Documentary review grabbag

[SpursforSix]

Saw three docs over the weekend...don't think any need their own thread.

1) Hornet's Nest - follows a father/son reporting team embedded with Army and Marines in Afghanistan in a very dangerous area in 2011. Pretty harrowing footage and really a good glimpse of what those particular units had to deal with on a day to day basis.

7/10

2) Path of Blood - uses recovered footage from Islamic cells in Saudi Arabia. Intertwines this footage with Saudi police footage. The terrorist footage is pretty amazing. And while the majority of the guys were pretty ignorant and unsophisticated, some of the attacks were devastating and underline how hard it must have been for the Saudis to deal with this. Pretty disturbing at times.

8/10

3) Into the Abyss - Herzog doc following a murder case in Conroe Texas starting from the crime through death row. Really well done. Herzog's gets the most out of interviews with all involved...the murderers, the victims of the family, even a former death row captain.

7.5/10

[Chucho]

I really liked Into the Abyss. Saw it a while back, really good stuff. Not big on the military stuff but have pondered on watching Hornet's Nest. I'm deep into true crime docs and some off the wall stuff as it's almost all I watch when I watch the tele. Almost out of all the good, original crime docs.

[Chucho]

Southwest of Salem was really good. I didn't think a doc about 4 lesbians wrongfully charged with gang raping some children would be good and about 20 minutes in, you're wondering if it gets any better and it's not very "in your face" like other docs based on wrongful convictions but it's really well done and a shows how far our society has come in 25 years. I recommend.

[SpursforSix]

Southwest of Salem was really good. I didn't think a doc about 4 lesbians wrongfully charged with gang raping some children would be good and about 20 minutes in, you're wondering if it gets any better and it's not very "in your face" like other docs based on wrongful convictions but it's really well done and a shows how far our society has come in 25 years. I recommend.

Thanks. I'll give it a try. True crime docs are my favorite as well. Although I do tend to shy away from some of them that deal with sexual abuse of kids.

[Chucho]

Thanks. I'll give it a try. True crime docs are my favorite as well. Although I do tend to shy away from some of them that deal with sexual abuse of kids.

That was the reason the wife and I were both reluctant to watch it, but it doesn't go far into detail since the case was so shallow as the details were all hearsay from the kids' testimonial and junk science.

[SpursforSix]

That was the reason the wife and I were both reluctant to watch it, but it doesn't go far into detail since the case was so shallow as the details were all hearsay from the kids' testimonial and junk science.

:tu

[pgardn]

I like almost any kind of documentary.

eg. Alpha Go was fantastic for me.
So Keep putting them up. I use them at night instead of reading if my wife has to get up early for work. The light from the iPad does not bother. Gotta be careful as I have The ability to watch too many.

[lil'mo]

Netflix?

[pgardn]

Netflix?

Into the abyss

[SnakeBoy]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IzgyM1r1y8

[pgardn]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IzgyM1r1y8

Fracking started under Trump.
Yaaaaa No.

[SpursforSix]

I like almost any kind of documentary.

eg. Alpha Go was fantastic for me.
So Keep putting them up. I use them at night instead of reading if my wife has to get up early for work. The light from the iPad does not bother. Gotta be careful as I have The ability to watch too many.

I do enjoy those good docs about something about something off the beaten path. Something not so heavy like a crime doc or some current affair. Alpha Go fit this for me.

A couple others that come to mind...
Jiro Dreams if Sushi
Exit Through the Gift Shop

[SpursforSix]

That was the reason the wife and I were both reluctant to watch it, but it doesn't go far into detail since the case was so shallow as the details were all hearsay from the kids' testimonial and junk science.

Just watched this. Good recommendation. Those girls got screwed. Glad there was a happy ending but it’s hard to fathom the despair they must have felt and the monumental loss of time.

It ended a little abruptly. Would have liked to have followed them through the final appeal but that must have been determined by the doc budget or time table.

[leemajors]

I really liked Into the Abyss. Saw it a while back, really good stuff. Not big on the military stuff but have pondered on watching Hornet's Nest. I'm deep into true crime docs and some off the wall stuff as it's almost all I watch when I watch the tele. Almost out of all the good, original crime docs.

I had a friend who grew up in Cut 'N Shoot, TX. He said it was every bit as rough as the doc made it seem.

[SpursforSix]

I had a friend who grew up in Cut 'N Shoot, TX. He said it was every bit as rough as the doc made it seem.

That part really stuck out. Seemed like everybody interviewed was in jail or had been in jail as well as all of their family members. That guy matter-of-factly taking about getting stabbed with a 2 foot screwdriver through the torso. But having to get to work in 30 minutes and not ever going to the doctor. Or the bartender starting to cry thinking of "all the things she's seen". Someone could probably do a pretty interesting documentary on the town.

[Chucho]

What else was surreal was seeing the Camaro they stole from the victims sitting in the tow yard after all these years, was pretty damn creepy.


Do any of you guys like Al Profit docs? He's an Italian dude who does a lot of drug dealer/crime docs that are low budget but good. I would recommend his Detroit doc and all of his drug dealer docs. Love the guy, got to meet him randomly at a comic con and he was super cool.

Don't expect the greatest production, but the info and the gritty feel to them are great.

[SpursforSix]

What else was surreal was seeing the Camaro they stole from the victims sitting in the tow yard after all these years, was pretty damn creepy.


Do any of you guys like Al Profit docs? He's an Italian dude who does a lot of drug dealer/crime docs that are low budget but good. I would recommend his Detroit doc and all of his drug dealer docs. Love the guy, got to meet him randomly at a comic con and he was super cool.

Don't expect the greatest production, but the info and the gritty feel to them are great.

How long do those cars sit there? That's crazy.

Havenn't heard of Al Profit but will give one a watch.

Last night I watched All the Queens Horses. A short doc about a lady who embezzled $53,000,000 from a town of 16,000 people.
It's an interesting story but the doc was pretty dry. Probably just reading the Wiki page would provide the same story much quicker.

[Chucho]

How long do those cars sit there? That's crazy.

Havenn't heard of Al Profit but will give one a watch.

Last night I watched All the Queens Horses. A short doc about a lady who embezzled $53,000,000 from a town of 16,000 people.
It's an interesting story but the doc was pretty dry. Probably just reading the Wiki page would provide the same story much quicker.

I always thought they go to auction if they're still sellable. That one was still sitting there despite the case being well and over for a long time. It was just creepy looking at it.

[SpursforSix]

I always thought they go to auction if they're still sellable. That one was still sitting there despite the case being well and over for a long time. It was just creepy looking at it.

Three people killed over that thing. The son and his friend were incredibly unlucky to have driven back home that night.

[DJR210]

Here's some I've enjoyed over the last few months..

The Bridge - Older documentary from 2004 I believe.. Some guy set up shop and filmed the Golden Gate Bridge for a year.. he captured 23 suicides. The documentary interviews the families and friends to try and understand what caused this person to end it all.

Who Took Johnny and An Open Secret - Grouped them together as they both expose secret pedo rings ran by the rich and powerful in Government and Hollywood.

Kim Dotcom - an account of Kim Dotcom, founder of mega upload, and his rise and fall over internet piracy and copyright laws

I second Into the Abyss.. very interesting documentary.

[SpursforSix]

Here's some I've enjoyed over the last few months..

The Bridge - Older documentary from 2004 I believe.. Some guy set up shop and filmed the Golden Gate Bridge for a year.. he captured 23 suicides. The documentary interviews the families and friends to try and understand what caused this person to end it all.

Who Took Johnny and An Open Secret - Grouped them together as they both expose secret pedo rings ran by the rich and powerful in Government and Hollywood.

Kim Dotcom - an account of Kim Dotcom, founder of mega upload, and his rise and fall over internet piracy and copyright laws

I second Into the Abyss.. very interesting documentary.

Who Took Johnny...I saw that one. I'm not saying PizzaGate but it does provide and example of people in political/powerful positions that use that power to suppress the truth.
I saw some Paul Bonnaci interviews regarding some weird shit like Bohemian Grove. Crazy shit.
He's a very intriguing interviewee.

[DJR210]

Who Took Johnny...I saw that one. I'm not saying PizzaGate but it does provide and example of people in political/powerful positions that use that power to suppress the truth.
I saw some Paul Bonnaci interviews regarding some weird shit like Bohemian Grove. Crazy shit.
He's a very intriguing interviewee.

Pizza Gate was allegedly part of the Russian fake news brigade to influence the election.. but how do you deny the things they exposed.. The strange paintings, weird entertainment at Besta Pizza, symbolism, etc.. Definitely ran by a weirdo. If you thought Who Took Johnny was interesting, then you will like An Open Secret.. They cornered the president of the Screen Actors Guild and exposed him as pedo too during the movie.

Paul Bonnaci taking America's Most Wanted back to the house he says he was held captive at was crazy af.

[Chucho]

Who Took Johnny was good.

Do any of you watch The Hunt with John Walsh...it's basically a better America's Most Wanted...one of the better crime series and the acting is way better than the murder mystery porns on ID

[DJR210]

Who Took Johnny was good.

Do any of you watch The Hunt with John Walsh...it's basically a better America's Most Wanted...one of the better crime series and the acting is way better than the murder mystery porns on ID

Haven't seen that one, but will favorite it and check it out ASAP. Sure you've seen them, but I still enjoy watching the old HBO Autopsy Series with Dr. Baden. He needs a new show.

[SpursforSix]

Pizza Gate was allegedly part of the Russian fake news brigade to influence the election.. but how do you deny the things they exposed.. The strange paintings, weird entertainment at Besta Pizza, symbolism, etc.. Definitely ran by a weirdo. If you thought Who Took Johnny was interesting, then you will like An Open Secret.. They cornered the president of the Screen Actors Guild and exposed him as pedo too during the movie.

Paul Bonnaci taking America's Most Wanted back to the house he says he was held captive at was crazy af.

Yeah...it was nuts. I had seen his interviews well before I saw WTJ and I thought he was a crackpot. But him taking them back to the house completely changed my mind on some of the bizarre stuff he said in the interviews.
Stuff dealing with MKUltra, Bohemian Grove, etc.

I'll check out Open Secret. Was that the one that WTJ was mentioning that Discovery Channel didn't air?

[Chucho]

Haven't seen that one, but will favorite it and check it out ASAP. Sure you've seen them, but I still enjoy watching the old HBO Autopsy Series with Dr. Baden. He needs a new show.


HBO docs are generally the best. From the West Memphis 3 trilogy to Hookers at the Point and there was an awesome one from 2009 about a boxing match between a journeyman and an undefeated up and comer Irish Billy something or another, and the trainer for the journeyman was a suspected cheater. Turns out they used plaster on the jabrone's gloves and the Irishman had such a solid chin, he withstood a beating the whole fight. He was later unable to fight ever again and eventually committed suicide. Great, great documentary.

[SpursforSix]

I'll throw out Thin Blue Line. It's so old and well know that I assume everyone's seen it.

But just in case you haven't, it's excellent. I haven't seen it in 20 years and may give it a rewatch.

[Reck]

I was in the mood for watching a full feature film documentary last night and came accross Tower about the shooting that happened in the university of Texas back in the 60s. Well done.

I like the animated touch.

[SpursforSix]

I was in the mood for watching a full feature film documentary last night and came accross Tower about the shooting that happened in the university of Texas back in the 60s. Well done.

I like the animated touch.

oh yeah...that was a good one. I'd really only heard bits and pieces about the incident until I watched the doc.

[leemajors]

HBO docs are generally the best. From the West Memphis 3 trilogy to Hookers at the Point and there was an awesome one from 2009 about a boxing match between a journeyman and an undefeated up and comer Irish Billy something or another, and the trainer for the journeyman was a suspected cheater. Turns out they used plaster on the jabrone's gloves and the Irishman had such a solid chin, he withstood a beating the whole fight. He was later unable to fight ever again and eventually committed suicide. Great, great documentary.

Bangin in Little Rock is still one of the best.

[SnakeBoy]

Fracking started under Trump.
Yaaaaa No.

It's not about Trump. Stop being triggered and watch it, you'll enjoy it.

[SpursforSix]

Bangin in Little Rock is still one of the best.

I just watched this last night. Had to find it on YouTube. Was very good. There were also a couple of interviews of some of the gang members years later which were interesting.

[Pavlov]

Danny Greene: The Rise and Fall of the Irishman

Fairly low budget but had a lot of archive footage (some pretty gruesome) that hadn't been seen as well as interviews of still-living people involved in the mob craziness of early 70s Cleveland. Made me appreciate the Kill the Irishman feature on Netflix all the more for its relative historical accuracy. It was panned for having a story too much like Casino, but that's how things happened back then. Caught it on Pluto TV so the filmmakers get something for the viewing, though I'm sure there's a low res rip floating around somewhere.

[Chucho]

I just watched this last night. Had to find it on YouTube. Was very good. There were also a couple of interviews of some of the gang members years later which were interesting.

I just watched it last night. I'm gonna rewatch High on Crackstreet to fall asleep on the plane Saturday.

[SpursforSix]

I just watched it last night. I'm gonna rewatch High on Crackstreet to fall asleep on the plane Saturday.

I don't remember seeing that one either. Where are you going?

[Chucho]

I don't remember seeing that one either. Where are you going?

I found it on Youtube last time I saw it. It's another HBO doc from the same time Banging in LR was made. Its the one that's a big plot point in that boxer movie with Marky Mark plays Micky Ward and his brother is a junkie featured in that doc.

[pgardn]

It's not about Trump. Stop being triggered and watch it, you'll enjoy it.

I do like the technology.
Its amazing.
They have also reduced costs during the recent slump, had to get creative.

under Trump... yeah boi...

Triggered... lets get creative now. Ignition! Fire in the hole... something...

[Chucho]

Just watched The Fear of 13 yesterday while getting over the vacation jet lag. I had avoided it because it didn't look great based on the brief preview Netflix wrote, but it was awesome.

The main character was THE reason it was so great as his story telling of his ordeal was just insanely well done and it keeps you enthralled and attached the whole documentary. I highly recommend. 8/10

[DJR210]

Any of yall seen "Mommy Dead and Dearest"? Great documentary, as per HBO usual. Twisted AF

[SpursforSix]

Any of yall seen "Mommy Dead and Dearest"? Great documentary, as per HBO usual. Twisted AF

Saw it based on your recommendation somewhere. Crazy af story.
They need to revisit that and think about doing a follow up when she gets out.

[DJR210]

Saw it based on your recommendation somewhere. Crazy af story.
They need to revisit that and think about doing a follow up when she gets out.

Dr. Phil went to interview her prison if you care to check that out

[SpursforSix]

Dr. Phil went to interview her prison if you care to check that out

Pass...there are several prison interviews. I'd just like to see how she readjusts to the world. It might be boring as hell. Although I guess someone will do something on it.

[DJR210]

I highly recommend "Identical Strangers" - I believe it's a Hulu doc.. It's the story of a set of triplets separated at birth who found out about each other years later, only to find that there was much more behind the separation.. Very interesting and pretty fucked up.

[SpursforSix]

I highly recommend "Identical Strangers" - I believe it's a Hulu doc.. It's the story of a set of triplets separated at birth who found out about each other years later, only to find that there was much more behind the separation.. Very interesting and pretty fucked up.

x2 Unbelievable story. I think I saw it on prime.

I can't remember if I've mentioned this one but Long Shot is also an amazing story.
Guy is indicted for a crime he didn't commit. He says he's at a baseball game and the way this gets proven is pretty crazy.

[DJR210]

Holy shit, has anyone seen a documentary called Dear Zachary? Seent the first half, really good so far.

[SpursforSix]

Holy shit, has anyone seen a documentary called Dear Zachary? Seent the first half, really good so far.

I've had that stuck in my queue for months. Let me know what you think when you're done.

[DJR210]

I've had that stuck in my queue for months. Let me know what you think when you're done.

I've seen enough to be convinced.. The 8.6 rating I'm seeing om Cinema HD is legit so far

[ChumpDumper]

I'll throw out Thin Blue Line. It's so old and well know that I assume everyone's seen it.

But just in case you haven't, it's excellent. I haven't seen it in 20 years and may give it a rewatch.There's a new docuseries on FX/Hulu based on a book by the maker of Thin Blue Line called Wilderness of Error. It's about the 1970 Fatal Vision murders and all the craziness in the aftermath. I start looking askance at docs once they start going over four hours, but this is covering events over the last fifty years and hasn't even introduced Joe McGuiness three hours in. I don't know how Morris is going to turn viewers from the conclusions of the legal system but I'm definitely in for the rest of the show. There's some juicy stuff like the tapes the father/grandfather of the victims recorded of phone calls when he began his own investigation after seeing his son-in-law acting like a jackass on the Dick Cavett show not even a year after the murders. Decent recreations and a whole podcast prequel series (Morally Indefensible) if you want to take a really deep dive.

The Vow is going to end up being twice as long as it should be -- Ken Burns did the whole Civil War in the same number of episodes -- but the sheer amount of video and audio of events as they happened makes it pretty compelling. Shows how a bunch of smart, successful people (including the filmmaker himself) can get lured into a destructive cult.

Challenger: The Final Flight on Netflix is good for people who remember it. I think people who don't will wonder why the fuck all that happened. They'd be right. I had no idea Ralphie from A Christmas Story was a kid spokesman for NASA who got to see that shit blow up live. It's too bad Sally Ride died before this was made. She comes out as a low-key boss in the ensuing investigation.

[DMC]

Chumpy necro posting :lol

[ChumpDumper]

?

[SpursforSix]

There's a new docuseries on FX/Hulu based on a book by the maker of Thin Blue Line called Wilderness of Error. It's about the 1970 Fatal Vision murders and all the craziness in the aftermath. I start looking askance at docs once they start going over four hours, but this is covering events over the last fifty years and hasn't even introduced Joe McGuiness three hours in. I don't know how Morris is going to turn viewers from the conclusions of the legal system but I'm definitely in for the rest of the show. There's some juicy stuff like the tapes the father/grandfather of the victims recorded of phone calls when he began his own investigation after seeing his son-in-law acting like a jackass on the Dick Cavett show not even a year after the murders. Decent recreations and a whole podcast prequel series (Morally Indefensible) if you want to take a really deep dive.

The Vow is going to end up being twice as long as it should be -- Ken Burns did the whole Civil War in the same number of episodes -- but the sheer amount of video and audio of events as they happened makes it pretty compelling. Shows how a bunch of smart, successful people (including the filmmaker himself) can get lured into a destructive cult.

Challenger: The Final Flight on Netflix is good for people who remember it. I think people who don't will wonder why the fuck all that happened. They'd be right. I had no idea Ralphie from A Christmas Story was a kid spokesman for NASA who got to see that shit blow up live. It's too bad Sally Ride died before this was made. She comes out as a low-key boss in the ensuing investigation.

Good stuff. I’ll check those 2 out. I’m caught up on The Vow. It’s pretty amazing how much footage the guy got. They picked the wrong dude to indoctrinate from that standpoint. I don’t believe it but the skeptic in me wonders if he didn’t plan it from square one. But he doesn’t seem like that kind of guy.

If anyone hasn’t seen it, his doc, “What the Bleep Do We Know” is interesting. Might watch it again to see if it holds up.

[ChumpDumper]

I'll throw out Thin Blue Line. It's so old and well know that I assume everyone's seen it.

But just in case you haven't, it's excellent. I haven't seen it in 20 years and may give it a rewatch.It's amazing how fully formed Morris' format was in 1988. The clothing is really the only thing distinguishing this from a documentary made this year. The recreations that were so controversial back then are downright subtle compared to the hacky stuff that came later. The only quibble I have is the fartsy decision not to caption who the speakers were every once in awhile. That had to be confusing to watch without the benefit of rewinding. Philip Glass has turned three musical notes into a sixty year career.