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2019 DOCUMENTARY THREAD


RIPPA

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So apparently Elizabeth Holmes is going to be played by Kate McKinnon (on TV) and also by Jennifer Lawrence (in a movie). If she's got a piece of those projects and she times the inevitable book release right, she might wind up actually wealthy. Nice for her creditors, to know she'll have claimable assets.

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On 4/4/2019 at 12:09 PM, supremebve said:

Dude, there is not much in the world that can break me out of my super-cynical nonsense than a gospel choir.  An Aretha Franklin lead gospel choir...that has to be something special.  I may take my mom to see this for mother's day.

So, I took my mom to see "Amazing Grace" on Sunday and it was everything I could have possibly hoped for.  Seriously, it's just the concert, but there is a level of gravitas that is palpable throughout the entire movie.  Here are a couple of notes.

  • When introducing Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland claimed "she can sing anything.  Three Blind Mice, anything."  I 100% agree.  I'm not sure how many edits are in this film, but I can only think of one time where I noticed a cut.  It really feels like it was played from start to finish, even when they're just milling around between songs.  I bring that up to say, Aretha Franklin does not hit a mediocre note for the entire concert.  Like not one.  Every sound that leaves her mouth is absolutely perfect.  It is really amazing to watch.  There is actually an awkward moment near the end where her father gets up to wipe her face with a handkerchief in the middle of a song, and despite this awkward distraction she just keeps belting out the song without missing a beat.  My mom looked at me like, "this dude couldn't wait until the end of the song?" and as he went back to his seat I looked at her and said, "and she didn't miss a note."  It really felt like that moment when LeBron James' mom got up and ran towards the court after he took a hard fall and LeBron looked at her and said, "Ma, sit your ass down."  It is just an inappropriate time for him to get up and be a parent, but Aretha kept singing like she didn't realize he was there.   
  • The Reverend James Cleveland is perfect as Aretha's sidekick.  He is the MC/2nd lead of the concert and he knows exactly when to pick his spots, add some humor, and most importantly when to just shut up and get out of the way.  There is a documentary to be made about him and his career that I'd be first in line to watch.  He's so charismatic and likable that you kind of anticipate the next time he comes up to the microphone.  He's simultaneously in awe of her talent, but perfectly comfortable in her presence and it's a huge part of what makes this worth watching.
  • This was filmed in 1972, and nothing can prepare you for how 1972 it is.  There are some laugh out loud moments in this movie that are only funny because of 1972.  There is a member of the choir who is doing nothing but being his 1972 self who made the entire theater laugh out loud at least twice.  There is also a cameo from someone who is probably one of the 10 most famous people in the world in 1972 (I'm speculating, but he's still incredibly famous) who pops up at one point out of nowhere and is having the time of his life, despite looking completely out of place in a black church in Los Angeles.  
  • If you have a chance to go see this movie, go see it.  It is one of the most transcendent talents in the history of music singing her heart out in a way that no one really does anymore.  There are times where she just takes her time and just plays with a phrase, or a note, and just extracts every bit of feeling out of it.  Seriously, when she sings Amazing Grace she draws it out like Bleeding Gums Murphy singing the national anthem, but by the end, half of the church is crying, she's crying, and you are just glad to be there to see it.  It was an amazing movie-going experience.
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1 hour ago, supremebve said:

 

  • This was filmed in 1972, and nothing can prepare you for how 1972 it is.  There are some laugh out loud moments in this movie that are only funny because of 1972.  There is a member of the choir who is doing nothing but being his 1972 self who made the entire theater laugh out loud at least twice.  There is also a cameo from someone who is probably one of the 10 most famous people in the world in 1972 (I'm speculating, but he's still incredibly famous) who pops up at one point out of nowhere and is having the time of his life, despite looking completely out of place in a black church in Los Angeles.  

I am assuming you are talking about 

Spoiler

Mick Jagger

who is shown in the trailer and I think every review I read of the doc

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2 hours ago, RIPPA said:

I am assuming you are talking about 

  Hide contents

Mick Jagger

who is shown in the trailer and I think every review I read of the doc

Yes, but I watched the trailer once when you first posted it and haven't read a single review.  Nobody is happier to be there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I thought I'd posted this back when the trailer came out, but I guess not:

THE SPY BEHIND HOME PLATE

Moe Berg played for 4 MLB teams while working as a spy for the OSS (and later CIA).

Comes out today, has a 100 on RT

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I caught most of Prophet's Prey on TV right before work and... phew. The story was unfamiliar to me but super shocking. It was hilarious (and fitting) that they put Jeffs' face on the Most Wanted List smack between Bin Laden and Whitey Bulger.

I looked it up and amazingly after committing multiple hunger strikes and even being put in a medically enforced coma from them, the pervert is still alive and preaching the end times.

Edited by Curt McGirt
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I don't know if anyone here has seen this yet. It's called "All I Can Say" and it's definitely one I want to check out.

https://variety.com/2019/music/news/blind-melon-documentary-shannon-hoon-danny-clinch-tribeca-1203198170/#respond

On a side note, the video for "Galaxie" from Blind Melon's second album "Soup" is like watching Shannon Hoon's descent into drug induced madness and deterioration before your very eyes.

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This has been making the rounds on Showtime again so I watched the second half of it again to coincide with me reading the LAPD chapter of City of Quartz. Like Jim Jarmusch said in the Wu Tang doc, "I don't care what anybody says, this country is undergoing Apartheid."

Highly recommended, but It. Will. Make. You. Mad.

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16 Shots (June 14th, Showtime)

This of course goes with the last post. Also going with the last post, I finished that LAPD/gang/crack chapter and both the book and that doc made a lot of the same points. 

And ALSO going with the last post the final ep of the Wu Tang doc just aired. I wouldn't call it a let down, it's just disappointing to see how split up they became -- there's footage of one argument that is particularly painful. They also dig through the whole deal with the Martin Shkreli-purchased record and people are PISSED. Still. As they should be. This doc was so good that even though it's four hours long, I'm buying it as soon as it ends up on DVD and will be watching it a lot. 

EDIT: It's also crazy finding out that Masta Killa is related to both 

Spoiler

Marvin Gaye and Nat Turner. Holy shit.

 

Edited by Curt McGirt
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4 hours ago, RIPPA said:

Mike Wallace is Here

I miss that man. It sucks to know that the generation right behind me will never know how awesome he was and get to watch him on Sundays. 

The Lego documentary did the rounds on TV a couple nights ago and is highly recommended. Nice to see a documentary that was fairly "feel-good" for a change. Meanwhile, Hail Satan? is playing the local Art this week; I'll report back when/if I catch it (if they fuck me over on the timing of this one I will be very very mad).

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On 5/31/2019 at 11:42 PM, Curt McGirt said:

16 Shots (June 14th, Showtime)

This of course goes with the last post. Also going with the last post, I finished that LAPD/gang/crack chapter and both the book and that doc made a lot of the same points. 

And ALSO going with the last post the final ep of the Wu Tang doc just aired. I wouldn't call it a let down, it's just disappointing to see how split up they became -- there's footage of one argument that is particularly painful. They also dig through the whole deal with the Martin Shkreli-purchased record and people are PISSED. Still. As they should be. This doc was so good that even though it's four hours long, I'm buying it as soon as it ends up on DVD and will be watching it a lot. 

EDIT: It's also crazy finding out that Masta Killa is related to both 

  Hide contents

Marvin Gaye and Nat Turner. Holy shit.

 

I found the first two Wu-Tang doc episodes were outstanding, but the last two were just kind of underwhelming.  With that said, Rza and Divine weren't necessarily wrong with their business dealings, but they also weren't necessarily right.  For guys like Ghostface and Method Man, it is absurd to be giving Rza and Divine all that money when they don't really need their management/guidance.  Ghostface is someone who has the talent, work ethic, and consistency to have the exact career that he's already had no matter who was managing him.  He's never going to be OK with someone taking 20% off the top.  Then there are guys like U-God, who needs the guidance, but they don't put them into a position to be seen.  Their biggest crime was making money off of their friends who didn't need them, but not helping the friends that did.  

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Good point. Instead of playing away games RZA could have been doing a U-God record. Them not finishing the tour is the dumbest shit, though.

I didn't think they were underwhelming episodes, but I was underwhelmed by their actions towards each other in those episodes.

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On 6/3/2019 at 6:23 PM, Curt McGirt said:

Good point. Instead of playing away games RZA could have been doing a U-God record. Them not finishing the tour is the dumbest shit, though.

I didn't think they were underwhelming episodes, but I was underwhelmed by their actions towards each other in those episodes.

I could have gone my entire life without learning who Cilvaringz is, and his call and ask these dude's for a verse so I can sell one album to a scumbag scam was shady as fuck.  For the most part, I care about the music of the core members as a group and about 3 of them as solo artists.  Some of the business stuff was interesting, but I'd rather have more moments getting to know the original 9 members.  They should have at least had a 45 minute segment on the Ghostface Killah eagle bracelet (check the avatar).  

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1 hour ago, supremebve said:

Some of the business stuff was interesting, but I'd rather have more moments getting to know the original 9 members.

This, 100%. They did a good job with Dirty, but is that only because he died? Also, considering how their solo albums are as if not more important than the group ones they really got short shrift. Shit, you could do an hour on Liquid Swords alone. 

The most uncomfortable thing on the whole four hour span was that argument with Divine going off. I don't know HOW they captured that without him breaking the camera in a rage.

I demand two hours of extras on the DVD! 

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Hail Satan? should have been named Hail Satan! Yeah, I get why it was called that, but the joke is unnecessary. This was a fantastic and hilarious doc, about a bunch of really good, really cool people doing (haha) God's work, really. You know the morality pool is tainted when so-called Satanists are closer to Jesus than so-called Christians. This was a film pretty much made explicitly for a person like me so it's hard to be critical, but I find no fault in it and will probably purchase it as soon as possible. Highest recommendation.

EDIT: Fuck it, I'm posting the trailer again. This movie rules. 

EDIT II: I forgot about one of the best parts, which is directed at scum of the earth Fred Phelps

Spoiler

They think "how can we fuck with Fred Phelps?" and decide "we fuck with his mom". So they go to her grave, have men and women make out over top of the gravestone (same sex), and proclaim that she is now a lesbian in the afterlife on the basis of Mormon beliefs that you can "turn" people after death. Genius.

 

Edited by Curt McGirt
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On ‎6‎/‎9‎/‎2019 at 9:31 PM, Curt McGirt said:

Hail Satan? should have been named Hail Satan! Yeah, I get why it was called that, but the joke is unnecessary. This was a fantastic and hilarious doc, about a bunch of really good, really cool people doing (haha) God's work, really. You know the morality pool is tainted when so-called Satanists are closer to Jesus than so-called Christians. 

I'm not sure I would go that far, but it is interesting to note that most Satanists seem to remember (and Christians seem to forget) that Jesus was a renegade and challenged the religious dogma of the time.  It is funny how churches today seem to want to use doctrine to control behavior and say that is God's will, when that was exactly the sort of thing that Jesus rallied AGAINST.

The flaw in the Satainst's logic is the idea that God is a tyrant.   Sure, God wants you to submit to HIs will, but HIs will calls on you to stop being a douchebag, have a sense of altruism, watch out for your fellow man, and when someone asks you why you have such a positive attitude in a world that is coming apart at the seams, you witness your faith.

I don't know how they equate mental slavery with the mandate to Christians to reaffirm people's faith in the innate goodness of the human soul, but here we are.

The Satanist's idea of freedom seems to be more aligned with the absolution of guilt for engaging in destructive behavior rather than resistance and rejection of authority.   The idea that damnation is preferable to servitude is laughable since missionary work is designed to improve physical and spiritual life.

The problem is that (surprise) people are involved and they sometimes subvert good work with their own quid pro quo agendas.  God does not anything this for that because He knows you cannot repay him.   Anything you "pay" you pay forward. 

I know the BE A BEACON stuff can make you roll your eyes a bit, but that's really how it's supposed to work.

Edited by J.T.
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1 hour ago, J.T. said:

I don't know how they equate mental slavery with the mandate to Christians to reaffirm people's faith in the innate goodness of the human soul

That's an easy one -- Xtians have indoctrinated their children to conform and obey for centuries, and most of them practice the exact opposite of what they preach. Growing up in America and witnessing the utter hypocrisy of popular, widespread Christianity, I'm surprised there aren't MORE Satanists and atheists out there... but then, humans tend to be pretty fucking stupid, so as you said, here we are. 

EDIT: I read that a little closer and I get better what you're swinging at. I think they don't equate those two things, especially if you watch the documentary. Any real Satanist sees the difference between a true Christian and someone who is just a repressed and repressing asshole. They aren't going after congregations that keep to themselves or have a positive effect on communities and it would certainly be hard-pressed to see them as a hate group. They just want fair and open discourse -- something their opponents want to see destroyed.

Edited by Curt McGirt
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1 hour ago, J.T. said:

The idea that damnation is preferable to servitude is laughable since missionary work is designed to improve physical and spiritual life.

And to this I'll say that they are doing missionary work designed to improve their own and others' lives, and that since they don't believe in damnation at all... I mean really, these guys are just atheists who have a Satanic fetish. Like myself. 

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