rolling documentary thread 2015

watched most of 'the seven five' - what a piece of shit, like 99% of the historical/surveillance footage is worthless and the rest of the time they just intercut the cops stories w/ stock footage couldnt believe how shameless it was, not even zero budget cable crime shows are this bad

dunkin donuts can not be pleased w how present it is in Heroin: Cape Cod, USA, including use of a DD rewards card to cut dope

Smiling Through the Apocalypse: Esquire in the '60s could have been a lot better--it was directed by Harold Hayes's son--but it's competent enough to more or less give shape to a great story. I know lots about the writers who made the magazine famous, and I've got a book of George Lois's iconic covers, but I knew very little about Hayes--he does seem to be somewhat forgotten.

http://www.georgelois.com/images/Esquire%20covers/Esquire_Nixon.jpg http://magazine.wfu.edu/files/2014/09/Harold-and-Tom-Hayes.jpg

Watched Cartel Land last night. For a topic that's been covered extensively in other docs (and narrative features), it remains deeply INTENSE. Some surprising twists and turns as well.

Oh God, I hated that one. But a lot of that probably comes from watching it deep into a festival, where a bunch of docs made up for their unoriginality by being INTENSE. It's prob good for what it is, but it was def not for me. Reminded me of Sicario, of course, which I hated as well.

I actually found the film itself to be very original, despite a familiar setting - I can't think of anything else that covers vigilantism *within* Mexico? I guess a handful of critics thought the film would have been better off without the American border guard guys, but I was pretty gripped by the parallels between the constantly moving morality of the central figures.

Which are some of the other films that struck you as unoriginal but intense (because if they're like this one I suspect I might like them!)

Well, come to think of it, I steered clear of most of them. Stuff with names like (T)Error and such. I did see A Good American, which was a load of crap wanting to be Citizen Four, but arguing that the government isn't spying on us enough, but too dumb to notice that that argument is quite weird.

I think my hatred was mostly from spending a bit too much time with directors such as Villeneuve, Bigelow, Greengrass, and especially Danish fraud Tobias Lindholm, who's A War is a fraudulent piece of crap of the highest order. Y'know, films that purport to be political, but in action-form, so you get stupid arguments BUT WITH GUNS!!! Best of both worlds.