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.
Starring Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Sona Movsesian, Jimmy Vivino, Scott Healy, Mike Merritt, James Wormworth, Jerry Vivino, Mark Pender, Richie Rosenberg, Rachael L. Hollingsworth, Fredericka Meek
Directed by Rodman Flender
Expectations: High, I love Conan.
I’ve been a Conan fan for years. I remember staying up much too late nearly every night when I was in high school to watch his show. He represented a brand of comedy not found in any other late night show and I absolutely loved it. Older people thought he was dumb and it made him that much cooler. Conan was willing to go the extra mile, pushing himself and the Late Night team to create some of the funniest bits I’ve ever seen on TV. Conan achieved mythic status long ago as a favorite of mine, so when there’s a documentary capturing a bit of his post-Tonight Show tour, you can bet I’m finsta watch it.
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop is an absorbing documentary in that, like Conan, it’s more about entertaining the audience than providing a deconstruction of the man. Viewers do gain insight into some of what makes Conan Conan, but it never goes too deep. It’s a road movie, a document of the tour, so it feels closer to a music documentary than anything else. Thankfully I enjoy both road movies and the performing arts, so Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop is right up my alley. It never stops being thoroughly entertaining, much in the same way that Conan can’t ever seem to say no to anyone or anything.
Where the film falls a bit short is in its shallowness. While the film can’t stop entertaining its viewers, there isn’t a lot of meaty documenting going on. As this isn’t an Obama campaign trail doc, this lack of depth makes sense, but it does hold back the film from being as powerful as it might have been. That really wasn’t the plan here though, so it’s somewhat unfair to hold these ideals over the filmmaker’s heads. It just feels a little too cotton-candy for me to completely sign off on it, and I say this from a position of supreme enjoyment of the film. You definitely get shades of depth here and there which reveal the type of character Conan possesses, such as when Conan plays with his kids, or when he interacts with barbed insult jokes aimed directly at his tireless staff, but it’s just not enough to call this intellectually compelling.
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop isn’t going to light the world on fire, and I can’t see anyone who isn’t already a fan enjoying it, but it is one hell of a good time. It moves quickly and is edited together rather well, as Conan and the rest of the gang put on a clever show based around a tumultuous, bitter situation. The movie serves as a great document of the times as any good documentary should, showing glimpses of Conan that a TV or live audience will never see, and for that, it is absolutely required viewing for any big Conan fan.
Starring Nim, Herbert Terrace, Stephanie Lafarge, Jenny Lee, Laura-Ann Petitto, Joyce Butler, Bill Tynan, Renee Falitz, Bob Ingersoll, James Mahoney
Directed by James Marsh
Expectations: Moderate. The premise sounds interesting.
Is it nature or nurture? A long-standing question of existence, are we human simply because we are raised human, or could other species live in similar ways given the tools to do so. In 1973, one scientist set out to find the answer to this question by taking a newborn chimpanzee from his natural mother and placing him in a human home. The surrogate family then hoped to raise the chimp as another member of the family, attempting to teach the chimp sign language to see if he possessed the capacity for language that human’s have and if the chimp’s wild nature was only a product of his chimp upbringing.
For those that have seen the documentaries about Koko the gorilla (such as 1978′s Koko: A Talking Gorilla), who was also taught sign language, some of Nim’s story arch will be very familiar. But where Koko has continued living her scientific and sheltered life with her teacher Penny, Nim’s journey takes a decidedly different and much more upsetting path. Consequently the film is much more than it seems to be on the surface, and it examines multiple aspects and live paths of captive animals.
Starring Steve “Lips” Kudlow, Robb “Geza” Reiner, Glenn Gyorffy (Glenn Five), Ivan Hurd, Chris “CT” Tsangarides
Directed by Sacha Gervasi
Expectations: High, I love metal.
Anvil: The Story of Anvil is a tale of heart, dedication and dreams… and kick-fuckin’-ass metal! I’m a big metal fan, but I’m a recent convert so I had no idea who Anvil was going into this. Within the first few minutes I was a fan, as their impressive chops and thunderous melodies won me over with ease. The film shows the current lives of the band that was once on the forefront of the early 80s metal scene, influencing the big bands that were about to break out such as Metallica, Slayer & Anthrax. Anvil was there in the beginning, but due to some shit record deals and management, the only place they went was home to Canada with their instruments and their dreams. The thing about Anvil though, they never stopped. Not to be deterred by their shit luck, Steve Kudlow and Robb Reiner kept at it, recording album after album and playing hundreds of shows for the local crowds.
Directed by former roadie Sacha Gervasi, Anvil: The Story of Anvil chronicles a rather fruitful time for the band as they acquire a new manager who books them on a tour of Europe. This eventually leads Anvil to record a new album, their thirteenth (appropriately titled This is Thirteen), and then shop said album around. The specifics of the plot aren’t the exciting part, but watching these guys interact and play their tunes with genuine heart and emotion is.
At times, this plays out like a real-life This is Spinal Tap, but the laughs are directed more at the surrounding circumstances then at the band themselves. Anvil: The Story of Anvil is a great story of the human spirit, of the will to continue despite all odds. Sure, dudes in their 50s keeping the 80s metal dream alive may be kind of sad to some, but to me it’s impressive. These fuckers did it, they pushed on in spite of everything and it’s finally paying off for them.
They’ve recently released their fourteenth album, Juggernaut of Justice, recorded at Dave Grohl’s studio in Los Angeles. They’ve also been touring and playing huge rock festivals since the film came out. Hell, within minutes of finishing the film, I bought every Anvil album I could find and have enjoyed the shit out of them ever since. Up the irons and long live Anvil! Metal on Metal!
Starring Werner Herzog, Dominique Baffier, Jean Clottes, Jean-Michel Geneste, Carole Fritz, Gilles Tosello, Michel Philippe, Julien Monney, Nicholas Conard, Wulf Hein, Maria Malina, Maurice Maurin, Charles Fathy
Directed by Werner Herzog
Expectations: I expect to love this.
Werner Herzog’s latest documentary is not nearly as eccentric and philosophical as some of the other films I’ve seen of his, but it is nothing short of a resounding success. Given unprecedented access to the Chauvet Cave in southern France, Herzog and his three crew members do their best to capture every aspect of the cave, visually, sonically & spiritually. Herzog even interviews a perfumer who may attempt to recreate the ancient smell of the cave’s interior for a reproduction being built at a theme park, but since the film is not in Smell-O-Vision, viewers are left to imagine the smell described.
Will, on November 11, 2011, 5:20 am
Starring Morgan Spurlock
Starring Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Sona Movsesian, Jimmy Vivino, Scott Healy, Mike Merritt, James Wormworth, Jerry Vivino, Mark Pender, Richie Rosenberg, Rachael L. Hollingsworth, Fredericka Meek
Project Nim (2011)
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