Saturday, December 22

Christmas in Connecticut

Journalist Elizabeth Lane is one of the country's most famous food writers. In her columns, she describes herself as a hard working farm woman, taking care of her children and being an excellent cook. But this is all lies.

In reality she is an umarried New Yorker who can't even boil an egg. The recipes come from her good friend Felix. The owner of the magazine she works for has decided that a heroic sailor will spend his Christmas on her farm. Miss Lane knows that her career is over if the truth comes out, but what can she do?

Watch on Putlocker or Sockshare.
Continue reading →

Holiday Inn

Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire star in Holiday Inn as a popular nightclub song-and-dance team. When his heart is broken by his girlfriend, Crosby decides to retire from the hustle-bustle of big city showbiz. He purchases a rustic New England farm and converts it to an inn, which he opens to the public (floor show and all) only on holidays.

Well, it seems that Astaire wants to make a film about Crosby's inn, starring their mutual discovery Reynolds. Bing briefly loses Reynolds to Astaire, but wins her back during the filming of a musical number on a Hollywood soundstage. As with most of Irving Berlin's "portfolio" musicals of the 1940s, the song highlights of Holiday Inn are too numerous to mention.

Watch here.


Continue reading →

Scrooge

Widely considered to be the definitive of the many film versions of Charles Dickens' classic novel is this 1951 British adaptation, starring Alastair Sim (entitled "Scrooge" in its U.K. release).

Sim plays Ebenezer Scrooge, a London miser who, despite his wealth, refuses to make charitable contributions and treats his sole employee, Bob Cratchit, as an indentured servant. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his late business partner, Jacob Marley, who was as selfish as Scrooge in life and has been condemned to an eternity of wandering the Earth in shackles.

Marley informs Scrooge that he's to receive a trio of spirits that night who will take him on a journey through Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come. As Scrooge encounters each apparition, he is taken on a tour of his life and realizes what a wretch he is, transformed by greed from an idealistic youth into an embittered ogre. Infused with a new, cheery outlook, Scrooge sets about earning his redemption.

Watch the 1951 version below, or Scrooge (1935), the Albert Finney.version done in 1970 or George C. Scott's adaptation from 1984.

Continue reading →

It's a Wonderful Life

This is director Frank Capra's classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American small town of Bedford Falls. As the film opens, it's Christmas Eve, 1946, and George, who has long considered himself a failure, faces financial ruin and arrest and is seriously contemplating suicide.

High above Bedford Falls, two celestial voices discuss Bailey's dilemma and decide to send down eternally bumbling angel Clarence Oddbody (Henry Travers), who after 200 years has yet to earn his wings, to help George out. But first, Clarence is given a crash course on George's life, and the multitude of selfless acts he has performed: rescuing his younger brother from drowning, losing the hearing in his left ear in the process; enduring a beating rather than allow a grieving druggist (H.B. Warner) to deliver poison by mistake to an ailing child; foregoing college and a long-planned trip to Europe to keep the Bailey Building and Loan from letting its Depression-era customers down; and, most important, preventing town despot Potter (Lionel Barrymore) from taking over Bedford Mills and reducing its inhabitants to penury.

Along the way, George has married his childhood sweetheart Mary (Donna Reed), who has stuck by him through thick and thin. But even the love of Mary and his children are insufficient when George, faced with an $8000 shortage in his books, becomes a likely candidate for prison thanks to the vengeful Potter. Bitterly, George declares that he wishes that he had never been born, and Clarence, hoping to teach George a lesson, shows him how different life would have been had he in fact never been born. After a nightmarish odyssey through a George Bailey-less Bedford Falls (now a glorified slum called Potterville), wherein none of his friends or family recognize him, George is made to realize how many lives he has touched, and helped, through his existence; and, just as Clarence had planned, George awakens to the fact that, despite all its deprivations, he has truly had a wonderful life.

Capra's first production through his newly-formed Liberty Films, It's a Wonderful Life lost money in its original run, when it was percieved as a fairly downbeat view of small-town life. Only after it lapsed into the public domain in 1973 and became a Christmastime TV perennial did it don the mantle of a holiday classic. Watch the original, unedited version, in your choice of colour or black and white, below.


Continue reading →

Animated Christmas Specials!

Continue reading →
Friday, December 21

Jimmy's Grow Your Own Christmas Dinner

Our Christmas dinner feels like it's been around forever, but in fact much of it is a surprisingly recent invention. In this one-hour programme, Jimmy Doherty tries to find out where the food on our Christmas plate comes from historically, and how it has evolved in the age of mass production.

To find out, Jimmy has spent months growing and making his own traditional dinner from scratch - to discover if it tastes better than the modern turkey and trimmings provided by the giant supermarket farms and factories.

Jimmy's 1845 recipe for Christmas pudding, with silver trinkets and cow stomach, may have matured for months before being served, but will it taste better than a microwaveable modern pud? And can he nurse his knobbly heritage variety vegetables (potatoes, sprouts and carrots) through the attentions of numerous farm pests just to compete with their washed, graded and uniform counterparts from the supermarkets? Jimmy's best mate Jamie Oliver is on hand to help decide the winner.

Watch on Putlocker, Putlocker, Putlocker, SockShare or SockShare.
Continue reading →
Tuesday, November 27

Watchmen

Set in an alternate universe circa 1985, the film's world is a highly unstable one where a nuclear war is imminent between America and Russia.

Superheroes have long been made to hang up their tights thanks to the government-sponsored Keene Act, but that all changes with the death of The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a robust ex-hero commando whose mysterious free fall out a window perks the interest of one of the country's last remaining vigilantes, Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley). His investigation leads him to caution many of his other former costumed colleagues, including Dr. Manhattan, Night Owl (Patrick Wilson), Ozymandias (Matthew Goode), Sally Jupiter (Carla Gugino), and her daughter, The Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman).

Heralded for bringing the world of superheroes into the literary world, Watchmen gave the super-powered mythos a real-life grounding that had been missing in mainstream comics to that point. The film adaptation had languished in one form of development hell or another for years after the book's release, with various directors on and off the project, including Terry Gilliam, David Hayter, and Darren Aronofsky, as well as Paul Greengrass, whose eventual dismissal stemmed from budget conflicts with the studio.

Watch the trailer, below, and the movie on SockShare, FileNuke or NowVideo.

 
Continue reading →
Monday, November 26

Underworld: Tijuana Cartel

The story of a ruthless Mexican gang responsible for smuggling huge quantities of cocaine in the 1980s.

National Geographic Tijuana Underworld: In 1994 the DEA, FBI and IRS declare war on Mexico's most powerful drug cartel. Undercover agents, drug kingpins, journalists and 8,000 Tijuana citizens are slain in the ferocious, ten-year conflict.

Watch the show courtesy of YouTube here or below.

Continue reading →

Is Wal-Mart Good for America?


In Circleville, Ohio, population 13,000, the local RCA television-manufacturing plant was once a source of good jobs with good pay and benefits. But in late 2003, RCA's owner, Thomson Consumer Electronics, lost a sizeable portion of its production orders and six months later shut the plant down, throwing 1,000 people out of work


Thomson's jobs have moved to China, where cheap labor manufactures what the American consumer desires -- from clothing to electronics -- and can buy at "everyday low prices" at the local Wal-Mart.

FRONTLINE explores the relationship between U.S. job losses and the American consumer's insatiable desire for bargains in "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" Through interviews with retail executives, product manufacturers, economists, and trade experts, correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the growing controversy over the Wal-Mart way of doing business and asks whether a single retail giant has changed the American economy.

Click here to watch this show on Frontline, courtesy of PBS.

Continue reading →

Dressed To Kill

A suspenseful Holmes and Watson feature about a group of killers out to find three music boxes sold at an auction. The boxes contain something in them that will help lead the crooks to loads of money. Only problem is that Sherlock Holmes is on their trail. Typical good acting and tight direction help this one rise above its somewhat implausible story. The chemistry between Rathbone and Bruce is as ever the binding of the film. Some other good performances are given by Patricia Morrison as a wicked woman and Edmund Breon as "Stinky," a school chum of Watson's. The verbal banter between Morrison and Holmes is for me the most memorable aspect of the film. As I watched the film, the lines slowly crept back into my head. "Praise from you is indeed gratifying Mr. Holmes," and then a line about respecting his memory. Great stuff! Watch courtesy of The Internet Archive below.

Continue reading →

The Vampire Bat

In the small village of Kleinshloss, the locals are scared with a serial killer that is draining the blood of his victims, and the Burgomaster Gustave Schoen is convinced that a vampire is responsible for the deaths. The skeptical police inspector Karl Brettschneider is reluctant to accept the existence of vampires, but the local doctor Otto Von Newman shows literature about cases of vampirism inclusive in Amazon.

When the apple street vendor Martha Mueller is murdered, the prime suspect becomes the slow Herman Gleib, a man with a mind of child that loves bats. The group of vigilantes chases Herman, while Dr. Von Newman's housemaid Georgiana is attacked by the killer. Watch below, courtesy of The Internet Archive.
 
Continue reading →

The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln

  
The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln is still considered the most respected and revered of all U.S. Presidents ever elected to that esteemed office. I have always held a deep and profound sense of awe of the man and all that he accomplished in his years in office. With the presidential reelection last week, the parallels of the pervasive ideologies that divide our nation now and then, tells me that nothing has changed in the years since the Civil War. I found a video today that shows what drove John Wilkes Booth to murder President Lincoln. This video shows the bitterness and the deep hatred that drove the South to separate from the Union that still permeates throughout the country today and deeply divides us all. Not just in a sense of they were wronged by the North, but also how they view life in general, and in their arrogant thinking, that everyone needs to have the same views and rules as they set forth. Will this bring our country down yet again or can we learn from the past?

This HBO documentary is 1 hour and 21 minutes, this film is riveting, moving and very accurate.

Continue reading →
Wednesday, November 21

The Dust Bowl

The Dust Bowl

 Episode: Episode 1: The Great Plow-Up

 The grasslands of the southern Plains were rapidly turned into wheat fields. Then following the early years of the drought, storms killed crops and livestock and literally rearranged the landscape. The worst storm of them all was on April 14, 1935—Black Sunday—a searing experience for everyone caught in it, including a young songwriter from Pampa, Texas, named Woody Guthrie.



Watch Episode 1: The Great Plow-Up on PBS. See more from The Dust Bowl.


Episode: Episode 2: Reaping the Whirlwind

Black Sunday was only halfway through the decade-long crisis. The storms continued. The Great Depression still affected people. Government programs were instituted to help. Learn what FDR’s administration did to try to keep the southern Plains from becoming a North American Sahara desert. Find out why some residents finally decided they had to give up and move somewhere else and how some held on.



Continue reading →
Tuesday, November 20

Fifty Shades of Grey: The Sex Story


Fifty Shades of Grey -The Sex Story is a 2011 erotic novel by British author E. L. James. Set largely in Seattle, it is the first instalment in a trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, sadism/masochism

''Fifty Shades of Grey: The Sex Story'' documentary examines the phenomenon of the UK's fastest selling paperback of all time.From visiting a spanking class, where novices are trained in the art of a good caning, to exploring the world of an S&M couple who have written sex contracts with each other and have honed their more extreme practice to perfection, this documentary uncovers what the Fifty Shades of Grey craze tells us about 21st-century Britain. The programme examines the sociological and cultural effects the book is having in the UK, as sales of obscure classical music and bondage gear increase.

Continue reading →

Vegucated

Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it's all about.

They have no idea that so much more than steak is at stake and that the planet's fate may fall on their plates. Lured by tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover hidden sides of animal agriculture that make them wonder whether solutions offered in films like Food, Inc. go far enough.

Before long, they find themselves risking everything to expose an industry they supported just weeks before. But can their convictions carry them through when times get tough? What about on family vacations fraught with skeptical step-dads, carnivorous cousins, and breakfast buffets?

Part sociological experiment and part adventure comedy, Vegucated showcases the rapid and at times comedic evolution of three people who are trying their darnedest to change in a culture that seems dead set against it. Watch the trailer below and the documentary here or here.

Continue reading →
Thursday, November 15

The Genetic Takeover or Mutant Food

Have we become unwitting guinea pigs for multinationals who blithely disregard millions of years of evolution? In just a few short years, genetically modified plants have become part of our daily diet and are already found in 75% of processed foods.

This revolution has occurred without consumer awareness and without the knowledge of potential risks to our health and to the environment. Many scientists and farmers vigorously condemn the absence of independent, adequate testing.

The Genetic Takeover casts a sober look at a potentially explosive situation. In response to consumer demands, many European and Asian countries have instituted mandatory labelling of genetically modified foods. North America, however, has been slow to react. In their relentless fight for profits, the industrial giants seem willing to ignore basic safety rules. Can food crops, a vital element of the collective wealth of this planet, remain at the mercy of private interests? Some subtitles.

 
The Genetic Takeover or Mutant Food by Karl Parent & by Louise Vandelac, National Film Board of Canada
Continue reading →
Wednesday, November 14

The Revolution


They came of age in a new world of intoxicating and innovative ideas about human and civil rights, diverse economic systems, and self-government. In a few short years, these men and women would transform themselves into architects of the future through the building of a new nation unlike any that had ever come before.

From the roots of the rebellion and the signing of the Declaration of Independence to victory on the battlefield at Yorktown and the adoption of The United States Constitution, The Revolution tells he remarkable story of this important era in history. Venturing beyond the conventional list of generals and politicians, The History Channel introduces the full range of individuals who helped shape this great conflict, including some of the war's most influential unsung heroes.

Through cinematic recreations, intimate biographical investigations, and provocative political, military, and economic analysis, The Revolution breathes new life into one of the most pivotal periods in American history and you can watch the series below using the embedded playlist.

Continue reading →

The Presidents

The Presidents is an unprecedented eight-part survey of the personal lives and legacies of the remarkable men who have presided over the Oval Office.

From George Washington to George W. Bush, The Presidents gathers together vivid snapshots of all 43 Commanders in Chief who have guided America throughout its history – their powerful personalities, weaknesses, and major achievements or historical insignificance.

Based on the book To the Best of My Ability, edited by Pulitzer Prize-winner James McPherson, The Presidents features rare and unseen photographs and footage, unexpected insight and trivia from journalists, scholars, and politicians such as Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Wesley Clark, Bob Dole, and former President Jimmy Carter. Watch on the YouTube playlist below.

 
Continue reading →

The Great Depression

In the American democracy of the 1930s two visions of liberty collided. 

 Working men and women battled landowners and factory managers for the right to join a union. On the tenant farms and in the steel factories working people asserted their citizenship in the midst of great economic turmoil and a tide of government reform.

 This is a first-rate documentary highlighting response of the people to crisis. Includes attention to unemployed,labor and farmer militancy, the "EPIC" campaign in California. By the producers of the better-know "Eyes on the Prize" series on the Civil Rights Movement. Especially important now, as the Right tries to dismantle every aspect of the New Deal and progressivism. Watch the series on the playlist below. 
Continue reading →

The Secrets of J. Edgar Hoover


One man made the G-men legendary, turned a bumbling FBI into what was perceived to be an army of truth and justice known the world over, and made himself a towering American legend: J. Edgar Hoover. For nearly 50 years, he ran the FBI. As the gatekeeper of its secrets, its power and its image, Hoover kept the keys to a kingdom called Washington.

Of course today, the Hoover legend is not just about crime fighting. It has as much to do with playing fast and loose with civil liberties, with collecting vast secret files on innocent people — a powerful man with secrets of his own, including rumors of bizarre sexual behavior. Though never elected to any office, for 50 years he was more powerful than presidents. As head of the FBI he knew what everyone else wanted to keep hidden. But behind the public persona, his shocking private life nearly brought him down. What were the Secrets of J. Edgar Hoover?

Continue reading →
Tuesday, September 11

I Am Fishead

I am Fishead: A documentary about how psychopaths and antidepressants influence our society - a provocative snapshot of the world we live in.

Directed and Produced by
Misha Votruba and Vaclav Dejcmar
Length: 80 min.
Released: Sep 11 2011

It is a well-known fact that our society is structured like a pyramid. The very few people at the top create conditions for the majority below. Who are these people? Can we blame them for the problems our society faces today? Guided by the saying "A fish rots from the head." we set out to follow that fishy odor. What we found out is that people at the top are more likely to be psychopaths than the rest of us.

Who, or what, is a psychopath? Unlike Hollywood's stereotypical image, they are not always blood-thirsty monsters from slasher movies. Actually, that nice lady who chatted you up on the subway this morning could be one. So could your elementary school teacher, your grinning boss, or even your loving boyfriend. The medical definition is simple: A psychopath is a person who lacks empathy and conscience, the quality which guides us when we choose between good and evil, moral or not. Most of us are conditioned to do good things. Psychopaths are not. Their impact on society is staggering, yet altogether psychopaths barely make up one percent of the population.

Broken into three parts, our search for the fishead starts in New York City, on Wall Street, where a big chunk of the world power is concentrated. This small plot of city land is where the economic crisis erupted and what we found there has far-reaching consequences, both for the psychopaths and us normal folk.

The second part of the film touches on how, for a small number of people, overuse of antidepressants can result in behaviors that appear to mimic some psychopathic features. Although overuse of these medications will not produce psychopathy, they may stifle emotion and decrease the user's ability to feel empathy. They also may have the opposite effects, "normalizing" emotional experience and empathy. More than one-third of the Western population uses and, in some cases, abuses these drugs. But why? So why do we want to take a pill that flattens or normalizes our normal feelings? We think something sure smells fishy again.

It is not too far fetched to say that for the first time in history we not only praise psychopaths in the highest positions of power, but in many cases, they became our role models. On top of that, we don't seem to think it's a problem. In the third part, we come back to the idea of us, the normal people in our day-to-day life. How much different are we from the average psychopath? By embracing a superficial culture, each of us maybe unwillingly supports the fishead. Albert Einstein said, "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Through interviews with renowned psychologist Professor Philip Zimbardo, leading expert on psychopathy Professor Robert Hare, former President of Czech Republic and playwright Vaclav Havel, authors Gary Greenberg and Christopher Lane, professor Nicholas Christakis, among numerous other thinkers, we have delved into the world of psychopaths and heroes and revealed shocking implications for us and our society.

Watch below, hosted on YouTube, or this alternate YouTube source, or on Disclose TV.

Continue reading →
Saturday, September 8

Perfect Life


The story of how a little man's world breaks down when it is basically built for the simple illusion.

Continue reading →

Night of the Templar

Here lies a tale of passion, loyalty, deceit, betrayal...and revenge. They were Warriors. They were Crusaders. Under the leadership of the righteous GREGOIRE, this band of brothers in the Holy Order of the Knights Templar selflessly fought back-to-back, defending GOD and the "True Cross." Until one dark night of utter betrayal...

B-Movie Addiction says...

Night of the Templar (alternatively titled 'Knights Templar') is a unique movie to say the least. It's a medieval revenge story wrapped in a modern-day horror mystery wrapped in a suspense thriller. It's somewhat all over the place, and you do need to pay attention to sort out what's what since there are two parallel plot-lines. If you don't, you'll find yourself wondering what the hell is going on.

The story begins in the year 1095 CE, following a leader of a band of templar knights named Gregoire (Paul Sampson) during the crusades. We see him at the pointy end of a sword uttering a curse to the unseen man holding the sword that he will return from the grave to send him and his accomplices to hell. The film cuts between modern day and 1095 as we learn more about the characters and exactly what happened with the Templars.  As the story unfolds, we learn that the reason for the betrayal is as minimal as the acting from the female cast. Greed. Plain old greed. Templars want to get laid and have money while doing it. Gregoire says no. Murder and betrayal follow.

The modern-day plot focuses on a fantasy-weekend getaway to a European castle, almost in a reality TV show format except that there is a looming purpose over it. Everyone starts to recognize that they are the reincarnations of the templars, good and bad, after reading the story over the course of the night thanks to a conveniently placed coffee-table version of the story left out. It's done in a NeverEnding Story-esque style, the guests read the story out loud between scenes of what happened in the past to Gregoire. Surprisingly, the story begins to come alive! People start getting murdered, the first by... *gasp*... someone dressed as a templar knight. The murder mystery begins to kick in when bodies start turning up in slightly stranger ways: a body nail-gunned to the wall, a cook's tongue removed. The difference in methodology between the templar's holy justice and just plain cruel murder gives reason to believe there is slightly more to the tale. And I do mean slightly.

This movie is not really that complex to figure out if you are paying attention. It's shockingly straight forward as it goes on. The host of the weekend, the reincarnated Gregoire, discovers the bodies and without emotional reaction says brilliant phrases such as "great... I have to cook... and clean..." Not to mention right from the beginning he experiences stigmata-type pains of getting stabbed in the back, literally, by his former comrades. The guests take turns in voicing their opinions on whether they would have supported or betrayed Gregoire, letting you figure out who they are or could possibly be rather quickly.

The murder scenes are laughably bad. The actual killing is done slightly off camera while they zoom in on the faces. Despite the lameness, there's something incredibly satisfying in seeing a Scream-style knifing committed by a templar knight. The big battle at the climax is equally is terrible. "I shall cut you ten times! One for each life of excess!" is screamed by Gregoire as he achieves his justice. The fighting is just as corny as the dialogue. The two big matches are between the young knight and a 60 year old priest and a young girl vs. David Carradine. Not really blockbuster action, it's pretty funny and I think it was meant to be. One of the battles is even won through the power of love.

A big part of the strange allure is the strange cast of characters and their actors as well. Udo Kier plays a mysterious priest, whose motives are unclear through most of the movie. Billy Drago plays the chef named Shauna in full drag. Super creepy. Norman Reedus, a.k.a Daryl Dixon from The Walking Dead, makes an appearance as an asshole who enjoys choking himself while receiving fellatio. David Carradine plays the local shopkeeper who has a couple incredibly corny scenes. Awesome to see him in one of his last hurrahs. Paul Sampson has a really unique and awkward screen presence that's strangely addicting to watch. The combination results in a blend of strange awkward creepiness that somehow works.

And with all that said, this review is like the movie itself... All over the place. I actually did enjoy this movie a lot despite the sarcasm. It's allure lies in just how weird it is. From Paul Sampson's strange Boston/Little Nicky accent to his templar speech delivered like an Oprah "...and you get a car! and you get a car!" pointing with his sword at his knights. It's just loveable. A definite guilty pleasure. It looks good too. For an indie film the production quality and camera work is quite exceptional. Interesting semi-twist at the end too, that will give you something to talk about whoever you're watching it with.

Night of the Templar is definitely worth a watch. It will keep you entertained from start to finish. It's a loveable oddity in film, venturing far from the path of Hollywood predictability. Watch the trailer below and the film on PutLocker, WatchFreeInHD, HDPlay or SockShare.

Continue reading →

Thieves by Law

Thieves by Law, or Ganavim Ba Hok is a documentary film charting the rise of Russian organized crime in the wake of the fall of the Soviet Union. In the film several noted crime figures are interviewed, a number of which are currently wanted by Interpol.

The term “thieves by law,” which refers to the uppermost echelon of the Russian criminal world, was born in the 30s. Some people say it might have something to do with “Chekists,” or the early Soviet secret service (what later became the KGB). At first, thieves by law followed a strict code: a thief by law had to serve time in jail, and had no right to have a family, a registered address, or belongings, surviving only by criminal means.

This is a look "inside" the Russian mafia at the men who call themselves "thieves by law". In theory those that call themselves "thieves by law" are to have no home, no property of their own, no wife, no family. They are to have nothing that will tie them down and divert their attention from the brotherhood or give them pause. The film focuses on three men who have survived the prisons, the wars and the other nastiness to become "respected" men of means, with money and families.

Watch the trailer below and the documentary on YouTube source one or two.

Continue reading →

The Elephant Man

Based on the true story of Joseph Merrick, a 19th-century Englishman afflicted with a disfiguring congenital disease. A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous facade, there is revealed a person of intelligence and sensitivity.

Stars John Hurt, Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft.

Watch the trailer below and view the film at PutLocker, WatchFreeInHD, HDPlay or SockShare.

Continue reading →

History of the World in 2 Hours

A rapid-fire history of our world, from the beginning of time as we know it to present day. This two-hour CGI-driven special delves into the key turning points: the formation of earth, emergence of life, spread of man and the growth of civilization--and reveals their surprising connections to our world ...

What if we could tell you everything? The entire history of the world. Now, what if we told you we could do it in just 2 hours? We're going to tell the whole story... from the big bang to the present day, how the planet prepared for the rise of man, how the stone age led to the steam engine, how the first seeds sprouted into cities and civilizations. Everything is connected, and the path leads to you. It took history 13.7 billion years to unfold. We'll show you everything you need to know in the next 2 hours.

Watch below or on YouTube, PutLocker, HDPlay, WatchFreeInHD or SockShare.

Continue reading →

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Ray Bradbury adapted his own novel for Something Wicked This Way Comes, Jack Clayton's beautiful rendering of the turn-of-the-century fantasy of a mysterious carnival that literally blows into a small town to taunt and tempt the inhabitants.

Jonathan Pryce (Brazil), the handsome but demonic proprietor of Dark's Pandemonium Carnival, preys upon the vanities, the delusions, and the regrets of the townspeople by granting their wishes at the expense of their souls. Jason Robards, as the meek librarian Charles Halloway, becomes his unlikely nemesis when his son Will, with his best friend Jim Nightshade (a deliciously dark name in its own right), discovers the secret of Dark's nightmarish carnival.

When they become hunted by Dark's minions (including Pam Grier as the beautiful and mysterious Dust Witch), Halloway must confront his own fears and regrets to save the boys. Clayton captures the idyll of childhood in the fall with rich autumnal colors, his camera gliding along with the energetic boys as they tear through field and forests.

The climax, however, gets lost in a cacophony of competing special effects, imaginatively visualized but never very terrifying, as if producer Disney resisted the uneasy undercurrent of the story. It's more dark fantasy than horror, a nightmarish adventure filtered through the memory of a man remembering his childhood in mythic terms.

View the trailer below and watch the movie on PutLocker, SockShare, HDPlay or WatchFreeInHD

Continue reading →

The American Abortion War

It has become one of the most vicious, important and divisive battlegrounds in the 2012 US presidential election. Since it was legalised in 1973, the issue of abortion has polarized the US, but now the battle has been taken to a new level.

Last year, an unprecedented number of laws have been passed across the US, all aimed at restricting abortion or reproductive rights. But the fight goes far beyond the medical procedure, with Republican politicians even attacking the Obama administration for making contraception more readily available.

The US has seen more anti-abortion violence than any other country in the world. Since 1993, at least eight abortion providers, including four doctors have been killed. And there have been over 200 arsons and bombings against reproductive healthcare clinics since 1977.

Fault Lines investigates the forces behind the so-called war on women in the US. Why is a medical procedure being reframed as a deeply divisive moral issue in the US?

Continue reading →

The Answer

A man recalls his life in short while contemplating suicide. As he discusses his thoughts and state of mind, he chooses to control the only thing that he can. The last thing that he will ever see.

Continue reading →

The Pyramid Code

The Pyramid Code is a made-for-television documentary series of 5 episodes that explores the pyramid fields and ancient temples in Egypt as well as ancient megalithic sites around the world looking for clues to matriarchal consciousness, ancient knowledge and sophisticated technology in a Golden Age. The series is based on the extensive research done in 25 trips to Egypt and 51 other countries around the world by Dr. Carmen Boulter formerly from the Graduate Division of Educational Research at the University of Calgary in Canada.

The Pyramid Code features interviews with prominent scholars and authors in multidisciplinary fields (see Cast): geology, physics, astrophysics, archaeology, bilogical engineering, magnetic field theory, hieroglyphics, and Egyptology. The series explores penetrating questions: * Who were the ancients and what did they know? * Could the pyramids be much older than traditional Egyptology would have us believe? * Could it be that the ancients were more technologically advanced than we are today? * Why do we have so little understanding of the ancient Egyptians? * Are there still secrets hidden in plain sight? * Do new discoveries force the issue of establishing a new chronology? * Are there little known sites that provide clues to a new understanding of our distant past? * Are we really the most advanced civilization to ever live on Earth?

Watch on Hulu or form the YouTube playlist below.

Continue reading →
Thursday, September 6

Secrets of the Sun

It contains 99.9 percent of all the matter in our solar system and sheds hot plasma at nearly a million miles an hour. The temperature at its core is a staggering 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. It convulses, it blazes, it sings. You know it as the sun.

Scientists know it as one of the most amazing physics laboratories in the universe. Now, with the help of new spacecraft and Earth-based telescopes, scientists are seeing the sun as they never have before and even recreating what happens at its very center in labs here on Earth. Their work will help us understand aspects of the sun that have puzzled scientists for decades.

But more critically, it may help us predict and track solar storms that have the power to zap our power grid, shut down telecommunications, and ground global air travel for days, weeks, or even longer. Such storms have happened before—but never in the modern era of satellite communication. "Secrets of the Sun" reveals a bright new dawn in our understanding of our nearest star—one that might help keep our planet from going dark. Watch below on PBS or on YouTube.

Watch Secrets of the Sun on PBS. See more from NOVA.
Continue reading →
Saturday, September 1

The Handmaid's Tale

Set in a Fascistic future America, The Handmaid's Tale tells the story of Kate, a handmaid. In this America, the religious right has taken over and gone hog-wild. Kate is a criminal, guilty of the crime of trying to escape from the US, and is sentenced to become a Handmaid.

The job of a Handmaid is to bear the children of the man to whom she is assigned. After ruthless group training by Aunt Lydia in the proper way to behave, Kate is assigned as Handmaid to the Commander. Kate is attracted to Nick, the Commander's chauffeur. At the same time, a resistance movement begins to challenge the regime.

Download the book in mobi or epub, and watch the film here or here.
Continue reading →
Saturday, August 25

Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness


We tend to accept that people in authority must be right. It’s this assumption that Socrates wanted us to challenge by urging us to think logically about the nonsense they often come out with, rather than being struck dumb by their aura of importance and air of suave certainty.
This six part series on philosophy is presented by popular British philosopher Alain de Botton, featuring six thinkers who have influenced history, and their ideas about the pursuit of the happy life.
Socrates on Self-Confidence (Part 1) – Why do so many people go along with the crowd and fail to stand up for what they truly believe? Partly because they are too easily swayed by other people’s opinions and partly because they don’t know when to have confidence in their own.
Epicurus on Happiness (Part 2) – British philosopher Alain De Botton discusses the personal implications of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270BCE) who was no epicurean glutton or wanton consumerist, but an advocate of “friends, freedom and thought” as the path to happiness.
Seneca on Anger (Part 3) – Roman philosopher Lucious Annaeus Seneca (4BCE-65CE), the most famous and popular philosopher of his day, took the subject of anger seriously enough to dedicate a whole book to the subject. Seneca refused to see anger as an irrational outburst over which we have no control. Instead he saw it as a philosophical problem and amenable to treatment by philosophical argument.
Montaigne on Self-Esteem (Part 4) – Looks at the problem of self-esteem from the perspective of Michel de Montaigne (16th Century), the French philosopher who singled out three main reasons for feeling bad about oneself – sexual inadequecy, failure to live up to social norms, and intellectual inferiority – and then offered practical solutions for overcoming them.
Schopenhauer on Love (Part 5) – Alain De Botton surveys the 19th Century German thinker Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) who believed that love was the most important thing in life because of its powerful impulse towards ‘the will-to-life’.
Nietzsche on Hardship (Part 6) – British philosopher Alain De Botton explores Friedrich Nietzsche’s (1844-1900) dictum that any worthwhile achievements in life come from the experience of overcoming hardship. For him, any existence that is too comfortable is worthless, as are the twin refugees of drink or religion.
Continue reading →

Taboo: Mating

How far would you go in the name of love? Would you drink your partner’s blood to secure your bond? Or carve their hand print into your flesh to show your devotion?

Could you marry someone behind bars, knowing you may never be able to be together? Or risk your life to steal another man’s wife?

Delve into rituals, ancient and modern, used to bond one human to another and uncover the extremes of human passion and devotion. The desire to find a mate is one of humanity’s fundamental instincts, but what happens to men and women when their love is taboo?

Taboo takes viewers on a journey beyond their comfort zones and across cultural borders to explore addictions and lifestyles that are acceptable in some cultures but forbidden, illegal, or even reviled in others.

Continue reading →

Wild Thing: The Smithsonian National Zoo

Wild Thing: The Smithsonian National Zoo showcases the role of the National Zoo in preserving endangered species on the edge of extinction. The stars of this show – Giant Pandas, Cheetahs, Orangutans, and other animals on display at the Zoo – are “ambassadors” for their dwindling species in the wild.

As part of a worldwide conservation effort, scientists at the National Zoo breed endangered species for the purpose of re-introducing them to nature. The National Zoo is truly a park full of wild animals, but it is also a reminder that humans don’t rule the earth; we share it.

Many of the animals on display are critically endangered in the wild. Some are even extinct in nature and only exist in captivity. Some of the Zoo’s most important challenges involve engaging visitors and reminding them that we are all connected to what goes on out in the wild. Watch below or via SnagFilms or Hulu.

Continue reading →

The Tiger and the Snow

A love-struck poet travels into the heart of wartime Iraq in hopes of rescuing the woman he loves in Academy award-winning director Roberto Benigni's affecting tale of love and devotion.

A kind poet and father to his daughters, a respected lecturer and literary figure to his students, and a complete nuisance in the eyes of his beloved Vittoria (Nicoletta Braschi), Attilio (Benigni) finds his life suddenly turned upside down when he learns that the object of his undying affections has been critically injured in a Baghdad bombing.

Now, despite the chaos sweeping through Iraq, Attilio vows to risk everything in order to travel into the heart of Baghdad and deliver the medicine that will awaken the woman of his dreams from a potentially eternal slumber. Jean Reno and Tom Waits co-star in this heartfelt, serio-comic romance, which pits the uplifting power of love against the destructive force of bombs.

Watch the feature film on Sockshare, Putlocker, NovaMov, GorillaVid, NosVideo, FileBox or UploadC.

Continue reading →

Harold and Maude

Self-destructive and needy but wealthy teenager Harold is obsessed with death and spends his leisure time attending funerals, watching the demolition of buildings, visiting junkyards, simulating suicides trying to get the attention of his indifferent, snobbish and egocentric mother, and having sessions with his psychologist.

When Harold meets the anarchic seventy-nine-year-old Maude at a funeral, they become friends and the old lady discloses other perspectives of the cycle of life for him. Meanwhile, his mother enlists him in a dating service and tries to force him to join the army. On the day of Maude's eightieth birthday, Harold proposes to her but he finds the truth about life at the end of hers.

Watch the trailer below and the film at Veehd or Veoh.

Continue reading →

The Genius of Charles Darwin

The Genius of Charles Darwin is a three-part television documentary, written and presented by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins.
Life, Darwin and Everything. In the first episode Richard Dawkins explains the basic mechanisms of natural selection, and tells the story of how Charles Darwin developed his theory. He teaches a year 11 science class about evolution, which many of the students are reluctant to accept. He then takes them to the Jurassic Coast in Dorset to search for fossils, hoping that the students can see some of the evidence for themselves.
The Fifth Ape. In the second episode Richard Dawkins deals with some of the philosophical and social ramifications of the theory of evolution. Dawkins starts out in Kenya, speaking with palaeontologist Richard Leakey. He then visits Christ is the Answer Ministries, Kenya’s largest Pentecostal church, to interview Bishop Bonifes Adoyo. Adoyo has led the movement to press the National Museums of Kenya to sideline its collection of hominid bones pointing to man’s evolution from ape to human.
God Strikes Back. In the third and final episode, Dawkins explains why Darwin’s theory is one of history’s most controversial ideas. Dawkins uses this episode to discuss the opposition that evolution has experienced since it was first discovered. He starts by approaching various anti-evolutionists, ranging from John Mackay from Creation Research, Wendy Wright, President of Concerned Women for America, to English school teacher Nick Cowen. In order to address concerns they bring up, he shows the evidence for evolution, including fossil and DNA evidence.

Watch the playlist below or start with episode one. 

Continue reading →

Why Beauty Matters

Philosopher Roger Scruton presents a provocative essay on the importance of beauty in the arts and in our lives.
In the 20th century, Scruton argues, art, architecture and music turned their backs on beauty, making a cult of ugliness and leading us into a spiritual desert.
Using the thoughts of philosophers from Plato to Kant, and by talking to artists Michael Craig-Martin and Alexander Stoddart, Scruton analyses where art went wrong and presents his own impassioned case for restoring beauty to its traditional position at the center of our civilization. Watch below.  

Continue reading →

Fetih 1453

In 1453, the Byzantine capital of Constantinople is surrounded by Ottoman Turks. The city is but a shadow of its former glory due to the empire's ever receding coffers, while the Ottoman Empire continues to grow rich. After years of tolerating the existence of Byzantium, the ambitious sultan, Mehmet II launches his campaign to end the Byzantine Empire and take Constantinople for the Ottomans, resulting in arguably the greatest siege of that age. Watch the trailer below and the film from source one, two or three.

Continue reading →
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
 

this is gen x © 2008