The 11th Hour

I applaud Leonardo DiCaprio's effort to co-write and co-produce this Al Gore-style environmental warning film. I agree with his views and those espoused by the never-ending parade of speakers about the need to address the environmental collapse that threatens to destroy our way of life, and indeed our very lives, however, I think he really could have found a better way to express these views. His heart is in the right place, but Leo, my friend, heart ain't enough. He has some interesting speakers but repetition might help study for a biology exam, but it doesn't do much for entertainment. Pack the bags, honey! We're going on a guilt trip. Al gore took us on one of these, as well, but at least he gave some amusement along the way and offered an upbeat optimistic ending that made us believe that it wasn't too late to save the whales, the tigers and all of those little humans running around ( I kind of like them). Here we are offered a parade of authors, scientists and environmental leaders telling us over and over again that we better get moving. Some solutions are looked at and those are always good to see, but a little entertainment value would have gone a long way. Dry, but not a bad documentary, and certainly a topic that does need to driven (ummm, or commuted on a high speed electric train) into our consciousness a couple more times at least. A little more imagination and variety would have helped out here. I know that guys like Leo and Gore like to think they are persuading, but really they are mostly preaching to the choir, (will George Bush see this film? I'm guessing not - probably thinks its left wing pinko propaganda) so at least at least give us a chuckle or two along with our sermon. Still, celebrities and politicians see the public's will through box office receipts, so please see this movie. This work was first posted on realmoviereview.com

Whoever posted that last comment obviously lives in a big city somewhere? To think that us "ants" aren't doing any damage to this planet is madness, I read these comments all the time that defends all the crazy sh*t that's been happening over the last lot of years and to be frank, i feel like I'm taking crazy pills!?! I'm no tree hugging hippie or anything like that, but I am an angler, have been these past 30years and in this small but eventful time window I've seen a lot of changes in the environment.... All for the worst! Places where I used to fish as a youngster is no more.. And this is because of what? Natural causes or what? The earth will look after itself will it? Oh Please, Living things, no matter how long they've been around and how tough they seem to be can only be rap%d and poisoned so often... If you keep poking the big dog with a stick long enough... Guess what will happen. My plan of action would be to wipe America clean of the map, sink the whorish nation in to the depths... I know it wouldn't completely clean the world of its harmful sins but my God, it would be a step into the right direction. All in all, documentaries like this one should be heeded, and don't listen to the idiots who think it's all o.k just because the sun is shining...... it can only bring good in the long run.

OKAY here we go = Plot of movie: A look at the state of the global environment including visionary and practical solutions for restoring the planet's ecosystems. USA I say 1 word...what about take an active part in the "Kyoto Protocol" !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And NOT just make a movie about the end of the world !! Jesus....it's just so American !!...and what are you paying for your petrol for the car at the moment, is it $5 for 4,5 liter or what ???....while we in the rest of Europa is paying about $2 pr. liter !!!!!!!! This movie is my eyes, CRAP !!!! Think about that !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leonardo. You must have seen the acclaimed documentary "design-e2"On PBS. Look for their new upcoming series. The edit and story far exceeds your film. An Al Gore remake is not a smart thing to do.Even if you bring solutions. (Al Gore failed in this). Google; design-e2.com Or go to; kontentreal.com See you on the big screen.You are a great actor. Your intentions are good as well. But Hollywood is a bit to much for me these days. Narration for documentary is fine. Self promotion like Mr.Gore is too much. Also there is so much more that we are learning on a daily basis (Facts) you could have included in your film that were not seen. Anyhow, Nice try but a bit to much like packaging and finalizing a ongoing problem. Kind regards. Rob Stella.

The best thing about this film was the fact that it did not focus on the Earth's destruction, but on man's eventual demise as a species. The earth with survive our rape and plunder. It has been here for 4.5 billion years, while we have been here but 150,000. We will eventually join the 99.999% of the species that have lived on this planet and who are now extinct. How quickly we join them is up to us, but we will eventually go the way of the dinosaur. Through our heavy consumption and trash creation, we are rapidly stripping all of the resources from the Earth and polluting what we don't consume. Soon, we will be faced with the inevitable - it's all gone. If you haven't seen "A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash," then it should be on your list as a "must see." Along with "An Inconvenient Truth," this film tells us what will happen if we stay the course. The only fault I found in the film was the rapidity with which it presented information. This stuff needs to be digested slowly, and we got it rapid fire. Still, it is an important addition to the story of humankind and how we are planning our own destruction.

I really wonder why movies like this still come out. Global warming is a #1 issue for years now, at least at the citizens. I guess, if you believe in the danger of the warming, you don't need to watch this. Cause it basically says, what you already know. If you don't believe in gl. warming, you won't watch this movie anyway. The politicians and industry bosses should see this. DiCaprio isn't really doing anything, he just appears every 10-15 minutes to hold a small monologue, but it's clear enough, the movie just needed a famous face to sell it. The whole movie is just 10-15 people standing in front of a dark background and talking. While they are talking, documentary footage is shown. I have to say, after like 20 minutes it became really boring and uninteresting to follow.

In the 29 August 2007 edition of the Vancouver Sun, Dr. Patrick Moore, one of the co-founders of Greenpeace, takes issue with Dicaprio's insistence in the documentary '11th Hour' on disparaging the cutting down of trees. Dr. Moore points out that the reduction of greenhouse gases is tied to the proper management of forests, rather than avoidance of cutting down trees altogether. Trees are the earth's great storehouses of carbon, and younger trees easily outdo their older counterparts when it comes to carbon sequestration. He emphasizes that we should be using wood whenever possible, rather than concrete, steel or plastic, each of which emit great amounts of carbon via their production. So long as new trees are planted in place of the trees cut down, the decision to cut down a tree can be viewed as an opportunity to benefit both the earth and its inhabitants. Global warming is real, and sensible stewardship of the earth's resources is necessary. However, as Dr. Moore observes, when faced with dire circumstances, 'sensible' and 'extreme' need not coincide, nor should they. To summarize: Wood is good. P.S. If anyone wonders, no, I'm not an employee of the timber industry.

In this you see shots of various landscapes both littered and pristine, shots of Leonardo DiCaprio talking to the camera around Los Angeles and various opinions from all sorts of people which all get meshed together to announce many things. It's too much. Out of the whole movie, I saw 45 minutes that didn't feel like an overindulgence in excess or a waste of time. The rest of the time, people are just reiterating things that were said previously amongst many vague facts and a few things that are being developed to help the planet. I wish more time had been spent on the things being developed and less on things just happening for no reason. A waterfall, a littered beach, an environmentalist, how about a break? Yeesh. This could have easily been condensed into a TV special.

What a shame. This is the most important issue of all time. It's too bad the film spoke ten miles over the heads of its audience. I know about the environmental movement, the issues, and the players. I thought Al Gore's film and book were outstanding. But after ten minutes with this film, I was lost. I was lost because I was pelted by experts with expert-speak. This is absolutely NOT how to reach an audience if that audience is non-experts. My college work is in political science, sociology, and technical writing and editing. If you want to make an impact on an audience, you must target the message to the audience, like Al Gore did. You cannot bludgeon a non-tech savvy audience with techno babble. Talking about the abstract concept we call "the environment" won't work. You have to tell people both how these separate facets are affecting them now, sometimes in ways they don't realize, and how they will likely affect them in five years, ten years, twenty years, etc. The good news is, this was attempted several times in the film. When it was, it reached me. One example was when an interviewee spoke about the growth of asthma among school children. That was good. Because I am the uncle of three children under 11 years of age, that had a direct connection to my life. If the film had been at least half of this, it would be much more successful in delivering the message. Instead, the noise killed the message. Leo, I really appreciate what you tried to do. But you lost me. May I suggest you pick up a classic book on environmental rhetoric. It is "Green Culture," by Herndl and Brown. Pay attention to the essay "Saving the Great Lakes." It will show you how to reach both your audience and the powers that be by recounting the real-life impact this environmental devastation is having on our lives. The next thing I'd like to see is a weekly television series on Sundance Channel, or perhaps in syndication, that shows the daily impact of catastrophic climate change on the average person. It would be an environmental version of Morgan Spurlock's "30 Days" series. I believe it's impact would be profound.

With the world economy expanding as it is bringing pollution along with it, combined with the lack of socially responsible leadership specifically in the forms of education and regulation, The 11th Hour superbly outlines the current status of our Earth's health, the movement to revive it, and a basis for the education that is needed to make necessary changes for a healthier planet. Much file footage is shown throughout the film that is sometimes not specifically discussed but does provide good visuals for the narration and speakers, which is the basis of the entire film. Although the production is a bit ADD (ie a screen cut every 1/2 to 1 second at times), the distress call for the environment and future of our world is clear. A 10/10 is deserved for this film for social responsibility and standing up against non-leadership while providing feasible options to reduce global climate change from the ground up.