological
forces that have contributed to that change and impede its solution?

The film examines many different potential solutions to our oil dependence.
Starting with claims of buried technology that dramatically improves gas
mileage, to navigating bureaucratic governmental roadblocks, to evaluating
different alternative fuels that are technologically available now, to
questioning the American Consumer's reluctance to embrace alternatives.
a teaser

In 1977 Shell published a book entitled "Fuel Economy of the gasoline engine : Fuel Lubricant and other effects" claiming their engineers had achieved 149 miles per gallon on a 1947 Studebaker.
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Keep on Rockin in the Free World
I was kind of Surprised Inside Job didnt turn up in a Search. I coulda swore i'd posted it here, but no matter.


From Academy AwardŽ nominated filmmaker, Charles Ferguson (""No End in Sight""), comes ""Inside Job,"" the first film to expose the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, ""Inside Job"" traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia. Narrated by Academy AwardŽ winner Matt Damon, ""Inside Job"" was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China




Full Movie here : (though for reasons unknown, it doesn't play in the USA)

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anyway, i came looking to reply with this goodness :