Last Documentary You Watched? (Page 15 of 16)

Jimi Hendrix BBC sessions documentary.
7.5/10

I don't think I'll be checking out your full-length tool any time soon, Creech, thanks.

^^^ Thank God.

Pumping Iron II: The Women (1985).

Been quite a while since I'd seen this and forgot how much more fascinating it is than the original Pumping Iron, which focused on male bodybuilding.  At the time in the then still-burgeoning sport of female bodybuilding, there was a lot of disagreement on what constituted "femininity."  Most folks held firm that it was when a woman looked athletic but not too muscular.  Others opined that no matter how much muscle a woman packed on, as long as it was aesthetic and symmetrical, it could still be considered feminine. 

The doc focuses on four particular female bodybuilders -- the svelt and lean Rachel McLish, the graceful and supple Carla Dunlap, underdog Lori Bowen and former power lifter turned bodybuilder and easily the most heavily muscled and cut woman in the compeition, Bev Francis.  It seems as though the filmmakers were attempting to manipulate a Schwarzenegger/Ferrigno scenario between McLish and Bowen, who idolized McLish and cited her as her reason for getting into the sport.  But the main thrust becomes the argument of feminity and the studied, drastic differences between the very feminine McLish and the "man-like" Francis. 

What's so interesting about all this is that even the judges themselves can't agree on a definition of "femininity."  While one male judge seems staunchly in support of Francis and a woman bodybuilder's right to build herself to massive proportions, a more reserved lady judge all but calls Francis a grotesque freak who has no business being in the sport.

Anyway, as you can see from my rambling, this really is a very interesting documentary.  Like the original Pumping Iron there are a number of staged scenes and certain conflicts are created through editing than likely actually occurred in real life.  But there are also a number of candid, character-revealing moments to be found, such as Dunlap cheering Francis on from behind the stage during Francis' posing routine, or Francis herself performing a humorous rendition of the  bouncy, strip tease-like posing routines her more dainty counterparts employ during competitions.

Good doc.  Even if you're not into female bodybuilding, or even bodybuilding in general, there's a lot of interesting stuff here.

Some thing about USA's 50th state the BEAUTIFUL Hawaii. Man, I wanna live there for the rest of my life. They're influenced a lot by Samoans I've seen.

Maybe for you but to me Evil Dead 1981 is just that... PERFECT. Hey yeah, I know, I'm easy to please and don't bother with the stuff I like less.

^^^ I DLed that last week but haven't got around to watching it yet.  Saw David Grohl pimping it on The Colbert Report a couple months back.

Room 237, a documentary on Kubrick's The Shining.  Well, not really a documentary so much as a pure opinion piece, featuring different takes on the film from a handful of super-fans.  There are a few interesting little tidbits that I'd never noticed before; the TV Danny watches doesn't have a power chord, and there are certain dissolves which imply double-meaning to certain images, and a few other things.  But mostly the doc is about the numerous conspiracy theories these super-fans have read into it.  LOTS of crazy talk here which, despite being completely circumstantial or coincidental, is nevertheless entertaining in a "man, these people are insane" kind of way. 

But what makes the doc truly bizarre is that we never once see the people being interviewed; instead the filmmaker uses snippets from other non-related films as dramatic re-enactments.  For instance, one speaker talks about how he parked in a parking garage at the theater where he saw the film, and it's laid over an image of Robert Redford entering a parking garage in All the President's Men, or another guy's talking about sitting down in the theater and it's laid over images from the Lamberto Bava flick Demons of characters sitting in a movie theater.  And there's a LOT of Eyes Wide Shut footage, none of which has anything to do with what's being said when it's shown.

It's an odd viewing experience to be sure.

Cropsey - On Netflix IW - Amazing documentary about a rash of abductions and the mystery surrounding them. Really well done but sad as well.

I Survived B.T.K. - Also on Netflix IW - Really informative Docu about the B.T.K. Serial Killer. Warning though, it shows crime scene photos from his victims. Not for soft stomachs.

Bully

Bowling For Columbine...so powerful, I love Michael Moore's style

I saw this a little while back on NIW. Every parent with young children should watch this.