Your Must-Watch Documentary About Australian Punk Rock

Seriously - Watch. This. Now.




You'll thank me later.

Cheapskate Film Festival - REEL INJUN

Right now, the topic that's driving a lot of conversation - and controversy - is that of representation and diversity in popular culture. Everything from female Ghostbusters to the casting of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Doc Savage encourages people to share their opinions.

(Mine? I thought Ghostbusters 2 was an unnecessary sequel, and the film was a great done-in-one....but female Ghostbusters work. I think Johnson is a great choice for Doc Savage. And people who complain about having their childhoods "ruined" need to get over themselves. But I digress).

However, 2006's Reel Injun, a Canadian documentary that was featured on PBS - is one of the best examinations of how movies (and other popular culture) have framed an entire group....and how having representation behind the camera is critical for driving greater diversity.

The history of Native American/First Peoples representation is a bit...well, at times it's very problematic. Although initial representations during the silent era were rather positive, eventually Hollywood turned to more negative portrayals, as well as highlighting the "whitewashing" of native peoples.

(Or, to put it bluntly, Johnny Depp isn't the first person to be accused of misrepresentation....and neither is Vanilla Ice. And there's a really good reason why several actors walked off the set of a recent Adam Sandler movie during production).

In addition, there are tales of actors who "presented" as native...but who were far from it. Like the silent actor who later committed suicide. Or even the tale of Iron Eyes Cody (which is especially surprising). But the most powerful part of this production is the input of several people from indigenous tribes. (And my apologies for my phrasing - I'm trying to be as sensitive as possible; any errors or lack of sensitivity in phrasing are clearly my own). Filmmakers and actors like Wes Studi, Graham Green, and Adam Beach (whose performance in 1998's Smoke Signals helped spark the renaissance and I have to admit - I like the actor so much I "cast" him in the lead in a recent short story)

Reel Injun might be a bit hard to find on DVD (which is why I'll also include a streaming link via Amazon), but it's worth it - it's a great hidden treasure that's well worth a look. It's both invigorating and revelatory, and quite honestly, probably the best film featured this week.

Go. Watch. Now.

Cheapskate Film Festival: DAMNED - DON'T YOU WISH THAT WE WERE DEAD

Let me take you back to the glory days that were the early 1990s: Bill Clinton was in the White House, I was enjoying a post-college preview of the "real world", and I was getting involved in music. More specifically, the kind of "alternative" rock promulgated by the fanzine called The Big Takeover.

(Yes, I'm still a subscriber, why do you ask?)

One of the bands I "discovered" was The Damned, who were part of the holy triumvirate of 1977 punk along with the Sex Pistols and the Clash. If the Pistols were the Beatles and the Clash were the Rolling Stones, the Damned were more like the Who, with some wild experimentation and musicianship behind some killer tunes. (I also discovered the genius of their third album Machine Gun Etiquette).

All of this is a preface for possibly one of the best music documentaries of 2015, The Damned - Don't You Wish That We Were Dead?

I'm not sure where to begin with this documentary...because it's that good. Much of it is the music, but where the documentary really comes alive is in how the Damned's approach to music differed from its contemporaries. There was as much "art" as "thrash" in their style of punk, and part of what helped was that the Damned were making noise by touring when other bands were making news.

It's also remarkable how many of the band members seem...well, remarkably down to earth. Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible are the kind of people who seem more than happy to hang out and have a drink with you (at least, as long as you pick up the tab). Even former members come off relatively unaffected by their involvement - Brian James still has some ego, but a great sequence involving Paul Gray and (the now late) Bryn Merrick - both bassists for the band - really cements how a love of music permeates this band.

It's only Chris Miller, aka "Rat Scabies", who comes off in a very unflattering light. At one point, Captain Sensible hints as business issues, and Mr. Miller looks at the camera and provides a very patronizing lecture on how the Damned record royalties are distributed. An ill-advised tour with Brian James provides the only wince-worthy moment (their lead singer....well, let's just say that for ten seconds, you'll be in physical pain), and at the end, Miller just rails in bitterness. It's not a pretty sight....but it's one of the most honest moments in the film.

The Damned - Don't You Wish That We Were Dead also contains some great character moments: Captain Sensible discussing hijinks when cleaning toilet, David Vanian revealing more than you would expect from his performing persona....this is as much an entertaining film as it is a thorough documentary.

This one's a keeper. Watch it, especially if you really like music. It's nostalgia without the sappiness.

Kick off African-American History Month with MACKED, HAMMERED, SLAUGHTERED & SHAFTED

Macked, Hammered, Slaughtered, & Shafted - a blaxploitation documentary from David F Walker on Vimeo.

Came across this while reading Derrick Ferguson's movie review blog.

Many of his sentiments and opinions echo my own, so I thought that rather than repeat what he said, post both his review....and the direct link to the film.

Definitely a must-watch.

Think Anaxar's Got It Rough? A Review of CHAOS ON THE BRIDGE

With all the brouhaha around Paramount suing producers of the Star Trek fan film Axanar (and you betcha I'm going to be writing about that), it's easy to forget that Star Trek - like any other television show - has an ardent group of people that can be difficult to please. It's also, like many other shows, been "rebooted" in the past, and Star Trek is not without its controversies.

Available on DVD and Google Play, William Shatner Presents: Chaos On The Bridge is a documentary that focuses on the early production troubles of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It's a brilliant documentary that handles a variety of issues with intelligence and insight, and most importantly, shows that William Shatner can actually be humble when he wants to be.

Imagine, if you will....well, we don't have to imagine it, since we know it's a fact that Paramount had begun production on a new Star Trek series for a variety of reasons. (One of which was the then-fledgling Fox Network). Getting Gene Roddenberry back on the helm would prove to be problematic due to both health and philosophical issues. Although eventually Star Trek: The Next Generation would hit its stride in its third season, the series had a very difficult genesis.

One of the very striking things about Chaos on the Bridge is the absolute candor with which various participants discuss the behind-the-scenes politics. (Although it should be said that the gunfighter/poker metaphors tend to be a bit overdone). Flashbacks are done in a nice, comic-book style, and actually help the flow of the narrative. There's never a false note, and recollections can be often brutally candid.

(For example, Patrick Stewart and Paramount Executive John Pike recall either two different versions of the same meeting, or the same meeting from two different perspectives. Both feel true, and neither gentleman disparages the other).

Chaos on the Bridge also highlights the rather tumultuous experiences of cast working on the show. (Summary - if the conditions in Cardiff 2005 were similar to those at Paramount in 1987, no wonder Christopher Eccleston left Doctor Who after one season). There are some snarky comments about some of the actors, but there is a sense that the leadership of Star Trek: The Next Generation was always in flux.

(And the most interesting - at least, for me - were the recollections of the writing staff. There's valuable insight into how a show like ST: TNG would be approached, and more importantly, how a decent show can easily ride of the rails without - and sometimes with - a strong showrunner at the helm).

Simply put, Chaos on the Bridge shares a lot with some recent fare about superheroes and classic novels, focusing on how sometimes internal pressures and politics can sabotage the best of efforts.

The only exception for Chaos on the Bridge is that this time, things worked out.

So to speak.

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THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN LIVES - A Review

To be completely honest, I'm not quite sure how to feel about The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?, the documentary which focuses on the unmade Tim Burton/Nicholas Cage 1990s Superman film.

On the one hand, it does a good job as a documentary focusing on the effort and thought behind the development of the film. The Death of Superman Lives shows great insight into the development process....as well as the reason why the film may not have been made. (SPOILER - Warner Brothers had a series of big-budget flops, making them very uneasy about the film's potential). It also helps that Tim Burton provides some insight into his own process....and there's plenty of great (and rarely seen) behind-the-scenes footage that makes this a really strong piece of history....

....and yet, there's much about the film that is a bit off-putting, and that really made it a bit difficult to watch.

Much of it is the way that director Jon Schnepp inserts himself into the film - yes, he's doing all of the interviews, but it feels distracting and unnecessary. (And did we have to watch Jon Peters take a phone call while Schnepp watches, sipping from a bottle of water) Some documentary directors insert themselves as a way of providing an object viewpoint (like Morgan Spurlock) or because they were already part of the story (like Alex Gibney in The Armstrong Lie). Granted, this is a subject Schnepp feels worthy of exploration, but the movie felt at times awkward to watch...

...but the greatest issue I have with The Death of Superman Lives is that many of the participants reflect an attitude that's all too prevalent in fan culture: the attitude of Wouldn't this have been cool?

To be fair, part of the attraction of this documentary is that, like the documentary about Richard Stanley's attempts to adapt Island of Dr. Moreau), The Death of Superman Lives shows how people working on making a film engage with their work with great passion. However, despite the obvious feeling of loss, there is a sense that those involved felt more about the "coolness" of what they were doing that they lost sight of any themes, story, etc. In short, it was the 1990s equivalent of current fan engagement (just pop into Facebook and read any review of Star Wars: The Force Awakens if you think I'm wrong).

As far as whether a Nicholas Cage-led, Tim Burton-directed Superman movie would have led to a series of films....unlike many other reviews, I don't automatically believe that would be the case. Given much of Burton's post-Batman approach to film making (take a beloved franchise, make it about a quirky outsider, and throw in tons of art direction), I think his Superman Lives would be seen in the same light as his "re-imagining"of  Planet of the Apes.

Despite its flaws, though, The Death of Superman Lives provides greater insights into the mechanics of big budget movie making - as well as overeager ambition - than it disappoints. Definitely worth seeing.

Review: BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME and A MAN CALLED DESTRUCTION

Like many people who grew up in the 1990s, I became enamored of the music of Big Star - mostly through word-of-mouth testimonials. (That Replacements song about Big Star's Alex Chilton didn't hurt, either) So I easily fell in love with the sensitive, shimmering songs of #1 Record, the harder-edged-yet-brittle Radio City, and the flat-out darkness of Third.

(And if you don't find yourself repeatedly listening to September Gurls after hearing it the first time, there's something seriously wrong with you)

But the band's legacy has been explored in detail within the past two years, with the 2013 documentary Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me and Holly George-Warren's biography of Alex Chilton, A Man Called Destruction: The Life and Music of Alex Chilton, From Box Tops to Big Star to Backdoor Man . Both are invaluable guides to how one man pursued his creative vision....descending into self-destruction and then a kind of redemption.

Of the two, Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me is the more revelatory piece about Alex Chilton, with its sole focus on the band and its limited output. It's a story about how a small studio gained slight prominence, bringing in local talent and fostering a sense of community. It's about two polar creative opposites finding their way into collaboration. But most importantly, it's about the output - there's a great mix of testimonials and actual music that shows why Big Star gained the hearts and minds of many people. (It's almost as good as the Replacements documentary Color Me Obsessed).  It shows why, for a band relatively unheard in its own time, Big Star has an appeal for many people....

....and A Man Called Destruction places it in the overall context of Alex Chilton's life. Granted, she starts with a little too much detail (did we really need to explore the history of the Chilton family?), but Holly George-Warren does a splendid job of highlighting some of the various aspects that drove Chilton: unusual parenting styles, the death of a sibling, the effects of early stardom as lead singer of the Box Tops - all of these factors influenced some of Chilton's later behavior.

If there's one complaint about A Man Called Destruction, it's that there's never really a sense of Chilton as a person. Of course, perhaps the idea that Chilton was so erratic in his career, and that his musical choices were a bit....eccentric, to put it mildly. (To paraphrase a Paul Westerberg quote, Chilton was either a massive genius or a guy who lost it a little too quickly).

Long ago, I used to have a Record You Should Own podcast, which I gave up due to personal commitments. Big Star has a prominent place in my top recommendations, and both Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me and A Man Called Destruction provide great justification for that reputation.

Read and watch both.  And you'll never again travel far without a little Big Star.

Review: LOST SOUL - The Documentary

Nobody sets out to make a bad movie - nobody wakes up and says "I'm going to make a movie that will have one of the worst reputations ever." Most bad movies result when ambition outstrips talent, or when different perspectives about the finished product prove too great to overcome.

Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau, now available as a digital download and streaming by a variety of services (including Amazon), suggests that possibly both factors were in play during the production of the 1995 adaptation of H.G. Wells' classic novel. For documentary director David Gregory, both factors come into play, as a relatively new filmmaker with a distinct vision finds himself removed from his dream project...only to see the project disintegrate due to actor and director egos.

Coming from the success of Hardware (one of the best science-fiction movies you've never seen, and you really should), Richard Stanley was poised to take on a dream project: an adaptation of The Island of Dr. Moreau. After developing the picture and striking a deal with New Line, Stanley took his initial cast and crew deep into northeast Australia....and that's when the trouble began.

You would think that a documentary like Lost Soul would place the blame directly on Stanley, but it's not until the second half of the movie - when Marlon Brando, Val Kilmer, and John Frankenheimer become involved - that things really become dysfunctional. A telling clue comes when an actor relates asking Frankeheimer what his vision was for the movie, and Frankenheimer's response is "Some directors are into visions, others are into telling stories. I'm a storyteller".

(I admit, I'm not quite getting Frankenheimer's quote right, but I would argue that someone who directed movies like Seconds and The Manchurian Candidate could handle both rather skillfully....but trust me, Lost Soul does a really good job in articulating some of the challenges this movie faced during its production).

It's a shame that we live in a time when poor filmmaking is celebrated precisely for its faults. (Won't name any names, but certain podcasts that asks how certain movies get made are to blame). John Frankenheimer's Island of Dr. Moreau - the film that resulted from the chaos - is considered one of the worst movies ever made. Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau argues that we lost the film that we should have seen....and that is an absolute tragedy.

If you're a movie fan, this is a must-watch. Worth every penny, even in rental.

Review: I AM CHRIS FARLEY

So this past Monday night, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a special screening at Second City (it pays to be on their press list, you know) of I Am Chris Farley, a documentary to be featured as part of August 10th's "Chris Farley Day" on Spike TV. So I attended with my date for the evening, and enjoyed a fine, fine piece of work.

(The documentary, that is - I would never, ever refer to a woman as a "piece of work". And apologize for the slight innuendo)

I have to admit - I wasn't a fan of Chris Farley's work: I found much of Saturday Night Live during that period a bit tedious, and quit watching. However, I Am Chris Farley takes a completely opposite tack: instead of focusing on his comedic career, it focuses on Farley as a human being, and made me want to do something I thought I would never do - go out and watch Tommy Boy.

Although the movie is similar to other films - a mix of vintage footage, home movies, and talking head interviews - I Am Chris Farley takes a much different approach to the subject matter. Yes, there are the requisite clips of past humor, but it's the tone of the film - seeing Farley as a human being driven to entertain - that gives it a life and presence that other, similar documentaries may lack. There's a great thread of warmth about Farley, even in the midst of revelations around his substance use (some participants claim Farley was in drug rehab seventeen times), and there's never a sense of exploitation about Farley.

(Although I still say that David Spade hasn't quite redeemed himself for this example of poor taste).

Granted, Spike TV may not be my kind of channel, but between this film and their earlier entry on Bruce Lee, they're showing exquisite taste and insight in their subjects. I Am Chris Farley will be shown on August 10th on Spike TV - if you have cable, be sure to catch it. If you don't, you might consider one of the more....esoteric ways of acquiring content, even if it means waiting for the inevitable DVD/streaming release. (Because my audience would never pirate things...nor would they admit that publicly).

As for me, the one thing I will admit publicly....is that I'm going to watch Tommy Boy again. If I Am Chris Farley gave me a new perspective on Chris Farley the man....the least I can do is revisit his work.

I Am Chris Farley celebrates the man's life, as well as provides a great opportunity for reevaluating his work. It's a must-watch.

Your Monday COLUMBO Moment of Zen....

While I'm busy writing to complete some assignments - and in an effort to justify requesting a guest spot on the Just One More Thing podcast - here's a three-part documentary on Columbo via YouTube.

One note: it was placed on YouTube by somebody else. Someone other than the poster may own the copyright. If you're going to watch....watch all three parts now before they're pulled.

Thanks for reading, and trust me - more's coming!

We Are ALL Batman: LEGENDS OF THE KNIGHT

(Dedicated with great affection and admiration to Chuck Moore, Brant Fowler, and John Wilson)

As a blogger, I always receive press releases around products, movies, etc - many of which I either ignore or forward to others. So when I received an e-mail announcing that the Legends of the Knight would arrive on Hulu, I filed it away for July's Comic Related column. However, since the site's closing...I sure as heck wasn't going to let this opportunity pass me by, so consider this my final column.

Growing up, I played Batman incessantly .Yes, Poplar Street in Chicago's Bridgeport neighborhood was protected by a young, chubby boy wearing a DePaul Blue Demons t-shirt, hand-sewn cowl, and towel wrapped around my neck. (Insert "that explains a lot" reference here). Although I was crazy for superheroes....I loved Batman. He was, in a weird way, an aspirational character - I wasn't lucky enough to have been rocketed from another planet (trust me, I asked Mom. Multiple times), but I could, if I applied myself, aspire to become Batman.

That's the premise of Legends of the Knight, a 2013 documentary that is a must-watch.

As I'm writing this, San Diego ComicCon 2015 has come and gone, with a plethora of moments, trailers, and all sorts of talk. I've also been witness to a bit of a back-and-forth in another fandom, leading me to wonder what my place is in fandom. Thankfully, Legends of the Knight was a great wake-up call for me, reminding me that at its core, fandom is about sharing common values, as well as a great love for a character.

Make no mistake - I'm not being cynical or snarky when I tell you that this is the most heartwarming movie about Batman that you will ever watch. (And I've embedded the video so you can watch at your heart's content).

Many of the stories focus on how the character of Batman - most ironically - is one of the more compassionate characters in popular culture. Legends of the Knight focuses on many such stories: the man who dresses up like Batman and visits sick children; the writer who uses Batman as a role model for facing her own challenges; and even a prison chaplan who describes Batman as a powerful metaphor for a unique cultural experience.

(Even the talking head segments focus as much on psychological and emotional aspects to Batman than on the usual comic/pop cultural bits.)

But my favorite part of the movie - Petaluma Batman. An anonymous college student decided to dress up like Batman and bring a positive attitude to a small California community. Unlike the HBO documentary Superheroes, this isn't a case of a damaged person trying to bring order: just a regular person deciding to be a beacon of hope. (Sadly, he has since given up being Petaluma Batman...but this movie is a fine tribute to that spirit).

And ultimately, that's what makes this movie a must-watch: one of the biggest items from San Diego was the Batman Vs. Superman trailer, which put superheroes in almost god-like positions. One of the great arguments that Legends of the Knight makes is that Batman - perhaps more than any other hero - reminds us that we have our own challenges. As we face and overcome those challenges, we find something deeper, even more heroic than we could expect....and in those small moments of heroism, we find the strands of humanity that connect us all.

As the movie puts it very succinctly, "We are Batman" 

Too Busy to Blog - Here's a Squeeze Documentary

Been working through some major projects, as well as writing and editing....so yes, again, I've left this blog a bit dry.

Will definitely have to do another blogaround, but until then....here's a BBC documentary.

Your Bee Gees Documentary Moment of Zen

Personally, I believe that in the late 1960s, the Bee Gees invented what the kids today call 'the feels'.

No, I'm not posting this to be ironic - I think this documentary makes a similar claim. Enjoy!

From Page to Screen: GOING CLEAR

Admittedly, I've always had a slight scholarly interest in Scientology...not enough to consider being audited, though. I was first exposed to its ideas via a book at the local public library....and even as a child, I was confused as to what it was. So when Lawrence Wright's book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief was released, I eagerly checked it out of the library. When HBO announced and broadcast its accompanying documentary, I had to see it (especially since Alex Gibney, one of my favorite documentary directors, also had a hand in its creation).

I'm glad I did, because both the book and the movie are really powerful explorations of a very controversial movement.

Both share a similar structure, focusing their first half on the history of Scientology under L. Ron Hubbard, and the second half on the leadership of David Miscaivige. Both the movie and book take great pains to maintain a sense of neutrality about the Church. (Wright suggests that several people who have left Scientology haven't necessarily denied its teachings - just that those in charge may be abusing power). In exploring Scientology, both Going Clear the movie and the book touch on many key issues: what exactly is a religion? What happens when someone may invest himself too much into his own belief system? And finally, what kind of behavior can - and should - be tolerated in a religious order?

 If you're thinking that you will choose to avoid Going Clear because of perceived support of Scientology....you're missing out. Neither condemning nor condoning, both the book and movie have a just-the-facts manner about them. As people tell their stories (both the book and film use some of Hubbard's own documentation), there's an uneasy sense that something rotten lies at the heart of a belief system. It would be easy for Going Clear to turn into a smear job - the fact that it skirts around some potentially litigious material shows the amount of restraint used to bring these matters to light.

There's a good reason why Going Clear is receiving such attention - Lawrence Wright wrote a very plain, just-the-facts-oriented book, which provided the basis for Alex Gibney's similarly-themed film.

Read the book. See the movie. Don't worry about one spoiling the other - you'll enjoy both.

THE ARMSTRONG LIE and Noble Cause Corruption

Sometimes, we willingly engage in a "big lie": we see a situation for what it is, and are unwilling - or unable - to accept some more unpleasant truths. Those truths sometimes revolve around the idea of "noble cause corruption" - that people with noble causes sometimes engage in behaviors that can potentially short-circuit their efforts.

The documentary The Armstrong Lie takes on both - focusing on Lance Armstrong's 2009 Tour de France "comeback"....and reframing it within the context of his 2013 admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Watching the film, I was impressed by director Alex Gibney's ability to focus on individual and situational complexities yet laying them out in a straightforward manner. His other films (including Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and Client 9) have focused on moments in contemporary history where self-delusion and destructive behaviors often have great impact on the cultural fabric at large. The Armstrong Lie does one better - Gibney implicates himself (and readily admits this in the commentary).

The film is actually two films - an abortive 2009 documentary called The Road Back (which had been shelved due to then-present allegations) and a follow-up to Armstrong's infamous admission of "doping" to Oprah Winfrey. Exploring the various ways in which this story unfolded (and allowing the 2009 footage to provide slightly ironic commentary), The Armstrong Lie really makes the case that for some, self-mythologizing and self-delusion often work hand-in-hand. Some stories are built on a lie, but taking that lie to its ultimate extreme - where the lie takes on the tenor of truth - can be the greatest character lapse.

Gibney allows Armstrong and several others - critics and colleagues - to tell their own story. But the strength of The Armstrong Lie is that Gibney reiterates the basic deception at the heart of this story. Towards the end, Gibney provides a closing narration that helps solidify the major themes of the movie. He also provides some insight into Armstrong's character - that a man who came back from a horrendous health situation may make that part of his narrative. And that may not necessarily be the smartest move for an athlete.

Good documentaries do more than just describe a situation - they create a context and a narrative that reaffirms human truths. Regardless of your feelings about Armstrong's actions, The Armstrong Lie makes a strong case for greater skepticism and exploration, especially when the narrative mixes the personal with the professional.

A must-watch.

Happy Doctor Who Day! 51 Years Young!

Well, today marks the 51st Anniversary of the first broadcast of Doctor Who. In celebration, here's a documentary that first appeared in the Doctor Who: In the Beginning boxed set. You may as well watch now, because something tells me this is going to get pulled. Enjoy!

Your Halloween Documentary: FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

For your Halloween entertainment - here's a little documentary I found via YouTube. It's a great exploration of the life and work of HP Lovecraft, much of which is in the public domain and available via Gutenberg and Librivox. Enjoy!



(And if you thought that was scary....wait until tomorrow!)

Review: CHASED BY DINOSAURS

Photo Credit: © BBC

(Special thanks to BBC Home Entertainment for providing a complimentary DVD for review).

I'll be honest - I was really impressed by a series of documentaries that the BBC had released years ago focusing on prehistoric life. Walking With Dinosaurs, Walking With Monsters and Walking With Prehistoic Beasts mixed animatronics puppetry and CGI to recreate prehistoric life. So when the opportunity came to view Chased By Dinosaurs - a real-life naturist "interacting" with prehistoric life - I took it. Unfortunately, the series itself is a mixed bag.

It's not that the episodes themselves are bad....but there's a bit of a misnomer. Only two of the episodes feature naturalist (insert name here) interacting with dinosaurs, solving the mystery of a giant-clawed dinosaur and hunting down another. The disc also includes a Walking With Dinosaurs "special" featuring the life of an Allosaurus. All of the episodes work - the mix of CGI and animatronics work seamlessly to provide a view of nature outside of our immediate experience. But....to be honest, I wish there were more episodes with Nigel Marvin - there's real enthusiasm, even if the dinosaurs themselves are (to him) imaginary that really sell the episodes.

Photo Credit: © BBC

Another problematic issue - and this is more of a production matter - is that the episodes are only half a hour in length. Granted, budget constraints and attention spans may have warranted such a harsh cut in timing, but the episodes tend to build narrative steam and then end rather abruptly. It's an engaging view, but there's a lingering feeling that Chased By Dinosaurs would have been served better if each episode were longer.

I admit that I'm a sucker for a good documentary, and enjoyed Chased by Dinosaurs a lot....but now I wish to watch the Walking With... Trilogy once more. It's a much stronger view, and Chased is best viewed as a follow up, rather than on its own.

Go. Watch. Now. - FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN

Came across this via YouTube by accident, but it's a definite must-watch.

Great documentary about H.P. Lovecraft called Fear of the Unknown - Enjoy!

DVD Review: SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN

We've all had that feeling of loving some piece of art - some creative expression that speaks to us and us alone, that moves us in an extremely personal way. But imagine, if you will, living under a repressive regime, and discovering hope in an American folk singer....who never had the glory or attention in his native land, but who sells multiple units in your part of the globe.

That's the premise of Searching for Sugarman, a great documentary from last year that should be on your must-view list.

The movies focuses on a group of South African fans of a singer named Rodriguez, who released two little-heard albums (and worked on a third) in the United States. If all this film did was look at an artist in his native habitat (in this case, a decaying Detroit), and/or examine the forces which led to his lack of success (or even limited success), this movie would be a masterpiece. (And yes, Rodriguez' music deserves attention - it's glorious sounding, soulful, and worth owning on compact disc).

But the movie goes several steps further, looking at layers of myth and legend around the artist. Examining how South Africans embraced an American artist, and how a group of concerned fans attempted to "follow the money" to find him. (When Sixto Rodriguez is finally located, it feels less like an obvious plot point...and more like a moment of surprise and joy. Yes, the direction on this documentary is that good).

Thankfully, once Rodriguez is discovered, the movie does something remarkable - it hits familiar beats, but does so without any trace of obviousness. If you're expecting a Behind the Music-style expose, you'll be sadly disappointed. Searching for Sugarman is a film infused with joy, sparkling with wonder, and quite simply, will warm even the hardest of cynical hearts.

And is has one killer soundtrack.

So do yourself a favor - rent this DVD or check to see if it's streaming. You'll be glad you caught this film....oh, and if you missed buying me a gift for my birthday, you can take me to see Rodriguez at the Chicago Theater on May 14th.

This is worth watching. You'll thank me later.