Presented without Comment: Beyond the Mat (1999)

All I can say is: Vincent Kennedy McMahon sure can pitch.

Presented Without Comment: The Final Member (2012)

As the title states: This is Presented Without Comment….Enjoy!

Favorite Films: Crumb (1994)

Last year I did a year long feature on my top twenty five favorite films (or at least as of 2016). There was a lot of contenders and it did take me a long time for figure out what is the best of the best. Luckily even with a list finalized that means there are more films to discuss in the future. So this post starts a semi-new series of discussing what are my favorite films outside of the top twenty-five.

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The Nightmare (Review)

Our bodies can do a lot of weird things when we sleep. We dream, we can sleep walk, and we can literally scare ourselves to death. One thing that has always been fascinating though is sleep paralysis: where the body can literally keep us frozen despite being fully aware of what is going on. New documentarian Rodney Ascher felt there was a compelling story to tell in regards to this bizarre choice our bodies can make. In The Nightmare, Ascher does not give us a story but several to showcase how truly nightmarish it can be.

Instead of giving us a lecture on what makes sleep paralysis happen Ascher is more content giving us visual interpretation of the nightmares these people have. The film jumps from talking heads to actors recreating these moments which gives Ascher more breathing room to be creative. So get ready for nonstop moments of people in beds, pretending to be frozen in place, while actors covered in black slowly creep in front of them. This kind of structure allows Ascher to ratchet up the scares when it comes to things like the sound design or give us some unique camera angles. As someone who gets sleep paralysis from time to time, but not to such a terrible degree as these men and women, it becomes a wonder how any of them cope with such horrible visions.

Unfortunately the film starts to lose its draw after the first couple of retellings. There is no denying Ascher and his team took a lot of care into recreating these terrible visions. But the film moves at such a glacial place it starts to get boring once we see the same ‘shadow men’ and people starting wide eyed into the distance. In fact, it becomes apparent the human mind is not very creative when it comes to sleep paralysis. It feels like something out of a Stephen King novel where an omnipresent being hovers around all of these people. Apart from a few instances where someone’s nightmare goes off the rails the films becomes stagnant far too quickly.

There is no denying Rodney Ascher is a great, new voice for documentaries. With his previous film Room 237 and now The Nightmare he has a great sense of finding unique topics to cover. Unlike his last film though, there is not enough visual appeal to keep it going to the finish. Had this been an effort to make a short documentary, or in the very least cut down the number of participants, this could have had the recipe to be an effective combo of being a non-fiction horror film. As it is The Nightmare will probably be more effective seen in unrelated chunks online rather than its original intended form.

Lost Soul (Review)

It is interesting how we do not see a flood of behind the scene documentaries released more often. Every film that has ever been made has some sort of drama behind it all. Especially when it comes to box office bombs because, at some point, these were considered great ideas. Richard Stanley knows all too well how drama can destroy a vision. In the new documentary Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau the title gives way the entire tone of the piece with the word ‘doomed’. While not the most lively of docs this is yet another entry of the fascinating world of movie making.

25 Favorite Films: The Imposter (2012)

How to explain a love for a film where you don’t want to spoil it? Spoilers are a thing now in today’s generation and it is quite tricky to navigate. Even if I gave you the tiniest of nuggets I could get a bunch of people decrying for giving out ANYTHING. But I’m torn on another angle because this is a documentary where I want you guys to experience it on your own. If I were to explain just why this made my jaw drop by the end it would be a disservice to everyone involved.

Live Tweeting #6: Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2012)

I think we can all agree sushi is delicious. It seems like a simple piece of food: just a tiny piece of fish wrapped in a roll of rice and seaweed. But we never seem to notice how difficult it is to make a roll of sushi. Anywhere in the world right now is a chef trying to create the perfect dish for someone to eat in their restaurant. It has become an art form in creating the most beautiful dish of sushi. David Gelb has decided to focus on one of the most famous sushi chefs in particular with the critical darling…

Going Clear (Review)

Religion is a subject no one really wants to talk about. Not only is it a touchy subject for many but it has caused many heartaches when things get too passionate. What makes a ‘new’ religion like Scientology (‘new’ in relative terms) intriguing is we are seeing how a theology grows from the very beginning. Considering what kind of person L. Ron Hubbard was at the time it is fascinating how he was able to create such a huge movement. But what documentarian Alex Gibney shows in his adaptation of Lawrence Wright’s book Going Clear is that a lot of sinister things had to occur to make them so successful.

Like the book it is named after, Going Clear has Alex Gibney going in-depth with Scientology in both its origins and how it expanded. By getting countless archived and behind the scenes footage we witness the mindset of L. Ron Hubbard and the men & women who were former Scientologists. It is interesting how, for a group so secretive these days, Gibney was able to garner so many interview clips of Hubbard or even the lavish ceremonial events of recent years. The only thing that is slightly disappointing is that Gibney sort of shy’s away from Hubbard’s more horrific backstory such as kidnapping his own child. The documentary matter-of-factly covers these dark moments and, unlike Wright’s book, it would have made more sense to cover Hubbard’s backstory in detail considering how extensive it later goes into current Chairman David Miscavige.

The tone of Going Clear evolves as the film goes on which makes the latter portions hit the right note. At first we feel Scientology is some sort of ‘kooky’ cult as we learn the bizarre terms and mythology of the religion. There is a particularly spectacular montage of the film explaining Scientology’s ‘extraterrestrial’ origins of the Earth and it comes across incredibly trippy. In fact the more former or current Scientologists explain, in detail, the ideals of the church it becomes harder and harder not to snicker at how ridiculous it all sounds. Give Alex Gibney credit though for not letting himself state these things are ridiculous and actually giving serious inquiries on what makes this group tick.

What Alex Gibney does in the second half of this documentary though is go full on investigative mode in the sinister motives of the church. Whether it is the uncomfortable relationship between Chairman David Miscavige and Tom Cruise or the brutality the lower members of the church receive it all becomes quite disturbing to listen too. Of course all of this is ‘alleged’ since everyone who still works within the church has refuted all of these claims. But when we see their key victory of beating the IRS to be considered a true religion it becomes all the more infuriating that people may be in harm’s way but our own government cannot do anything about it. Again, Alex Gibney never picks a side and just gives us the facts but it becomes harder and harder to laugh at how ‘silly’ this religion is when more controversy arises.

Going Clear shows us, whether in book or film form, the dangers of when a religion becomes mainstream. Whether L. Ron Hubbard meant to or not Scientology has become a worldwide religion that has influenced many people including major players in the Hollywood community. Who’s to say though that other religions such as Christianity or Islam did not go through the same trials when they first started? Alex Gibney states as much in the middle of this documentary but in the end there does seem to be some sort of enlightened meaning at the end of it all. Going Clear shows how greed & intimidation can not only shape a religion but showcases how ugly it can be as well.

Great Movie Scenes #004: Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

Presented without comment. Okay maybe one thing: I hope that if I ever go deranged and disappear I would like Werner Herzog to narrate it. He seems to be into that kind of thing what with this movie and Grizzly Man.

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (REVIEW)

In 2013 acclaimed Danish Director Nicolas Winding Refn released his next film Only God Forgives. It was a follow up to his last outing in Drive, which astounded people and elevated his career to new heights. So, of course, the pressure was on him to make everyone happy and continue his newfound success. During the making of his new film Refn’s wife, Liv Corfixen, decided to film the entire production process and to see how his husband is coping mentally. While My Life Directed does showcase some of the problems affecting Refn it mostly fails making it meaningful.