You can watch the whole 50 minute documentary above. It's the true story of John Du Pont, wrestling, and murder. Evidently there was a movie made on this story recently. I didn't know anything about it but Hayes recommended this doc.
It was made by ESPN so the quality is up there. Good score, actually. But anyway, it's a story about a mega-rich dude who kills an innocent man who trusted him. It's really pretty heartbreaking all around. It's well made. If you're interested in this bizarre tale of mo' money mo' problems....check it out. I feel really bad for all of those involved.
There's a definite romanticism attached to NY in the 70's. You think of Taxi Driver, the Warriors, and the seediness of Times Square before it turned into what we all know it as today. You think of the Ramones, Agnostic Front, Judge, Cro-Mags, all running wild pre-gentrification. NY used to be a scary ass place and the people who lived it loved it.
But one imagines this view is probably a half-truth. Rose-colored glasses illuminating all the things people loved about NY before it became super bougie and filled with mustaches and cronuts.
This doc dives into the real Bronx in the 70's, where gang life was the only life for youths in the projects. They had no options. Well, it was dead or alive, if you call that an option. It's a sad story of young kids running amok, spilling blood, and ruining lives. But it's also a story of hope and peace transcending violence. It's a story of black/white, right/wrong, fear/bravery, and P.M.A! For out of gang culture came hip hop culture. People started to battle rap and breakdance instead of stab and shoot. Beefs were squashed on the wheels of steel, and not in dark alleyways. From block warfare to block parties.
You get the picture. It's a tragic and inspiring tale of disenfranchised youth. Blacks and Puerto Ricans uniting. Kool Herc, the Zulu Nation, and all that.
Stream it on Netflix. It'll make you think differently about the Warriors next time you watch it.
This doc is well made. It details the insane company behind many of the shittiest movies of the 80's. It's a hilarious one hour and forty-five minutes, if you ask me.
This was a nostalgic ride. Remember Cyborg, Bloodsport, American Ninja, Masters of the Universe, Delta Force, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Superman IV, Missing in Action, Over the Top, Death Wish 2...? They were all spawn of Cannon Films. Those were the 'good' ones. Cannon used to shit out 40 or 50 movies a year back in the 80's. I hadn't heard of the majority of them. The worst of the worst. But as an 8 year old you eat that stuff up.
These guys were unique. You can't argue that after watching this doc. Horrible filmmakers, but indelibly part of my childhood and anyone growing up in the 80's. They definitely left a mark. An unsightly mark, but a mark nonetheless.
Watched a 50 minute doc on Jay Z. You gotta be wary of "unauthorized" doc's cuz often times that's a codeword for "shit." This is kinda one of those flicks. They obviously didn't get the rights to use any of Jay's music. So yeah, it's a doc about a musician w/out one single song of theirs.
The doc is about Jay as a businessman and talks very little about his creativity or musical output. It's just Damon Dash this, Jay Z that, business, projects, hood, drugs, hustle. Lots of talking heads. Meh.
I really like Jay Z as an artist. Reasonable Doubt is one of the greatest rap records of all time. But this is not one of the greatest doc's of all time. It does not do the man justice.
I reviewed this after the first time I watched it in 2012. Time flies.
Not sure what sparked it but I really wanted to watch it again. It's no longer streaming on Netflix but you can stream it on Amazon Prime and Chromecast it to your TV. So that's what I did late last night.
Man, it's such a good doc. Still one of the best music doc's I've ever seen. It gets you so freakin stoked on Pearl Jam. It's nostalgic and inspirational. Cameron Crowe should do more musical doc's like this. He has a new movie in the work called "Roadies," so maybe that'll be a good time.
I never saw Singles back in the day. I should check that out.
Back to PJ20; it's a must-see. That's all there is to it.
I popped on Netflix to see what new stuff was streaming and ended up adding a whole bunch of shit. I was stoked to see this brand new Giger doc so I watched it.
It's dark. As it should be. Not super accessible. As it should be. Pretty minimal. But overall not super compelling to be honest. Sometimes these "moment in time" type of documentaries just don't do it for me. It's not a retrospective really. It is, but it isn't. Kind of a superficial retrospective. I was hoping for more.
Tom G. Warrior is in it for quite a few scenes. Of course that's kinda cool. It definitely gives you an insight into his home and the themes that permeate his work. He had great parents, at least three wives, he loves cats, and his house is a sprawling Xanadu of books, art, and general untidiness. Everything is painted black and he has the most amazing bar I've ever seen in my life. There, I ruined everything for you.
You should probably watch it, but don't get your hopes up too high is all I'm saying.
Marie's boss recommended this doc so we fired it up last night after replacing an HDMI cord Alfred had chewed through. Thanks Alfie.
Man, this was a pretty crazy and uplifting story. Korean twins are separated at birth and sent to two different adoption agencies. They have no idea they have a twin. Twenty-five years later one of them makes a youtube video that happens to get seen by a friend of the other twin. Her buddy says, "hey, this person looks just like you..." and after some internet searching...the twins are reunited.
This is their story. It's a pretty deep and emotional experience to happen to someone. And it's a very unique thing to have the whole thing documented for the world to watch from their living rooms'.
Check out the trailer. Marie and I both thought it was a captivating doc.
An hour long documentary on the rise of Daft Punk.
This starts at their inception and brings you along for all the major milestones in the band's career. I have their second album and that's it. I think it's fucking great, but I don't know a lot about the band. This was pretty cool. Got mad respect for these frogs.
The in-flight entertainment included the likes of all three Hobbit movies and a bunch of Marvel movies...but of course I spent my time watching documentaries about champagne, fashion, and music. You didn't really think I'd watch Thor and Ant-Man did you?
This doc was okay. Middle of the road in production. And just not much of an emotional journey. I watched it to learn a little about how they make champagne, and it fulfilled itself in that regard. It's definitely eye-opening and makes you appreciate the manual effort that goes into a top class bottle of bubbly. But I wouldn't go running to see this flick.
The next four flicks were on the return flight from Pudong to Detroit. I kicked it off with Dior and I. Why not? It's a focused documentary that follows Raf Simons as he takes the Creative Director's role at Christian Dior and assembles his first couture showing. Raf was known for ready-to-wear, but here he is doing couture for Dior in eight weeks. Pretty crazy first couple months at the job!
This is a very interesting doc that shows you who makes the clothes as well as a glimpse into how they're made. I enjoyed this a lot except for the few seconds that Anna Wintour was on screen.
This was a unique story. Watched a doc that goes into the studio musicians of the fifties/sixties who played on a zillion singles and albums but never got any 'real' recognition. This particular loose knit band of players was dubbed the Wrecking Crew. They were talented as hell and you know all their tunes. They even sat in for established musicians like the Beach Boys. Watch the trailer and you'll see and hear how deep an impact these guys had on the scene. It's pretty crazy.
The third flick I watched on the way over to China. Never heard of this doc but it seemed like light viewing material. When else do you get to delve into the inner workings of one of the most famous luxury stores in the world? Might as well check it out.
The doc itself was alright. Nothing groundbreaking. But still quite interesting. You'll be blown away when you find out how much the top salespeople at Bergdorf's can bring in annually in salary and commission. Holy shit.
Some interesting stories. Only recommended for anyone who would actually enjoy going to Bergdorf's. Otherwise, don't bother with it.
Lego ruled. I feel sorry for anyone and everyone who's life wasn't enriched by Lego as a child. It's truly the greatest, most imaginative and creative toy available. And it has been since its inception.
This is an official behind-the-scenes look at Lego's history and its cultural impact.
Recommended for anyone who remembers playing with Lego as a kid. Narrated by Jason Bateman.
You're a prisoner to the headrest screen when you're on a fourteen hour flight. I watched five films on the way to Shanghai and four on the return flight.
Lambert & Stamp was the first and it ruled! I was really stoked I got to see this. Never heard of it before. It's a well made documentary chronicling the two fledgling managers who took the Who from their humble beginnings as the High Numbers, to their stratospheric heights a few years later. They're funny ol' characters and it's a pretty crazy story.
Inspirational and exciting. Sometimes I think the Who were the greatest band ever. This is a good doc and definitely worth watching.
Hour long PBS special on the black kung-fu experience. Sounds like a pretty cool, esoteric topic to watch. But the PBS doc' is pretty low rent. The topic could have been delved into on such a deeper level. It could have been really freaking awesome. Instead, it's just a so-so hour long surface look at the black community and its relationship with kung-fu. Nothing terribly wrong with it, but I don't really recommend you spend an hour of your life watching it either. Pass.
Oh look, I watched another documentary. It's about racing. Shocking.
Gonchi came up on my Netflix queue due to my interest in racing doc's. I'd never heard of Gonchi but I'm not one to turn down a subject due to lack of familiarity so I learned a little about his life and untimely death over the following ninety minutes. Sad and inspirational.
Gonchi was a racing driver on the eve of making it to Formula One when his life was tragically cut short in an accident on track. He had the potential to make a name for himself on the greatest stage in motor racing if he had lived. He was from Uruguay. A trailblazer for his country. A good dude. And obviously very talented.
This is no Senna. Obviously. But it's still a good doc for anyone remotely interested in motor racing. Or even if you're not but you like stories about perseverance, dedication, and making a difference...watch Gonchi.
Here's another one that just popped up on my Netflix queue. It's a 75 minute documentary about the making of Night of the Living Dead.
'The Living Dead is easily one of my all time favorite horror movies so I grilled up a double veggie burger and sat down to check it out.
This is a good doc that quickly goes through the humble inception of the flick, its release, and cultural impact. Most of it done simply through talking heads. Romero dominates the story-telling. He's an affable character who's really reminiscent of Stan Lee. Seriously. I'd love to see them hang out together. Like long lost brothers.
I didn't know that Romero had Spanish heritage; I always thought he was Italian. He's from the Bronx and he's called Romero...but I'm hardly an über fan, just ignorant, I guess. Anyway, that was just a tidbit I picked up.
But I digress. This is a good, quick doc on the making of the a classic. I imagine you love Night of the Living Dead, so nerd out for just over an hour on this shit. It's pretty good.
Truth: I'd never heard of Stones Throw Records. I knew of Peanut Butter Wolf (the owner), though. I first heard him on the original Return of the DJ comp many many moons ago. He's a dope, world renowned DJ. Evidently he has a label that's been going strong for twenty years. He put out the J Dilla "Donuts" record that really shook things up. But anyway...
This is a doc about his label and it features interviews with some famous cats like Kweli, Kanye, Common, and Madlib. And lots of appearances by dudes that are totally off my radar. (Not that Kanye and Common are no my radar; fuck Kanye.)
It's pretty cool to see how this label and a lot of these releases came together. Detroit represents on more than one hefty occasion.
This doc is well done and anyone who's into underground hip hop will definitely dig it. But if that's not your thing at all...I wouldn't really watch this. I don't think it's quite as transcendent as say the last doc I watched, No No.
Mad respect to PBW. He runs the label the right way...
(Breakestra are a Stones Throw Records alum. This album isn't on Stones Throw, but it's dope.)
God damn, I hate baseball. But I love a good doc. And the true definition for me of a good documentary is when the Director can make a viewer fascinated with a subject had zero interest or even total contempt for. This is one of those docs that transcends your biases or personal interests.
If you love baseball, you'll love this. No question. If you think baseball is a boring ass pastime for fat, lazy "athletes" like I do...you'll still love it.
I was intrigued because the synopsis sucks you in by stating that Dock Ellis pitched a no-hitter while high as a kite on LSD. Say what? But what you get is far more than a crazy ass drug story about one infamous day in California. This is a Dock Ellis documentary about his career, his ups, downs, (including uppers and downers) and his inspirational legacy. The dude was the Mohammad Ali of baseball. No doubt about it. The guy was bad as fuck. And after watching this doc I highly respect the guy. I certainly don't agree with his use of cocaine and whatnot (and ultimately his drug use became a personal regret that he turned around to help inspire others NOT to follow in his amphetamine-fueled lifestyle). But I have mad respect for him as an individual, as a team-player, and as a humble, bad-ass selfless, motherfucker. Dude was a game-changer.
The soundtrack to this movie is off the hook. Hawkwind, Death (Detroit), and tons of rad instrumental funk composed by Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. I hopped online to snag a copy of the soundtrack but it's not for sale. It just didn't get released. That's a real shame cuz it's dope as fuck.
You can stream this on Netflix. You should. It's awesome.
Sometimes I just want to veg-out to some heavy metal books, magazines, and movies. It happens a lot. But I've read and watched so god damn many of them I don't have many quality ones left. In my thirst for something of this nature I revisited Get Thrashed. It's a dvd I own but haven't watched since it came about about five years ago.
Rat Skates (drummer from Overkill) is the man behind the movie. He takes you on an international journey touching on many of the titans of the genre. From the Bay Area and LA scenes on the west coast all the way to Germany and Japan and right back again. He covers all the expected culprits through archival footage, never-before-seen photos, and lots of interviews conducted just for this doc. The production value is pretty damn good. It's not amazing, but it's definitely better than a kick in the nuts. It's definitely a job well done.
If you're interested in thrash (of course you are) then this is a very entertaining watch. It's purely historical. It's just talking heads pontificating and telling anecdotes about partying with Paul Baloff or having Slayer play in your back yard. Cool shit like that.
Steven Blush is a freakin weirdo. Ian Christie is pretty cool. Katon W. DePena has a ton of energy. And Bobby Blitz is just one OG motherfucker.
You can find the whole thing up on YouTube I think. Dig it.
