Live on @Twitter: PROJECT NIM (2011).

Project Nim is a documentary about a chimpanzee transported from the wild and used in a project by Columbia professor Herbert Terrace who wanted to study what would happen if an ape was raised in close proximity to humans.  In true human fashion, Terrace and his assistants quickly discover they’ve taken on too much, and [...]

31 FLAVORS OF HORROR #24: TROLLHUNTER (2011).

Found-footage movies are nothing new.  Contrary to popular belief, they didn’t begin with The Blair Witch Project, and they sure as hell didn’t begin with Paranormal Activity.  The basic concept is pretty brilliant in its utilitarianism and simplicity – long-lost video or film footage of disturbing events is at last unearthed and screened.  This fictional conceit, [...]

Back In Reality: DARKON (2006).

Darkon is a 2006 documentary about The Darkon Wargaming Club, a group based in Baltimore which numbers, on average, 200 active members.   The group’s website notes they’ve been in operation since 1985, and are clearly still as popular as ever.  They meet every other Sunday, in local parks or on high school sports fields, to do this… That’s [...]

From The Archives: THE KING OF KONG (2007).

  This little review appeared in different form, elsewhere on the internet, quite a while back. I saw The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters when it was doing a one-week run at the Nuart, and I laughed my ass off. Literally. I mean, there was only a little bit of ass left back there.  It’s [...]

What I Watched 3.18.11: INSIDE JOB.

Inside Job, the documentary written and directed by Charles Ferguson, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2010.  It goes into agonizing detail over what caused the global economic crisis in 2008, who was responsible, and how literally none of the guiltiest parties have been made to be accountable for their oversights (and [...]

What I Watched 3.5.11: Waiting For Superman.

My niece, the light of my life, is ready to start school.  She talks about it all the time. She can’t wait. So I held off on watching this movie for a long time, because the subject is close to home, I obviously think about it much more than you probably expect, I’ve already seen things that worry [...]

Overlooked By Oscar: RESTREPO (2010).

No one need argue with Inside Job’s well-deserved recognition in the Documentary Feature category last night.  But the fact remains that it was a particularly crowded field.  Aside from those documentaries that there wasn’t room enough to recognize with nominations, there were other documentaries that absolutely must be watched, regardless of temporary awards victory status.  [...]

Overlooked By Oscar: BEST WORST MOVIE (2010).

It’s hard to argue with any of this year’s Academy Award nominations, most especially in the Documentary category.  All five of those nominees are eminently worthy, particularly presumptive favorite Exit Through The Gift Shop and my personal endorsement, Restrepo.  But it’s a nice time to remember some of the other strong documentary features from 2010, [...]

What I Watched: 2.3.2011.

First: American Grindhouse.   This is a neat documentary about the history of some movies of great infamy and ill repute.  Check it out on Hulu! Then: Client 9: The Rise & Fall Of Eliot Spitzer. This one you probably know about, at least if you’re a New Yorker.

What I Watched 2.2.11: The Aristocrats/ Still Bill.

The Aristocrats. Still Bill.