Video of the Week: The Business of Being Born

I thought I would post a movie trailer this week for a documentary that my wife and I saw recently. It's called The Business of Being Born. The documentary examines the business of birthing babies in the united states and questions our current system of OB/GYNs and hospital deliveries. It's eye opening to see that the US has the 2nd highest infant mortality rate in the developed world, it has the highest rate of C-sections, and lowest number of natural child births in the world—by a wide margin. The documentary is very obviously on the side of midwives and home births, but it presents its message in a very loving and informative way. It doesn't finger wag, or call for the eradication of OB/GYNs. And although, you may roll your eyes and think that this kind of thing is only for hippies, this movie shows you that it's not and backs up its argument with great research and interviews. It is very informative and well made, and I highly suggest watching it. (It is currently available on Netflix.) Check it out below.

Video of the Week: A Couple of Great 2008 Movie Retrospectives

Here are a couple of great videos that I came across this week that both do a good job or reflecting on the past year in movies. They are different, but both good in their own ways. Check them out below.




What did you think? Leave a comment.

Video of the Week: Thundercats Live Action Movie

I know I haven't spent a lot of time on here lately, but I thought this was so neat that I had to blog about it. Now, before you get too excited, this is not a real trailer for a real movie. It is a fan made trailer that was cut together from movies starring Brad Pitt, Vin Diesel, Hugh Jackman, and others, and has some added CGI. Anyone who remembers Thundercats will think this is a pretty cool, not just for its nostalgia, but for its fidelity to the original cartoon. Here it is:



What did you think? Leave a comment.

Video of the Week: New Star Trek Trailer

So, I know it seems like all I do now is post videos. But, honestly, there hasn't been a whole lot of exciting movie news lately. Except this: Apparently a trailer for the new J.J. Abrams Star Trek movie was attached to Quantum of Solace this past weekend.

Before I actually saw the trailer, I read some discussion boards from those who had seen the trailer in the theater, over the weekend, and WOW. Of course I knew that a franchise this popular and beloved would not be receive well by the die hard Trekkies because they have set the original series right up next to the bible and they take themselves waaaaaay too seriously. But I was surprised by the amount of HATE generated by a two-minute trailer.

On the other hand, many of the self-confessed moderate-Trekkies and most of the non-Trekkies thought the trailer looked awesome. After all, both Kevin Smith and Edgar Wright have already seen the movie and give it high praise.

As for me, I am cautiously optimistic, and I think the trailer shows some promise of an entertaining movie, whether or not you know anything about Trek. But I am surprised that people could get so worked-up and analyze a clip that basically gives no hint of a storyline and almost no dialogue. One post I saw actually analyzed the "realistic" beaming effect, and one guy condemned the whole trailer based on Simon Pegg's single line. When you see the trailer (follow the link, sorry I can't actually embed it here), whether you think it is awesome or rotten, you'll probably be scratching your head and saying to all the fanboys out there: "Get a life!"

Watch the trailer here.

What do you think about the new Star Trek? Let me know, I'm interested to hear your feedback.

Video of the Week: The Haunting in Connceticut

Sorry about the lack of post lately, I've been in Arizona and haven't had much time to comment on the latest movie news, let alone blog about it. Anyway, maybe this will get your spirits up.

Most scary movie trailers are fairly cheesy, or maybe intriguing, but usually I just look at them and say, "we'll see" because usually the trailers are filled with images that are supposed to be scary, but are not simply because of the nature of a trailer--a short commercial for a movie. The fact is, it's really hard to scare somebody in a 30sec ad. Real terror takes time to build up. But the trailer I have posted below actually kind of creeped me out, so I thought I would share it with the rest of you and see what you think.

I'm also interested in this movie because I know about the events that it is based on. It looks like they changed a few details and exaggerated it, but that is the nature of movies. Anyway, watch it and tell me what you think.

Video of the Week: If Hollywood Directors Made Campaign Ads

Since the election is just a little over a week away, and McCain is down in the polls, I thought I'd post something relevant. What if John McCain hired Hollywood directors to make some new election ads for him? They might look something like this.

V ideo of the Week: Sleepless in Seattle, the Horror Movie

I've post videos in the past, and I've received lots of feedback on them, so I thought it might be fun to do it on a regular basis. Starting today, I'm going to try and post a Video of the Week every Monday.

This week's offering is a recut trailer for the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Much like the Shining recut trailer I posted a little while ago, this trailer gives a different spin on the classic romantic comedy.



Tell me what you think. Leave a comment below.