A Canadian documentary by Benjamin and Daniel Stewart.
Ideas of scale and "as above, so below" are explained, using cells, humans and our planet as examples.
I've begun to distrust these guys. Maybe they don't know everything. Their films go heavy on techno/light on talk and seem to me more entertainment than education. It's all in the presentation. When they use artsy-fartsy video with techno music constantly playing, I take it as a sign that they're not as serious as they claim to be. Am I watching a music video or a documentary about serious shit? Make up your mind! Some correctly exposed footage without video effects or music would REALLY help their case. There is some good information in this film, but it's mostly an art school jack-off session. I rate it poor for not being a good enough art film or good enough documentary.
An American comedy directed by Norman Z. McLeod, starring Constance Bennett and Cary Grant.
A rich old man is stuck in a schedule set by his wife and wants to break free. Recently departed party animals who died in a car crash come back as ghosts, seeking to do a good deed by helping him and earn their way into heaven.
The video effects were pretty cool and ahead of their time. There were disappearing people and objects seeming to move by themselves. Otherwise it wasn't all that great. There were no technical difficulties so the audio and video were standard and it looked more '40s than '30s to me. The plot and characters kept my attention and some of the humor was entertaining. I rate it o.k. and would recommend it only as a time killer.
A Canadian documentary by Ben and Dan Stewart, starring Rob Page.
A Canadian man decided to get "off the grid" a few years ago and explains his experience.
This is made by the same people who did Kymatica (2009) and Esoteric Agenda (2008) and very much in the same style. They use a smidge too much techno and it tends to drown out the talk. Another documentary scale that I use: techno vs. talk. I would compare what's actually going on most closely to Garbage Warrior (2007) and Out of the Woods: Life and Death in Dirty Dave's Homeless Camp (2012), but the production is more Zeitgeist (2007). If you are familiar with the films, you will see that there is a discrepancy between the content and presentation. There were some good points made and some scenes of interviews with Rob at his earth ship, but I didn't see the need for over the top music and doomy cut-scene descriptions of society. I would have done more interview with Rob about technical aspects of his new home and details about his dealings with local law enforcement. I would probably have tried for a more personal, emotional approach as well. Overall, I think the content was good, but the presentation sucked. I rate this adequate and would recommend watching if you can filter the media that you expose yourself to.
An American drama directed by Frank McDonald.
A man returns from the army to find that the business deal that he is a partner in was corrupted when his friend died. Another friend owns a night club with gambling along with some gangsters. The ex-soldier meets up with a female friend who works in the night club and was married to the dead friend. In order to put wrongs to right, the trio must embark on a temporary career in logging. Unfortunately for them, one of their current business partners is a friend of the man who corrupted the investment in the first place and is trying to stop them.
The plot and characters were adequate to hold my attention. The audio quality was horrible, with high pitched dead air and a constant clicking sound. There isn't much to write about this film, but what in the world is that crazy statue on the mantle? (picture) I rate it o.k. and would only recommend watching to kill time.
An American comedy drama directed by Lowell Sherman, starring Joan Blondell and Madge Evans.
A trio of flappers compete for men.
This reminded me of The Women (1939) because the characters act so similarly. I was also reminded of a Snoop Dogg song called "A Bitch I Knew". Fortunately for this film, it was made in what is known as "pre-code" times. Early American sound films before censorship involved more interesting topics like alcohol, smoking, sexual innuendo, villainy being rewarded, etc. There is a scene in which one of the women receives a fur coat and removes her dress from under it while still at a party. Unfortunately, her subsequent flashing is implied rather than shown. Like I said, innuendo. Hence, no significant female anatomy points were earned. The plot was pointless and the characters stupid. The video was pretty rough and the sound was rougher. The audio quality was in fact so bad that I could barely discern what the characters were saying. The only thing that saves this from a shit rating is the "pre-code"ness of it. I rate it bad and would advise against watching.
An American comedy drama directed by Richard Wallace, starring Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Paulette Goddard.
A family of con artists are found right before they become rich through marriage and are sent back to London by train. They meet a lonely old woman on the train and pull her from the wreckage when the train crashes. They move in with the woman and pretend to be honest people in order to trick her into including them in her will.
Compared to the documentaries that I've been watching, this was worthless drivel. The characters were alright at best and the plot barely held my interest. There weren't any editing mistakes, but there was some slight color shift in the black and white video. It gave me something to watch while my computer was downloading and I was shelling pistachios. Overall, it was not so great, but not too bad. I rate it o.k. and would only recommend watching to kill time.
An Irish documentary by Michael Tsarion.
Extreme close-up Whoa! (picture) I would not have selected this camera angle. The title is not what I would have selected either. A title referring to Atonism would have been more correct. Other than nit-picking details of how the film was made and named, everything is good. The information is so vast as to leave the viewer awestruck. After watching Origins and Oracles, I thought that Mike T. had said everything he wanted to say. Fortunately, I was wrong. He does his standard slideshow deal, this time sitting at a desk and it clocks in at nine and a half hours. As always, the symbolism part is what stays in my mind best. His mention of Marlboro cigarette box design involving a pyramid with a capstone that is removed when the box opens was priceless! The lion and unicorn seal made me think of The Lion and the Unicorn rhyme/poem mentioned in Alice In Wonderland:
"The lion and the unicorn were fighting for the crown. The lion beat the unicorn all around the town. Some gave them white bread and some gave them brown; some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town."
Overall, it was a great presentation with lots of information. On my documentary scale of education vs. entertainment, this is all education. I rate it best and would recommend it to those who enjoy long documentaries of esoteric knowledge as much as I do.
