Titicut Documentary Blog. Documentary film reviews & filmmaking

Ricardo Villalobos Documentary

RB — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 06:00:32 +0000

I’m sure the minimal techno lovers out there will be rushing to download, er, see this one.

Though anyone else who checks out the trailer below could be forgiven for thinking that Romuald Karmakar’s documentary looks boring as bat shit. I can only hope this isn’t the case.

http://www.electronicbeats.net/News/Music/Villalobos-documentary-premieres

Blood Money – Abortion Documentary

RB — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:24:20 +0000

Right wing documentarians. Why the fuck do they exist? Funded by the church, blind-sighted by faith, and entirely oxymoronic. If the shitheap intelligent design effort EXPELLED: No Intelligence Allowed is anything to go by, Blood Money looks set to be dead awful… Mad pun.

I suggest if you want more than the Christian side of the story, to check out the excellent and harrowing Lake of Fire which covers the abortion issue in a much less impaired and more considered manner.

Funny, the trailer actually has bereaved female actors mixed up in the sensationalised snippets of crapshooting. Do yourself a favour; steer well clear.

http://www.bloodmoneyfilm.com

A Good Man in Sydney

RB — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 00:35:30 +0000

Safina Uberoi’s documentary, A Good Man, will be screening at The Chauvel in Sydney on Saturday the 5th September. Press release follows:

A Good Man, by Safina Uberoi, is the true story of a struggling Australian farmer, his quadriplegic wife, their newborn baby and their plans to open a brothel in a small country town. The film will be captioned for the hearing impaired and will be followed by a Q&A with the film-makers. All proceeds from the screening will go towards creating a fully accessible version of the film with captions for the hearing impaired and audio-description for the vision impaired.

Accessible Arts is pleased to provide support and sector information to the producers of A Good Man for the incorporation of access technology in the film; marketing to key organisations and for future accessible screenings of A Good Man in cinemas and television.

When: Saturday 5th September. 6.30pm
Where: The Chauvel Cinema, cnr Oxford st and Oatley rd, Paddington
Cost: $20/15
Bookings: Call 02 9361 5398 or online at http://www.chauvelcinema.net.au

Les Paul Chasing Sound Documentary

RB — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 01:54:31 +0000

Recently deceased inventor of the solid-body electic guitar and multi-track recording, Les Paul, is the subject of this feature-length retrospective documentary… judging by the clip, it looks quite promising.

http://www.lespaulfilm.com

Review: Tyson (2008)

RB — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 04:42:17 +0000

Tyson is an indulgent documentary film. Likey to be considered brilliant by his fans, and mediocre by his detractors or the general filmgoer; disinterest is all pervading in this film. I would venture that, apart from once bearing unstoppable K.O. skills, Mike Tyson is no more interesting or intelligent than your average, intellectually challenged contact-sportsman. Funnily enough, the boxer firmly considers himself an intellectual. But self-ascribed labels only go so far and any illusion of intellect is washed away by his open admissions of misogyny and attempts at explaining various thuggish and reprehensible behaviours for which he has been derided.

For me, the documentary dragged on and on, not helped by the extended talking head material of a rambling Tyson. The film is largely a vanity piece and lacks interviews with promoters, battered ex-girlfriends or his pugilistically defeated opponents.

No wonder, hey.

Titicut Rating: 1.5 / 5

Info

Director: James Toback, Year: 2008, Country: USA, Runtime: 90 min

Review: Bastardy (2008)

RB — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:43:52 +0000

Bastardy is a feature documentary from director Amiel Courtin-Wilson. The film focusses on pioneering Australian Aboriginal actor, Jack Charles, a troubled character who lives out his post-thespian glory days as a cat burglar and junkie in Melbourne.

Filmed over a number of years, Bastardy is a film that suggests a close relationship between the director and his subject. We see Charles shooting up heroin in the film’s opening moments and as similar scenes repeat throughout the documentary, a sort of symbiosis between the filmmaker / character is implied. As a director, Courtin-Wilson has obvious respect for the aging actor and reciprocation from Charles, who candidly exposes himself (criminality and all) is what gives the film its legs.

In one irksome scene, the director confronts Charles from behind his lens about a robbery, which the actor-cum-thief admits to. Without fishing for audience sympathy, the two then embark upon returning the stolen goods in an effort to redeem Charles.

This is less your typical fall from grace story and more a chronicle of fallibility. Moments of tribulation are interspersed with elements from the poetic mode of documentary representation; pickups are captured with the aesthetic beauty afforded by 16mm film stock and rendered with subtle filmic effects.

The sum of these parts is a sincere and beautiful film which, despite the foibles of it’s central character, shows him in an endearing, humanist light. It is no wonder the film has taken out so many festival awards.

http://www.bastardydocumentary.com

Titicut Rating: 3.5 / 5

Info

Director: Amiel Courtin-Wilson, Year: 2008, Country: Australia, Runtime: 83 min

Clan Analogue: Plug In & Switch On

RB — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:01:13 +0000

Sydney techno collective Clan Analog have a documentary coming out entitled Plug In & Switch On. It’s only 26 minutes long so the scope is probably firmly on the music and less about the warehouse in which the collective blossomed. Let’s hope the filmmakers have done justice to Clan, who were a seminal underpinning of the 90’s electronic music scene in Sydney.

Filmmaking: American Prince 2009

RB — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:06:45 +0000

Remember Martin Scorsese’s American Prince? That’s the documentary where he profiles actor Steven Prince in a seemingly cocaine-assisted recollection of Prince’s colourful past. The film achieved a famously cult following after being bootlegged and cycled around for the last 30 years.

Now, a follow up from A Scanner Darkly producer Tommy Pallotta has been completed and in a statement of sorts, the director has released the film for free on the BitTorrent network. Interestingly, the 2009 film features clips from the orginal, but instead of using the degrading master tapes (provided by Steven Prince himself), Pallotta used clips from the version he downloaded off BitTorrent, as according to the director, the digitized copy was of superior quality.

Oh, the irony of such an epic win.

Get the torrent here.

Review: Wordplay (2006)

RB — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:04:26 +0000

Wordplay is ostensibly a documentary about crosswords and the people who like them. As a feature length film, it suggests there must be more to crossword puzzles than you might have thought. There’s crossword constructors (they’re the uber-word nerds who devise puzzles to challenge the most ardent grammarian), themed puzzles, obsessive solvers, and there’s Competition. America loves it and of course, it’s the underlying theme of many a documentary. Wordplay is not exempt from this generalisation, as the film hangs itself around the 2005 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

To sex up the mental gymnastic ‘action’, thankfully, Wordplay contains some tasteful graphics and curt editing. Things only ever get faintly nail-biting, but it’s nonetheless entertaining. As things pace along, the competitors are revealed to be, well, not so competitive. Crossword enthusiasts are certainly not out for fame, nor the meagre prize money on offer. It’s all rather friendly and as such, Wordplay deals with community as much as competition.

It’s interesting to see crossword nerds come together over what is traditionally a solitary pastime, and they’ve got Will Shortz, crossword editor for the New York Times and competition organiser to thank for that. With an illustrious reputation in the community, Shortz’ humility is contrast with a host of celebrity solvers, including Jon Stewart and Bill Clinton. More interesting, though are some of the competitors, as you can see in the clip below, and while the film is largely not driven by such characters, the humble appeal of crosswords is somewhat ubiquitous amongst thinkers. As a dramatic subject though, Wordplay goes as far with crosswords as possible.

Titicut Rating: 3.5 / 5

Info

Director: Patrick Creadon, Year: 2006, Country: USA, Runtime: 94 min

I Think We’re Alone Now

RB — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:25:02 +0000

Remember Tiffany? The precocious 80’s pop star is still around, and she’s still got dedicated stalkers. A new documentary, I Think We’re Alone Now, follows uber-obsessives, Jeff Turner and Kelly McCormick as they vie for Tiffany’s attention. Jeff is an established celebrity stalker and Kelly, intriguingly, an intersexual person who identifies as female, despite some definitely male characteristics. The film has screened at some noteworthy festivals and if the trailer is anything to go by, I Think We’re Alone Now (director Sean Donnelly’s first feature doco), looks like it won’t dissappoint.

http://www.ithinkwerealonenow.com

Titicut Documentary Blog. Documentary film reviews & filmmaking

Ricardo Villalobos Documentary

Blood Money – Abortion Documentary

A Good Man in Sydney

Les Paul Chasing Sound Documentary

Review: Tyson (2008)

Titicut Rating: 1.5 / 5

Info

Review: Bastardy (2008)

Titicut Rating: 3.5 / 5

Info

Clan Analogue: Plug In & Switch On

Filmmaking: American Prince 2009

Review: Wordplay (2006)

Titicut Rating: 3.5 / 5

Info

Related Documentaries:

I Think We’re Alone Now