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Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews
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 2009-09-27 8:37 PM |
Regular  330  |  Subject: Documentaries/Independant Films - ReviewsAnyways have become a documentary addict hear of late. Have watched quite a few, but was wondering what are some good off the beaten path documentaries. (BTW - I am trying everything in the world to make time go by till I get out of here  )Born into Brothels - Think it's an intriguing film and shows the day to day life of the lower parts of India. Some incredible pictures, but seemed a little hollow I guess you could say. Still worth the time if you have 1.5 hrs to kill. Give it a - Grade: C Man on a Wire - About Phillipee Petit's scaling and walking a tightrope in between the World Trade Center towers. This was an amazing documentary and well worth the rental fee. Something so insane and documented so well. It kept my interest all the way through the movie. - Grade: A American Movie - Thought it was a good movie with great dialogue. The movie wasn't exactly a documentary, but it had a great feel and really captured the characters life etc. Grade - B Spirit of the Marathon - Really excited to watch this movie. Really liked the beginning, and really liked watching the Pros train etc. Kind of lost more towards the middle. Still thought it was put together great and shows what for some is a life changing event and what it takes to do one. Sidebar would be the Boston Challenge by Nova. Liked that because it showed how your body adapts from being a coach potato to becoming trained in running a marathon. Grade - B Dig! - Usually not a huge fan of these type of documentaries, watching a bunch of drug addicted rock stars, etc. Loved how it showed how getting signed to a record label really has it's drawbacks, and how it chronicled from one band who got it's act together to another that just partied alot. Always was a BJM fan though, just never really knew there story till this. Grade - B Heavy Metal in Baghdad - About a Heavy Metal Band in Iraq that just try to keep it together after the Iraq War. Thought it was great as it shows them on a personnel level and what they had to face when getting out of Iraq to Syria, etc. Also, gave a personnel account of what was going on in Iraq. Grade - A Most can be found on Hulu. Any other good ones to watch? |
| 2009-09-28 5:18 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Expert 1690  | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Beautiful Losers, Art doc about some awesome artists. Including director of gummo and some others. The Devil in Daniel Johnston, all time favorite doc, great musician. Flow, about world water shortage crisis. The world according to monsanto, another about pestisides and contamination. Food Inc was alright, about the current state of non orgo farming and the corporations running our food industry. King Corn, eye opening doc similar to the ones above focusing specifically on the corn industry. Not sure why I just dumped a list of environmental docs but when I thought of flow the others kinda came about. My preference are those struggling with mental illness, nice to see others with similar disorders struggle more than I do. |
| 2009-09-28 8:23 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Veteran 303 | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Murderball, story of the US (and other surrounding characters) paralympic rugby team. Characters were interesting, you were really drawn into the emotion of the whole thing, got to see a glimpse of the competitors lives, how their injuries/illnesses affected them and not. Some strong language and vulgarity though, if you're not into that sort of thing. Can't think of any others I've seen recently. |
| 2009-09-28 8:23 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Expert 1158 Chicagoland | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews MurderBall |
| 2009-09-28 9:56 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Champion 6056 Menomonee Falls, WI | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews In my completely unbiased opinion, I think "The Distance: A Triathlete's Journey" (http://www.distancedvd.com/) is pretty good.  The movie follows the lives of three ordinary people (all BTer's) as they prepare to attempt their first Ironman. Beyond the training, the film attempts to capture the impact the experience has on their personal lives and their relationships with their friends and families. Obviously, I'm a huge fan of documentaries, and some of the ones below influenced me in one way or another. "Hoop Dreams" - Often recognized as the best sports doc of all time, this movie follows the lives of two rising high school basketball players in Chicago over the course of six years. Absolutely brilliant. "Startup.com" - Details the rise and fall of a .com business during the internet boom/bust. This movie particularly means a lot to me because it captured an experience I actually lived through when I was the Creative Director for an ad agency that handled an "ambitious" dotcom client. Love, love, love this movie. "Heart of Darkness" - Shot by Francis Ford Coppolla's wife during the filming of "Apocalypse Now", this doc offers a raw behind-the-scenes take on the shoot experience. "Gates of Heaven" - This movie is brilliant, as are ALL of Errol Morris' documentaries. But I love this one most of all. This movie takes an up-close look at obsessive pet owners and the wonderfully neurotic people who run pet cemeteries. LOVE this. "Bigger, Stronger, Faster" - This is a more recent fave. This movie, made by an avid bodybuilder, examines the allure and affects of steroid use without taking sides on the issue. Very eye-opening, very personal and often very funny. I don't want to give away any spoilers but after viewing, google the filmmaker for a revealing epitaph. GREAT movie. "Supersize Me" - Probably overrated, but still very interesting. Examines the impact of fast food on American health and culture. Enjoy! These are not just some of my favorite docs, but favorite all-time movies! |
| 2009-09-28 10:31 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Veteran 152 | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Great stuff to put in my que! |
| 2009-09-28 10:58 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Pro 4578 Vancouver, BC | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews I've seen a lot of these documentaries, as I was a bit of an addict a couple of years ago, but some of these, I haven't, so thanks for starting this up again. I think two of my favourite are (stealing the summaries from imdb.com) Scared Sacred - Visiting the 'Ground Zeros' of the planet, he asks if it's possible to find hope in the darkest moments of human history & Manufactured Landscapes - Jennifer Baichwal's cameras follow Edward Burtynsky (1955- ) as he visits what he calls manufactured landscapes: slag heaps, e-waste dumps, huge factories in the Fujian and Zhejiang provinces of China, and a place in Bangladesh where ships are taken apart for recycling. |
| 2009-09-28 11:04 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Pro 4578 Vancouver, BC | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews |
| 2009-09-28 2:54 PM in reply to: #2428895 |
Regular 330 | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Nice ! Think every single one has intrigued me thus far. Can't wait to check them out. The distance, i'll have to buy a copy. Went on Snagfilms last night and looked for anything Triathlon related but no success. Thanks for all these. |
| 2009-09-28 3:22 PM in reply to: #2428895 |
Elite 2673 Muskego, WI | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Plug for The Distance, Spirit of the Marathon, and Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Also, not mentioned is TOUCHING THE VOID a fantastic documentary about some British Mountain Climbers that encounter trouble high up, and I'll just leave it at that. |
| 2009-09-28 3:25 PM in reply to: #2428895 |
Member 70 Toronto | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Just in the process of being released is "American Harmony" has won a few awards already in the category of Best Documentary in various film festivals. It is the story of what happens when regular people work like crazy, sometimes at the expense of what most people would call rational, to try to become the best in the world at what they do, in this case A Cappella singing. Great movie and the similarities to age group triathletes is scarry. |
| 2009-09-28 3:48 PM in reply to: #2428895 |
| Veteran 458 Minnesota | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Appalachian Impressions. A documentary on thru-hiking the 2000+ mile Appalachian Trail -- from Georgia to Maine. I think anyone who enjoys really getting out into the wilderness will find it interesting. Edited by TriJedi 2009-09-28 3:48 PM |
| 2009-09-28 3:52 PM in reply to: #2428895 |
Extreme Veteran 1996 Halifax, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Another vote for Hoop Dreams, plus My Architect (Lou Kahn's son attempts to learn more about his father) One Days in September (doc on the Munich Olympics hostage crisis) My Brother's Keeper (murder trial in upstate NY concerning 3 brothers) and my favourite... When We Were Kings- a film around the Ali-Frazier fight in Kinshasa (and I'm not a boxing fan) Edited by blairrob 2009-09-28 3:56 PM |
| 2009-09-29 8:47 PM in reply to: #2428895 |
Master 1946 Bronze member | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews |
| 2009-09-30 1:26 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
Extreme Veteran 767 Alexandria, VA | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews |
| 2009-09-30 3:04 AM in reply to: #2428895 |
| Master 1391 | Subject: RE: Documentaries/Independant Films - Reviews Paradise Lost: The Murders in Robin's Woods & Paradise Lost 2: Revelations. These dealt with the child murders in West Memphis, Arkansas in the 1990's and how the courts pinned the murders on three teenagers who dressed in black and listened to heavy metal. Very eye opening. Murderball - awesome documentary! Hoop Dreams - dealt with the lives of high school basketball players that dreamed of making it big. Do You Believe in Miracles - 1980 US Hockey Team |
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