Recently in Documentary Category

I wanted to like this DVD, I really did. It had a lot of critical buzz on the festval circuits last year and I was sad I missed it in theaters. But when it came down to what this film was really about all I could think of was one word: Plastic.

American Teen is a documentary is about experiencing High School through the eyes of five real-life Indiana teenagers. They are the Prom Queen, the Heartthrob, the Jock, the Rebel, and the Geek. (Wow stereotype time already huh?). In this film we are promised a deep dive into what makes high school students tick. And we are promised that no matter who you were in high school you are going to connect with one of these students.



However that promise simply falls flat. The reason goes back to my mentioning of the one word summary from above: Plastic. The whole things feels way too perfect and plastic. It's like watching MTV's "The Hills" for 2 hours. The people are plastic, the camera work is plastic, the documentary is just way too perfect in it's coverage. I am sure the filmmakers will argue this, but some shots are totally and absolutely staged. To me that takes all the reality out of this MTV style film. Documentaries are supposed to be gritty......not plastic.

The behind the scenes features of this film were not really film school in a box. They were more just scenes left on the cutting room floor. I'll post the best one later today.

All in all I give this DVD a D+. I would skip this one on Netflix.

Got another good little documentary from the folks at The Smithsonian Channel HD. This one was a little more horror related and was called "Vampire Princess". This DVD poses the question "Where did Bram Stroker's inspiration come from?" Was it really from Vlad the Impaler or was it actually from a woman named Elanore von Schwartzenberg.

Recent excavations near Elanore's castle have uncovered the first archaelogical evidence of vampire hysteria; three bodies buried in the style of "Magia Pasthuma," a ritual to prevent the undead from rising. One skelton's head rests between his legs, stones weighing down his limbs, a rosary binding his hands; another has a wooden stake coming out of his chest. So much for legends. The hysteria really did happen in this community.

Once again the Smithsonian Channel has produced a quality documentary that really takes you from a-z of these
vampire hysterias of the 1700's. The film has some great steady cam shots and once again the acting
goes along great with the main storytelling of the film. Also once again they don't pull punches calling the vampire
hysteria a result of ignorant people in the countryside.

This DVD is out on October 14th for around $15.00. No extras but I give it a B+

This was frankly the best music documentary I have seen in a long long time. The Upsetter is about the life and time of revolutionary artist and producer Lee "Scratch" Perry. You may of heard of him from his producing of Bob Marley or his appearances on Paul Mcartney's albums or his apperance with the Beastie Boys. The Upsetter charts 70 years in the life of Lee Scratch Perry, in his own words, through an exclusive interview given to American filmmakers Ethan Higbee and Adam Bhala Lough in Switzerland in 2006.

It is equally a documentation of 30 years of Jamaican music and culture and a character study of one of the most creative and inspiring human beings alive today. At once touching and shocking the film really did a great job of patching together the fragmented life of Lee Scratch Perry and the impact on music that he has had. The best part? Every one who attended Tuesday's screening got a Fax from Lee himself. I will work on scanning it and adding it soon.

I give it a A+

- Dave

For such a good documentary these Behind The Scenes features are not that good. The one below I give a F. It's about as boring a talking head shot you will ever see. I mean at least cut to the footage as you talk about it....Yawn...



- Dave

I had the pleasure of reviewing a gem of a film today. The film was a documentary by PBS called "Oswald's Ghost" and is the story of Lee Harvey Oswald. The film poses a central question to the conspiracy behind the assassination of JFK. How could a man as inconsequential as Lee Harvey Oswald kill someone as consequential as JFK? The documentary was areal treat to watch, featuring excellent interviews with the likes of Dan Rather, Norman Mailer and other who were there when it happened. It also doesn't take the easy road of claiming it was a conspiracy by Cuba/CIA/Russia/Martians. Nor does it blame everything on Lee Harvey Oswald. Overall it's a very fair and balanced look at what happened and why American is still facinated about this event over 30 years later. Another plus for the film is the excellent musical scoring of all the scenes and credits. The music really helps the since of foreboding that runs throughout the film.



 The other plus for this film is that is featured some sweet archive footage, and of course, the granddaddy of all archive footage, the Zapruder film. To my shock the Zapruder film is still as disturbing as it was when I was kid (and probably when people saw it 30 yrs ago). It has to be seen to be believed and it's not for the weak hearted. Another reason this film really hit home for me was growing up in Dallas we regularly would drive past Dealy plaza and not think twice about the history behind it. Interesting how we become oblivious to the world around us sometimes..

All in all this was a great documentary and something you should really check out if your interested in History or even a minor conspiracy buff. As for the question the film asks, what do you think? Did he act alone?

I give it a final score of A