documentary, Uncategorized

1178 – Pandora’s Promise (2013 documentary)

Pandora’s Promise is a 2013 documentary film about the nuclear power debate, directed by Robert Stone. Its central argument is that nuclear power, which still faces historical opposition from environmentalists, is a relatively safe and clean energy source which can help mitigate the serious problem of anthropogenic global warming. Richard Branson is credited as an executive producer, as are Paul and Jody Allen, whose production company, Vulcan Productions, helped provide financial support.  A total of $1.2 million (US) was raised to finance the film, “particularly through Impact Partners, which provides documentary financing from individual investors. Mr. Stone said the money came mainly from wealthy “tech heads” who have worked in Silicon Valley.”

The title is derived from the ancient Greek myth of Pandora, who released numerous evils into the world, yet as the movie’s tagline recalls: “At the bottom of the box she found hope.” (wiki)


The New York Times: “You need to make an argument. A parade of like-minded nuclear-power advocates who assure us that everything will be all right just doesn’t cut it.” > Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: “In the end, by dismissing the protesters and failing to engage them in significant debate about the pros and cons of nuclear energy, the film undermined its own message.” > Seattle Weekly: “But the doc’s bigger flaw is that no one is allowed to make a reasoned anti-nuclear argument. To the well-made film’s many statistics, graphics, and common-sense assertions, the lack of a rebuttal is deafening.”

imdb   / Q&A with Jeremy Rifkin   /  review

movies

1170 – I Am Mother (2019)

timespace coordinates: automated bunker designed to repopulate humanity 38 years after an extinction event

I-AM-MOTHER-poster blueI Am Mother is a 2019 Australian science fiction thriller film directed by Grant Sputore, (feature film directorial debut) from a screenplay by Michael Lloyd Green. It stars Clara RugaardRose Byrne, and Hilary Swank. It was released in several countries on June 7, 2019, by Netflix, (wiki)

I-Am-Mother-movie-poster

imdb

animation, series

1149 – LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS (TV series 2019– )

Love, Death & Robots (stylized as LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS) is an American adult animated anthology web television series on Netflix.  The 18-episode first season was released on March 15, 2019. The series is produced by Joshua DonenDavid Fincher, Jennifer Miller, and Tim Miller. Each episode was animated by different crews from a range of countries. The series is a re-imagining of Fincher and Miller’s long in-development reboot of the 1981 animated science fiction film Heavy Metal. 

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The cast includes Mary Elizabeth WinsteadTopher GraceGary ColeSamira Wiley and Stefan Kapičić, with Grace and Winstead appearing in live-action roles, rather than animated.

In March 2019, Netflix revealed that it was experimenting with a new approach by including a different order of episodes to different users.  (*four unique episode orders, released to users at random.) (wiki)

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documentary

0923 – Home (2009)

on youtube


Home is a 2009 French documentary film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. The film is almost entirely composed of aerial shots of various places on Earth. It shows the diversity of life on Earth and how humanity is threatening the ecological balance of the planet. The English version was read by Glenn Close.

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The film was financed by Kering, a French multinational holding company specializing in retail shops and luxury brands, as part of their public relations strategy. (wiki)

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Yann Arthus-Bertrand said in a TED talk that the movie has no copyright.

imdb

documentary

871 – Attenborough and the Empire of the Ants (2017 Documentary)

On one side of the Jura Mountains there are ants colonies at war and the other home to a huge empire of ants, believed to be one of the largest animal societies in the world, where over a billion ants from rival colonies live in peace.

imdb

documentary, series

870 – Botany: A Blooming History (Documentary | TV Mini-Series 2014)

BBC Botany A Blooming History – A Confusion of Names

BBC Botany A Blooming History – Photosynthesis

books, quotes, Uncategorized

868 – William T. Vollmann

The Most Honest Book About Climate Change Yet