The Secret of Kells
is a welcome reminder of how warm, personal, and compelling traditional
drawn animation can be. The story takes place in the eighth century, a
perilous time when Viking raiders threatened to destroy Irish
civilization. Since his parents were killed by Vikings, 12-year-old
Brendan (voice by Evan McGuire) has lived within the walled monastery of
Kells under the stern eye of his uncle, Abbot Cellach (Brendan
Gleeson). But his life changes when Brother Aidan (Mick Lally) arrives
at Kells with a wondrously beautiful but unfinished illuminated
manuscript, created to be "a beacon in these dark times." Brendan
realizes he wants to become an illuminator and complete the book,
despite his uncle's opposition. His decision helps him win the
friendship of Aisling (Christen Mooney), a silver-haired wood fairy--and
requires him to battle the monstrous pagan god Crom Cruach. The visuals
in The Secret of Kells were inspired by the eighth-century
manuscript the Book of Kells, which has been preserved in the library of
Trinity College, Dublin. Fans of Samurai Jack will recognize
another influence on the flat, angular figures and their stylized
movements. Brendan's adventures are exciting enough to keep children
entertained, while its graphic beauties will delight adult viewers. The Secret of Kells
surprised many observers when it earned an Oscar nomination for Best
Animated Feature, and it's a film no one interested in animation should
miss. (Unrated: suitable for ages 8 and older: some scary imagery and
violence.) --Charles Solomon
Magic, fantasy, and Celtic mythology come together in a riot of color
and detail that dazzle the eyes in a sweeping story about the power of
imagination and faith to carry humanity through dark times.
Order a DVD here: www.newvideo.com
Children's Workbook: www.thesecretofkells.com/pdf/educpdfprimary.pdf
Best Animated Feature Nominee:
2010 Academy Awards
2010 ASIFA Annie Awards
2010 Irish Film and Television Awards
Netflix Streaming: WWW.netflix.com
Contaminated Without Consent is a 16-minute video available free for you to use to help inform your community about the hidden risks from chemical contaminants found in our homes, workplaces, the products we buy, and even our bodies.
This video was produced by Sanford Lewis of Strategic Video for the Chemical Safety Workgroup, a coalition of public health and science based NGOs working on toxics protections. ej4all.org/contaminatedwithoutconsent
All.I.Can is a stunning exploratory essay that compares the challenges
of big mountain skiing to the challenges of global climate change. Shot
on 6 continents over 2 years, the world’s best skiers deliver
inspirational performances while ground-breaking cinematography expands
our vision of the natural world. Journey through Morocco’s majestic
desert peaks, Greenland’s icy fjords, Chile’s volcanic craters, Alaskan
spine walls, and more. Join the revolution and experience one of the
most spectacular, captivating, and thought-provoking films ever created
in the action sports genre. Sherpas Cinemas, more great snips and teasers here: sherpascinema.com
Watch on itunes: itunes.apple.com
DVD and Blu-ray: sherpascinema.com
A lightbulb in the Livermore, California firehouse just celebrated its 110th birthday or burnday and it is still burning bright. Prior to an agreement by major manufacturers to shorten lightbulb life to 1000 hours, lightbulbs lasted 2500 hours or more. This documentary is about the ever-shrinking lifespan
of consumer products.
Consumerism = 1. Advertisement 2. Planned Obsolescence 3. Credit --
These
3 stages of modern business are worth noting regarding the promulgation
of today's world wide consumer system which is presently stripping the
natural wealth of the planet for all inhabitants, including man.
Stage 1 (Advertisement), and 3 (Credit) are well known and often discussed in the mainstream arena. Stage 2 of the consumer process is much less talked about.
Stage 2 - Planned Obsolescence..
Obsolescence
is the state of being which an object, service or practice is no longer
wanted, even though it may still be in good working order.. (bar say
one 'irreparable' defect.. in this case of the planned variety.
(Plus, often compulsory for those entering into an established market.. i.e. permitted to remain in the fold.)
Planned obsolescence or built-in obsolescence in industrial design is a
policy of deliberately planning or designing a product with a limited
useful life, so it will become obsolete or nonfunctional after a certain
period of time.: www.en.wikipedia.org
Phoebus cartell was a cartel of, among others, Osram, Philips and General Electric from December 23, 1924 until 1939 that existed to control the manufacture and sale of light bulbs. www.en.wikipedia.org
Fire station bulb shown in the doc: www.centennialbulb.org
The Alberta government has always maintained that toxins found in the Athabasca River are "naturally occurring", with industry not compounding
the problem. This clip is from the documentary, Tipping Point, narrated by Dr. David Suzuki. it shows scientific evidence to counter the government's
position.
The easy oil is gone. The age of the tar sands has begun. Yet as a pristine wilderness and a Native people are being wiped out to feed the world's hunger for energy, what no one expected was for them to fight back. This shocking documentary is a journey through the David and Goliath struggle playing out within the major environmental issue of our age.
Stretching out across hundreds of miles the Canadian tar sands are a barren wasteland, broken by smoking towers, silos and the massive tailings ponds filled with toxic waste. "For every barrel of bitumen you create a barrel and a half of waste that goes into those tailings ponds. The majority of them are leaking." Captured in spectacular HD cinematography, these unique pictures reveal an otherworldly apocalyptic landscape and tell the tar sands definitive story.
Watch the Trailer here: www.youtube.com
Rent for $3. www.vod.journeyman.tv
All over the world neighbors are at war with each other. In Denmark the
government employs an army of officials to break up the backyard
slagging matches and this doc joins them for the hilarious ride. Follow
them through the complex and bitter disputes that erupt over noisy dogs
and slaughtered shrubs. And, as the bizarre and paradoxical
relationships of the neighbours are revealed, we discover what fences
really mean to us and how friends become enemies. 40 minutes. Director: Phie Ambo.
Journeyman Pictures - www.journeyman.tv
Focusing on two men whose bodies have been trashed by steroids, obesity
and illness, this documentary chronicles the rigorous healing path --
including a two-month diet of fruits and vegetables -- that both attempt
in a bid to rescue their health.
Overweight
Australian filmmaker Joe Cross attempts to wrestle back control of his
failing health during a cross-country trek in which he engages everyday
Americans in discussions about food and obesity in this lighthearted
documentary addressing a deadly serious subject. Clocking in at 310
pounds and pumped full of steroids to battle a debilitating autoimmune
disorder, Cross realized that he would soon be dead if he didn't make
some major lifestyle changes. But pharmaceuticals were only treating his
symptoms, and no doctor seemed capable of providing the long-term care
and support it would take to turn his life around. Desperate, Cross
loads up his car with a juicer and a generator, and pledges to survive
on nothing but fresh fruit and vegetable juice for 60 days. Not long
after his journey begins, Cross quickly realizes that he's well on his
way to ending his growing dependence on prescription drugs. His body has
begun to heal itself, and as the process continues, Cross attempts to
prove just how empowering it can be to take responsibility for our own
health.
2010, 97 minutes.
Netflix: movies.netflix.com
Youtube: www.youtube.com
From the makers of the award-winning documentaries "Making a Killing:
The Untold Story of Psychiatric Drugging" and "The Marketing of Madness:
Are We All Insane?" comes a searing new documentary, exposing how
devastating --and deadly-- psychiatric drugs can be for the children and
families.
Behind the grim statistics of death, suicides, birth
defects and serious adverse reactions is the human face of this global
epidemic--the personal of loss and courage of those who paid the real
price.
Psychiatrists claim their drugs are safe for children?
Hear what eight brave mothers, their families, health experts, drug
counselors and doctors have to say...
Part 2: www.youtube.com
Deep
beneath the great Antarctic ice sheet scientists have made an
astonishing discovery. They’ve found one of the largest lakes in the
world – at 10,000 square km it’s
about the extent of Lake Ontario, but about twice as deep (500m in
places). The theory was that it could only exist because the ice acts
like a giant insulating blanket, trapping enough of the earth’s heat to
melt the very bottom of the ice sheet. Scientists are desperate to
get into the lake because its extreme environment may be home to unique
flora and fauna, never seen before. But 4 kilometers of ice
stand between the lake and the surface, and breaking this seal without
contaminating the most pristine body of water on the planet is a difficult challenge. Really great documentary!
See PopSci Article: With 30 Meters Left to Drill, Scientists Leave Subterranean Lake Vostok For The Winter, Amid Controversy. www.popsci.com
Watch on TopDocs: topdocumentaryfilms.com
How and what we eat has
radically changed over the past few decades with the all-consuming rise
of the supermarket. But what price are we paying for the homogenized,
cheap and convenient food that supermarkets specialise in? In a two-part
programme, journalist Jane Moore investigates how supermarkets have
affected the food on our plates and reveals the tell-tale signs that the
food we buy may not have been grown in the way we think. Using a
combination of undercover filming and scientific analysis, Supermarket
Secrets investigates whether the food on supermarket shelves is really
as good as it looks, whether prices are as good as they seem and what
happens behind the scenes in the production of supermarket food. This
documentry is in two parts. This first part deals with Factory Farming,
chickens, and general quality of supermarket food. The second part deals
with Cows milk, food standards, food waste, pesticides, food
globalization, and loss of quality of our produce. A very important
watch for everyone, gives you facts about the meat and food you eat.
After watching you will have more of an understanding of the rational
behind Vegetarian, Vegan, Organic, and grass-root eating practices. This is a UK TV Channel4 production. Part 2 here- www.youtube.com
Watch on Top Docs: topdocumentaryfilms.com
Make Yourself Heart Attack Proof. Dr. Klaper explains, in very simple terms, how we're killing ourselves
one bite at a time with a meat based diet. No gruesome animal cruelty
videos here, just the truth about how meat affects our own health. The highest cause of deaths in the US is heart disease (725,000) and the
2nd highest is cancer (549,000). Both of these were almost unheard of
at the beginning of the twentieth century. www.foodkills.org
Part 2: www.youtube.com
Erik Patel's documentary Trouble in Lemur Land is about the endangered silky sifaka lemur of Madagascar and the threats they face. Watch the full documentary on Vimeo: www.vimeo.com/25109845
The state of our oceans and seas is the main focus in “Sea the
Truth”. Leading scientists such as Daniel Pauly to suggest that if we
continue to catch and eat fish at the current rate,
the oceans and seas will be empty within 40 years. The hunt for fish is
an economic monster on the run: large bottom trawlers are scraping the
bottoms of the seas empty, taking with them all living things with
destructive force. The massive amount of bycatch is thrown back into the
sea, maimed or dead.
Under the guidance of Dutch MP Marianne
Thieme, two young marine biologists Marianne and Barbara, are searching
worldwide for scientific information about the condition of our biggest
ecosystems, which cover more than two thirds of our planet. Underwater
photographer Dos Winkel shows them the beauty of marine life and the
enormous threats to which it is exposed. For the documentary the
producers filmed in Newfoundland, on Bonaire, on the North Sea, the
Azores and at various locations in the Netherlands. Authorities offer
the solution of sustainable fisheries projects while leading scientists
say that every fish that is taken now, is one too many. This documentary
shows that, unfortunately, there is no such thing as “sustainable
fishing”.An Alalena production, commissioned by the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation. www.seathetruth.nl
Or watch here: www.seathetruth.nl
Four thousand years ago there were more orang-utans living in SE Asia than people. Scientists estimate 10 million. Two thousand years ago they still outnumbered humans, about 3 million from SE China to India. Story Teller Media travels to Borneo to see orang-utans in the wild. They
also visit the Wanarset Rehabilitation Centre where confiscated
orang-utans are prepared for release back into the wild.
They also
visit the Perth Zoo in Australia to witness the only film of an
orang-utan giving birth. www.storyteller.com.au
In times of crisis people seek strong leaders and simple solutions. But
what if their solutions are identical to the mistakes that caused the
very crisis? This is the story of the greatest economic crisis of our
age, the one that potentially awaits us.
View longer version here: journeyman.tv/store
Burzynski, the Movie is the story of a medical doctor and Ph.D
biochemist named Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski who won the largest, and
possibly the most convoluted and intriguing legal battle against the
Food & Drug Administration in American history.
His
victorious battles with the United States government were centered
around Dr. Burzynski's belief in and commitment to his gene-targeted
cancer medicines he discovered in the 1970's called Antineoplastons,
which have currently completed Phase II FDA-supervised clinical trials
in 2009 and could begin the final phase of testing in 2011—barring the
ability to raise the required $150 million to fund them.
When
Antineoplastons are approved, it will mark the first time in history a
single scientist, not a pharmaceutical company, will hold the exclusive
patent and distribution rights on a paradigm-shifting medical
breakthrough.
Antineoplastons are responsible for curing some of
the most incurable forms of terminal cancer. Various cancer survivors
are presented in the film who chose his treatment instead of surgery,
chemotherapy or radiation - with full disclosure of medical records to
support their diagnosis and recovery - as well as FDA-supervised
clinical trial data comparing Antineoplastons to other available
treatments.
This documentary takes the
audience through the treacherous, yet victorious, 14-year journey both
Dr. Burzynski and his patients have had to endure in order to obtain
FDA-approved clinical trials of Antineoplastons.
www.burzynskimovie.com
Amazon $2.99 www.amazon.com
Netflix: www.netflix.com
Super beginning! Numen is about the healing power of plants and the natural world.
Featuring stunning footage of medicinal plants and moving interviews
with leading herbalists, doctors, ecologists and others, Numen provides a
vision of healthcare rooted in the traditions of herbal medicine and
offers concrete steps to improve human and environmental health. A primary objective of Numen is to bring the same awareness to medicine
and the medical industry that the organic food movement has brought to
food and the food industry. Directed by Terrence Youk and Ann Armbrecht. This is only a 10 minute clip of a 90 minute documentary. See more clips or buy the film here: www.numenfilm.com
This series of films investigates how people have been colonised by the machines they have built.
Although
they may not realise it, the way many people see everything in the
world today is through the eyes of the computers. Not just politics and
the economy -- but also in the way bodies, minds, and even the whole of
the natural world are perceived. The underlying argument is that
people have given up a dynamic political model of the world -- the dream
of changing things for the better -- for a static machine ideology that
says everyone is a component in a system, and that the aim is to manage
these systems and keep them stable. From the utopian visions of
the worldwide web to the idea of an interconnected global economic
system, to the dream of balanced ecosystems, all these ideas share an
underlying machine vision of organisation and order.
The series argues
that by embracing this new machine ideology something very precious has
been given up: the idea of progress and political struggle to change
the world for the better. Director: Adam Curtis. www.bbc.co.uk
According to filmmaker Adolfo Doring, humankind is facing a catastrophic
catch-22: Destroy the world by exhausting its supply of fossil fuels,
or stop using oil and let the modern economy collapse. This documentary
presents evidence of waning petroleum reserves and explores why
industrial society has become so dependent on oil. Experts also explain
how gasoline use leads to global warming and predicts what will happen
when it's gone. Review: "Blind Spot is a fascinating documentary, it draws on some of the most
impressive scientific minds to warn us about the dangers of our
dependence on oil and educate us about our role in saving the earth and
the lives of our children. I was transfixed by it." Howard Zinn. 85 minutes, 2008.
Watch Now:
Top Docs topdocumentaryfilms.com
Snag Films www.snagfilms.com
Netflix movies.netflix.com
A 10-minute preview from the documentary film, A Land out of
Time, the story of one of the biggest land grabs in history. Oil & gas
leases are consuming public lands all over the Rocky Mountain West in a
rush to drill. But Westerners aren't taking it lying down. Director: Colorado native Mark Harvey. Featuring interviews with conservationists,
ranchers and other concerned residents, the film serves as a call to
action for more sensible energy policies and as a tribute to the
region's majestic landscape. 2007.
Watch the 21 minute version here:
video.google.com - poor quality video
Netflix: DVD only - 62 minutes
