World Premiere 2009 in London, US Theatrical Release 2011
Starring Bill Hicks, Kevin Booth, John Farneti, Lynn Hicks, Mary Hicks, Steve Hicks, Andy Huggins, David Johndrow, James Ladmirault, Dwight Slade
Directed by Matt Harlock & Paul Thomas
Expectations: High, I love Bill Hicks.
Bill Hicks is fucking awesome and if you dig stand-up comedy in any meaningful way, you should already know the name and be familiar with his work. If not, he’s one of the best there ever was. Hicks elevated stand-up to levels previously undreamt about by mainstream comics, pushing boundaries way past the bleeding edge. At his core, he was a thoughtful, logical man who threw everything he had up on that stage and American: The Bill Hicks Story seeks to let you in on how he came to be that man. Mostly it succeeds, but as much as I love Hicks and the experience of watching this movie, I can’t let my feelings override the glaring problems I had with the film at a structural level.
There’s an odd choice made by the documentarians to focus on audio-only interviews of his family and friends, instead of traditional video interviews. While they’re talking, still photographs are animated into whatever scene the interviewee is describing. It took a while for me to come around to this style, and while I eventually was OK with it, I never really liked it. It creates an odd disconnect from the person speaking and unless you’re extremely good with placing a voice to a name, you’re going to lose track of who’s who. Bill Hicks, via these animated pictures and live video footage, is always front and center and the film takes on something of a video shrine to him instead of a true documentary. Then in the final few minutes of the film, the filmmakers break character and finally show the people who’ve been narrating our experience. The only problem is that besides Hicks’ mother, I have very little idea who everyone else is, unless their current look unmistakably resembles all the photographs we were shown from the 70s and 80s. They also never flash the person’s name on the screen when they’re talking, so we literally have no help in this regard.
Despite this, the film succeeds as a document of the legacy and power of Bill Hicks’ stand-up act. It follows a very linear path from Bill’s childhood to his death, so you do get a great sense of the overall arc of his life, and some of the twists and turns it took along the way. I greatly enjoyed the film, but a lot of that enjoyment is just discovering bits and pieces of what made a guy I greatly respect who he was. Hicks was the man, and this documentary only seals that fact deeper in my mind. If you’re unfamiliar with him, I’d definitely watch a couple of his stand-up sets before hitting this doc up. I highly recommend his HBO One Night Stand set, currently available on Netflix Instant as Episode 1 of the series: Bill Hicks Live: Satirist, Social Critic, Stand-up Comedian.
Starring Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., T. Colin Campbell
Directed by Lee Fulkerson
Expectations: High, been looking forward to this one for a while.
Before I watched Forks Over Knives, I was aware of the benefits of a plant-based diet for your health, so the content was not the revelation that it may be for some. This doesn’t stop the film from being one of the best made documentaries of the year, its information presented well with 3D charts and personal stories from disease sufferers that have transitioned or are transitioning their diet over the course of the film. It’s truly amazing and inspirational to watch these people go from multiple daily pills and injections to being medication-free via the healthy methods of diet.
The main focus is on two pioneering doctors that have dedicated their careers to the study of diet on cancer growth. One doctor is primarily a researcher, working with data and large-scale studies. The other doctor takes a clinical approach, working directly with a small group of high-risk, near-death patients with heart disease, cancer & diabetes over a multi-year period. The evidence of both doctors is presented directly and while it is definitely one-sided and some points are questionable, the simple fact remains that a fresh, healthy diet is a definite improvement on the traditional Western diet.
Regardless of whether you believe the information presented here or not, the fact remains that we as Americans generally practice absolutely awful diet habits. I would love if everyone was required to watch this film and become more informed about the importance of the food they consume, even if they don’t end up going whole hog (pardon the expression) and switch to a completely plant-based diet. Forks Over Knives is remarkably well made, expertly shot and edited together, keeping the flow at a good pace and never allowing the film to get stale or boring. Towards the end it does get a little too hippie-dippie and preachy, which therefore becomes the final taste left in your mouth, so this will definitely put off some people. Don’t let that stop you from watching the film though, as it’s easily one of the best docs of the year. Highly recommended.
Starring Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron (collectively Pearl Jam)
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Expectations: High, I love Pearl Jam.
Pearl Jam Twenty is more of a celebration of the first twenty years than the true in-depth documentary you might be expecting. In this way, it seems like a “for fans, by fans” look at the band, albeit fans with access to a shitload of footage and the band members themselves. As such, the film lends itself to people who already love Pearl Jam, and I doubt it will capture the hearts of the unfaithful. Pearl Jam and specifically Eddie Vedder have never really cared who they alienated or pissed off, so this aspect of the film shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is not to say that it the film is cocky, instead the band members come off as real, honest artists that are simply staying true to their game. I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan, jumping on board late around the time of Riot Act‘s release (2002). Ever since then my love for them as a band has only grown, and with the release of their last two albums, Pearl Jam & Backspacer, they’ve seemingly mastered the art of melding artistic integrity with compelling music as both are excellent representations of the band.
It’s a little hard for me to objectively review the film as I am such a big fan, but I found PJ20 to be always interesting and enlightening, even when it was relating information I already knew. Director Cameron Crowe does a great job editing together what must have been hundreds of hours of band home videos, TV appearances and live footage into a flowing narrative. I take issue with a couple of music choices (such as playing a track from 1998′s Yield over a key moment from the early 90s, thus misleading an uninformed viewer into thinking the song is related), but realistically with this amount of footage and songs to juggle, I can’t criticize too much as I know I could do no better. I do wish there were more band interviews. They are all fairly reclusive so to hear them speak candidly is a treat. As a writer, I’d also enjoy more in-depth looks at their songwriting process, and thankfully the DVD extras reveal a couple more scenes of this nature edited for time. The scene on the genesis of Faithful is one of my favorite moments and it’s not even in the film!
If you dig Pearl Jam and you feel like celebrating the band you love for a couple of hours, definitely check this one out. I wouldn’t call it essential, but it does offer lots of great moments throughout. Non-fans should probably tread more warily, but the film does do a good job of painting a picture of why they did what they did when they did it, and a new fan (or a lost fan) might appreciate this dedication to their art and be intrigued to delve into their rich catalog of tunes.
Starring Owen Wilson, Jason Sudeikis, Jenna Fischer, Christina Applegate, Nicky Whelan, Richard Jenkins, Stephen Merchant
Directed by Peter & Bobby Farrelly
I wanted a hall pass from Hall Pass so I could cut class and watch a better movie. A comedy should be funny, and for the most part, the jokes in Hall Pass are too easy, too stupid, or just not there. There’s a great moment when Owen Wilson and Jason Sudiekis talk about their friend’s family painting of themselves as sea captains, but not much else worth remembering. Not to mention the fucking commercial for Applebee’s in the middle of the movie. Ugh.
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)
Starring Joan Rivers, Melissa Rivers
Directed by Ricki Stern & Anne Sundberg
Enjoyment dependent on your tolerance for Joan Rivers, this film is quite enlightening to her career and her dedication to her craft. I’m a huge comedy nerd so I enjoyed seeing the old footage when she skirted censorship with clever wordplay, and the new footage when she just lets it all out. I’ve never been much of a fan, but after this film, I respect and enjoy her work more than ever. The film drags a bit overall, but it’s much better than I expected it to be.
Hesher (2011)
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie, Natalie Portman, Brendan Hill, John Carroll Lynch
Directed by Spencer Susser
The trailer made me think this was all about a hesher and the crazy shit he does, scored with kick-ass thrash metal of the 80s. It’s not. It’s actually a dreary, indie drama about a kid and his family dealing with some serious loss while the mysterious hesher moves into their house uninvited. It’s mostly an OK movie, but it’s heavy-handed and it gets really awful in spots. The end monologue by Hesher about losing one of his nuts is painful, but possibly deep if you’ve just knocked back a Pabst Blue Ribbon tall can like Hesher.
Morgan Spurlock’s latest film isn’t so much of a documentary about marketing as it is one about making and securing financing for The Greatest Movie Ever Sold. It’s a movie and a DVD extra all rolled into one. In filming and documenting the product placement and marketing process, Spurlock creates an interesting and fun ride from start to finish as we watch the movie we’re watching get made. I’ve been a big fan of everything Spurlock has put out since his début film, Super Size Me, and while this one isn’t up to par with his past features, it is remarkably fun. Spurlock’s mindful yet playful style comes across well and his pitch meetings to the companies are some of the film’s funniest and best moments. But not nearly as funny as the ad to the left of this post! I’d click it if I were you! How’s that for shameless marketing?
The Greatest Movie Ever Sold does make good points about the non-stop barrage of marketing, but as it’s more focused on the making of the film you’re watching, it never quite reaches the heights it could have if it were a more traditional documentary. Spurlock has never been one to sit on the sidelines and observe though, instead throwing himself into the deep end of whatever subject he’s tackling and hoping for the best. This is the predominant signature that defines his films and without it, they wouldn’t be nearly as engaging or fun to watch.
There was one thing in the film that got me thinking about how I could implement it into the site. Spurlock visits a neuromarketing lab where they strap him into an MRI and watch his brain react to commercials to see what works and what doesn’t. I wish there was a way for me to incorporate this feature into my reviews, where each post would come with a brain scan image showing exactly how I felt about a film while watching it. You could actively see if I was engaged or bored, or if I received a natural shot of dopamine from a certain moment. It would definitely set me apart from the mass of film bloggers out there!
I don’t really have much else to say about this one, other than if you dig Spurlock, you’ll most likely have a good time with this one. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is pretty light overall, but there is some interesting information presented and Spurlock’s clever style and fun sense of humor makes the film breeze by. Definitely recommended to anyone that has an interest in marketing as well.
Will Silver, on January 30, 2012, 5:20 am
World Premiere 2009 in London, US Theatrical Release 2011
Starring Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., T. Colin Campbell
Starring Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron (collectively Pearl Jam)
Hall Pass (2011)
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (2010)
Hesher (2011)
Starring Morgan Spurlock
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