The Cove is a documentary that looks like nothing I’ve ever seen before.  This trailer has me hooked and I now want to read up on this situation even more.

Wow. Just wow. This is easily one of the most powerful, heartfelt, and (yes, I’ll say it) important ‘nature’ documentaries I’ve ever seen. [Scott Weinberg, Cinematical]

this baby, a cross between Flipper and The Bourne Identity, packed the heat. [Peter Travers, Rolling Stone Magazine]

an unconventional documentary, one that looks very much like a feature film, with the dramatic arcs and suspense one would expect in a James Bond or Hollywood action movie. [New York Times, Larry Rohter]

Full synopsis after the jump.

Synopsis:

The Cove begins in Taiji, Japan, where former dolphin trainer Ric O’Barry has come to set things right after a long search for redemption. In the 1960s, it was O’Barry who captured and trained the 5 dolphins who played the title character in the international television sensation “Flipper.”

But his close relationship with those dolphins – the very dolphins who sparked a global fascination with trained sea mammals that continues to this day — led O’Barry to a radical change of heart. One fateful day, a heartbroken Barry came to realize that these deeply sensitive, highly intelligent and self-aware creatures so beautifully adapted to life in the open ocean must never be subjected to human captivity again. This mission has brought him to Taiji, a town that appears to be devoted to the wonders and mysteries of the sleek, playful dolphins and whales that swim off their coast.

But in a remote, glistening cove, surrounded by barbed wire and “Keep Out” signs, lies a dark reality. It is here, under cover of night, that the fishermen of Taiji, driven by a multi-billion dollar dolphin entertainment industry and an underhanded market for mercury-tainted dolphin meat, engage in an unseen hunt. The nature of what they do is so chilling — and the consequences are so dangerous to human health — they will go to great lengths to halt anyone from seeing it.

Undeterred, O’Barry joins forces with filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Oceanic Preservation Society to get to the truth of what’s really going on in the cove and why it matters to everyone in the world. With the local Chief of Police hot on their trail and strong-arm fishermen keeping tabs on them, they will recruit an “Ocean’s Eleven”-style team of underwater sound and camera experts, special effects artists, marine explorers, adrenaline junkies and world-class free divers who will carry out an undercover operation to photograph the off-limits cove, while playing a cloak-and-dagger game with those who would have them jailed. The result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery that adds up to an urgent plea for hope.

The Cove is directed by Louie Psihoyos and produced by Paula DuPre Pesman and Fisher Stevens. The film is written by Mark Monroe. The executive producer is Jim Clark and the co-producer is Olivia Ahnemann.

If Spinal Tap was real, this documentary comes pretty dang close.  I’ve never hear of Anvil but their still touring.  Anvil! The Story of Anvil looks really funny and compelling.  When do you give up on your dream? According to Anvil, NEVER?

According to Geeks of Doom:

“VH1 has obtained the exclusive rights to Anvil! The Story of Anvil and will handle the television and DVD release, and will also distribute the film theatrically in association with Abramorama starting April 10, 2009 in New York and Los Angeles followed by a national roll-out.”

Synopsis:

At fourteen years old, best friends Lips and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. Their band Anvil, hailed as the ‘demi-gods of Canadian metal,’ influenced a musical generation including Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Though Anvil never made it, they never stopped playing or believing. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now well into their fifties, set off to record their thirteenth album, ‘This is Thirteen,’ in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dream.

[Source: TrailerAddict, Geeks of Doom]

This documentary looks pretty awesome.  A rare look at Mike Tyson.

Synopsis:

Tyson is acclaimed indie director James Toback’s stylistically inventive portrait of a mesmerizing Mike Tyson. Toback allows Tyson to reveal himself without inhibition and with eloquence and a pervasive vulnerability. Through a mixture of original interviews and archival footage and photographs, a startlingly complex, fully-rounded human being emerges.

The film ranges from Tyson’s earliest memories of growing up on the mean streets of Brooklyn through his entry into the world of boxing, to his rollercoaster ride in the funhouse of worldwide fame and fortunes won and lost. It is the story of a legendary and uniquely controversial international athletic icon, a figure conjuring radical questions of race and class. In its depiction of a man rising from the most debased circumstances to unlimited heights, destroyed by his own hubris, TYSON emerges as a modern day version of classic Greek tragedy.