the unforeseen Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Earth Day was founded in 1970 with the goal of shaking up "the political establishment and [forcing] this issue onto the national agenda." The site for the Earth Day Network has many practical suggestions; start with the "footprint calculator" to see your impact on the planet.

In Theaters. Disney opened the G-rated documentary Earth today; its the first in a planned series from their new Disneynature label. Narrated by James Earl Jones, it's a condensed version of the 12-hour BBC mini-series Planet Earth, directed by Mark Linfield and Alastair Fothergill. Critical reaction has been mostly positive: 76% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer. And, as Elisabeth Rappe alerted us, Disney will plant a tree in your name if you buy a ticket to the movie via their web site between now and next Tuesday, April 28.

Online Viewing. We've already pointed to one option earlier today, Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa, which can be viewed at our site, thanks to SnagFilms. Other docs available for free streaming at SnagFilms include Greasy Rider, "a cross-country road trip powered by vegetable oil in a 1981 Mercedes-Benz," with appearances by Morgan Freeman and Yoko Ono, and Blind Spot, which explores the oil and energy crisis.

The latter two titles are offered by Cinetic Rights Management, which is also launching other eco-friendly flicks. The Green Chain, which covers the battle between loggers and environmentalists, is available for free at Dailymotion, Hulu, and YouTube, while The Unforeseen and Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home will be available for small fees at Amazon VOD. Cinetic's Matt Dentler contributed an article to The Huffington Post on the subject: "Documentaries have always been a source of education and activism, but in today's connected online climate, there are more tools and more power at one's finger tips."

Are films political? Do they fall into left-wing and right-wing camps? I would imagine that not all films have an agenda. Some films can be considered "great uniters," in that they bring together agreeing audiences from all over, films like the $200 million hits I Am Legend (264 screens) and National Treasure: Book of Secrets (177 screens) or a critical favorite like There Will Be Blood (339 screens) that has pleased nearly everyone who has seen it. Of course, There Will Be Blood is about a snaky, sinister, blustery oil baron willing to sacrifice his family, country and humanity for the allure of black gold, which may or may not have a little something to do with current events. (Not to mention that director Paul Thomas Anderson dropped the word "Oil" from the title of the source novel and replaced it with the word "Blood.")

In recent years it has been determined that film critics are a liberal bunch, educated, well-read men and women of letters, who can see and comprehend the human condition in films from different cultures all over the world. Or, they're sometimes known as pompous, ponderous, pretentious, conceited, snooty know-it-alls, lacking in good old-fashioned horse sense. "Why can't you just enjoy the movie," is a question very often asked of critics. Rambo (201 screens) is a fascinating case. It's impressively violent, but very grim and not much fun. Rambo debuted and reigned during the Reagan era (Rambo: First Blood Part II grossed three times the amount of the new film, even with 1985 ticket prices). Bringing him back in a decidedly different political atmosphere didn't seem to work, though the film was screened for the press and earned a few good reviews. It's now starting a downslide, and it's still shy of breaking even on its $50 million budget.

Bet you didn't see this news coming: The Unforeseen has been picked up for US distribution by Cinema Guild, according to indieWIRE. Cinema Guild "plans a fall '07 roll out in New York and Los Angeles, followed by a national release." Cinema Guild is a small distribution outfit, but they have more than 30 years of specialized experience, so they look like a good match for The Unforeseen. Director Laura Dunn examines the dangerous effects of development on the environment in Austin, Texas. She interviews key players in a battle involving real estate developers, politicians and environmentalists.

The film premiered at Sundance, where our own Kevin Kelly declared that it's "the type of documentary that manages to knock the wind out of you as you watch it. This is because [director Laura Dunn] manages to hit the nail on the head of the 'how can you not see this?' correlation between cause and effect." Other reviewers agreed. Robert Koehler in Variety had high praise: "The kind of transformative viewing experience that has made the current period a golden age for nonfiction film. ... Big screen values demand a theatrical run. ... As a cinematic contemplation of human activity on the planet, it far surpasses An Inconvenient Truth and its more lecture-like message on global warming."

I thought An Inconvenient Truth was nothing more than a well-meaning slide show, yet clearly it touched a nerve and drew flocks of people to see it. Recently The 11th Hour had an impressive opening weekend. Expanding to 20 screens this past weekend, it had a respectable $3,500 per-screen average, according to Box Office Mojo, so maybe there really is an audience for the subject. Reading about The Unforeseen certainly makes me want to see it. Dunn writes a blog that serves as the film's official site.