new favourite documentary
damn - i meant to post this before the weekend. anyway, it's The Wild Horse Redemption. it's about hard-core convicts in a day program in Wyoming in which they learn to train wild mustangs the Monte Roberts way, and it's absolutely beautiful.
other recommendations, while all the good tv is on summer hiatus?
Oooh that sounds cool! I like horses AND shows about convicts, neat! :] There is (was? I dont' know, don't have cable anymore..) a show, I think it was on Discovery, about people getting arrested and going to jail in Alaska. It's so crazy how different Alaska is from what else I've seen of the US! That's the first time I really saw anything about what Alaska is like. Plus I think it's extra interesting cuz my boyfriend is part Native Alaskan :]
Dear Zachary is a really good one. Really sad though. It's a "letter" to baby Zachary, whose father was murdered. The guy who made it was his dad's friend, and he wanted to show Zachary what his dad was like, what his life was like, and who his friends and family were and what they thought about him. I think you'd find the parts about the Canadian justice system pretty interesting..
And some more light-hearted ones are Super High Me (comedian who goes 30 days without smoking pot, and then is constantly high for 30 days, does some physical, paranormal, and cognitive tests during each phase to see the effects of being high) Bigger, Faster, Stronger (about steroid use) and King of Kong (nerdy dudes getting world records on classic arcade games).
The wild horse doc reminds me of a movie I saw recently called Greenfingers, which is loosely based on a true story about prisoners in a gardening vocational program. (Clive Owens goes to prison, learns how to garden. Funny performance by Helen Mirren as a Martha Stewart-type gardening expert.) Kind of a fluffy movie, but worth renting.
I think I've seen that Roberts guy before. He's the one who breaks horses using body language instead of the traditional forceful methods, right?
I like that guy.
King of Kong made me so mad.
If you've never seen American Movie, watch it. Funny and sad.
I really enjoyed This Film Is Not Yet Rated. It's a pretty good look inside the MPAA, their rating system, and censorship of the film industry.
If you like strange folky weirdo music, you might enjoy The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
Crumb was pretty awesome.
Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist was...well...moving in a way.
Religulous was pretty good.
Sharkwater and Grizzly Man are the only two nature docs I can think of off hand.
Bus 174, 638 Ways to Kill Castro, The War on Democracy, USS Liberty: Dead in the Water are a few good politically fueled ones.
I'll be back with more I'm sure.
Original Post by jewelsmcblah:
King of Kong made me so mad.
Me too! I felt so bad for Stevie Weibe :[ That Billy Mitchell was such a jerk.
I just watched Greenfingers a couple weeks ago, it was really good! Plus I love Clive Owen :] hehe.
Jesus Camp is another one... really freaky (unless you're Evangelist I guess...)
Definitely planning to watch Religulous and Crumb and the War on Democracy. :] Man I love me some documentaries.
I would imagine The War on Democracy is pretty tough to swallow for those who know little about American intervention in the Latin countries. Not saying you don't know anything about it, just throwing that out there for those interested in viewing it.
Here are some more:
Capturing the Friedmans
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Thin Blue Line
Brand Upon the Brain (My Winnipeg by the same director is pretty good)
Taxi to the Dark Side
Standard Operating Procedure
Who Killed The Electric Car
Walmart: the High Cost of Low Prices
Protagonist
Planet Earth
On the Edge: The Femicide in Ciudad Juarez
have you ever seen etre et avoir? its a very cute documentary, like a year in a french baby school, very adorable.
Original Post by jewelsmcblah:
I would imagine The War on Democracy is pretty tough to swallow for those who know little about American intervention in the Latin countries. Not saying you don't know anything about it, just throwing that out there for those interested in viewing it.
yes I bet it'll be very eye-opening... I don't know anything about american intervention in latin america, so I'm very interested... I may be appalled, but I doubt I'll be too surprised. I don't have much faith in the american government as it is. I think more people should learn about what our government is doing outside our country that the media isn't telling us about... instead of just blindly saying YAY AMERICA IS THE BEST COUNTRY EVER HIGH FIVE
Original Post by shanonna:
have you ever seen etre et avoir? its a very cute documentary, like a year in a french baby school, very adorable.
i'm afraid i don't watch foreign films. my TVs are too small and my prescription isn't strong enough ;)
ah fair enough, I had to watch it for media studies class, I've personally never really been one ofr documentaries but that one was very sweet.
