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"NUMEN" FILM SCREENING!: Montpelier's SAVOY at 7:00 on Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11.

I have sat through many “talking head” documentaries in my years as a film reviewer, but never before have I found so much to laugh, cry and think about as when I screened “Numen: The Nature of Plants" for the first time just a few days ago.

Where does what we eat come from?

This seems like it ought to be an easy question to answer.

“We suffer from a fiscal cancer,” explains U.S. Comptroller General David Walker. “It is growing within us. And if we do not treat it, it will have catastrophic consequences for our country.”

So begins I.O.U.S.A. – one of the most disturbing documentaries of the past year.

What can a Vermonter possibly do, when confronted with the AIG bonus scandal, global economic meltdown, and the uniquely dirty pleasure that is mud season?

“Billions of dollars are made in shredding the Constitution.
Not a single penny is made in restoring the Constitution.”

Naomi Wolf - January 17, 2009
Big Picture Theater - Mad River Valley, Vermont

The End of America? An Interview with Film Producer Avram Ludwig

Writer's note: Grace Potter grew up in the Mad River Valley, where I currently reside. Good to see our young folks making it in media and the arts.

First, the bad news.

I missed the New Year’s Eve Higher Ground show, in which the Nocturnals vamped as the Royal Tenenbaums.

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There are moments in a moviegoer’s experience when one feels a simultaneous sense of deep satisfaction and bewildered puzzlement.

For me, this was the case with the new James Bond film “Quantum of Solace,” which made $70 billion opening week-end, shattering all Bond film openings to date and officially ushering in the holiday movie season.

Did I like this film? Well, no…and yes. “Quantum of Solace” offered the best and the worst of Bond, all in one two hour package.

Here are the film’s five worst (Boo!) and five best (Yay!) aspects.