Netflix Friday - Volume 28

Some Netflix film tips for the weekend! And there is something for everyone, since I picked a movie for all the different genres.
 

Action: Smokin’ Aces (2006)
When a Las Vegas performer-turned-snitch named Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven) decides to turn state’s evidence and testify against the mob, it seems that a whole lot of people would like to make sure he’s no longer breathing.
 

Drama: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers (Tom Hanks) and journalist Lloyd Vogel (Matthew Rhys).
 

Comedy: Police Academy (1984)
A group of good-hearted, but incompetent misfits enter the police academy, but the instructors there are not going to put up with their pranks.
 

Animation: Antz (1998)
A rather neurotic ant (Woody Allen) tries to break from his totalitarian society while trying to win the affection of the princess he loves.
 

Romance: The Five-Year Engagement (2012)
One year after meeting, Tom (Jason Segel) proposes to his girlfriend Violet (Emily Blunt), but unexpected events keep tripping them up as they look to walk down the aisle together.
 

Horror: Bone Tomahawk (2015)
In they dying days of the old west, an elderly sheriff (Kurt Russell) and his posse set out to rescue their town’s doctor from cannibalistic cave dwellers.
 

Science Fiction: District 9 (2009)
Violence ensues after an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth finds a kindred spirit in a government agent (Sharlto Copley) exposed to their biotechnology.
 

Crime: The Godfather Part III (1990)
In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealing in New York City and Italy in 1979, aging Mafia Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) seeks to avow for his sins, while taking his nephew Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia) under his wing.
 

Thriller: The Devil’s Own (1997)
A police officer (Harrison Ford) uncovers the real identity of his house-guest (Brad Pitt), an I.R.A. terrorist in hiding.
 

Documentary: Kiss the Ground (2020)
A revolutionary group of activist, scientist, farmers, and politicians band together in a global movement of “Regenerative Agriculture” that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world.
 

Family: Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday (2016)
A fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger inspires Pee-Wee Herman (Paul Ruebens) to take his first holiday ever in this epic story of friendship and destiny.

Movie Review - Kiss the Ground

Director: Joshua Tickell, Rebecca Harrell Tickell  
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 84 minutes
Year: 2020
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Ray Archuleta, Gisele Bündchen, Tom Brady, Patricia Arquette, David Arquette, Jason Mraz, Rosario Dawson, Ian Somerhalder

Description: A revolutionary group of activist, scientist, farmers, and politicians band together in a global movement of “Regenerative Agriculture” that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies and feed the world.

Review: “This is the story of a simple solution, a way to heal our planet”, says actor Woody Harrelson, narrator in the Netflix documentary “Kiss the Ground”. That sounds hopeful and it is, although the first 25 minutes are far from uplifting. Because before we get to the solution, we get an explanation in detail how we ended up here and where things went wrong. In short: pesticides, monoculture and industrialized agriculture.
Because we started ploughing and spraying with chemicals, we killed the microbes in the soil. No healthy soul without microbes. And without healthy soil the CO2, which is normally stored in the soil in large quantities, goes back into the atmosphere. Desertification occurs, driving 40 million people from their land every year. If we continue like this, y 2050 there will be about a billion people on the run as a result of desertification. So much for a brief summary of the first 25 minutes of misery.
No crisis is so great or there are always people out there who won’t give up says Woody Harrelson. For example, we see a regenerative farmer from North Dakota, who saw his harvest fail year after year to due extreme weather conditions. Until one day he ran out of money to buy fertilizer and pesticides and was forced to seek refuge in regenerative agriculture. Not only has he been doing well financially since then, but you can also see a clear difference between his lusg green land and the parched land of his neighbor.  
There is also the story of Loess Plateau in China. Once the most dehydrated and neglected piece of land on earth, until scientist started restoring the land. The images before and after show how a dusty void can turn into a true green paradise.
Besides Woody Harrelson narrating the documentary, lots of famous stars join him in the fight for a better planet. Supermodel Gisele Bündchen and her husband, American footbale player Tom Brady, singer Jason Mraz and actors Ian Somerhalder, Patricia Arquette, David Arquette and Rosario Dawson. All of them know how important our soil is and found a way to help our planet. As Patricia Arquette is committed to compost toilets.
Overall, “Kiss the Ground” is a very interesting documentary and an eye-opener.

Rating: 3,5 / 5