New Robin Hood Doc Out in Time for, um, Robin Hood

Robin Hood: The Truth Behind Hollywood’s Most Filmed Legend may not look like a documentary from the trailer, but it’s about the many legends and sources that may have come to reconcile themselves as the hooded hero we know today.  Timed to release a few weeks ahead of the new Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe interpretation, the film uses a number of reenactments (which is why the trailer looks like a low budget attempt at same).  The doc comes from director Philip Gardiner, whose previous work includes God Kings: The Descendants of Jesus, Diary of a Vampire: The Legacy of Bram Stoker, and Order of the Alchemists: The Knights of Malta.

Plunder Reviews: “Sobering and Important”

Danny Schechter’s new documentary Plunder: The Crime of Our Time gets all up in the housing crisis and, according to several reviews, does a good job of explaining the economic mess we’re in, framing it as the collateral damage of a larger criminal scheme.  Home Media Magazine calls it “a gritty thriller that’s unfortunately ripped from today’s headlines.  Wilmington on DVD (scroll down) describes the film’s content as “sobering and important,” and lovingly describes Schechter in terms of his Capitalism: A Love Story counterpart, saying his “beguilingly shaggy, populist demeanor suggests a less hungry Michael Moore.”  JustPressPlay concedes, “The actual presentation of the doc can be a bit hokey at times, but pleasantly so,” but adds, “Plunder, as a doc is inherently designed to educate, and does so in a way that will keep you interested regardless of whether you’re familiar with the Wall Street crisis or not.”

I Need That Record! Launches Exclusively at Record Stores

Does anyone remember record stores?

The once-commonplace retailer is a scarce commodity in the U.S. these days. Making a case for their survival and rebirth is the new documentary I Need That Record! The Death (or Possible Survival) of the Independent Record Store.

In his examination of why over 3,000 indie record sellers have closed in the past decade, director Brendan Toller interviews such music luminaries as Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, journalist/Patti Smith guitarist Lenny Kaye and Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz, among many others.

Four years in the works, I Need That Record! will finally see the light of day on April 17, Record Store Day, when it’s released exclusively (and appropriately) to independent record stores for 90 days. It will be available through general retail on July 27.

I Need That Record! trailer:

Bulletproof Salesman Review: Making $ Off the “Perfect War”

I recently reviewed Bulletproof Salesman for Filmcritic.com.  The doc follows Fidelis Cloer, an armored luxury vehicle salesman, as he cold calls Iraq at the beginning of the war and follows him as his business flourishes during what he grudgingly admits is the “perfect war” for his line of work.  It’s a fascinating journey, and while I feel it’s not without its shortcomings, there are far worse ways to spend 70 minutes.

Bulletproof Salesman teaser:

Waveriders: The Straight2DVD Review

Who knew people surfed in Ireland? Certainly not this reviewer—when I think surfing, I think Hawaii or California. And while those are still the primary hot spots for the sport, Ireland is apparently joining that list, as evidenced by the new documentary Waveriders. Like the best documentaries, Waveriders (directed by Joel Conroy) takes a subject you may be unfamiliar with and tells you about it in a watchable, entertaining way.

More than just a doc on Irish guys hitting the waves, Waveriders also provides some history on the sport’s growth in the modern era, focusing on key people who have contributed to that growth, including George Freeth, the sports writer of Irish heritage who popularized surfing in Hawaii in the early 1900s; Kevin Naughton, an American journalist who led a group that traveled the world in search of the perfect wave in the Beach Boys-fueled 1960s; Kelly Slater, currently considered the world’s best surfer; and the Malloy Brothers, who merge Naughton’s surf-driven wanderlust with the commerce and technology that figure into pros like Slater. All of these figures have a connection to Ireland: Naughton, for example, ended up living there, and modern surfers such as Slater and the Malloys are making it a worldwide surfing mecca.

Ultimately, these threads converge in the final segment of the film, in which a powerful new wave is discovered at the hills of Glasgow. Along the way, we get some insight on the spiritual—as well as recreational—aspects of the sport. For its devotées, surfing is a near-religious experience, a one-on-one connection with nature. Conroy’s you-are-there camera work gives us some insight on how that must feel.

The photography and overall production work here is first-rate; there are many breathtaking shots of waves that rival the CGI-generated ones in films such as The Perfect Storm—and these are real! Editing is tight and the storytelling is sharp—the relatively short (75 min.) film never lingers too long on any one facet. The use of music may be heavy-handed at times; there is one segment about young Irish surfers that featured an annoying song called “Teenage Kicks” for what seemed like a half-hour. But overall, Waveriders is an entertaining, informative look at another world, one in which surfing is as much about the soul as it is about the waves.

White Stripes’ Under Great White Northern Lights Coming to the States

Under Great White Northern Lights, chronicling the White Stripes exhaustive Canadian tour to support Icky Thump, is going on a host-your-own screening cross country tour of its own courtesy of B-Side. Today’s the last day to order a kit in time for “White Stripes Day,” but all the pertinent info. is here.  There will be prizes for whoever sends in photos of the most creative screening. The kits, by the way, include peppermint swirl candy, which I thought was a nice touch.

Of course, you don’t have to host a screening to watch the movie.  Starting March 16th (date of the aforementioned holiday), you can just buy it on the White Stripes’ site. That day also sees the release of a CD and double LP.

Yes, This Is a Real Documentary

Boobs: An American Obsession recently arrived on DVD.  The title is fairly self-explanatory.  Doc takes a look at our national mammary obsession, speaking to everyone from porn stars to breast cancer survivors.  And Tom Arnold.  The film is directed by a woman (or a man named Nina).  Not a ton of reviews out there, but here’s one from a friend of one of the film’s co-producers.

Here’s a trailer (opens in Windows Media Player).

Here’s a clip:

Trust Us, This Is All Made Up Interview: Director Alex Karpovsky

SpoutBlog has an interview with Alex Karpovsky, director of Trust Us, This Is All Made Up, which profiles long-form improv artists TJ Jagodowski and David Pasquesi and showcases one of their live performances.  Karpovsky talks about the challenges of bringing a theatrical, interactive performance to the screen and the larger questions of imagination and creativity that the film raises.

Trust Us, This Is All Made Up arrives today.

Trust Us, This Is All Made Up trailer:

Incidentally, when you order this from Amazon, they create the DVD on demand (it’s what the DVD-R logo means on the Web site).  On demand manufacturing is already a growing trend in book publishing and I think you’ll be seeing a lot more of it in DVD-land in the future.

Mixed Reviews for Before the Music Dies

Director Andrew Shapter’s documentary Before the Music Dies laments the state of modern music while offering a diagnosis of the problem and offering some possible solutions, with some help from Erykah Badu, Eric Clapton, Elvis Costello, Branford Marsalis, Dave Matthews, and many, many more.  The quality of that diagnosis seems to be the issue dividing reviewers.  Scott Weinberg over at eFilmCritic gives the film five stars, calling it…

“…a fantastic piece of documentary filmmaking that explains how the music world got this way, and offers a few tips on how we might tip the scales, just a bit, in the other direction.”

Jay Seaver, also of eFilmCritic, agrees…

“Most music fans probably know all this, but it’s nice to be vindicated. It’s a great way to introduce others to what’s going on in the music business nowadays, and how music fans can make things as good as they used to be.”

Kelefa Sanneh, writing for the New York Times music section, however, has a bone to pick.  “This is a passionate film, but not a very convincing one,” he asserts, adding…

“Before the Music Dies is incoherent because it doesn’t examine its own taste. The filmmakers advance a particular musical vision — a world full of bluesy guitarists, rootsy jam bands, old-fashioned soul singers and quirky fusionists — while pretending they’re merely diagnosing the music industry.”

Eye for Film’s George Williamson has a similar complaint…

“The film reeks of a need to preach and educate, an idea that people won’t be able to make decisions about the quality of music on their own; they need democracy on the air to be able to choose their own tastes (as long as it’s adequately ‘soulful’); it comes across as extremely condescending.”

IMDb users seem much less conflicted, giving the film 8/10 stars with 209 votes counted.

You can buy Before The Music Dies on DVD or watch it for free on Hulu.

Before the Music Dies trailer:

Trick ‘r Treat Dominates the First Annual Straight-to-DVD Movie Awards

Writer/Director Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat won four awards in our First Annual Straight-to-DVD Movie Awards, including Best Picture.  Dougherty won for Best Director and Samm Todd tied with Van Wilder: Freshman Year‘s Kristin Cavallari for Best Actress.  Trick also nabbed Best Horror.

Other winners include Cuba Gooding Jr. and Reece Thompson, who tied for Best Actor for Wrong Turn at Tahoe and Assassination of a High School President respectively.  Road Trip: Beer Pong won Best Comedy, while Best Family Film went to Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure.  Perhaps the most unsurprising win was in the Title-So-Bad-It’s-Awesome category, which went to Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus.

Here’s a complete list of winners:

Best Picture – Trick ‘r Treat

Best Actor – Tie: Cuba Gooding Jr. (Wrong Turn at Tahoe) & Reece Thompson (Assassination of a High School President)

Best Actress – Tie: Kristin Cavallari (Van Wilder: Freshman Year) & Samm Todd (Trick ‘r Treat)

Best Director – Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat)

Worst Picture – 2012: Supernova

Best Comedy – Road Trip: Beer Pong

Best Horror – Trick ‘r Treat

Best Action/Thriller – Tie: The Code/Wrong Turn at Tahoe

Best Family Film – Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure

Best Doc – Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary

Best Sci Fi/Fantasy – Battlestar Galactica: The Plan

Title-So-Bad-It’s-Awesome Award – Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

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