What The Doc?

Bigger, Stronger, Faster* is a 2008 documentary by Christopher Bell about steroid use in America, focusing primarily on the controversy, hypocrisy and debate in sports regarding anabolic steroids. While discussing celebrities famous for their muscles such as Hulk Hogan, Arnold Schwarznegger, and Sylvester Stallone, and who have later admitted to using steroids. Filmmaker Bell also focuses on his own family, speaking with his parents, and his brothers Mark and Mike Bell, who both have used steroids.

*the side effects of being American

The arguments that Bigger, Stronger, Faster present are very interesting. Just exactly how dangerous are anabolic steroids? The truth is, that like anything else in life, the effects from steroids are going to be different for different people, and abuse is also going to make a difference. But there is very little evidence of the harm that it can cause.

Steroids are used for medical purposes, but the huge controversy is when it is used in sports, because of the “unfair advantage” that it can give a player. But can’t anything give an edge? Bigger, Stronger, Faster gives the example of Tiger Woods who had Lasik eye surgery, and now has 20/15 vision, which is better than perfect eye vision. Isn’t this also an “unfair advantage”?

Christopher Bell manages to get a lot of interesting interviews, including with Carl Lewis, disgraced Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson (disqualified from Olympics for doping), and even Stan Lee. He tries to get an interview with Schwarznegger, but only manages to shake his hand (and make the front page of the Los Angeles Times).

random trivia: There is a high school tutor who speaks on Bigger, Faster, Stronger who I’m sure looked familiar to some people, but maybe they couldn’t quite figure out who he was. It took me a little while to figure it out. It was contestant Tim Urban from season 6 of The Apprentice.

Bigger, Faster, Stronger shows us a huge side of sports and body building that are generally ignored by mainstream America. Almost everybody in sports is using something to get an edge, because it is expected, and because it is necessary to actually be able to compete. Christopher Bell’s documentary is a very entertaining, and educational look at the steroids debate.

related links
IMDB | Wikipedia | Interview with Christopher Bell on ThinkTalk
Official Website

trailer

Spin is a 1995 documentary which gives an interesting behind-the-scenes glimpse of the media in the early 90s. Filmmaker Brian Springer spent an entire year (1992) watching raw satellite feeds, focusing mostly on politicians, newscasters and their manipulations.

Raw satellite feeds show the viewer everything being broadcast live, without any editing. The feed keeps rolling when the news channel might have cut to commercials, or the interview segment ends. Spin shows us newscasters cracking jokes, eating donuts, schmoozing with their guests, or flat out insulting their guest out of earshot.

Springer recorded over 500 hours of video during 1992. This documentary brings us some interesting, amusing, upsetting and even shocking moments during 1992, supposedly off the record.

• Larry King letting Bill Clinton know that Ted Turner is a big fan of his, and that he (Turner) “would ah… serve you, you know what I mean?”
• Larry King discussing medication with George H.W. Bush during a commercial break.
• Bill Clinton’s running mate Al Gore holding his hand over his mic while receiving advice from someone off screen as to how he should redirect certain questions.
• Pat Robertson discussing the “homos” who are getting past the screeners on Larry King.
• Presidential candidate Larry Agran being completely disregarded and ignored as a candidate by the media, even when polling higher than other candidates.
• Pat Robertson informing someone exactly what stories he did not want to see on his network (CBN), specifically anti-abortion protesting.
• Larry King buttering up presidential candidates Bush Sr., Clinton, and Ross Perot all on separate occasions trying to be the moderator for the presidential debates (they didn’t go with him).

Spin is an eye-opener for everyone, you will not view news reporting the same way.

IMDB | Wikipedia | Wiki Brian Springer (I wasn’t able to find much info about him online)

watch Spin:

or you can go to Google Video and watch it there.

Download Spin (Quicktime .mov format) in a .zip file.

Tyson is a 2008 documentary that takes an inside look at the turbulent life of former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, directed by filmmaker/screenwriter James Toback. The documentary is interviews done last year with Tyson while he was in rehab, as well as highlights of fight clips from his boxing career.

The documentary Tyson traces Tyson’s life from his early life in the streets of Brooklyn, to the top of the boxing world, and back to the bottom again. The documentary touches on the numerous controversies during his career, including his 1992 rape conviction, biting off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear in 1997, and declaring bankruptcy in 2003 (despite earning over $30 million dollars for some of his fights, and earning over $300 million dollars over the course of his career).

So far Tyson has only been screened at the Cannes Film Festival, but there are news reports that Sony is about to close a distribution deal so Tyson will be hitting screens, sooner than later.

The reviews for Tyson have been good so far, with the documentary and Mike Tyson receiving a standing ovation at Cannes. I’m looking forward to seeing this look into the turbulent and interesting life of boxer Mike Tyson; there definitely is enough material to make an interesting documentary.

IMDB | Wikipedia | Wiki Mike Tyson | Wiki James Toback
Mike Tyson Documentary ‘Tyson’ at Cannes (Filmofilia)
Mike Tyson Film Takes a Swing at His Old Image (NY Times)
Mike Tyson documentary wins standing ovation (Times Online)

Born Rich is a 2002 HBO documentary about the kids of the “insanely rich”. Filmed by one of the great-grandsons of the founder of Johnson & Johnson, Jamie Johnson. Both a filmmaker, and an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, Johnson is able to gain special access to the offspring of the rich American elite.

Born Rich features interviews with a number of rich kids including Ivanka Trump (daughter of real estate tycoon Donald Trump), Josiah Hornblower (of the Vanderbilt/Whitney family), Georgina Bloomberg (daughter of New York mayor and media mogul Michael Bloomberg), and Luke Weil (heir to the Autotote [since renamed Scientific Games] gaming empire). These are only a few of the people who are interviewed in this documentary.

Not everybody was flattered by their own interviews, such as Luke Weil (who definitely voices some interesting and offensive thoughts), who claimed he was tricked into appearing in the documentary and filed a lawsuit in 2002 to prevent Born Rich from seeking distribution. Too bad that Luke Weil had already signed three separate releases for Johnson. A New York state Supreme Court justice ultimately ruled in favor of the documentary filmmaker Johnson.

Money is the taboo topic of the rich elite, but discussing everything from trust funds and prenuptials to personal life philosophies and career choices, the interviewed open up with Johnson. And Born Rich presents us with the candid thoughts of the children of the very wealthy, and how they view their life, surroundings and the rest of the population.

Filmmaker Jamie Johnson’s latest project was the documentary The One Percent.

IMDB | Wikipedia | Wiki Jamie Johnson
Jamie Johnson interview with HBO
Amazon

excerpt from Born Rich

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)