What The Doc?

Heckler is a humorous documentary by Michael Addis that follows actor/comedian Jamie Kennedy as he takes on his critics and hecklers. The documentary explores why people choose to heckle, and how the heckled might respond, both verbally and physically. There are many comedians speaking about their experiences, including Joe Rogan (a heckler magnet, check Youtube), Lewis Black, Bill Maher, David Cross and many other celebrities.

IMDB has a complete list of all the celebs who make an appearance in some form in Heckler. IMDB says that there is going to be a limited release on September 9th, 2008. Director Michael Addis posted the Heckler trailer on Youtube, and it says that it is coming in July. So sometime this year.

Hecklers are obnoxious, and personally I find it extremely awkward when some loser feels their opinion/wit is important enough to interrupt someone who is speaking, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t entertaining to watch, especially when a comedian delivers a verbal smackdown. Heckler looks to be a fun documentary, bringing us the best (or worst) of heckling.

IMDB (the low rating on IMDB should be disregarded, it is common for certain “popular” folks such as director Uwe Boll and Jamie Kennedy to have their work voted down by people who won’t even watch their movie.)

Heckler official website

trailer (strong language)

longer trailer on Heckler official website (strong language)

Lagerfeld Confidential is an up-close look at fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. In this documentary, French filmmaker Rodolphe Marconi manages to spend exclusive time (3 years) with one of the most successful and influential fashion designers of the late 20th century.

In Lagerfeld Confidential, Marconi is not afraid to ask Lagerfeld questions that other filmmakers might have stayed away from, such as how Lagerfeld treats his friendships and relationships. When there is an issue or problem, the relationship is over. “Forgiveness isn’t something I’m preoccupied with”. Lagerfeld also states, “Turning the other cheek is not my trip. The curtain falls, an iron curtain.”

Early in the documentary, Lagerfeld states that he enjoys being alone, and can’t be around people all the time; he needs time for himself. Throughout the documentary, we see exactly that. While he is definitely a famous fashion icon, with many colleagues, employees, models, celebrities and more surrounding him, he is a very solitary person who seems to relish being alone.

It would have been nice if Lagerfeld Confidential might have shared more details about the events taking place, people being filmed (appearances by Nicole Kidman and Princess Caroline of Monaco), and locations being visited. But perhaps the intention was to leave it mysterious, much like Lagerfeld’s personal life itself.

Lagerfeld Confidential is an interesting look at a successful fashion icon in his environment. But ultimately we are seeing the Lagerfeld that he wants people to see, with really only a few glimpses behind Lagerfeld’s dark glasses.

IMDB | Wiki Karl Lagerfeld
NY Times Interview with the director Marconi | NY Times Review of documentary

trailer

Louis Theroux’s African Hunting Holiday is Louis Theroux’s latest documentary and adventure where he visits private game reserves (hunting farms) in South Africa.

Louis Theroux is a popular journalist, probably best known for his faux-naif (marked by a false show of innocent simplicity) interviewing style. He has created a number of documentaries for BBC on marginal subcultures, including Nazi skinheads, survivalists, wrestlers, Indian gurus, and body builders. He won a BAFTA for his interview series with different British celebrities in When Louis Met…

In Louis Theroux’s African Hunting Holiday, Louis Theroux visits hunting farms, where exotic species are bred solely to be hunted by tourists (mostly Americans). All of the species have varying price tags, starting with a porcupine for $250 and a warthog for $300, all the way up to a rhinoceros somewhere in between $50,000 to $100,000.

Louis Theroux visits with various private game reserve owners and workers, some who are defensive (and even angry) with his questions. He meets clients at one of the game reserves, from Ohio, who are there to kill what was in their budget.

Despite the exotic species being hunted (and in pretty much every case, killed) in Louis Theroux’s African Hunting Holiday, the exotic species are growing in population, as a result of these hunting farms. If they weren’t being hunted, nobody would care about their species.

The private game reserve owners can be far from heartless, with many expressing concern for the animals being hunted on their reserve. They don’t want to see their animals be shot at and injured. They only want clean kills, so that their animals don’t have to suffer.

The hunting farms are not an easy situation to find a solution for. Allow the hunting, and people can pay money to kill exotic species. Stop the hunting, and the exotic species will be neglected and die.

related links

BBC description of
Louis Theroux’s African Hunting Holiday

article about documentary by Louis Theroux:
The price of a rhino’s life? $100,000

Wiki Louis Theroux

This Film Is Not Yet Rated is a documentary that takes us through the MPAA ratings board and how it works. Director Kirby Dick interviews a number of filmmakers (Darren Aronofsky, Kimberley Peirce, Matt Stone, John Water, among others) about perceived biases between Hollywood blockbusters and independent films, homosexual and heterosexual sexual situations, and violence and sexual content. He explores a lot of differences, complete with related clips from many of the movies being discussed.

The MPAA ratings board is very secretive, and for the most part identities are kept secret, with the exception of the head of the board. The MPAA does state that their board is composed of average American parents (with children between the age of 5 and 17) who serve for less than 5 years. So Kirby Dick hires a private investigator to figure out the identities of the board members. Some of the discoveries are interesting such as divorcee Anthony Hey (two children: ages 28 and 30) and screenwriter Howard Friedkin who has no children. Wikipedia has a list of the known information of the board members in 2005.

After Kirby Dick does his research, he finishes This Film Is Not Yet Rated, with the information of MPAA board members, and then he sends it to the MPAA for them to review. Not surprisingly, they weren’t impressed with his research and gave his documentary an NC-17 (no one under the age of 17 can watch it) rating. Kirby Dick appeals the rating that he receives, but to no avail.

The documentary changes when he includes his appeal in it, so he is not able to release This Film Is Not Yet Rated with a rating unless he resubmits it to the MPAA, which he has no intention of doing.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated shows us an interesting and dark side of Hollywood film industry, the “almighty” MPAA. Kirby Dick explores exactly how unfair and biased they are with their ratings. It is a very entertaining documentary, that every film (not just documentry) buff should watch.

related links
IMDB | Wikipedia | Producer Eddie Schmidt’s blog

Trailer

Monster Camp is a documentary that follows the Seattle, Washington chapter of a U.S. LARP (live action role-playing) game organization. Software engineers, department store managers and high school students, for one weekend each month get to become warriors, sorcerers, dwarves and lizard people. People can be anything, dress in any way, and have almost any power.

IMDB shows that Monster Camp has had a limited release, showing only in film festivals in the US, Canada, and once in Israel, so far.

Monster Camp looks like a very entertaining documentary showing us a portion of the population, who in general, wouldn’t be seen much since they would revolve in their own world, which reminds me of the documentary Trekkies. While amusing, the point of Monster Camp is not to laugh at them, but to show us what fantasy escapism is all about.

IMDB | Wikipedia | Monster Camp - official site
Trailer (you can download it at their website as well)

American Movie follows filmmaker Mark Borchardt as he pursues his American dream, to make films. With his Mastercard, and $3,000 from uncle Bill, he works on his short horror film Coven with the aid of relatives, the local theater talent, and a number of his friends.

The most memorable characters in American Movie apart from Mark Borchardt himself would have to be his uncle Bill and his close friend Mike Schank. Borchardt spent a lot of time working to convince his uncle to invest into his film and receive a producer credit. In the end, uncle Bill does end up lending him the money, but you know that uncle Bill isn’t really considering it to be an investment.

When everybody else would ditch Borchardt, his friend Mike would always be there, to help in anyway possible, and if anything to lighten the mood.

There is much memorable dialogue in American Movie, from both Borchardt and Mike.

Mark Borchardt: Do you think this is a little bit cathartic for you?
Mike: Uh, very cathartic, Mark.
Mark Borchardt: Do you know what cathartic means?
Mike: No.

After multiple viewings, this documentary does not get old, and it is very enjoyable. You see Borchardt struggle and struggle, but refuse to give up on his dream, even after facing numerous difficulties, including some personal demons such as alcohol, debt, and a dysfunctional family.

American Movie is an entertaining documentary, with a lot of funny moments. But it is also very inspiring. There might be criticism of some of Borchardt’s skills such as the dialogue he uses in his film. But in the end, it is Borchardt’s American dream, and he achieves his American movie.

IMDB | Wiki American Movie | Wiki Borchardt’s film ‘Coven’
Trailer for American Movie (watch this, and you will go out and rent it)
Website for American Movie (including Mike Schank’s phone number)
Clips of Mike Schank from American Movie (some strong language)

Super High Me (a play on Morgan Spurlock’s documentary Super Size Me) stars comedian Doug Benson. Benson is no regular comedian though, he is also High Times Stoner of the Year (for ‘06).

To “study” (used loosely) the effects of marihuana, Benson smoked it daily for 30 days, after going 30 days without any marihuana, and comparing results. He also didn’t drink any alcohol for the 2 months that he participated in this project, so that alcohol could not play an effect on the results.

He takes “tests” to compare mental awareness, and physical health before and after. The most notable difference between the 2 months was probably that he gained 8 pounds during the month he spent getting high.

Much like the title, this documentary is not expected to be taken too seriously, and isn’t much more than a light hearted hour and a half of a pot smoking comedian talking with politicians, marijuana activists, marihuana dispensary owners, and his comedic peers (brief appearances by lots of them including Zach Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, Sarah Silverman, Bob Odenkirk, to name a few). Dave Navarro also makes an appearance, I don’t think anybody is sure what he had to do with anything.. but I guess it didn’t hurt to give the producers another name that is in Super High Me. Thanks, Dave!

Doug Benson’s stand-up comedy is interwined in this documentary which makes it easier to enjoy, for those who aren’t really into the whole pot culture. Super High Me does show the DEA’s “respect” and violation of California laws. More could have been done to really discuss the medical marihuana scene in California and the politics there, but the documentary decided to keep itself light material, probably for all the stoners who will end up renting it.

Almost as a disclaimer for the blog readers, all the pot smoking in the documentary was completely legal in California. In an interview, Doug Benson said that he tells kids that they shouldn’t smoke pot until they become a professional comedian.

IMDB | Wikipedia | Interview with Doug Benson
Teaser (some strong language)

Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. is a documentary that follows a group of recruits during their experience of United States Marine Corps boot camp.

The title of the documentary comes from when a drill instructor commands a recruit to attention by saying “Ears“, to which the recruit is expected to respond with “Open, sir!” When the drill instructor is calling the recruit to look at him, he will say “Eyeballs” or any other less formal command such as “Look here“, to which the recruit has to respond with “Click“, “Snap” is also a common response.

The director is young filmmaker Canaan Brumley who went to boot camp after graduating high school, at the age of 17. He did it to impress his girlfriend, which he admits is one of the most immature things you can possibly do.

This documentary features no narration, no interviews, and no focus on any particular characters. He shot this documentary from a fly-on-the-wall perspective, capturing events candidly as they occurred.

Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. will definitely remind people of the first part of the film Full Metal Jacket, but this boot camp is worse because it is real, and the discomfort that the viewer feels is from real situations that they are watching. You can feel the tension and anxiety of the young recruits, as their commanding officers march around looking for something wrong.

Brumley uses chapter titles to break up Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. a bit, and possibly to insert a bit of humor into the documentary. Brumley began shooting the documentary with four cameramen, but they all ended up leaving the project within three weeks, saying that they didn’t think it would work out. So Brumley ended up shooting over eight weeks, the majority of the documentary, on his own.

In the end, Brumley ended up shooting over 100 hours of footage, from which he was able to pick and choose footage for the hour and a half documentary. Brumley allows the viewer to reach his own conclusion regarding the documentary, by avoiding any narration or editorial.

Definitely a raw and real eye-opener of the USMC boot camp process. If you have no idea of how the process is or was, ignorance is no longer an excuse, with Ears, Open. Eyeballs, Click. providing you with an honest look of boot camp.

IMDB | Wikipedia | Interview with Canaan Brumley
Trailer | Canaan Brumley’s homepage

My lofty goal with this blog is to write about the documentaries that I watch. Some mockumentaries will probably be included as well, because This is Spinal Tap and Fear of a Black Hat are classics.

The first documentary that I remember had an impact on me was Bowling for Columbine. I was impressed with the fact that the person creating the documentary (in this case, Michael Moore) was able to share about things that he considered important, all the while making it entertaining (and possibly misleading, but hey, it’s his documentary) for his viewers.

I watch documentaries because they are about real matters, and life is always more entertaining than fiction. I enjoy most movies, but I especially look forward to documentaries.

Why WhatTheDoc.com?

Because DocumentaryWhore.com was too long.