The Optimists (2013)
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Basil Gelpke and Ray McCormack's nonfiction treatise Crude Awakening joins Maxed Out, An Inconvenient Truth, and other recent documentaries devoted to unearthing and exploring forces that are untying the connective threads of contemporary society. The subject at hand is crude oil - specifically, the depletion of petroleum from the Earth, in an era when consumption threatens to exceed supply.
Former football player and wrestler Chris Nowinski's quest to publicize recent findings about the often dire consequences of head concussions sustained by athletes in contact sports â injuries that have previously been considered momentary setbacks and ignored in the name of toughness and dedication to the team.
This is the story of one of the most well known but perhaps least understood moments of conflict and controversy in the history of sport: the infamous Bodyline test cricket series of 1932 and 1933. Self-confessed cricket tragic and comedian Adam Zwar will try to discover what happened at the crease and chart the wider social and cultural implications of the controversy by enlisting historians, sports scientists, and cricket stars to simulate the actual events. Is there more to the legend of Bodyline than we think? Adam is going back in time to live out a childhood fantasy or two. He is going to use machines, fancy cameras, and the latest in computer graphics. Modern day players will help him prepare. Adam will witness the real damage a high speed cricket ball can do. In the end, Adam will be on his own - with no helmet, no modern padding, and just a bat for protection. How will he handle this ultimate test?
Garry Kasparov is possibly the greatest chess player who has ever lived. In 1997, he played a match against the greatest chess computer: IBM's Deep Blue. He lost. This film depicts the drama that happened away from the chess board from Kasparov's perspective. It explores the psychological aspects of the game and the paranoia surrounding IBM's ultimate chess machine.
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This entry in the Classic Albums series examines RIO, the 1982 release that put Duran Duran on the road to stardom. Looking back at the creation and release of the hit singles "Hungry Like the Wolf," "Save a Prayer," and many others, the critical retrospective analyzes the album's overall effect on the musical landscape of the early 1980s. The optimistic and celebratory album generated a string of hit singles and groundbreaking videos, catapulting the band to global stardom. This DVD tells the story behind the writing, recording, and subsequent success of the album through newly filmed interviews, musical demonstrations, and both new and archival performances.
J'accuse is an 'essay-istic' documentary in which Greenaway's fierce criticism of today's visual illiteracy is argued by means of a forensic search of Rembrandt's Nightwatch. Greenaway explains the background, the context, the conspiracy, the murder and the motives of all its 34 painted characters who have conspired to kill for their combined self-advantage. Greenaway leads us through Rembrandt's paintings into 17th century Amsterdam. He paints a world that is democratic in principle, but is almost entirely ruled by twelve families. The notion exists of these regents as charitable and compassionate beings. However, reality was different.
Finding love is never easy. For Ravi Patel, a first generation Indian-American, the odds are slim. His ideal bride is beautiful, smart, funny, family-oriented, kind andâin keeping with traditionâIndian (though hopefully raised in the US). Oh, and her last name should be Patel because in India, Patels usually marry other Patels. And so at 30, Ravi decides to break up with his American girlfriend (the one who by all accounts is perfect for him except for her red hair and American name) and embark on a worldwide search for another Patel longing to be loved. He enlists the help of his matchmaker mother, attends a convention of Patels living in the US and travels to wedding season in India. Witty, honest and heartfelt, this comedy explores the questions with which we all struggle: What is love? What is happiness? And how in the world do we go about finding them?
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This documentary chronicles David Beckham and his friends' unforgettable journey deep into the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil. Travelling by motorbike and boat, and guided by locals, he visits far-flung communities and tribes that live in this remote landscape.
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Klitschko tells the captivating story of the boxing worlds most famous brothers: Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. From the socialist drill of their childhood in the Ukraine, and their first successes as amateurs, to their move to Germany and subsequent rise as international stars on the verge of holding the championship titles of all five boxing federations (Wladimir secured this with his unanimous World Boxing Association win against David Haye on July 2nd, 2011). Along the way they experience defeats and setbacks, low points and triumphant comebacks as well as conflicts with each other. Exciting conversations with companions and opponents, including the very first with the Klitschkos parents, give insight into their personal lives, plus never-before-seen footage of the draining preparations for a fight, and the spectacular boxing matches. Director Sebastian Dehnhardt composes an intimate and fascinating portrait of two exceptional athletes who are, before all else, brothers.
Cameras follow David Beckham as he attempts to play a football match on all seven continents and get back in time for his own UNICEF fundraising match at Old Trafford. On the journey, he discovers what football means to the many different people he meets and plays with, as well as some of the universal truths about the game itself, including its ability to inspire and unite people.
How can a few crucial minutes in a football match change the life of an entire family? How do the "men in black" feel when they are attacked by supporters? Kill the Referee unveils the lives of several professional football referees at the EURO 2008 championship; amongst them, the English referee Howard Webb, who provoked incredible controversy when he gave a penalty to Austria just before the end of the match with Poland, and the Italian Roberto Rosetti, who refereed the final.
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In Hong Kong's Paradise Cove Sharon (Chrissie Chau) and Rachel (Theresa Fu) work at a restaurant of their kung fu master uncle Tao (Lo Mang) while taking on rivals in beach volleyball matches. The wealthy Bu family has plans to have the beach made into a playground for the rich and getting rid of the youth at the beach. Mrs. Bu's two Eurasian daughters, Natalie (Jessica C) and Phoenix (Phoenix Valen) challenge Sharon and Rachel to a volleyball match which Natalie and Phoenix win. Phoenix and Natalie give Rachel and Sharon a challenge: if the two local girls enter and win the upcoming All Hong Kong Womenâs Volleyball tournament, Mrs. Bu will revise her plans to further develop the area. Sharon and Rachel feel they don't have a chance to win the tournament. Their uncle then Tao teaches the girls kung fu skills that they apply to volleyball.
A Pattaya guy, Sand, who runs a gang that makes their money any way they can from tourists is trying his best to get a girlfriend named Ned, a local beach volley ball star, but she is attracted to her coach. A big match is set with another team but there is trouble as they all get drunk with bar girls and their foreign "boyfriends". A huge fight ensues between the rivals and the tourists the night before the match. However this may be Sand's chance to show her he is the best choice...or is it?
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Marcy, a worker in the reelection campaign of bumbling Senator John McGlory, is sent to Ireland on a quest to find the Irish ancestry of Sen. McGlory, to help him win the Irish vote. But when Marcy arrives in the small village of Ballinagra, she finds herself in the middle of a matchmaking festival, and the local matchmaker is determined to pair her off with one of the local bachelors.
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Two Southern California volleyball teams determined to prove their superiority on the court find out that they're not as different as they previously thought after tragedy strikes close to home in director Neema Barnette's affectionate sports drama. The Madonnas and the Phantoms are two volleyball teams with a longstanding grudge. With a bitter rivalry that frequently spills off of the court and into the streets, the Madonnas and the Phantoms appear to have nothing in common until fate forces them to break down the social and cultural barriers that bind them. Now determined to keep it together on the court as they make their way to the championships, these former rivals are about to find out what true sportsmanship is really all about.
A pair of brothers, Baby Toto and Pietro, sons of different mothers, live stealing suitcases at the Termini Station in Rome. After a theft they discover that the stolen suitcase they got from an apparent sweet old lady actually contains a corpse. In an attempt to discard the suitcase they mistakenly exchange it with the one of two German hitchhikers, Helga and Inga. Forced to retrieve the "corpus delicti" they are discovered by Count Mischa who blackmail them: in exchange for his silence with the police, they will help him to kill his rich wife. After killing the woman, and following a binge of marjuana mistaken for lettuce by the brothers, Baby Toto will turn into a sadist serial killer. After killing the Count and a half-dozen people, he will soon start torturing his brother.
Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.
A pair of aging boxing rivals are coaxed out of retirement to fight one final bout -- 30 years after their last match.
In Disney's fifth installment to the franchise, Air Bud finds that he has the uncanny ability to play volleyball.
When a young couple buys their dream home, they have no idea what the sweet little old lady upstairs is going to put them through!
Comedy drama written by Tom Stoppard (based on the novel by Jerome K Jerome). Stars Michael Palin, Tim Curry and Stephen Moore.
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Liana and Alexa (Barbie and Teresa) are best friends who share everything, including their love of singing. One day while walking through the forest home from the village, the girls meet an old beggar who gives them a magical mirror. As they clean the mirror and sing, a musical apprentice muse named Melody appears in the mirror's surface, and tells the girls about the secret of the Diamond Castle.
The Match is a romantic comedy set against the story of a grudge football match between two pubs. The prize for the winner of the centenary match is the the closure of their opponent's bar. The Match was mainly filmed around Straiton in Ayrshire.
Heather and Heidi play volleyball for their school team, when their family decides that they need to go to a bigger school so that they will have a better chance for scholarships. But at the new school, the twins are discovered by the basketball coach. Inspired by the true story of Heather and Heidi Burge.
Madame Bertini, a newly widowed 70-year-old miser, has lived a sheltered life in squalour. She determines to venture into the modern world and have as much fun as possible, and in doing so finds that she loves it. She blows her life savings, much to the disapproval of the young people around her.
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An Italian variation on the Frankie & Annette-Gidget beach party movies that were all the rage in North America in the early 60s. Nicole Molino (Catherine Spaak) and Nicola Molino (Gianni Garko) are not related to one another. In fact, they donât even know each other until both are inadvertently assigned the same hotel room on the island of Ischia. Nicole isnât interested in any hanky-panky, so Nicola reluctantly promises to keep his hands to himself.
British comedy award-winner, BAFTA nominee and self-styled Morissey impersonator Harry Hill performs live at London's prestigious Palace Theatre during his sell-out Birdstrike! Tour. Featuring: TV show band "The Caterers" Stouffer the Cat History of Popular Music Gymnastic Display The Good Friday Agreement Fun Spot Human-human-interface-Quiz-ball and,of course SILD
Now the world champion, Rocky Balboa is living in luxury and only fighting opponents who pose no threat to him in the ring. His lifestyle of wealth and idleness is shaken when a powerful young fighter known as Clubber Lang challenges him to a bout. After taking a pounding from Lang, the humbled champ turns to former bitter rival Apollo Creed to help him regain his form for a rematch with Lang.
Mikako is a young junior high school teacher who has just transferred to a new school. Excited to be starting a new job, she volunteers for a coach for a boys volleyball club. But, she finds out that there is almost no activity in the club⦠There are only 5 members, and they are all losers who havenât even touched a volleyball and only think about girls⦠To give them an incentive to try hard, she promises them that she will show them her boobs if they win a game! Since then, the boys start practicing extremely hard. Feeling uneasy but happy at the same time to see their attitude changing, Mikako starts to like and trust them. She also learns from them and gets back her confidence which once she lost. Right before the day of the first game, âthe promiseâ is discovered by the school side, and it becomes a big problemâ¦
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Ray, a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla. Carla's husband, Greg, is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.
Bernie Laplante is having a rough time. He's divorced, his ex-wife hates him and has custody of their son, the cops are setting a trap for him, then to top it all, he loses a shoe whilst rescuing passengers of a crashed jet. Being a thief who is down on his luck, Bernie takes advantage of the crash, but then someone else claims credit for the rescue.
Emma Woodhouse has a rigid sense of propriety as regards matrimonial alliances. Unfortunately she insists on matchmaking for her less forceful friend, Harriet, and so causes her to come to grief. Through the sharp words of Mr. Knightley, and the example of the opinionated Mrs. Elton, someone not unlike herself, Emma's attitudes begin to soften.
Chuck, a top international manager for FedEx, and Kelly, a Ph.D. student, are in love and heading towards marriage. Then Chuck's plane to Malaysia ditches at sea during a terrible storm. He's the only survivor, and he washes up on a tiny island with nothing but some flotsam and jetsam from the aircraft's cargo. Can he survive in this tropical wasteland? Will he ever return to woman he loves?
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