Documentaries

[Dana Jean]

To Be Takei -- which is prounounced ta-kay! NOT ta-kiiiiiiii.

Anyway, very interesting documentary for a number of reasons, the first for me was his confinement in an America internment camp. Devastating! How this shaped him as a person was quite touching.

The fact that he is gay wasn't a center focus in the doc, it was, but it wasn't. I can't explain that very well. His roles as an actor and with Star Trek was fun, and his legendary disagreement with William Shatner was touched on a bit.

Just a guy living his life the best way he knows how, and luckily he has Brad, his husband who has been there through it all, understanding when George had to remain closeted but standing by him no matter what.

George received a huge honor in Japan (The Medal of the Rising Sun) ? or something and Brad had to sit on the bus. He was not allowed to go into the imperial palace as only married partners were allowed in. Well, they were married, but their marriage was not recognized and Brad stayed on the bus so George could receive his award.

Just a human rights documentary all the way around. And yes, human rights affects us all.

 

[king family fan]

Did you watch Downton Abbeys Manners?

 

[Dana Jean]

Did you watch Downton Abbeys Manners?

I did. What fun was that!?

 

[Dana Jean]

I just finished Life Itself about Roger Ebert. It made me so nostalgic. I used to watch Siskel & Ebert all the time! For years! It made me just think back to so many different aspects of times gone by.

Are there any more film critics out there like that? I mean, there is Leonard Maltin and there's this other guy-- I can see his face but I don't know his name. But are they as relevant as they used to be? I mean, a critic is someone with an opinion like we all have. But their deeper knowledge of films and the art of making them is/was something I gave some street cred and respect to them for. I obviously don't always agree with critics of everything, but there education in the field of criticism is worth a listen to. IMO.

very good documentary. Made me weepy. I'm getting old. The world is moving on.

 

[mjs9153]

OK tried to post the Siskel Ebert open theme but it would not go.. Sorry about that.

 

[FlakeNoir]

OK tried to post the Siskel Ebert open theme but it would not go.. Sorry about that.

 

[mjs9153]

thank you Flake! Trying to put that on for DJ..

 

[Dana Jean]

thank you Flake! Trying to put that on for DJ..

thanks mjs. Watch that doc if you get a chance. Really interesting.

 

[mjs9153]

Will do!

 

[fljoe0]

Frontline: Secret State Of North Korea

Using smuggled footage and interviews with defectors, this documentary tells the brutal story of what life is like inside North Korea. This is a pbs documentary and is on Netflix.

 

[Dana Jean]

Not really a documentary, but kind of. I'm watching Brain Games on Netflix right now. So fascinating. And, it makes me wonder how long it will be before an attorney in a big profile case uses some of these episodes to get their client off. They do it now to a certain extent with faulty memories and things like that, but this is much more in depth about how the brain works. It's amazing anyone gets convicted on witness testimony.

 

[fljoe0]

The Search For Michael Rockefeller (2011)

Michael Rockefeller, son of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, was an anthropologist who disappeared in New Guinea in 1961. The disappearance was a huge story in the early 60s as what became of Michael was never proved. The official story was that he drowned but there have been persistent rumors that he was eaten by natives.

This documentary is fascinating on three levels, as a mystery, as a biography of Michael (a very interesting person) and as a look at the very primitive culture of the tribes of New Guinea in the late 50s and early 60s.

This documentary kind of plays like one of those lost footage movies. There's quite a bit of very old footage that had never been seen before this documentary. Well worth a look, although I found the disappearance of Michael story less interesting than some of the other aspects of this interesting film.

 

[Dana Jean]

The Search For Michael Rockefeller (2011)

Michael Rockefeller, son of Governor Nelson Rockefeller, was an anthropologist who disappeared in New Guinea in 1961. The disappearance was a huge story in the early 60s as what became of Michael was never proved. The official story was that he drowned but there have been persistent rumors that he was eaten by natives.

This documentary is fascinating on three levels, as a mystery, as a biography of Michael (a very interesting person) and as a look at the very primitive culture of the tribes of New Guinea in the late 50s and early 60s.

This documentary kind of plays like one of those lost footage movies. There's quite a bit of very old footage that had never been seen before this documentary. Well worth a look, although I found the disappearance of Michael story less interesting than some of the other aspects of this interesting film.

I just started watching this about a week ago and got interrupted. What did you come a way with? What happened to him? Did they ultimately find out?

 

[fljoe0]

I just started watching this about a week ago and got interrupted. What did you come a way with? What happened to him? Did they ultimately find out?

There is no physical evidence whatsoever, just a couple of different theories. There is something really intriguing at the end, however. I won't say what it is (don't want to give it away ) but it's very interesting.

 

[Dana Jean]

There is no physical evidence whatsoever, just a couple of different theories. There is something really intriguing at the end, however. I won't say what it is (don't want to give it away ) but it's very interesting.

I'll keep watching!

 

[morgan]

Watched Tricked (2013) NR on Netflix about the sex trade. Sick, sick sh*t. More people are in slavery today than at any other time in history - difficult to even comprehend, isn't it?

 

[Neesy]

Watched Tricked (2013) NR on Netflix about the sex trade. Sick, sick sh*t. More people are in slavery today than at any other time in history - difficult to even comprehend, isn't it?

I was thinking about this recently when I saw that thread about Empowerment - somehow equating women selling sex as empowering them. I did not comment on the thread but I would think empowerment is the last word I would associate with women in the sex trade.

 

[morgan]

Watched Back Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story (2014). GROSS. The only reason I watched this was because I remember seeing The People vs. Larry Flynt many years ago. I remembered the tragic story about Flynt's wife, Althea. This documentary was made by the son of one of Hustler's past art or creative directors (or some such title) - and not very well IMO.

 

[muskrat]

Crumb, Terry Zwigoff. It's a hoot.

 

[xville]

Stories We Tell
Bound by Flesh
The Internet's Own Boy
Hype
After Porn Ends
A Decade Under the Influence
Reel Injun
Cutie and the Boxer
The Jeffrey Dahmer Files
My Amityville Horror
The Bible's Buried Secrets
Trudell
Jodorowsky's Dune
For No Good Reason
Lenny Bruce Without Tears
American: The Bill Hicks Story
30 for 30: Catching Hell
Abel Raise Cain
Hellbound?
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
The Unknown Known
History of the Oakland Raiders

These are all documentaries I've seen this last year.
I'm sure I've watched more, and I'm certain some others were so terrible they were unwatchable.