Documentary HOF Part 2

Minding the Gap (2018)

Sigh I know a lot of people liked this one, but this film was just not for me. Over the years I've watched so many of these films I call them poverty porn. This is the story of a group of skateboarders who are I think high school dropouts. A lot of the specific details are murky which is something you don't really want in a documentary. Each of the three young men is dealing with his own problems.

White kid has impregnated his girlfriend, they are in a domestic violence type situation. Both of them seem kinda abusive so the idea of having this baby in the middle is kinda terrifying until an uncle and aunt take in the mom and child. The white kid is also developing a drinking problem and he also starts a skate park which didn't work out because his partner stole all the money and left town. These are compelling stories but we're only seeing them on the surface level.

Asian Kid is the director and he's also from an abusive home life when his mother married some older guy who was near death but also beat him up. He's the director and his scenes with his mom are heart wrenching but he hasn't been established as a character in the story so as the viewer what are we really seeing.

Black kid is the third character he's a bit more defined than the others from a personality POV. His story is more linear his issues are more universal. In his case his dad is dead and he also appears to be the only black guy in his circle of friends. His identity crisis is compelling but the narrative splits between all three characters makes this somewhat of a rough watch.

When judging a documentary film you never want to be left asking questions as to the honesty of the filmmaker.

B-

Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr.

I always wonder about how two separate thoughts can exist at the same time. On one hand the idea of a Holocaust denier is laughable and atrocious yet on the other hand watching someone have their livelihood destroyed because they did a bad job at something they were qualified to do also kinda turns my stomach.

This is my least favorite of Morris' documentaries just because it's a story told is two distinct points of view and we don't really get the film we need. The big stories are how poorly run executions are from state to state and these Holocaust denying trials. But rather that tell those stories we get this tale of a tragic little man in the middle of it all.

On a practical level the documentary could use a bit of work. When ever I notice a score it's either something wonderful or annoying...this one was annoying. I also think the rise and fall of Lechter could have been handled better by doing more with the relationship he had with his wife and the people who hired him to do the work.

Not to say it's a bad film or even a mediocre one it's relatively good just dated. The subject matter is great, the story flies by and it's compelling.

B

One more for Siddon. 3 more for Keyser. Than we good.

Won't you be my Neighbor (2018)

One of the things I like about these HOF's is you can see was a well-made Documentary is verses more flawed ones. In Won't You Be My Neighbor we get the story of Fred Rodgers, a TV show producer and host of children's programing from Pittsburgh. This film stays on track with it's direct messaging of this man's life and work.(unlike Mind the Gap). The film varies it's style of storytelling using animation, interviews, and old footage (unlike Woody Allen is Innocent). It spends money on a proper score (unlike Dr Death) and it isn't trying to sell you on something (unlike that Vampire one) and it concludes with a complete story (unlike King of Kong). The fact this film didn't get an Oscar nomination didn't snub the film but it demeaned the award....this could/should have been a BP nom.

It's hard to get into the specifics of what makes this story so powerful. Perhaps it's the way the third act hits you with a gut punch. Putting in 9/11 and Fox News offers a reflection of how the world has changed post Mr Rogers. The tribalism that we experience today seems to be antithetical to Fred's basic Christian messaging. It's a powerful statement that sadly fell on deaf ears.

A+

@KeyserCorleone is all that stands between us finishing this

World of Darkness

I had no idea this public larp game was so influential. I myself have tried out the modern-day werewolf vs. vampire thing in a novel I've been slowly working on, but I had no idea that all these famous franchises that focused on that were influenced by that. In fact, watching this documentary is literally the first time I've even heard of anything related to White Wolf.

These guys have had an interesting history, one that played its part in redefining nerdhood and pop culture. A big part of the late-90's and 2000's obsession with darkness and grittiness came from this, for better or for worse. But as far as documentary-making goes, I stayed interested throughout the whole, even thought I didn't find the history itself to be an incredible story. I find it to be a healthy but average outlook on the world of pop culture commercialization and business, one that builds on the gothic atmospheres of the products White Wolf sells, and carries over fairly well despite being a documentary. And I appreciate its attempts at being a more personal story through the larpers' interviews concerning how larping is a way to feel complete and explore one's self. That brought a cool edge to it and shed some light on this vampire game.

= 76/100

Two more from Keyser and we done.

Minding the Gap

OK, it was really easy to connect with this documentary, not because I've been through it before, but because it's a perfect recreation of all the urban horror stories. This captures the ideals of the Blink-182 generation in very upsetting ways, letting us see the extent of how a broken family operates. Some of these stories are absolutely horrifying. However, there is one potential problem: we're only hearing their sides of the story, and we've seen evidence that they may not always be truthful. So while this movie has so much to say, we can't be entirely sure just how reliable it is.

By the way...


******* if this isn't one of the most informative movies I've ever seen. This guy put the entire idea of a tweeter just quoting so-called articles to shame. The guy did RESEARCH, and he has argument after argument after argument that takes into account article after article, quote after quote and even goes deep into human behavior to dissect the whole of it in a very consistent manner. I guess the only flaw is that because he's talking and going so fast, that the documentary is too much to soak in. I'm gonna give this only one of the criticisms I gave to the otherwise great Shoah: it should've been a series.

We good?

Yes. I can do the unveil tomorrow!

Hello.
Raul.
Anybody home.

I'm a slacker. Soon people, soon

Hello?

I'm very bad at forgetting this, my apologies.

7th Place

World of Darkness



13 Points

6th Place

By the Way, Woody Allen is Innocent



18 Points

5th Place

Mr. Death



29 Points

Feels about right so far. Nothing in this one that I regret watching. It was a good Hall.

__________________
Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

4th Place

Minding the Gap



30 Points