Startup com
April 12, 2009 by Online Trading · Leave a Comment
Directors Chris Hegedus (The War Room) and Jehane Noujaim couldn’t have imagined the drama that awaited when they began documenting the creation of the pioneering e-commerce site govWorks.com. For over a year they followed the company, the brainchild of childhood-friends-turned-business-partners software geek and doting single dad Tom Herman, and ambitious young business-school-grad-turned-company-CEO Kaleil Isaza Tuzman. During the rise of the Internet investment frenzy and the subsequent crash of the dot-economy, the cameras remain keyed into the human dynamic: the lifestyle compromises, the personal sacrifices, and the clash of philosophies and personalities that ultimately tear boyhood buddies Tom and Kaleil apart…almost. Startup.com’s portrait of the cutthroat nature of American business culture and the choices one makes (or doesn’t) to succeed poses the one question most documentaries ignore: Is it worth it? –Sean Axmaker
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Great Film for Business Student & Entrepreneurs of what NOT to do!
Just saw this film for the first time on IFC and let me begin by adding to the multiple accolades about this film primarily because it’s a great film for business school students of what NOT to do in the world of being an entrepreneur. I’m very glad to see the failure of these guys and I’m sure they are still paying for it till this day to a certain extent, if not financially, then psychologically and emotionally.
I am a IT tech guy who was a part of the dot com bubble, but knew even back then it was not going to last. I was trained from the “old school” corporate environment (ie. The Big Blue IBM culture, apparently, that was “uncool” to the dot-commers) of a SOUND business plan along with a SOLID structure and NOT JUST PURE VISION. These guys were just over-glorified, ego-centric, slippery salesmen. They SOLD a dream to which they crashed and burned and THANK GOD FOR IT!
I won’t waste my time regurgitating the well-deserved harsh words of what real and successful entrepreneurs have already given them through the years, but my message for Kaleil to which I’m sure he has figured out now is “less glory” and “more humility”. Dude, successful people are “behind the scenes” not seeking glory and making things happen and are the REAL “Go To” guys/gals. It isn’t about your RICH image and your Tiffany cufflinks, but rather the BIG debt that only YOU know really exists!
I run a small tech consulting company based on pure personal passion and servitude to others. Although I am not making millions, I am comfortable AND, I am NOT incurring debt. I am also not spending much on marketing. WHY? Because my humble attitude and kind approach not only strengthens my positive reputation amongst my business peers, but it leads to a return in revenue which ALSO leads to others speaking kindly and the word of mouth spreads like wildfire.
I really wouldn’t comment too much on a film, but after seeing these two guys, I needed a place to vent my anger due to the sheer stupidity of these guys. I am sure they are “good” men in general, but they suck in business to put it bluntly and I’m hoping they both wised up after a good decade!
3 Stars Enjoyed watching these guys crash and burn.
They give you little reason to care about them besides they tried to be successful at something they knew nothing about. However, they are so smug about their enterprise I was glad that they not only failed but failed badly.
Leonard Maltin said “I defy anyone to find a fictional film as compelling as this”! Now is he just talking about the few months this film was out or in the whole history of motion pictures? If it is the latter I would laugh in Maltin’s face. Many cartoons are deeper and more “compelling” than watching one chubby guy and one gay-acting guy argue forever about what to call their “company”, how to raise money, how to save money, hire and fire, etc. We get to see the chubby one talk about dating, talk on the phone (a lot), eating pizza, everything but doing his job. WEEE!!! and we get to watch the gay-acting one braid hair and cry. That is a bore to me.
The break-in at the company that they stress in the “film” turns out later to have been done by someone who was already in jail when he is caught.
You can find out more about these two GovWorks.com millionaire wannabes at: http://www.windsormountain.org/pds/index.htm
A positive spin is attempted on everything but nothing hides the fact they fell flat on their face, lost lots of other people’s money and never really recovered.
Chubby man is in the Middle East trying another thing and gay-acting man is running a camp in Vermont.
The last half hour is the only interesting part as I watched them turn on each other like two starving animals fighting what little was left of a carcass. That was good. Well, until they make-up and go to the circus together. End film. The rest of the documentary is a real yawner.
5 Stars Friends To The End
This documentary is about more than just the failure of a company. This movie is about friendship. Set against the backdrop of the dot com bubble burst, what I loved about this movie is that it is basically a story of two guys with a solid friendship. I can’t blame them for starting a business on a dream. Everyone was doing the same thing in the late 90’s. I don’t blame them for the business failing. Most of these ventures failed. During the rise and fall of the company there is a lot of drama between the two founders of the company. They have been friends since kids and the failing business almost tears their friendship apart. In the end I got a great sense of hope that there is more to life than just making profits and that true friends can get through anything and come out on top at the end. I think too many people go into this movie wanting to know all the details about why the business failed and what went wrong. A lot of people have bashed this movie because it focuses on the relationships of the players but that is the same quality of this movie that endears it to me. Money comes and goes. Sometimes you may fail at something. It’s easy to lose sight of what is truly important in life. To me, this was a beautiful movie because it shows the true meaning of friendship… through thick or thin.
5 Stars Startup.com
Anyone with the faintest un-suppressed memory of the Internet boom should watch the cautionary “Startup.com,” an intense look at the treacherous waters of American business start-ups. Chris Hegedus (”The War Room”) and Jehane Noujaim (”Control Room”) were lucky enough to capture the full dramatic arc of Tuzman and Herman’s venture, from the height of the Internet frenzy to the dot-com bubble’s big burst. “Start-up” demonstrates how the rules of cut-throat modern entrepreneurship can transform positive human ambition into nerve-shredding obsession.
4 Stars What price are we willing to pay for
As I write this review,I am two days removed from hearing of the tragic and senseless suicide of an acquaintance who had it all, risked it all,lost his family,fell into depression and substance abuse and hung himself.Why?…..his life WAS his startup and it came crashing down around him and he couldn’t bear it.
STARTUP.COM is a timeless look at the rise and fall of businesses and the people who rise and fall with them.Some people who will view this film will only want to know one thing:How do I succeed in building a business and make money? Others will view this film and learn about the trmendous sacrifices to self and interpersonal relationships that comes from examining the failures of others driven by an intense desire or need to “succeed”.This documentary examines both aspects of business-the technical and the personal.The two aspects are always competing.The lives of the “twentysomething”founders of gov.WORKS.com are examined in intimate detail as Kaleil and Tom are followed from the infancy stage of their internet organization,through it’s quick rise to fame,(they were on every major mag cover and even had audience with President Clinton!!!)and it’s crashing in 20 months.Loyalties and passions are questioned.This is a very realistic look at the down -and -dirty business world as portrayed in the .com rush of a few years back.What this film has to teach us is about the price that one pays in blood for what one thinks is necessary for “success”.This film is a sobering look for anyone,any age who needs to possibly reexamine their priorities in business and in life.
August
April 12, 2009 by Online Trading · Leave a Comment
The specter of September 11th looms over August–there are numerous indications that it’s set in 2001, and the title alone is an ominous indication of the imminence of that awful day–but watching this 2008 offering, one gets the feeling that even if Tom Sterling knew 9/11 was coming, he wouldn’t change a thing. As written by Howard A. Rodman, directed by Austin Chick, and portrayed by John Hartnett, Tom is almost completely unlikable. A dot-com entrepreneur in those heady days before the techno bubble burst and internet companies like his Land Shark went directly south, Tom’s hipper than his neck tattoo, disdainful of his competition, borderline abusive to his younger, meeker brother (the technical brains behind the company they founded together), hostile to his parents, and a jerk to his former girlfriend, the one person he actually seems to care about. He’s also a master at talking loud and saying absolutely nothing. One of the filmmakers’ conceits is that we’re never told exactly what it is that Land Shark does; Tom mouths some nonsense about providing “bleeding-edge, mission-critical, cross-platform, robust, scale-able architectures,” but the company’s principal function, as his dad (Rip Torn) puts it, seems to be to provide office space for his young employees to eat Oreos and play computer solitaire, and when Land Shark meets the fate of others of its ilk, it’s mighty hard to care. No flies on Hartnett–the guy is a star, and rarely less than watchable. But August is a cold film, in both look and feel, and even a brief but memorable scene near the end with David Bowie as the one character who seems able to talk straight won’t keep you from wanting to take a shower when it’s all over. –Sam Graham
User Ratings and Reviews
1 Star A drama without drama
Josh Hartnett doesn’t do too many bad movies. While they aren’t exactly blockbusters, they’re usually conciderably entertaining. I don’t know what went wrong with this film though. This was one of the dullest movies I’ve ever seen. The film follows a cocky young buisnessman around watching his company go from being the #1 new start up to dropping to nearly nothing until he has to sell it to David Bowie. It’s a drama without drama I guess. There was just no point to it. A big disapointment.
4 Stars August by Brandon M. Moskos
I waited a long time for this movie to come to dvd, and I wasn’t disappointed. Josh Hartnett deserved a best actor nomination and I am not exaggerating. This movie is about the problems a small business sees during the post 9/11 era. Josh Hartnett is outstanding as a business owner facing the facts that his business is failing. He’s partners with his brother, and the brother tries to get Josh to face the reality that they need to sell the company and get out. Josh is reluctant at first, but he soon starts to realize that his brother has a family to support, and the business was failing. Great acting and story, you will not be disappointed.
5 Stars Josh Hartnett is a brilliant actor!!!
Its really amazing when you see an actor as big as Josh Hartnett working on a serious film. I think this is one of the first films to really show his diversity. The man can act! I think that down the road we’re gonna look back on this film as the turning point in his career - the point at which he starts working on more than just big/predictable Hollywood films. I heard he’s now acting on the London on the live-stage version of Rain Man. The film has a really good story about the dot com crash back in 2001 - which is really appropriate with what’s going on with the stock market right now. It will be a very cool addition to your DVD collection.
5 Stars Movies of Josh Hartnett
I am a fan of Josh Hartnett. He is so sexy and good looking. I have watched “August” over and over. I enjoyed his acting in this movie with Naomie Harris. The race mixing is beautiful. There should be more movies produced like this. However, the story line shows that you can never think that you are so high and above anyone in the business world. You will be brought down eventually. Anyway, I enjoyed this movie. It wasn’t long enough and I hope there’s a sequel.
I recommend this movie to mostly anyone.
Love you, Josh Hartnett
Mildred Peebles
5 Stars WOW! Part II
The first three reviewers of this film could not be more wrong - I just had the chance to watch “August” and found it satisfying on every level. This is the kind of movie that I love - one that sneaks in under the radar and knocks my socks off. Josh Hartnett, while never impressing me much in past roles, knocks this one out of the park. If I was in charge of Academy Award selections, he would be nominated for Best Actor for this role. Don’t miss this one.
Ill See You in My Dreams
April 12, 2009 by Online Trading · Leave a Comment
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/10/2007 Run time: 110 minutes Rating: Nr
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars Ireta C.
Doris Day is always a refreshing actor to watch, Danny Thomas was an extra bonus. This is one of my favorite to keep in my Classical collection. I recieved it in shorter time than estimated. Thanks, Ireta C.
5 Stars GREAT MUSIC, GREAT ACTING
DORIS DAY AND DANNY THOMAS WERE WONDERFUL. PERFECTLY MATCHED TO THE ROLES.
SONGS WERE MEMORABLE AND CATCHY. GREAT CAST OF ACTORS. GOOD STORY OF THE LIFE OF SONGWRITER GUSS KAHN AND HIS WIFE. IF YOU LOVE MUSICALS, THIS ONE’S FOR YOU TO ADD TO YOUR COLLECTION.
5 Stars What A Great Rare Musical Classic
This is a really great Classic Musical starring Danny Thomas and Doris Day.
Danny Thomas portrays the great classic Music Writer Gus Kahn and DOris Plays his wife Julie. At the beginning Gus is a down on his luck guy who works for the local Crockery Company and Julie helps him to raise his spirits and turn his music career into something really neat!
Gus writes a whole ton of classic Hits and Julie writes the music! This is a great classic movie that I highly suggest to everybody!
1 Star Doris Day and Danny Thomas and music.
Doris Day works for a sheet music company where singers look for new music and where songs are published. Danny Thomas is a down-on-his-luck, persistant lyric writer who tries to persuade Doris to at least see his music. He then shows up at her home. Boy, what a pest. But she does like one song, quits her job and helps him get a song published. Not even Doris Day in “black face” can save this film. Fast moving, but not the best film for Doris Day and not the best of Danny Thomas. Mary Wickes and Jim Backus also in the cast. The young children Robert Lyden and Bunny Lewbel are a delight.
4 Stars Another Great Film By Michael Curtiz
Well directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, The Adventures of Robin Hood), emotionally satisfying Doris Day film has terrific performances throughout; especially from Frank Lovejoy in a key supporting role. The film loses one star from me due to an unecessary scene with Doris Day performing in black face.
Help Me Eros
April 12, 2009 by Online Trading · Leave a Comment
Studio: Strand Releasing Release Date: 07/22/2008 Run time: 103 minutes
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars rawr and wow
visual magic! it may drag to some, and you might not understand it right away, but when you do… wow!!
1 Star Just Terrible!!!
This has to be one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure what movie the other reviewers watched, but it couldn’t have been this one. The movie is slow from the start to the end, and the only redeeming part is the attractive women. With that said, please don’t purchase or rent the movie for the women because you almost see the best part from the jacket of the movie. As for the few sex scenes, talk about boring… After this movie I was thinking to myself, “shoot me in the head” for purchasing this one. Whatever you do, don’t let the other reviews fool you as they did me. If I could give zero stars, this one deserves it.
5 Stars Hanging on the telephone
“Help Me Eros” (”Bang bang wo ai shen”) is a sensual, not a sexual movie. Exquisitely filmed, there is never a scene of naked flesh that is not adorned with a pattern cast shadows, never a cafe scene that is not a perfectly planned and posed, rich in color and design. Director Lee Kang-Sheng knows how to paint a picture with his camera, and he doesn’t waste an inch of film without packing it full of visual pleasure.
Story. Oh yes, there is a story. Ah Jie (again the director, Lee Kang-Sheng, who also stars in the film) is a down on his luck business man who has lost everything in the stock market and now is reduced to selling his household goods in order to maintain his lifestyle, which includes lots and lots of pot. Despondent, he calls a suicide hotline and speaks to Chyi, a girl with a beautiful voice who lures him back from the edge, but refuses to meet him. He then meets a Betle Nut girl named Shin, whose provides the visual reference needed for his fantasies of Chyi, and he pursues her. From there things begin to spiral downwards, as Ah Jie becomes lost in a sensual world of fantasy and pleasure, seeking Chyi but dragging Shin into a sensual world where pot is exchanged for sex from a variety of prostitutes, and the internet provides the faceless vehicle for communication.
In a way, this is a pretentious art flick. Imagine an acrobatic threesome carried out to the background music of Buddhist chanting. But somehow the ennui works, mainly through the director’s skillful eye and his ability to sell all of these scenes with a straight face. As another nod to the director’s talent, for all of its gymnastic sex scenes “Help Me Eros” is a film almost entirely without nudity, as he manages to skirt the censors and create with pure mood what he cannot create with expliciticity. The girls are pretty, and wear next to nothing, but there is definitely a boundry of what you get to see, and the tease makes you want to see it all the more.
Much of this film is pure Taiwan, including the Betle Nut girls who attract customers by wearing skimpy clothing and yet selling nothing more than nuts and an occasional glimpse. There is a dry humor here as well, the kind found in a city lacking nationality and identity, where people seek their pleasures where they may, and live what life they have to live.
4 Stars Compelling Characters
“Help Me Eros (Bang Bang Wo Ai Shen)”
Compelling Characters
Amos Lassen
Dreamlike in composition,” Help Me Eros” is a look at a man, Ah Jie, who has lost everything in the stock market and now spends his time in his apartment, sealed off from the world, smoking and growing his own marijuana. He is desperate and he calls a suicide hotline and gets to know Chyi. Chyi’s sweet and gentle voice causes him to fall in love with what he imagines her to be. She rejects him whenever he asks her out and he starts projecting his fantasy of her onto Shin, a girl who works at the betel nut stall downstairs from his apartment. Shin is alluring and wears revealing clothes in order to lure male customers. Ah Jie becomes close to her and the two eventually sink into a world of psychedelic and erotic pleasures. As this happened, Ah Jie also begins the stalking of Chyi.
Our hero, who has fallen on hard times, is the focus of the film. Not only did he lose everything in the stock market, but his girlfriend has left him. He is constantly stoned and relies on his computer for contact with the outside world and he lures young hookers to his apartment where he gets them stoned and engages in sexual marathons with them.
The movie shows how it is very easy to become only a number in the big city. People become unknown except to themselves. This is the life of Ah Jie. He is lonely and bored. The film has wonderful subdued humor and it certainly provokes thought. One cannot help but feel for the man who tries to rise from despair. You realize the emptiness of life especially when one lives in a world of drugs and sex,
4 Stars Bangbang wo Aishen
Anyone familiar with the Taiwan New Cinema movement of the past 20 years, or comparatively the films of Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (TASTE OF CHERRY), or even select works of Michaelangelo Antonioni (L’AVVENTURA), will be better apprised of how to palate Lee Kang-Sheng’s sophomore effort, HELP ME EROS (2008), with it’s long uninterrupted shots (30sec-5min), navigation of peculiar but banal human experience, dire scarcity of dialogue, metered accumulation-based narrative arches, and social commentary mostly devoid of irony (reminiscent of Italian Neorealism). The addition of EROS’s more abhorrent sexual leanings seats it on the mantle of recent permutations of the Taiwan filmic movement (THE WAYWARD CLOUD, I DONT WANT TO SLEEP ALONE) that delve into the marginalized mire of modernity, and makes it very much of the modern generational context, a new floating socio-political context that garners old wounds. Those new to such labored undistracted tenets of filmmaking may be affronted by the patience required, but their design is such that each moment is held extensively and deliberately so that every detail within it can become accessible to the viewer, burgeoning an experiential and dimensional understanding almost by force.
HELP ME EROS is an ambitious and unrelentingly beautiful film, that is also unfortunately at odds with itself, suspended somewhere between prose and grit but uncomfortable in such tonal ambiguity. EROS unfolds in a world of too little or too much gravity; a stagnant orbit of emotionally starved semi-dimensional characters, fluorescent light, sexual escapism, and commerce, suffering incongruity alongside boldness and brilliance. While writer/director Lee Kang-Sheng mostly overstates his existential meanings with non-diegetic songs that spell out woes like a bludgeon, and falls short in terms of blending his content and aesthetics as a whole, he does succeed marvelously within visual moments, of which there is no shortage. It is these moments of perfectly framed peculiarity, poignancy, comedy, and loneliness in collage, rather than blending, that buoy HELP ME EROS to success. Lee Kang-Sheng’s visual language is his strongest asset, with notable thanks to Tsai Ming-Liang as production designer, and helps to enhance if not mask what is otherwise a rather conventional narrative arch.
The Plow That Broke the Plains 1936
April 12, 2009 by Online Trading · Leave a Comment
The Plow That Broke the Plains 1936
Experience the American Journey through our country’s visual heritage in this historical recording provided by the National Archives of the United States.
A Pare Lorentz film about the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s.
This historical recording from the National Archives may contain variations in audio and video quality based on the limitations of the original source material.
The content summary for this DVD is adapted from an historical description provided by the government agency or donor at the time of production release. This product is manufactured on demand using DVD-R recordable media. Amazon.com’s standard return policy will apply.
