Blog Archives
HBO Released The First Look At It’s David Bowie Documentary: The Last Five Years
David Bowie was an enigma. He managed to be a pop culture icon and a mysterious figure at the same time. Since his death in 2016, fans have wanted an insight into the man that was David Bowie. While his peak was during the 70s and 80s have always fascinated fans, HBO is focusing on his final years in it’s new documentary.
The Last Five Years will chronicle Bowie at the end of his life and career. The main focus will be his last two albums: The Next Day & Blackstar, as well a musical he co-wrote, Lazarus. The doc will also focus on Bowie’s unwavering commitment to his artistic abilities even after he was diagnosed with cancer. With a subject as deep as Bowie and a production company as talented as HBO, this doc should be fantastic. David Bowie: The Last Five Years premieres January 8th, which would have been Bowie’s 71st birthday.
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-Ryan
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Trailer Alert – Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond
Anyone like me who has seen and enjoyed Man on the Moon has to be interested in this new Netflix documentary featuring a ton of behind the scenes footage from the set. Andy Kaufman was such a unique and singular figure that it almost seemed impossible for someone to be able to portray him accurately, but Carrey’s turn as Kaufman was great. If you’re wondering how someone could transform into Kaufmann without losing a bit of themselves, you mustn’t wonder anymore, as Carrey seems to go into full detail about how he lost himself in this role. Kauffman was one of his comedic inspirations, so it’s easy to understand why he wanted to commit so fully to the part, but it clearly took a toll on him and everyone on set. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond premieres on Netflix November 17th.
-Ryan
Documentary Recommendation: The White Helmets
Since 2013, 130 White Helmets have lost their lives. In that same span, they’ve saved over 58,000 lives.
That’s how The White Helmets, a documentary about a group of voluntary first responders who rescue victims from the constant bombing attacks in Syria, ends. The story told before that is why it won the 2017 Academy Award for Best Documentary – Short Subject. It’s only 40 minutes long, and again, it won the goddamn Oscar, so you don’t need me to recommend it to you, but it’s such an incredibly important achievement that I want to recommend it anyway. It’s one of the most emotional documentaries I’ve ever watched, and it’s shot so claustrophobically that it’s impossible not to let if affect you. Syria is being absolutely torn apart by war and bombing, and it’s unfortunately very easy for someone like myself to not pay attention and pretend it’s not happening. What this documentary does is force you to pay attention, but instead of placing blame (and there is plenty to go around) it focuses on the White Helmets – former tailors, blacksmiths, builders, and shines the brightest light possible on them. It’s infuriating to watch, because of how senseless the entire thing is, but it’s also necessary viewing. The White Helmets is currently available on Netflix.
-Ryan
Trailer Alert: ‘I Am Chris Farley’
“Infuriatingly talented”. Towards the end of the trailer for ‘I Am Chris Farley’, the documentary about the tragic comedic actor Chris Farley, Lorne Michaels describes a small group of people he’s worked with in show business as ”infuriatingly talented”. There’s no doubt in my mind that Chris Farley is on that list, and he may even be at the top. He was a force of nature whenever he was on screen, whether it was SNL, the movie screen or even a talk show. He was like a bright light, in that every time you saw him, all your attention was drawn to him. Personally, he’s one of my favorite comedic actors ever, and to think he had such an impact and died at 33 goes to show you how special he was. The documentary features of a who’s who of comedy legends and personal friends of Farley’s giving their insight into his life and career, including Adam Sandler, David Spade, Dan Aykroyd and Jay Mohr. The world television premiere is set for August 10th at 10pm on Spike TV, and you can go to iamchrisfarley.com for all the details and updates.
– Ryan
Trailer Alert: Amy
The team behind ‘Senna’ (which was awesome) have teamed back up to put together ‘Amy’, another one word documentary, this time about shooting star Amy Winehouse. When a celebrity dies the way Amy died, it’s easy to only remember him/her for that, instead of what she did while she was alive. Amy Winehouse wasn’t going to win a Nobel Peace Prize, but she was an extremely talented musician with a unique sound. She mixed genres and during her brief time in the spotlight made enough of a splash for people to still remember her almost four years after her death. I’m a sucker for documentaries that focus on people who took the road less traveled, and few people took a crazier path in life than Amy Winehouse. ‘Amy’ debuts in theaters on July 3rd.
– Ryan
Trailer Alert – ‘Dolphin Lover’, The Oddly Accurate Title Of A Documentary About A Guy Who Had Sex With A Dolphin
I’m not sure who interviewed Malcolm Brenner about his love affair with a dolphin and thought “hey, I should turn this into a documentary” but apparently it’s happening. My main is question is how is this not animal cruelty? I understand its 2015 and everyone is hyper sensitive about everything but here’s a guy who is admitting on camera that he had sex with a dolphin for 9 months. That is fucked up. I’m not interested in the details of this at all. A human being had sex with a dolphin. Case closed. Lock him and throw away the key.
– Ryan
Netflix Must Watch – Gore Vidal: The United States of Amnesia
They probably could’ve picked a better screen grab for the trailer
I’ve been on a documentary kick for the past 25 years or so, and last night I stumbled upon the United States of Amnesia, a documentary about renowned author Gore Vidal. A documentary about an author and casual screenplay writer might not be your idea of a good time, but I implore you go to give this one a shot. Gore Vidal is hands down the most interesting person I’ve ever learned about. He associated and/or was friends with, in no specific order: Tennessee Williams, Norman Mailer, Truman Capote, Paul Newman, Tim Robbins, Sting and pretty much every other famous Hollywood or literary name from the mid to late 20th century. He was also one of the most intellectual men in modern history, especially when it came to politics, and he matches his intellect with a wit that is impossible to steer away from. The documentary is made up of interviews with Gore himself, both semi modern day (he died in 2012) and from his past, as well as interviews with his contemporaries. He basically predicts 9/11 and what has happened since, and his views on women’s liberation, religion and equal rights were so far ahead of his time it’s incredible. Take an hour and a half out of your weekend and check out this documentary. It’s well worth it.
– Ryan
Comic-Con Wrap Up: ‘Atari: Game Over’ Documentary
This looks nerdily fantastic! ET, possible the worst video gamer ever to be released, the game that toppled an empire, gets buried out in the desert. some 30 years later we are digging them up. This is like Revenge of the Nerds Meets Raiders of the Lost Ark. Count me in.
-Matt
