20.11.10

SECRET ORIGIN: THE STORY OF DC COMICS

Finally, something much close to my heart: Comics. And not just any comics, but DC Comics. Narrated by Ryan Reynolds (star of the upcoming Green Lantern movie) the documentary begins before the beginning and takes us all the through the different stages, people, characters in the life of DC Comics. We find out how comics became an established medium and ultimately how comics evolved through the different ages, The Golden Age and The Silver Age. But not just any comics, the focus of this documentary is DC Comics. You can only appreciate that fact when you're a fan of DC Comics and have been so for quite some time.  The really awesome aspect is the interviews with people like Bob Kane, Jerry Siegel Joe Shuster, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore, and many, many more.



Personally, two people I was shocked to see in this documentary; Mark Waid and Alan Moore. I would have thought these are two writers that would never be seen taking their stuff to DC Comics ever again. But I guess Mr Waid is too much of a fanboy to resist, the moment he starts talking about comics, particularly DC, anything and everything else doesn't matter anymore. Not so with Mr Moore, who is known for his disdain of everything DC Comics. So much so that Mr Moore doesn't even want his names to appear on the movies made from his comics. So how is he featured in this documentary? Through old interviews and footage of course! Clever, Warner Brothers. Very Clever.  Overall, the documentary is truly a love letter to DC Comics. Sure, even I have my own issues with DC Comics, but to see all those people gush over the characters, the stories and the comics, it re-kindles the love for them all, no matter how much recent editors and writers have complete shafted the DCU. Must-watch for all comicbook fans.



Note: This review is for my blog. If you'd like to reprint this, please email me for permission. If you're from SHE Magazine, please stop stealing my blogposts. I hope you get a yeast infection and die. Thank you. 

CATFISH.

This is has been described and even marketed as I think, as the other Facebook movie. Whereas we knew how The Social Network would end, Catfish keeps the audience guessing and hooked scene after scene. I guess the best way to describe this is "What if Jackass were a cerebral shockfest?" They would call it Catfish.



What's the story? Yaniv Schulman is a mild-mannered photographer from New York. He gets one of his pictures published in a newspaper and then a woman contacts him on Facebook.  That's all I'm talking about regarding the story, suffice to say that this documentary looks at online relationships in a stark manner. I can tell you that the best moment in the documentary comes when we actually find out why it was named Catfish—and that's when everything falls into place. But given the nature of Catfish and its subject matter, you can't help but question what you've just seen. Was it all real? Did that just really happen? And that's why this is much better than I'm Still Here. This is definitely one to watch.




Note: This review is for my blog. If you'd like to reprint this, please email me for permission. If you're from SHE Magazine, please stop stealing my blogposts. I hope you get a yeast infection and die. Thank you.  

I'M STILL HERE.

What happens when a movie star retires at the pinnacle of his career and pursues a career in hip-hop? Well the answer to that question is exactly what happens in this... documentary. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and directed by Casey Affleck (Ben's younger brother and Joaquin's brother in law) the documentary is clearly trying too damn hard. 



Right from the start we're made to believe that Joaquin has quit acting. Who're you trying to fool Joaquin? The documentary was busted for being a mockumentary, and quite frankly it even did a bad job there. Don't get me wrong, I love mockumentaries. Spinal Tap is probably the best one ever made out there, but Spinal Tap mocked the genre, the larger than life characters, here Affleck and Phoenix mock the audience, culture and the documentary itself. The subject of the documentary, according to Phoenix and Affleck, are actually "celebrity" and "fame". It's the kind of subject matter that Orson Welles would love to have taken on, but we don't have Orson, we have Casey and Joaquin. This is the sort of movie that has come about because of the "Borat" and "Ali G" movies. More driven towards shocking audiences rather than entertaining them. On the plus side, the looks on people, the celebs, and everybody who greets Joaquin, are priceless. But even that isn't enough.

By the end of it all, I just wasn't there anymore.   

Note: This review is for my blog. If you'd like to reprint this, please email me for permission. If you're from SHE Magazine, please stop stealing my blogposts. I hope you get a yeast infection and die. Thank you.