Lost in La Mancha (2002) - 3/5

Lost in La Mancha (2002) - 3/5

Interesting to see just b/c of what it is, but I can't say it's anything better than the idea: documenting making a movie... that doesn't finish getting made.

I think this movie suffered from several things the kept it from getting made. The budget hurt, but really it's the makers that failed to then spend w/in that budget.

The weather was killer, but only b/c the schedule was so tight b/c of other things.

The actors schedules were hard to organize mainly b/c they didn't have a budget, but I think the real solution there is: use cheaper actors.

Do the real downfall was trying to a make a big budget movie w/ a big budget.

I cdn't help but think that those responsible (director, 1st AD, etc.) wdn't the be ones suffering from all the mistakes. It wd be the crew who wd suddenly be out of work.

Anyway, it's an interesting view into movie-making and how it is (and isn't) done... at least in some senses.

Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) - 4/5

Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001) - 4/5

I was afraid this wd be fairly lame, but really liked it! I remember a lot of the things from that time of skateboarding (empty pools, thin boards, etc.). It was great to see a combination of how it got started, who did it, how it evolved, etc.

I thought they did a great job of telling the story, making it personal, mixing it w/ the times and bringing the original skaters to life on the screen.

It was nostalgic, fun, interesting and personal.

I probably won't see the fictionalized version: "Lords of Dogtown" I'm just too scared it wd ruin it.

Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008) - 4/5

Bigger Stronger Faster* (2008) - 4/5

Another great documentary that examines a lot of "why"s.

Are steroids bad? The numbers don't seem to say so. And is it really cheating? Where do you draw the line?

I've always thought it was strange that they are illegal and congress has made such a fuss about it all. I think we all think it's cheating and wrong b/c it's not "natural", but again, where do you draw the line?

It does a great job of calling out past steroid users too.

Really well done imo.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) - 4/5

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) - 4/5

I think this is a good and well made documentary about the denial of any alternate theory to the origin of life besides Darwinism.

They take a great approach across the board imo. They talk about the freedom of speech, cases of people being ostracized or disciplined for discussing/publishing/etc. Intellectual Design, talk to experts on all sides, etc.

I feel that any non-liberal documentary has a really hard job to not seem biased b/c they'll get attacked (as opposed to Michael Moore movies). The great thing about this documentary is that it doesn't promote ID (though it might seem to), it just questions why it can't be considered.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling this movie is mostly "preaching to the choir" b/c anyone against ID (or just set on Darwinism w/o question) won't see it.

SPOILERS

Even Richard Hawkins seems to agree that it's possible and he's the lead guy against it. But that it can't be God, etc. Illogical. Or that it has to be from an alien life-form (uh, then where did they come from?).

Helvetica (2007) - 3/5

Helvetica (2007) - 3/5

I thought this was a good documentary, but probably only needed to be about 30-45 mins long. Basically it's a bunch of design people talking about how much they love and how great Helvetica is (or isn't in a few cases). There was a little bit of history in there which was good, but not great revelation or statement, I don't think.

So I did enjoy it, but it wasn't amazing.

Young at Heart (2007) - 4/5

Young at Heart (2007) - 4/5

Very fun and inspiring. Though sad at times.

It's basically what you expect, but I think the personalities come through more than I expected. You get closer to the people than you might think b/c that's what it spends all the time on.

SPOILERS

It really got to me when the various people passed away and to think of them all dealing w/ that daily was powerful.

Man on Wire (2008) - 4.5/5

Man on Wire (2008) - 4.5/5

Good documentary - won an Oscar this year.

It feels like you're watching a heist movie and can feel pretty good about it coming together. Tense, but very fun.

frontline: is wal-mart good for america? - 4/5

frontline: is wal-mart good for america? - 4/5

This is a good, but short, documentary about Wal-Mart's practices. It sticks mostly to their business practices of driving vendor's prices (too) low and the results of moving jobs overseas and American companies out of business.

"The Wal-Mart Movie: The High Cost of Low Prices" goes into more detail.

Hate America? Want to stay ignorant about what you support while shopping at WalMart? If so, don't watch this!

Seven Up! (1964) (TV) - 5/5

Seven Up! (1964) (TV)

NEXT: Frenzy (1972)

This is a series where they took several 7-year-old kids from various walks of life in England in 1964 and interviewed them. They go back every 7 years to see how things are going. The premise was based on a quote: "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man."

It's interesting to see who did what they thought they would and how they've changed, etc. I love this kinda thing! Most recently they did "49 Up" in 2005 so you get to see a majority of their lives at this point.

Since they come out every 7 years, there's a lot of recap in each documentary, but I still recommend watching them all to get the full information. After watching so much of their lives, you really feel like you know them and certainly care for them.

SPOILERS

Bruce, Paul and Neil are probably my favorites though I love how Suzanne changed so much over the years. Jackie, Lynn and Sue are kinda sad. Neil is heartbreaking, but powerful.

Haiku Summary
What can I say here?
People change. Some more, Some less.
A lot of it's sad.

Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999) - 3/5

Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999)

Klaus Kinski was crazy. Way crazy. This, like "Little Dieter Needs to Fly" feels like a 'report' or something about Herzog and Kinski's relationship. Only mildly interesting, it does point out some wild things they did during their filmmaking and how they made films.

The main thing, to me, was that Kinski was crazy; going off into rages at all times and causing a lot of drama to get attention.

Haiku Summary
Kinski is crazy.
Herzog is a little too.
They made good movies.

NEXT: "Pan's Labyrinth (2006)"

Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997) - 3/5

Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)

I watched this b/c I just watched "Rescue Dawn" by Herzog about the same story. This is a documentary about the real person who is the main character in "Rescue Dawn."

It was interesting, but felt a bit forced and drawn out. Also, b/c of the relationship of the subject and the filmmaker, it didn't feel like an observation, but a report. Dieter wasn't being interviewed or anything, he was just telling his story. It didn't have much of a Herzog signature to it.

It was interesting, but not much else.

Haiku Summary
From Germany, he
comes to America. Flies.
Shot. Escapes. Goes back.

NEXT: "Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (1999)"

Air Guitar Nation (2006) - 3.5/5

Air Guitar Nation (2006)

Pretty interesting, but they didn't into the people enough... or they made the most of what they had to work with.

It's fun to watch the performances and they do a good job of keeping it from getting old. They get into each topic enough, but nothing to the point to make it a great documentary.

The "underdog" isn't as likable which hurts that aspect, but everyone is a character and fairly fun. From serious to ridiculous, it's all pretty good.

There are certainly some great parts and overall it's pretty fun.

WARNING: Male nudity.

Haiku Summary
What's this? Air guitar
contests? No Americans?
I say we go. Win!

NEXT: "3:10 To Ymua"

The King of Kong (2007) - 5/5

The King of Kong (2007)

If I had waited for my top movies from 2007 (released in 2007, not watched), this wd be up there near the top.

Awesome! I have to give some credit to the documentary makers here, but I think the material they had to work w/ was gold.

Billy Mitchell is Darth Vader's equivalent in this reality. So great. Editing does a lot, but anyone saying the things he says... wow.

And Steve Weibe - you just can't help but pull for this lovable loser.

Be sure to watch some of the extra material if you get this for more updates about what happened after the filming.... they're still going!

Next: "The Secret of NIMH"

Haiku Summary
Steve beats high score on
tape. Not good enough for Bill.
Bill evades. So great!

Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (2006) - 2.5/5

Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (2006)

An interesting look at the differences btwn the "art world" and the real world more than anything.

A woman trucker buys a painting for $5 at a thrift store for a friend. She winds up trying to sell it in a garage sale and someone says they think it might be a Jackson Pollock painting.

She tries to find out if it is and prove the art world wrong. Ultimately, it becomes a matter of principle to her and, imo, she's way too stubborn about it.

SPOILERS

I can kinda see turning down the $2 million from the anonymous offerer. I guess you cd think that anyone offering to pay that much must think it's worth something and if it's worth anything (b/c it's a Pollock) then it's worth a lot more than that.

However, she cd have secured her family's future w/ that so I think she probably sd have taken it. Again, we learn at the end that she has since turned down an offer of $9 million. Now I think she's been crazy, stubborn and selfish.

Wanting to prove the art world wrong and make them admit it is just as bad as them being that way, imo.

Haiku Summary
Woman finds cheap art.
May be Pollock. Finger print
matches. Take $9 mill!

Frank and Ollie (1995) - 5/5

Frank and Ollie (1995)

This is a documentary about two of the great Disney animators; two of the "nine old men." These guys started out in school together and wound up sharing an apartment and then building houses next to each other where they lived the rest of their lives (Frank died in 2004, but I believe Ollie is still alive).

It's a great look at what they did and their motivations, humility, skills and general approach to animation.

I've been listening to the AnimationPodcast.com and they talk a lot about Frank and Ollie. So getting to see them and learn about them was a lot of fun.

Haiku Summary
Two animators
for Disney tell their story.
Great insight for us.

Stone Reader (2002) - 3.5/5

Stone Reader (2002)

I really like the idea of this movie. I really like it. Countless times have I read some book or similar and wanted to track down the author. I wanted to discover some hidden treasure, etc. I'm actually kind of doing it now but I don't want to give any details here.

Unfortunately the first half of this movie is more about the guy making it and is filled with shots of fields, flowers, trees, him doing yard work, etc. He narrates over it what's been happening, but it's slow.

There's also shots of friends getting UPS/FedEx packages delivered to them which a) aren't very interesting and b) cd have been shot any time so it feels like filler.

The second half has a lot more things of interest happening and that's when it gets good. If you can make it past the first half, it's worth it. If you can't, just scan ahead, you really won't miss too much (though you might not appreciate the payoff as much???).

Haiku Summary
Guy reads book after
many years. Great, but author
is gone. He finds him.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) (V) - 3.5/5

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) (V)

I thought this was a well-done version of a biased documentary. They presented the arguments and didn't really seem to hide their stance (Heck, even the title implies they have something negative towards WalMart).

However, the did it in a classy way so that you want to try to see their side and give their arguments some credit.

I was afraid this movie was going to focus too much on low wages and poor benefits which is hard to blame on WalMart. They're just giving us what we want: low prices at the cost of our economical future and local jobs, etc.

They wd pay a higher wage if fewer people were willing to work there. They wdn't run local businesses out if local residences didn't shop there, etc.

I'm not fan of WalMart and I don't shop there. I don't think their policies (from what I understand) are generally illegal (though they have lost more than their share of law suits on not paying employees for overtime, EPA violations, etc.), but I'd have to say they are somewhat immoral.

The several former WalMart managers they have in the movie describe the practices and many are clearly wrong and illegal. Who's to say they are accurately telling the truth, but if they are...

The biggest thing about this to me is that people shop there thinking they're getting a good deal when really the cost is just coming from somewhere else: higher taxes to pay for subsidies paid to WalMart, lost jobs to overseas factories, lower quality products, larger drain on social programs, etc.

Wordplay (2006) - 3.5/5

Wordplay (2006)

Very fun and interesting and certainly made me want to play crossword puzzles. I'm always attracted to an area of interest that has a sense of 'community' which oddly ennough this seemed to have in the movie.

However, I think even in the movie they make it clear that this tends to be something you do alone. It's just great to see people sharing a common interest and passion for things in a social way. The talent show at the tournament says a lot too - there's more to these people and they accept each other very deeply.

As always, a documentary took a seeminly uninteresting premise and made it fun to watch.

Bowling for Columbine (2002) - 2/5

Bowling for Columbine (2002) A ton has been written on this movie and done better than I cd do, but I'll make a few points.

Michael Moore continues to show himself to be an opinionated 'essay' filmer. Documentary is far from what he does.

He makes thin, one sided arguments leading the viewer to his conclusions. He proposes the ridiculous to make a point and, IMO, ruins his own argument and point. I can help but think of him as egotistical and arrogant thinking he's not only better and smarter than those he's against, but also hypocritical given the money he's made exploiting those he claims to be one of.

2 things I think that this movie does well in a sense:

1. Shine a light on the sensationalism of the 'nightly news.'
2. Question the common explinations about why the U.S. is so violent (compared to other countries)

He uses cheap trick and tactics to make his points and ruins them in the process. He blames others for problems but doesn't consider what their excuse might be (who's to blame for making the bad people bad which makes other people bad?).

I've read a few things about his movies including this one that show how awful he is in his tactics so I won't waste time on that. The above is my feelings, impressions and thoughts.

Update 8.3.06:
I thought recently about how MM seems to put a lot of the blame on news media for causing us to live in fear, but is quick to give Marilyn Mason the oppurtunity to refute that music (media) doesn't have the same effect. Similarly he writes off the video games cd influence people/kids to violence. I disagree.

Home Movie (2001) - 3/5

A documentary about 5 people/couples living in unusual homes and locations.

Somewhat interesting and fortunately short. I think they do a good job of finding interesting cases to document, but ultimately I think they stay too shallow and not get into the core of these interesting people.

These people are living in places I wd love to live in if it were practical (well, may all except the cat people). I wd love a gadget house, a tree house, a house boat or a missle silo house! So cool.

These people are doing that and it takes very unique people to do it. However, I felt like the film didn't get deeply enough into them to really take advantage of the oppurtunity.