The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom (2007)

Director:
Adam Curtis

IMDB

Synopsis:
The many ways in which Western notions of personal and political freedom are changing in the 21st Century are explored in this three-part documentary from writer and filmmaker Adam Curtis. Part one, titled "F--k You, Buddy," explores how the widely held belief formulated by economist Friedrich von Hayek that the free market system would create a wealthier and more responsible society is giving way to John Nash's principle that individuals will almost always do what is in their own best interest, even if its at the expense of others. Part Two, "The Lonely Robot," focuses on how governments often act in their own interest at the expense of their citizens, and the malaise that's a by product of growing cynicism by ordinary people towards their leaders. And the conclusion, "We Will Force You To Be Free," investigates the theories of British thinker Isaiah Berlin and his twin principles of "positive liberty" (in which the people take direct and active control of their destiny) and "negative liberty" (freedom that inherited with no active effort towards any specific goal). Featuring interviews with John Nash, James Buchanan, Robert Reich, Tom Peters, Thomas Frank, Sir Anthony Jay and many others, The Trap: What Happened To Our Dream Of Freedom was originally produced for British television, but later received theatrical screenings at a number of film festivals.

Sick Humor (2003)

Director:

Vikram Jayanti

Review:

Well as many of the uploads that I upload but forget about them, this one was also on that list. It's been uploaded for months but I simply forgot about it. Lets look a little bit in the world of sick (or dark) humor. Note that some people might be offended as these jokes are...well let's say inappropriate.

The Beales of Grey Gardens (2006)

Director:

Albert Maysles and David Maysles

IMDB

Review:

Mother and daughter - Big Edie and Little Edie Beale - live with six cats in a crumbling house in East Hampton. Little Edie, in her 50s, who wears scarves and bright colors, sings, mugs for the camera, and talks to Al and David Maysles, the filmmakers. Big Edie, in her 70s, recites poetry, comments on her daughter's behavior, and sings "If I Loved You" in fine voice. She talks in short sentences; her daughter in volumes. Utilizing hours of unseen archival footage, The Beales is a new take on the women of Grey Gardens.

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)

Director:
Julien Nitzberg

IMDB

Review:
Riffing off of the original documentary "Dancing Outlaw," about tap dancer Jesco White and his dancing dad, director Julien Nitzberg headed down to the coal-mining heart of West Virginia to further exploit this drug-addled family for some film footage that's fairly unbelievable. Launching right into some current family drama between Sue Bob's son, Brandon, having landed in prison after shooting his uncle, among others, this documentary then goes back to trace hooligan behavior to the originators of the family, dancer and coal miner D. Ray and his tough-cookie wife Bertie Mae. Daughters and cousins Sue Bob, Mousie, and Kirk dominate the film, snorting pills in trashy bar bathroom stalls and getting tanked in cars while driving around with less-than-savory boyfriends and ex-husbands. Occasionally, interviews with the town's district attorney provide some background information on this infamous regional family.

I, Curmudgeon (2004)

Director:
Alan Zweig

IMDB

Review:
In this often very funny enquiry into crankiness, Toronto filmmaker Alan Zweig interviews notable curmudgeons like Fran Lebowitz, Harvey Pekar and Bruce LaBruce. Zweig wants to know what their frickin' problem is and, more importantly, whether it's the same as his. As in Vinyl, his equally irascible doc on record collectors, the endearingly dour filmmaker spends much of I, Curmudgeon spilling his guts directly to his camera and torturing himself with big questions that he can never answer satisfactorily. Zweig then confronts his subjects with the same questions, thereby making them even grouchier. (How grouchy? Andy Rooney is moved to kick Zweig out of his office.) Though I, Curmudgeon's meandering structure and incessant jump-cuts are irritants, they're also appropriate to the movie's abrasive, anti-social personality. Consider this a testament to the power of negative thinking.

Vernon, Florida (1981)

Director:
Errol Morris

IMDB

Review:
Early Errol Morris documentary intersplices random chatter he captured on film of the genuinely eccentric residents of Vernon, Florida. A few examples? The preacher giving a sermon on the definition of the word "Therefore," and the obsessive turkey hunter who speaks reverentially of the "gobblers" he likes to track down and kill.

Beyond Vanilla (2001)

Director:
Claes Lilja

IMDB

Review:
Much as the title suggests, Beyond Vanilla explores the kinkier aspects of sex on the other side of vanilla. With interviews, demonstrations and a good dose of how-to instructions, this documentary covers the gamut of fetishes and SM practices. From bondage, flogging and fisting to knife play, fire and golden showers, director Claes Lilja takes us on an unforgettable journey to the wilder side of sex. Sharing fantasies, experiences and pleasures, the over 60 people interviewed in the film help to blur boundaries and shed new light on sexuality and sexual practices. Open your mind and the rest will follow.

No Impact Man: The Documentary (2009)

Director:
Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein

IMDB

Review:
Colin Beavan decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year.  It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, busses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage.  No problem – at least for Colin – but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own.  Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film provides an intriguing inside look into the experiment that became a national fascination and media sensation, while examining the familial strains and strengthened bonds that result from Colin and Michelle’s struggle with their radical lifestyle change.
If you liked this doc also check out Recipes for Disaster.

Naked World: America Undercover (2003)

Director:
Arlene Nelson

IMDB

Review:
One year. Seven continents. More than 6,000 naked people--all willing to bare all for Spencer Tunick in the name of art. This globally scaled follow-up to the America Undercover documentary Naked States finds the celebrated and controversial artist at work on his most ambitious project: a one-year trek to all seven continents to shoot people in the nude--individually, in groups and against various man-made and natural backdrops.

I Can't Stop Masturbating (2006)

Review:
95% of men admit to masturbating. But some men masturbate more than others. Much more... 'I Can't Stop Masturbating' will follow two men as they try to break an addiction that is destroying their lives.   Russell masturbates up to 15 times a day, a habit that is destroying his relationships with the opposite sex. We'll follow Russell as he embarks on a road trip across America, sampling weird and wonderful treatments to see if he can finally kick his addiction. Paul's habit means he cannot hold down a job or a relationship. The programme will follow Paul as he undergoes therapy in the UK, in a desperate attempt to get his life back on track. Will Russell and Paul be able to pull it off?

Pictures from a Revolution (1991)

Director:
Alfred Guzzetti,Susan Meiselas and Richard P. Rogers

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102665/

Review:
In this lively, intellectually stimulating discourse on the power of images, renowned photojournalist Susan Meiselas returns to the scenes of a revolution she witnessed and captured with her camera. Richly suffused with context and color, PICTURES FROM A REVOLUTION catches up with the places and people behind Meiselas' iconic photographs of war-torn Nicaragua in the late 70s and 80s. Delving into the lives of guerrillas, Sandinistas, and bystanders, scattered from Miami to Managua, a decade after they faced off in a bloody struggle, this artful film finds both disappointment and modest pride amidst still-fresh, stirring memories. Once photographed wielding contact bombs and marching in the streets, these incredible Nicaraguans now live much as they did before the revolutionary days. The stories behind the acclaimed photos will ignite a new understanding of social struggle while inviting reflection on the war photographer's complex relationship with her subjects.

Chain Camera (2001)

Director:
Kirby Dick

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272022/

Review:
The film is a compilation of footage shot by students at John Marshall High School, an ethnically diverse institution just outside Hollywood. Kirby Dick handed out 10 palm-sized video cameras to students; after one week, the cameras were passed along to another 10 kids, and so on. A year later, Dick whittled down more than 700 hours of footage into 16 often startling mini-diaries.
The subjects boast a wide range of backgrounds and personalities, but one of their remarkable commonalities is the small role that school plays in how their lives function. Whatever happens in the classroom seems to have no relation to what happens outside; they only feel free to express who they are in the safe quarters of their bedrooms and living rooms.

Seven Signs: Music, Myth & The American South (2008)

Director:
J.D. Wilkes

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1337167/

Review:
Shot throughout Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana, 'Seven Signs' is a travelogue documenting a uniquely-American heritage that is currently being marginalized and homogenized by major corporations, 'Mega-churches' and gated communities. The interviews, musical performances, and stories provide a look into Southern Culture as it really is...not as it is typically packaged for mainstream audiences.

With an unflinching eye, 'Seven Signs' views the paradoxical world of The South: a land filled with warmth and humanity, as well as a strong-willed sense of honesty. It is this culmination of colorful individuals, strange tales and haunting melodies that stands as evidence as to why The South is so integral to American culture as a whole. It is a world where cultures have combined to create a place worth preserving...a place where, oftentimes, so much has gone horribly, horribly right.

In addition to local characters and amateur musicians, 'Seven Signs' features recording artists such as Slim Cessna and Jay Munly (Slim Cessnas Auto Club), The Pine Hill Haints, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers, and Scott H. Biram...all of whom are current touring musicians committed to preserving the true spirit of The South.

'Seven Signs' carries both a timelessness and an immediacy as it depicts a sadly aging generation of Southern Culture; yet a younger, New Breed, hellbent on carrying it on into an unknown future.

Children Underground (2001)

Director:
Edet Belzberg

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264476/

Review:
The film follows a group of abandoned adolescent street children who live in the Romanian subway system. The street kids are encountered daily with commuter adults passing them by in the station as they starve, swindle, and steal, all while searching desperately for a fresh can of Aurolac silver paint to get high with. One of the children director Belzberg follows is Cristina Ionescu. At first this child may seem to be a young man, but you later find out that girls have to become hard and boyish in order to survive. This is also very apparent with another child named, Violeta 'Macarena' Rosu, who is also a girl. The nickname 'Macarena' derives from the song "Macarena", her favorite. The film explores the children fighting, abusing themselves, and becoming out-of-control addicted to a spray paint called Aurolac.

Haschisch (2002)

Director:
Daniel Gräbner

IMDB

Review:
A small village high up in the mountains of Ketama, North Morocco. For centuries the life of the people that live here is intricately tied in with the drug hashish. Hashish as daily labour, hashish as a bartering good, hashish system, hashish as the medium of dreams and hashish as the reason for stagnation. The film sketches a portrait of this life: a look at work and daily family life; the drug; music and landscape as a metaphysical projection surface; the question of freedom in a globalized world; and, at the core of the film, the stories of the people.

Stevie (2002)

Director:
Steve James

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0334416/

Review:
In 1995 Director Steve James returned to rural Southern Illinois to reconnect with Stevie Fielding, a troubled young boy he had been an 'Advocate Big Brother' to ten years earlier. He began a film, a search, to discover not only what had happened to Stevie over the past ten years but to understand the forces that had shaped his entire life. Part way through the filming, Stevie is arrested and charged with a serious crime that tears his family apart. What was to be a modest profile turns into a intimate four and half year chronicle of Stevie, his broken family, the criminal justice system and the filmmaker himself, as they all struggle with what Stevie has done and who he has become.

Party Monster (1998)

Director:
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0141716/

Review:
Party Monster: The Shockumentary is a 1998 documentary film detailing the rise of the club kid phenomenon in New York City, the life of club kid and party promoter Michael Alig and Alig's murder (with Robert "Freeze" Riggs) of fellow club kid and drug dealer Angel Melendez. The film is based in part on the James St. James book on the murder, Disco Bloodbath, and combines interview footage of Alig from prison, St. James, scene watchers like Michael Musto and a number of other former club kids with archive footage from various parties and dramatic re-enactments. The book and this film also served as bases for the 2003 film, also called Party Monster.

A Well Spent Life (1972)

Director:
Les Blank and Skip Gerson (co-director)

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067968/

Review:
 In the tradition of his past and future up-close celebrity documentaries, Les Blank served up 1972's A Well-Spent Life. The subject is Texas blues artist Mance Lipscomb, seen at work and in repose. A lifelong sharecropper and tenant farmer, Lipscomb was 65 when he made his first record. His versatility as a singer, composer, guitarist and violinist bordered on the uncanny, and his influence would continue to be felt even into the highly streamlined country-blues market of the 1990s. Director Blank makes excellent use of the materials at hand (there is comparatively little of Lipscomb on film), and the result is a rich, fully fleshed out life study of one of the Southwest's finest "songsters."

Modify (2005)

Director:
Jason Gary and Greg Jacobson

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455980/

Review:
What is body modification? According to the definition employed by "Modify" directors Jason Gary and Greg Jacobson, it's liposuction, body-building, plastic surgery, tattooing, piercings, sexual redesignation and suspension -- the hanging of one's body on hooks. "Once you've done this," says one suspender, "the rest of your life is a piece of cake." A plastic surgeon suggests that even shaving, or combing your hair, is a manipulation of your body and therefore eligible for the category. Such a wide definition allows "Modify" to make parallels between the most benign and the most radical transformations. The film delves into the practices and philosophies of those who augment their bodies, be it for vanity or artistic vision.

Kiss My Snake (2007)

Director:
Tom Tavee

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1084018/

Review:
This is the story of a little village in Thailand with a very dangerous tradition. In this strange little village, the world's most dangerous serpent, the King Cobra, has become both a pet and a business partner of a deadly cottage industry. The entire village-from elders to children-works as one and performs relentlessly at their temple to attract tourists and herb buyers. The main attraction is the boxing matches, man versus snake, one on one! Bites are commonplace, but unbelievably the village has no anti-serum to combat the deadly toxins and the nearest hospital is over an hour away by car. Tom Tavee, the filmmaker, was able to obtain incredible access into the lives of the fighters and has succeeded in accurately and dramatically documenting this dangerous performance-sport of snake-boxing, the art of theatrically antagonizing the largest venomous snakes in the world. Some of the boxers have been bitten dozens of times, but despite losing fingers and friends, the boxers love their snakes and their perilous profession.

Download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/375642696/Kiss.My.Snake.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/375649676/Kiss.My.Snake.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/375657071/Kiss.My.Snake.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/375667424/Kiss.My.Snake.part4.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/375684518/Kiss.My.Snake.part5.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/375701209/Kiss.My.Snake.part6.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/375723171/Kiss.My.Snake.part7.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/375734252/Kiss.My.Snake.part8.rar

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