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Good Hair Review

Goon — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:35:00 +0000

Good Hair Directed by: Jeff Stilson Starring: Chris Rock, Nia Long, Ice-T, Al Sharpton, Maya Angelou, Eve, Tracie Thoms I have more rap albums than I have black friends on Facebook, and I don't have that many rap albums. There is and has always been a lot of black culture that I can only understand so much, but I never really thought about hair's role. It seems so simple - you grow it, you dye it, you straighten it, you comb it - hair just happens, and I had never bothered to think about dreadlocks or cornrows or even afros beyond the stylistic choice. With this in mind, I was confused about who Good Hair is targeted to. Is it an expose of controversial issues to spur change within the black community, or is it just opening the door into a world someone like me knows nothing about? The premise of this documentary involves Chris Rock investigating a question from his daughter: "Why don't I have good (read: Farrah Fawcett-ish, flowing, not nappy) hair?". This leads him on a Michael Moore-ish journey through the $9 billion black hair industry, from relaxers to weaves to the doc's stability device: a ridiculous hair expo stage event in Atlanta that puts pageantry and pomp over pure skill. A better reference than Moore may be Chris Bell's 2008 steroid culture documentary Bigger Stronger Faster*, where the issues of vanity are also relevant beyond its specific subjects. While Stilson's film doesn't have (or need) the same personal punch, the light-hearted yet serious tone and editing style will seem familiar. Chris Rock as the catalyst for discovery makes for a very entertaining and amusing watch. Rock's quips and reactions serve as a gateway for pasty white Canadians like me who without a guide may have no idea what the fuck they're watching, and could not fathom why people would subject themselves to the activities involved in achieving "good hair". There is first an examination of "relaxers", which turns nappy hair into straight, silky, luxurious locks. It is shocking to watch how the chemicals in these products can damage and burn, aptly demonstrated by the visual of an aluminum can being stripped by a relaxer chemical to the point where it is completely clear. A longer segment about weaves takes Rock to India, investigating the process in which young Indian girls shave their heads ritualistically and send their mops back overseas to retail for hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. These segments also explore and explain how spending so much on ones coiffure can lead to distance in a relationship - the ladies aren't going to let their fellas mess up their thousand dollar 'do. It also obviously causes major fears of rain and swimming. An examination of the industry behind both shows how much money black people, especially women, are shelling out to businesses that are ironically mostly not black owned. In total, these scenes raise questions of whether or not they should or even want to be more involved in serving their own community through such methods. While one might look down on some of these people for shelling out large percentages of their paycheck every month on goop and sorta-wigs, watching the sole white hairdresser of the extravagant hair show go in for Botox treatment certainly makes it clear that vanity knows no boundaries of race or ridiculousness, and that in the end a lot of this may be uniquely psychological rather than strictly cultural. This especially becomes clear through the numerous talking head bits that pepper throughout the film from noted entertainers and figures from Ice-T to Maya Angelou, who talk of their first and/or continuing tales of weaves and relaxers. Al Sharpton for example tells about James Brown getting him to relax his hair to be more politically affable, and the payoff photograph is amusing and makes his point. A group of young girls talk about relaxing their hair not just for their own vanity, but because of the perceptions they would receive in their office had they grown their hair out naturally. You can't help but feel bad for the one girl of the group with a cute short afro as she listens to her friends explain yet another body issue she will have to contend with. It is unfortunate that Rock and Stilson aren't able to push more of their celebrity friends to get on the couch and similarly open up. Most of the talking head stories simply revolve around how, and not so much WHY they do this to their heads. When Rock wants to talk about any media manipulation leading these people to believe they don't have good hair, it doesn't resonate as well as it could. The case is clearly made that a number of these things are controversial if not clearly fucked up, but for the few fingers Rock points outside the black community, he extends others pointing back within. I'm not sure if there was an activist element intended when they first set out on this venture, but on the psychological level there was much left to be explored. Despite near universal critical acclaim, on IMDB and Flixster I've seen a lot more pushback against the film. I've seen some complaints from people mad at Rock taking pokes at weaves and relaxers at all, and others who believe Rock didn't take enough of a stand. I see claims that Stilson and Rock needed to spend time with black women who DO have naturally straight hair, and should show numerous people with "bad hair" of other races. I believe those complaints are misguided and could have turned the whole thing into an unfocused mess, instead of what it is - a very funny picture that is insightful, interesting and endlessly entertaining, but missing a definitive answer to its main question. -- Goon

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Anvil! The Story of Anvil Among Academy Award Documentary Snubs

Sean — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:12:11 +0000

Although documentaries have gained a fair bit of mainstream acceptance over the past decade, the average moviegoer is still highly unlikely to know or care about most of the films that are being released in the realm of non-fiction. And considering the kinds of docs typically recognized by the Academy Awards, it's easy to see why people might be turned off from the genre. Year after year, they seem to place higher value on "important" subjects, rather than deft storytelling and artistic merit. Once again this year, the short list of movies nominated for Best Documentary Feature seem to be lacking in not only imagination but also accessibility. Which is not to say that there aren't some great movies on this list, but to be honest, I've only seen 1 out of the 15 titles -- and that's coming from someone who actually cares about docs. So it's only natural for people to point out all kinds of glaring omissions from the movies that actually got any sort of theatrical release this year... some deserving, and others not so much. Anvil: The Story of Anvil is one of the major flicks missing here, and although I can't say I ever expected to see it get nominated, let's not forget, we're not even talking nominations here... this is just the short list! On the other hand, Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story is one of his weakest films to date, and its omission is totally fine by me. Still, there are all kinds of other critically acclaimed films that were shunned including: We Live in Public, The September Issue, Tyson, Good Hair, Not Quite Hollywood, Crude, and No Impact Man. What do you think, did any of these movies get robbed? Check out the 15 potential finalists for Best Documentary Feature after the jump.

The Beaches of Agnes (Dir. Agnès Varda)
Burma VJ (Dir. Anders Østergaard)
The Cove (Dir. Louie Psihoyos)
Every Little Step (Dir. James D. Stern and Adam Del Deo)
Facing Ali (Dir. Pete McCormack)
Food, Inc. (Dir. Robert Kenner)
Garbage Dreams (Dir. Mai Iskander)
Living in Emergency: Stories of Doctors Without Borders (Dir. Mark N. Hopkins)
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (Dir. Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith)
Mugabe and the White African (Dir. Andrew Thompson and Lucy Bailey)
Sergio (Dir. Greg Barker)
Soundtrack for a Revolution (Dir. Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman)
Under Our Skin (Dir. Andy Abrahams Wilson)
Valentino The Last Emperor (Dir. Matt Tyrnauer)
Which Way Home (Dir. Rebecca Cammisa)

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Young@Heart Doc Gets Fictional Remake

Sean — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:02:35 +0000

I'm With Cancer author Will Reiser to adapt this touching true tale of punk rock seniors.

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Air Guitar Nation Gets Fictional Remake from the Writer of Tropic Thunder

Sean — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:00:45 +0000

As I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago, there have been a ton of documentaries related to heavy metal lately, and one that sort of fits into that category as well is Alexandra Lipsitz's Air Guitar Nation. Documenting the US and World Air Guitar Championships from a few years back, the movie is more about performance art than music specifically, but either way it's a lot of fun. Now it looks like the documentary is about to be brought to a wider audience as part of a fictional comedy as well. According to THR's Risky Business Blog, Tropic Thunder writer Justin Theroux has signed on to produce a movie for Paramount called simply Air Guitar, set in the world of competitive air guitar. He will not actually be the one writing the script however; those duties will fall to Mike Lisbe and Nate Reger (Just Shoot Me!). As long as they don't do it as a mockumentary I could see it being decent, although as the article points out, a lot of rock-themed comedies haven't done so well at the box office lately (The Rocker, Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny). Either way, I doubt it will surpass the doc... just go watch that instead!

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Until The Light Takes Us Trailer: A Documentary about Norwegian Black Metal

Sean — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:47:47 +0000

With the recent success of such docs as Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, Heavy Metal in Baghdad and Anvil! The Story of Anvil, it seems that heavy metal is a pretty popular topic in the world of non-fiction right now. In Sam Dunn’s Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey, one of the most fascinating (and creepy) segments was the stuff involving the Norwegian Black Metal bands, who were also featured in a short doc that was included on the DVD release of the film. Well, if you wanted to know more about this disturbing and violent subculture of musicians who supposedly burn churches and commit murder in the name of their music, you probably should check out Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell’s feature-length film Until The Light Takes Us. The filmmakers supposedly moved to Norway and lived with the various band members for several years in order to gain their trust and try to make sense of it all. Although I’m not very familiar with most of these names, key interview subjects include Gylve Fenris Nagell of Darkthrone and convicted murderer Varg Vikernes of Mayhem. Regardless of whether you're a fan of the music (which I’m not), this looks looks like some pretty compelling and scary stuff indeed. Until The Light Takes Us hits select theatres on Nov. 20th. For an updated list of theatres and screenings, stay tuned to the official website. A new trailer for the film just recently debuted on Apple; I've also embedded it after the jump. Originally posted on The Documentary Blog.

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The Complete Monterey Pop Blu Ray Review

Jay C. — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:55:10 +0000

I’ll just come clean right off the top here and admit that this was my first time watching D.A. Pennebaker’s Monterey Pop and although it’s definitely a great film, it’s probably my least favourite of the three big music festival documentaries to come out of the late sixties/early seventies. There’s something about the grandiose cluster-fuck nature of Woodstock that appealed to me — along with the split screens of course — and Gimme Shelter’s cynicism was the perfect end to the short lived era of ‘Peace and Love’. I think the thing that drops Monterey Pop down a notch or two is the fact that it’s too devoted to the performances; an accusation that is obviously a personal one, as I would imagine most people watching this film are hoping for exactly that. Perosnally, I’m more interested in the logistics of the festival and the people who attend it, and although the film does touch upon this, it’s so secondary that it takes up a fraction of the already short 79 minute running time. Monterey Pop does boast some now classic performances that aren’t short in theatrics. There’s the iconic image of Jimi Hendrix lighting his guitar ablaze on stage and of course, Pete Townshend destroying his Gibson as the Who annhialate the unsuspecting audiences ear drums, sending chunks of instruments hurdling towards the crowd. It all adds up to a sold concert film that just doesn’t do much to subvert or transcend the subject matter, but definitely sets the groundwork for others to build upon. Criterion has given Monterey Pop the full HD treatment with a faithful transfer, remastered Dolby Digital and DTS-HD Master audio and a load of supplemental materials. Fans of Criterion’s past releases will be pleased to hear that the D.A. Pennebaker supervised digital transfer retains its filmic qualities with a fine sheen of grain and no unnecessary artificial digital enhancements. Really a great package overall. Of course, if you end up picking up the The Complete Monterey Pop Festival box set, you’ll also get an additional blu ray disc including the short films ‘Jimi Plays Monterey’ and ‘Shake! Otis at Monterey’, both of which have also been remastered in HD. This is a must have for documentary fans and classic rock aficionados.

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Never Sleep Again Trailer: A Nightmare on Elm Street Documentary

Sean — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 21:32:01 +0000

With both Friday the 13th and the Halloween franchises getting their shot at a reboot, it was only a matter of time before A Nightmare on Elm Street would be resurrected for a new generation as well. A remake is currently in production from Platinum Dunes with director Samuel Bayer at the helm and Jackie Earle Haley wearing the striped sweater and glove. But in order to start generating some hype for Freddy Krueger's return, they have also commissioned a feature-length documentary on the series entitled Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy. This doc is clearly following in the footsteps of other franchise retrospectives like Halloween: 25 Years of Terror and His Name Was Jason: 30 Years of Friday the 13th (especially considering that Daniel Farrands, director of the latter, is once again in charge). Also helping out is Andrew Kasch of horror website Dread Central. Although the movie does not have a solid release date as of yet, it should be out sometime before the new movie hits theatres in April and is expected to be released as a 2-disc DVD with over four hours of bonus material. What do you think... will it provide a worthwhile history lesson or a little too much self-reverence? Check out a short teaser trailer after the jump.

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Michael Jackson’s This Is It Trailer

Sean — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:11:33 +0000

It's been about two and a half months now since Michael Jackson passed away due to a cardiac arrest, and it seems like the media overload is just barely starting to fade. As most people know, when Jackson died, he was just three weeks away from launching his new concert series in London, England, and now Columbia Pictures is trying to salvage rehearsal footage from this concert and bring it to theatres with the help of director Kenny Ortega (High School Musical). Will this be seen as a moving tribute that can help bring fans some form of closure, or will it be seen as a tasteless cash grab? A trailer for the movie has premiered over on MySpace, and while it may be trying just a little too hard to sell it ("The Event of a Lifetime"?) it does show that there will be some touching behind the scenes footage and interviews mixed with the performance itself. It still remains to be seen whether or not they will incorporate the 3-D footage that was supposedly shot for "Thriller", but it looks like the making of that segment will at least be touched upon. This Is It hits theatres on October 28th for a limited two week engagement. Are you planning on checking it out? Do you think it will do well? Check out the trailer after the jump.

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Michael Moore’s Capitalism: A Love Story Trailer

Sean — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 18:51:47 +0000

A couple months ago, Michael Moore released a short teaser trailer for his new film before it even had a title. Now we know that it's going to be called Capitalism: A Love Story, and the full trailer has finally arrived online... via CNN?! Well, alright then. As expected, it shows Moore pestering a lot of people on Wall Street and trying to get to the bottom of this whole economic collapse. I have to say though, even as a fan of Moore's films, this is looking a bit weak to me. Maybe they just wanted to get across the basic premise in the trailer and deliver a few punchlines without getting overly complicated, but it really looks like there is absolutely nothing to this movie. I might even say I feel dumber having watched it. I'm still interested in the topic and hoping it will at least have enough substance to spark some discussion, but as of right now I'm not quite sold. Capitalism: A Love Story hits select theatres on September 25th; scope out the trailer below and let the predictable Moore bashing begin.

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BBC’s The Office Reunion Trailer

Sean — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:57:14 +0000

Despite the massive success of the original BBC series The Office, up until now Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have admirably resisted exploiting the show and stretching it out beyond what was originally intended. They maintain that two 6-episode seasons and a finale is all that will ever be produced, and you have to respect that even if it can be a little disappointing as a fan. Of course, with the number of remakes happening in other countries, it's not like Gervais and Merchant need the extra cash anyway. Here's the good news: apparently the BBC did finally manage to get Gervais, Merchant and the rest of the cast to return to The Office in a slightly different way. They are putting together a reunion special called The Office Night on BBC Two, which will feature retrospective interviews, followed by a marathon of the entire series. Sounds kind of cool, right? I don't think they've set a date yet, but they've released a short teaser trailer online. Check it out after the jump.

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Trouble the Water DVD Review

Sean — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 06:07:11 +0000

Trouble the Water Directed by: Carl Deal and Tia Lessin It's been 4 years now since Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Southeastern United States, and for most of us, it was a few weeks of tragedy and controversy that was sensationalized by the media, debated by celebrities and politicians, and then quickly discarded. But in New Orleans, where the failure of the levee system resulted in over 80% of the city being flooded, very real damage was done to the population and economy, and the after effects are still being felt today. Spike Lee covered nearly every facet of this disaster in his epic 4-hour documentary When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, which came out one year after the storm. One might assume that there would be nothing left to say after such a comprehensive film by a well-respected filmmaker, but as Trouble The Water proves, this is clearly not the case. Back in 2005, it was reported that Michael Moore had sent a film crew down to New Orleans to cover the crisis, and a lot of people rolled their eyes at the thought of Moore attempting to capitalize on the situation. While Moore himself never did put together a film, two of his producers did. Carl Deal and Tia Lessin began interviewing residents shortly after the storm had passed, and along the way they happened to meet up with Kimberly and Scott Roberts, which changed the direction of their film entirely. Kimberly had already shot a lot of firsthand footage of the flooding that destroyed their home on a Hi-8 camera, and from that point on, a film crew began to follow them and document their attempt to get their lives back on track. Kim's footage from the storm itself is as raw and real as it gets. She narrates as we see the storm intensifying and the city clears out, but in her neighbourhood (the 9th Ward), many residents cannot afford to leave and have nowhere to go. Her family decides to wait out the storm in their home, but when the levees break and the streets start to flood, they soon find themselves trapped in the attic with the water level still rising. It is the heroics of her brother that manages to get them all to safety, but throughout the entire ordeal, Kimberly's strong personality and optimism gives them hope. Although this would have been compelling enough on its own, it is the story of what follows that really makes Trouble the Water such an unforgettable and important film. We see them retrace the path they took once they realized that no immediate help was coming. We watch as they go through the motions with FEMA and try to collect their checks, only to be thwarted by bureaucratic red tape. We accompany them as they cope with a change of scenery after relocating to Memphis. At every turn there is frustration and anger, but our own emotions are kept in check by the admirable actions of the film's subjects, who concentrate on helping those around them and affecting the things that are within their reach. Kim, an aspiring rapper, is at times loud and larger than life, but she has a big heart and a strong will that helps them to overcome every obstacle they encounter. It's not the prettiest film in the world, but neither is the subject matter. The movie never feels manipulative or overtly political, and with deft editing and a keen focus on keeping the film personal, it really tells a story from Katrina that we haven't heard before. Trouble the Water puts us in the shoes of the people who experienced it rather than the people who just talked about it. At a time when first-person fictional films like Cloverfield are accused of feeling contrived, here is the proof that documenting your own life during a crisis is both natural and instinctive. Rather than coming across as self-centered and self-serving, it is an inspiration to all who see it. Trouble the Water is a must-see film, not just because it's about Katrina but because it's a gripping portrait of survival and what it's like to live life outside the system. Extras on the DVD include deleted and extended scenes, Q&As from the Roger Ebert Film Festival and the New Orleans community premiere, plus footage of Kim meeting New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin. Trouble The Water is available on DVD in the U.S. through Zeitgeist Films. -- Sean

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Michael Moore Giving Up Documentary Filmmaking?

Sean — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 21:32:10 +0000

Over the past twenty years, Michael Moore dominated the world of documentary filmmaking like no one has before. In addition to directing the highest grossing doc of all time (Fahrenheit 9/11), three more of his films rank in the top 15 for non-fiction releases at the box office. This October, his sixth major documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story, will hit theatres... and apparently, it could be his last. In a recent interview with The Detroit News to promote his annual Traverse City Film Festival, Moore revealed that he has been working on a couple of screenplays and that he is feeling the need get back into fictional storytelling:

"While I've been making this film I've been thinking that maybe this will be my last documentary. Or maybe for a while... I have been working on two screenplays over the last couple of years. One's a comedy, one's a mystery, and I really want to do this."

This is where all the Michael Moore haters come out and say that he's already been peddling fiction for years. In all seriousness, many will remember that he wrote and directed the John Candy comedy Canadian Bacon back in 1995, which wasn't all that well-received, but I could certainly seem him doing another comedy with a political edge. (The mystery sounds a bit odd though.) Perhaps Moore is sensing that his credibility as a documentary filmmaker is crumbling, or it could be that he has accomplished everything he wanted to in that realm, and he's looking for a new challenge. Would you like to see Michael Moore take a break from documentaries for a while? What about permanently?

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